The University of Success, ..a discussion of the universal qualities of successful people. I was struck with the statement that ‘all successful people have a clear purpose in life’. They have a compelling reason to get out of bed in the morning—and that driving purpose keeps them on track and makes them ultimately successful. ‘Without a clear purpose no one can be considered successful no matter how much worldly fame he may achieve’.
Oxymoron is the joining of two words that don’t seem to go together. For example: light darkness, a deafening silence, a bold retreat, a powerful servant, a short sermon . . . . you get the idea. And when you put the ideas of joy and trial together it sounds like an oxymoron. We think of joy as being something that takes place in pleasant times. Joy accompanies good times, not difficult times. We have a narrow view of joy. Paul introduces us to a joy that is independent of circumstances. Present in the delightful and good times . . . but it is also present in the difficult and painful times.
HOW OUR PROBLEMS CAN EFFECT OUR WITNESS
Far from the freedom he previously enjoyed journeying throughout a large part of the Roman Empire, founding and strengthening churches, and training leaders.
He still sought to fulfill his commission even though he was imprisoned in Rome. Philippians 4:4--"Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!"
Weirsbe says that the secret is having a single mind when you look at the circumstances of life.
Seeing them as God given opportunities for the advancement of the Gospel.
To rejoice at what God is going to do instead of complaining about what He didnt do.
1:12 Now I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel,
1. This is something Paul ‘wanted us to know’. Important part of
understanding the sovereign work of God and working through the
false messages that are assumed about living the Christian life.
In the past missionaries boarded ship not expecting to ever see their homeland again. Some even sold themselves into slavery because that was the only way other slaves could have a chance to hear the gospel.
High cost and sacrifice was something expected of the body of Christ.
Now we complain if the sermon is too long or someone says something we don’t like or a list of many other things people get upset about in today’s church.
HOW DID WE TUMBLE SO FAR?
2. Paul’s circumstance included some very difficult events. Expounded in 2 Corinthians overall but in order to get him to Rome some specific things happened.
MY CIRCUMSTANCES: It started in Acts 21 when he went to Jerusalem to make an offering in the Temple. Unfounded rumors spread that he had brought a Gentile in. That led to a mob scene where Paul was severely beaten and would have been murdered if the authorities had not stepped in and arrested him. Eventually he was sent to Caesarea to stand trial as a Roman citizen. There he was held without bail for two years. He gave his testimony to Felix, the Roman governor, who listened attentively and then kept Paul in confinement, hoping for a bribe. Still later he testified in chains before King Agrippa. Eventually he was put on a boat and sent to Rome. But the boat sank during a violent storm on the Mediterranean Sea. Paul and other survivors were washed up on the shores of Malta where a snake came out of the fire and bit him. Finally he was brought in chains to Rome where he was kept under house arrest for two years, awaiting trial before Caesar. Meanwhile his opponents spread rumors about him, attempting to destroy his reputation and ruin his ministry. As he looks back, he sees clearly that everything happened for a divinely-ordained purpose—All of it now is clearly seen as part of God’s plan to bring him to Rome at precisely this moment in precisely this situation so that he would be where God wanted him to be.
3. THE PROGRESS/ADVANCEMENT OF THE GOSPEL
The word is a military term that refers to the movement of an army into enemy territory. As the soldiers move forward, they clear the obstacles, open the roads, drain the swamps, and build pontoon bridges so that the whole army can advance unhindered. Paul means to say that his imprisonment—which seemed to be a setback—actually served to advance the gospel in Rome.
The Greek word refers to something moving forward in spite of obstacles, dangers, and distractions. It is the noun which means to cut down in advance. It is the verb which is used for cutting away the trees and the undergrowth, and removing the barriers which would hinder the progress of an army"
Paul’s circumstances opened the way into unchartered enemy territory for the furtherance of the Gospel.
1:13 so that my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the whole praetorian guard and to everyone else,
1. MY IMPRISONMENT: Paul was able to have his congregation chained to him. They were called the PRAETORIAN/IMPERIAL guard.
Praetorian Guard: These highly-trained soldiers served as a cross between the Secret Service for the Caesars and the Army Special Forces. Created by Caesar Augustus some 70 years earlier, the Praetorian Guard numbered about 9,000 in Paul’s day. They were paid double the normal wage and served for 12 years, after which most of them retired in and around Rome. Over time they became a powerful political force, putting forth nominees for the Roman Senate. All this meant that the Praetorian Guards were one of the most important groups in ancient Rome.
Paul was chained to a guard 24 hours a day. Called himself an ambassador in chains in Ephesians. The word ‘chains’ described a short length of chain used to tie together wrists from prisoner to guard.
Shifts changed every 6 hours as a new guard got a new witness, listened as Paul might speak to a guest or dictate a new letter. Watched and listened as Paul prayed without ceasing. Paul had a new audience four times a day, 28 times a week, and over 2900 times in two years.
I can’t go and preach the gospel. I can’t be an evangelist, a missionary, a pastor, or a Bible teacher. I’m stuck with my job. The lesson here is that it doesn’t matter whether you’re chained to a desk, an assembly line, a classroom, a car, or a sales position--they all provide opportunities for you to further the gospel.
Whatever you’re chained to, you must live in a way that makes the gospel believable.
The worse your confinement, the greater the opportunity for a godly life to shine.
