Title: “Getting Good out of Bad Circumstances” Scripture: Phil. 1:12-21
Type: Expository Series Where: GNBC 5-21-23
Intro: One historian has commented before that “The British have a knack for losing battles yet winning wars.” That’s an interesting take on history. In our culture we have a phrase something very akin to this: “If you say that someone has lost the battle, but won the war, you mean that although they have been defeated in a small conflict they have won a larger, more important one of which it was a part. If you say that someone has won the battle but lost the war, you mean that they have won the small conflict but lost the larger one.” Life is full of conflict, setbacks, and losses. However, God is in the business of making good out of bad circumstances and events in our lives. Romans 8:28 clearly teaches this principle: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who[a] have been called according to his purpose.” (NIV) The apostle Paul certain saw this in his own life. He experienced it. He lived it, and he wrote to others about it as well, just as he did here in Phil. 1:12-21.
Prop: Exam. Phil. 1:12-21 we’ll realize 3 Good results Paul saw take place because of his bad circumstances.
Prop: 1. Paul writes to Philippians out of deep concern. The last 3 yrs. had been very trying for the apostle. Church at Philippi was very concerned for their beloved founder and apostle. 2. . In 42 BCE Mark Antony and Octavian defeated Brutus and Cassius, the assassins of Julius Caesar, in a battle at Philippi. Philippi experienced the highest privilege of a Roman municipality.
3.
Prop: Let’s look at Phil. 1:12-21 so as to realize 3 Good Results Paul saw take place as a result of his bad circumstances.
I. 1st Result: The Gospel Advanced in Spite of His Imprisonment. Vv. 12-13
A. Paul Weighed His Personal Suffering in the Balance of the Gospel’s Progress.
1. As
a. It appears as though the Philippian Christians believed a lie that we often believe still today. Their thinking went along this line: “Someone as faithful in ministry to God as Paul was should be exempt from all personal suffering.” (Pentecost p. 29). Yet this certainly is not the case then or today.
b. V.12 – (Read). Essentially, Paul is now looking back over the past 3+ yrs. of his life and he is summarizing them for the benefit of the Philippians. The Gospel had actually gone forth BECAUSE of his imprisonment! You cannot stop the Gospel! You cannot stop the Kingdom of God! The Kingdom of God does and will continue to advance! It is God’s Kingdom, and whatever situation we find ourselves in, we find that the Gospel can make a difference.
2. Paul’s “end goal” was to see the Gospel gain momentum wherever he went and with whatever he did.
a. “that my circumstances have turned out” – Six little words in English that covered a multitude of delay, defeats, and yes, detentions. But notice, he shrugs these off as of little or no importance in comparison of the “end goal” – The advance of the Gospel. Illust – Read in Acts 21 – Jews in Asia rise up against Paul and have him arrested. Acts 23 after being in prison he is about to be brought to trial and Paul’s nephew uncovers an assassination plot against the Apostle again by the Jews. However, a concerned centurion fulfills his duty to protect the Roman citizen, and nearly 500 soldiers, horsemen, and spearman whisk him away to safety. When Paul is imprisoned at Caesarea, Felix is looing for a bribe to release the apostle. Doesn’t. Stays in jail another 2 yrs. until Festus comes along. Finally, after languishing in prison finally sent off to Rome for trial!
b. Illust: Wow! That’s a lot of “circumstances”!!! Yet Paul is dismissive of the offense and affront to his person, pleasure, or personal prosperity. That is of little concern to him as long as the Gospel was going forth. (Friend are you and I more concerned about offenses and affronts to our pride, pleasure, or prosperity than we are to the progress of the Gospel?)
B. Because of Paul’s Imprisonment, Elite Individuals Had Heard the Gospel.
1. Paul outlines the extent of the individuals who had been positively influenced by his imprisonment.
a. V.13 – “throughout the whole praetorian guard”. – these were the elite palace guard of Roman soldiers who were directly responsible to the emperor. (Richards Bible Dictionary. p. 809). Could also refer to the civil servants who helped administer the empire. The “everyone else”, could obviously include their support staff. Regardless, some VERY important individuals were being influenced for the Gospel’s sake. Illust – Can you imagine if had the opportunity to talk to the entire Secret Service detail to the President? What, if you had the ear of The Joint Chiefs of the Armed Services? What if you had something “bad” happen that opened the door of access to share the Gospel with all those types of individuals?
b. Illust – Frugality and humility were key values in the home of Morrow Coffey and Billy Frank, NC dairy farmers at the turn of the last century. One of their 4 children would grow up to be world renowned evangelist, Billy Graham. Graham would visit and pray with every US President from Truman to Obama. He became close, intimate friends with many of these, including Johnson, Nixon, Reagan, and the Bushes. He counseled with Clinton and Hillary after the President’s sordid affair. Because of these friendships Graham met dozens of world leaders, developing special relationships with Queen Elizabeth, Boris Yeltsin and others. When he preached in Durban, SA, in 1973, was 1st mixed racial audience of a large group (100k people!) in history nation. When preached in Moscow in 1992, 1/4th of all the 155,000 member audience went forward to receive Christ! The world will never know the effect this one simple Southern man had in influencing the elites of the world and the policies they formulated for the sake of the Gospel.
