Always Look At The Bright Side Of Life
Text: Phil. 1:12-19
Introduction
1. Illustration: This past week I came across this story I thought you would find interesting. Obviously a fellow Pastor posted it. He said, "I was recently contacted by a pulpit committee that was interested in my ministry. I met with Chairman of the Disenchanted, Bro Tepid. He described his church; First Lukewarm Church of the Apathetic. "Nothing too boring, nothing too exciting. We want it to fit into our American Culture Christianity. No songs too slow, no songs too fast. Nothing from the ancient songs and nothing after the 70’s." Nothing ever challenging. We want encouragement and comfort." He sang to me the Churches Theme Song. "Sitting on the premises of Christ our friend. Through eternal ages let the service end. Glutted to the highest we will moan and sing. Sitting on the premises and dead. Sitting on the premises, sitting on the premises, Sitting on the premises of Christ our servant. Sitting on the premises, sitting on the premises, We’re sitting on the premises and dead." He proudly described the Church as irresolute and uncommitted. He introduced to me the other committee members; Bobby Bored, Connie Cool. He described the great teachings the women received who participated in the Church’s The Women’s Indifference Society. There seemed to be great growth in one class; The Mellow Sunday School Class. They were excited about an upcoming event; The Men’s Worldly and Wise Conference. An upcoming revival was going to be led by The Reverend Marvin Mundane. The church had started the Spiritless Seniors group who were going to focus on traveling to entertainment locations like Branson Missouri and Las Vegas. This would bring the Church back into balance because of the growing the Unresponsive Youth Program. They were looking for a pastor who could scratch their ears, stir their emotions, help their self-esteem, complement their current spiritual condition and validate their unchanging ministries and priorities. On the bright side, they were going to pay well and the benefits were killer. The problem? That dog won't hunt!"
2. Now that is one church that needs to look on the bright side of life!
3. It's too easy to become like the Christians in that story, and based on our text today Paul wasn't like them at all!
4. Paul tells us...
a. God Can Make Something Good Out Of Something Bad
b. Keep Your Eyes On The Priority
5. Let's read together Phil 1:12-19
Proposition: We keep on the bright side when we keep our eyes on Jesus.
Transition: The first thing that Paul shows us is...
I. God Can Make Something Good Out of Something Bad (12-14).
A. Helped To Spread The Good News
1. Of ever there was a guy who knew how to look on the bright side of life it was Paul.
a. He had more bad things happen to him than anyone you've ever met.
b. He was beaten, stoned, left for dead, imprisoned, bitten by a deadly snake, and shipwrecked.
c. As he writes this letter to the church in Philippi he is under house arrest in Rome.
2. Notice how he begins this text. He says, "And I want you to know, my dear brothers and sisters, that everything that has happened to me here has helped to spread the Good News."
a. Paul wanted them to know that what had happened to them was really a good thing.
b. Three times in this text Paul uses the word chains (vv. 13, 14, 17) referring to his imprisonment (even though the NLT translates it imprisonment in v 14).
c. He wants them to see that the result of his chains is actually the opposite of what some people might think.
d. He doesn't want them to worry about him because what he is going through is actually advancing the gospel and not hindering it. Quite the opposite, it has caused the gospel to spread.
e. The word spread means “a cutting forward.”
f. The word is used by Paul only in Philippians 1:12,25 and in 1 Timothy 4:15.
g. All three occurrences refer to progress in the gospel or faith, i.e., growth in the spread of the gospel or growth of faith, in spite of persecution or pressure from opponents (The Complete Biblical Library Greek-English Dictionary – Pi-Rho, 4156).
h. For Paul this is the language of evangelism, and it was Paul's "meat and potatoes," because to him it was the essence of truth and the only source of hope for a lost and dying world (Fee, 110-111).
3. Then Paul says, "For everyone here, including the whole palace guard, knows that I am in chains because of Christ."
a. Paul gives two reasons for his chains to being the bright side of things.
b. First, was it's effect on unbelievers. He says "everyone here, including the whole palace guard, knows that I am in chains because of Christ."
c. All those in Rome, even (or in this case probably "especially") knows that the reason Paul is imprisoned is because of his faith in Jesus.
d. The palace guard was the emperor’s own elite guard. They would have watched Paul around the clock, but were probably on four-hour shifts.
e. Thus Paul would have had access to many of these elite soldiers, and by the end of his imprisonment probably all of them.
f. Any one that has studied Paul or knows anything about him knows that each and everyone of those soldiers would have heard a presentation of the gospel.
g. The phrase "everyone here" probably referred to anyone who had dealings with imperial affairs.
h. So Paul wasn't sitting in his house arrest feeling sorry for himself, but rather he was using the time to his advantage and was preaching the gospel to anyone who would listen (Fee, 113-114).
4. Next Paul gives another reason for encouragement when he says, "And because of my imprisonment, most of the believers here have gained confidence and boldly speak God’s message without fear."
a. The second reason that Paul gives to look on the bright side is that his chains have given the other believers in Rome courage and boldness to preach the gospel.
b. Although Paul must have wanted to be free to evangelize himself, he recognizes that God has used his present circumstances to release others for ministry.
c. Furthermore, Paul says that they have been sharing the gospel but also that they have been doing it fearlessly (Fee, 115-116).
d. God can take even a bad situation and make it good. Remember, he both sees all and know all. He knows what is going to happen even before it does, and he has a plan
B. God Has A Plan
1. Illustration: In the opening pages of his autobiography, An American Life, Ronald Reagan writes, I was raised to believe that God had a plan for everyone and that seemingly random twists of fate are all a part of His plan. My mother - a small woman with auburn hair and a sense of optimism that ran as deep as the cosmos - told me that everything in life happened for a purpose. She said all things were part of God’s plan, even the most disheartening setbacks, and in the end, everything worked out for the best. If something went wrong, she said, you didn’t let it get you down: You stepped away from it, stepped over it, and moved on. Later on, she added, something good will happen and you’ll find yourself thinking - "If I hadn’t had that problem back then, then this better thing that did happen wouldn’t have happened to me." After I lost the job at Montgomery Ward, I left home again in search of work. Although I didn’t know it then, I was beginning a journey that would take me a long way from Dixon and fulfill all my dreams and then some. My mother, as usual, was right.