People often tell me how hard it is to witness where they work. My reaction is that it is generally harder to witness under ideal conditions than in more difficult situations. That’s because in difficult situations the reality of a transformed life is more apparent and that can’t help but be attractive. JOHN MACARTHUR
God allows His servants to be placed in various circumstances so they can serve as witnesses there. These so called disappointments are really opportunities to glorify Christ.
HOW OUR PROBLEMS CAN EFFECT OUR WITNESSES
1:14 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.
1. Paul’s life like all our lives was not without those who were watching. Problems in our lives is like God turning up the volume to make sure other’s don’t miss how our lives are being lived.
Courage is contagious. Paul’s courage in chains spread to the believers who watched him witness to the Roman soldiers. And persecution can be productive. Even though Paul was in jail on a trumped-up charge, his incarceration produced a harvest of bold evangelism across the city of Rome.
2. Paul’s testimony gave fresh courage to others in the body of Christ to be faithful in their circumstances.
1:15 Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ even from envy and strife, but some also from good will;
1. Mixed in with good motives were those who were taking advantage of the vacuum left by Paul’s imprisonment and were out preaching with wrong motives.
There is a second trials that Paul had to endure. He was being attacked from other Christians. In the military we would say he was being threatened by "friendly fire". These were fellow believers . . .Paul says, they were "preaching Christ." They were not false teachers, they were teaching truth but with a contentious spirit.
Jack Van Impe, the evangelist known as "the Walking Bible" because memorized thousands of Scripture verses. By his own testimony, for many years he used his sermons to attack other Christians over matters that might properly be called secondary issues. Eventually the Lord broke his heart about the infighting and name-calling in Christian circles and he vowed to change his ways. In his revealing book Heart Disease in Christ’s Body, he includes: In Green Bay, Wisconsin, we were closing our crusade on Sunday afternoon. The arena we were using featured wrestling on Sunday night, and then Rex Humbard was scheduled to begin a meeting on Monday. Humorously, the marquee outside the facility read: Jack Van Impe Wrestling Rex Humbard
That might have been true of Jack Van Impe at one time. However, during my remaining years in the ministry, I want to glorify God by being an example of His love—striving to promote true Christian unity among all members of His body.
2. Many preach today with the wrong motives. Mixed in with truth is a desire to exalt self, promote their own ministry or gain some type of power of financial success.
1:16 the latter do it out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel;
1:17 the former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition rather than from pure motives, thinking to cause me distress in my imprisonment.
1. The motives Paul describes are envy, strife, some out of love knowing he is not able to preach, and some out of selfish ambitions.
This was a political word. It was used to describe someone who was seeking office for himself. It came to mean canvassing for office, to get someone to support you. It spoke of self-seeking and selfish ambition.
1:18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice,
1. The silver lining Paul saw in all this was that the name of Christ was still being proclaimed. Faith comes by hearing a word about Christ. God had promised His Word would not return empty but would strike us to the very marrow of our hearts.
Paul’s detractors preached the true gospel, and it had an impact. A selfishly motivated preacher can still be used of God, though not as much as he could be otherwise. That’s because the truth is more powerful than the package it comes in. The power "lies in the gospel, not the gospeller" Often the listener knows nothing of a preacher’s motive and thus concentrates on the message only.
1:19 for I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,
1. Paul understood that neither God nor His Word could be confined. God had His own ways of defining deliverance. We can be free in any circumstances while others can be trapped and confined in the best of circumstances.
Recently I discovered a good answer to that question. It’s a little saying that contains a big truth. When hard times come, keep your eye on the doughnut and not on the hole. Think about that for a moment. A doughnut has two parts—the fried dough and the hole. You’ve got a choice of which one will attract your attention. You can either focus on what you’ve got or you can focus on what you lack.
The huge carpet machines were at work. As you stood in the back you could see huge spools of yard—dozens of them, of every conceivable color—spinning rapidly as the yarn went into the machine. From the back side everything seemed to be a meaningless jumble of colors and noise. Nothing made any sense. There didn’t seem to be the slightest pattern at work—just a mass of colored threads making their way at high speed into the mechanical weaver. When you walked to the front of the machine, an entirely different sight greeted you. There you could see carpet slowly emerging—row by row, all the colors perfectly in place, arranged in order as if by magic. But it wasn’t magic at all. Someone had programmed the machine to take that tangle of threads and turn it into a pattern of exquisite beauty.
In this life we stand as it were at the back of the machine looking at the multicolored threads of circumstance. Some are the dark colors of sadness and confusion, others the bright tones of happiness and success. On this side there seems to be no pattern—only colors and noise. Now and again God gives us a peek at the finished product and we are aware that something beautiful is being produced in us by the Master Designer. In this life we never see the big picture. That will all change when we finally get to heaven. Then we will see that everything that happened to us had a purpose—even those things that seemed to bring us nothing but pain and heartache. Those dark tones that seem so pointless will in that day be a vital part of a pattern so beautiful that if we were to see it now, it would take our breath away.
Thomas Edison’s manufacturing facilities in West Orange, N.J., were heavily damaged by fire one night in December, 1914. Edison lost almost $1 million worth of equipment and the record of much of his work. The next morning, walking about the charred embers of his hopes and dreams, the 67 year old inventor said, "There’s value in disaster. All our mistakes are burned up. Now we can start anew." Trials have a purging effect in our life.
Someone has said, "The thickest cloud may bring the heaviest shower of blessing."