2. In spite of what you might be going through God has a plan.
a. Jeremiah 29:11 (NLT)
For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.
b. When you think that everything is going wrong, God has a plan.
c. When you feel like everyone has abandoned you, God has a plan.
d. When you feel like even God has abandoned you, God has a plan.
e. When you feel like you can't hold on any longer, hold tight because God has a plan.
f. God has a good plan because he is a good God.
g. Don't quit, get up, brush yourself off, and keep moving because God has a plan.
Transition: The next thing we learn from Paul is...
II. Keep Your Eyes On The Priority (15-19).
A. The Message About Christ
1. Not only do bad circumstances work out for our good, but even bad people can work out for our good.
2. Paul illustrates this truth when he says, "It’s true that some are preaching out of jealousy and rivalry. But others preach about Christ with pure motives."
a. Here Paul states that some have been "preaching out of jealousy and rivalry."
b. These words are directed directly at Paul and can be seen in no other way than a personal attack.
c. "Jealousy is the basest of expressions of human fallenness."
d. The word jealousy denotes “ill will” or a “desire to harm others,” especially stemming from “envy” or “jealousy” of others’ good fortune (Liddell-Scott).
e. Out of envy toward Paul and a kind of distorted desire to kick someone while they are down, they now see Paul's imprisonment as "a chance to preach Christ 'correctly.'"
f. On the other hand, Paul says there are other who preach Christ with pure motives.
g. They see this only as an opportunity to preach Christ for Christ's sake and not to feed their own egos.
h. They see that Paul cannot preach publicly so they are stepping up and picking up the slack (Fee, 119-120).
3. Paul contrasts these two types of people. He says, "They preach because they love me, for they know I have been appointed to defend the Good News. 17 Those others do not have pure motives as they preach about Christ. They preach with selfish ambition, not sincerely, intending to make my chains more painful to me."
a. These friends from the Roman house churches see their role as filling the gap - with regard to evangelism - for a wounded fellow soldier, who was divinely appointed by God to defend the gospel at the highest level of government (Fee, 120).
b. Paul then explains the motives of those on the other side of the fence.
c. He says that they are motivated by selfish ambition and are looking for self gain in a personal battle against Paul.
d. These preachers were not so much interested in their message as they were in their reputation.
e. Apparently their doctrine was sound—these were not false teachers—Paul never tolerated any kind of false teaching.
f. The error was in motive, not in content.
g. These self-seeking opportunists hoped that Paul would be angered at the notoriety of new and powerful preachers who took his place while he was in prison.
h. These men did not understand Paul’s sincere love for God and his single-minded focus on spreading the gospel (Barton, Life Application New Testament Commentary, 846).
4. Paul comes to the conclusion, "But that doesn’t matter. Whether their motives are false or genuine, the message about Christ is being preached either way, so I rejoice. And I will continue to rejoice."
a. Paul rejoiced that whether or not their motives were pure . . . the message about Christ was being preached.
b. Some Christians serve for the wrong reasons. Paul wouldn’t condone, nor does
c. God excuse, their motives, but we should be glad if God uses their message, regardless of their motives.
d. Paul had no concern for his own reputation or success; he had dedicated his life to glorifying God.
e. He understood that God was being glorified even as he sat in chains; thus, Paul could rejoice.
f. Paul had been able to rejoice during his two years in prison, could rejoice that good results could come from preachers with bad motives, and would continue to rejoice no matter how long he would remain in prison or how long he would live (Barton 846-847).
g. We stop letting people with bad motives get to us when we start keeping our eyes on what really matters.
B. What’s Really Important
1. Illustration: When you fully comprehend that there is more to life than just here and now, and you realize that life is just preparation for eternity, you will begin to live differently. You will start living in light of eternity, and that will color how you handle every relationship, task, and circumstance. Suddenly many activities, goals, and even problems that seemed so important will appear trivial, petty, and unworthy of your attention. The closer you live to God, the smaller everything else appears. When you live in the light of eternity, your values change. You use your time and money more wisely. You place a higher premium on relationships and character instead of fame or wealth or achievements or even fun. Your priorities are reordered. Keeping up with trends, fashions, and popular values just doesn’t matter as much anymore (Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Life, 37-38).
2. Our priorities fall into place when we keep our eyes on Jesus.
a. Hebrews 12:2 (NLT)
We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.
b. It doesn't matter what other people do when we keep our eyes on Jesus.
c. It doesn't matter what other people say when we keep our eyes on Jesus.
d. It doesn't matter what other people think when we keep our eyes on Jesus.
e. Fixing our eyes on Jesus gives us perspective.
f. Fixing our eyes on Jesus gives us priorities.
g. Fixing our eyes on Jesus gives us focus.
h. In the end the only opinion that matters is Jesus' opinion.
Transition: Have you fixed your eyes on Jesus?
Conclusion
1. Paul tells us...
a. God Can Make Something Good Out Of Something
b. Keep Your Eyes On The Priority
2. O soul, are you weary and troubled?
No light in the darkness you see?
There's light for a look at the Savior,
And life more abundant and free!
Refrain:
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.