2. In Doing So, Paul Was Fulfilling His Calling and Purpose in Life. Illust – Remember back in Acts 9:25? Ananias is being sent to get Saul of Taurus. Saul was going about arresting church leaders and throwing them in jail. Then God met and changed Saul’s life on the Damascus Road. Ananias was told by God the Lord’s purpose for Paul: “But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel.” Paul was fulfilling his life’s calling and message. The suffering it took to get there was insignificant in comparison to knowing he was and had done what was supposed to do.
C. Applic: Christian, we are to make sure that regardless our circumstances, or sometimes as a direct result of our circumstances, we do everything in our power to work to fulfill God’s plan for our lives and see that the Gospel goes forward.
II. 2nd Result: Timid Brethren Had Been Emboldened. Vv. 14-18
A. Paul Rejoices in the Fact that His Personal Sufferings and Setbacks Emboldened Others to Preach the Gospel.
1. The 2nd Positive Result of Some of Paul’s “Setbacks” was timid Christians were emboldened.
a. Illust- Once Phil Olson gave me quite a compliment about my preaching that I have never forgotten. Phil said to me: “Chris, your preaching is kind of like a cheer leader at a sporting event.” “You are trying to encourage us to go out and win.” I really appreciated his insight. Don’t any of you go and buy me a set of pom poms now! And I am certainly not going to say: “2bits, 4 bits 6 bits a dollar, all for Jesus, stand up and holler!” (However, the thought has entered my mind!). But yes, that’s exactly what I want to do in every single one of my messages is encourage Christians while pointing non-Christians to the Savior!
b. V.14 – “most of the brethren, trusting in the Lord (because of my imprisonment) have far more courage to speak the word of God, without fear.” Wow, wouldn’t it stand to reason that the exact opposite would have taken place? Wouldn’t you expect that if the Roman government made an example out of Paul, all the other Christians would run and hide? Yet that’s not the case and rarely ever has been the case in the history of the Church.
2. Positive and Bold Individuals Embolden Others.
a. Courage – Paul puts his finger on the real issue of why Christians do or do not share their faith. Two real reasons… No zeal to do so. No courage to do so. Rebecca Manley Pipper once said in a book on personal evangelism: “Christians and non-Christian alike have this both in common, we don’t like personal evangelism.” Part of the reason is we can be cowards. Need to be emboldened. Need to be encouraged.
b. Illust: Years ago when REW and I were coaching Little League, we had a special little boy on a team, “Joshua”. Parents were Chinese immigrants. Joshua’s parents came to every game. Joshua was at every practice. But in the game Joshua literally froze up. Now he may have been playing the game in his mind, but not in his body. When came up to bat would NEVER swing! NEVER! Not sure if afraid of striking out. Late in the season, important game. Team was down by a run or two with 2 outs and 2 on base. Joshua about to go to the plate. REW took him aside. “Joshua, I don’t care if you strike out, just strike out swinging. I believe in you, now go out and swing.” Literally, with eyes closed he did! And hit the ball! Overthrow at first. Base coach screaming. Went to second. Overthrow at 2nd! (3rd base coach screaming) Joshua striding purposefully to third. Yes, you guessed it! Overthrow at third. In one of the most glorious moments in baseball history Joshua scored the winning run! Father shouting in the stands: “That’s my son!” Joshua wouldn’t have ever hit that ball had REW not believed he could.
B. Paul’s Response to His Setbacks
1. It was not Paul’s Imprisonment that made the believers bold to preach the Gospel, rather, it was Paul’s Response to his Imprisonment.
a. Strangely, in fact, supernaturally, Paul had joy and contentment in his imprisonment. Paul was not sitting in his cell discouraged, defeated, and despairing! Had he, then all the believers would have been ready to throw in the towel and give up!
b. Instead of being defeated, Paul was manifesting victory over his circumstances because of his attitude and trust in Christ. His joy and confidence and hope were infectious to the church. Paul exuded the understanding that God was sovereign over all of life in both good times and trials. He could be trusted.
2. Every Believer Has the Responsibility to Recognize his Duty as an Ambassador for Christ.
a. In II Cor. 5:20, we are told that as a blood bought believers in Jesus Christ we are now Ambassadors for Christ! You have a responsibility and an obligation to spread the Good News that Jesus died for sinners! Illust – I recently saw a professing Christian put up a meme about their faith. In that the meme stated all sorts of positive and affirming things that they would do for the non-Christian, and then states: “And I won’t tell non-Christians that they will go to hell.” Interesting. Let’s go back to the fact that you are an ambassador for Jesus Christ. If you were an ambassador for a King or President, and that ruler gave you a message to share as a part of the sphere of your ambassadorship, and you decided to only share half of that message, how long do you think you would remain in his/her employ? Christian, you don’t get to choose which parts of the Gospel we get to include or leave out.
b. V.15 – Paul recognized that not everyone was preaching the Gospel out of pure motives and that in fact, some were preaching out of really poor motives: “envy and strife”. These he says were “selfish” individuals, who, now that Paul was in prison wanted to flaunt their authority in the face of the apostle’s perceived weakness. Yet Paul is not angered by this because he realizes the Gospel was preached and people were getting saved regardless the motives. (Illust Harold Camping/Ed Germann’s salvation.)
C. Applic: Let’s vow to use our setbacks and sufferings as an opportunity to encourage others to follow more closely after Christ. All around us are people struggling. Need encouragement. When we do, the Gospel will begin to flood our community.
III. 3rd Result: Suffering Led Paul to Evaluate His Life. Vv. 19-21
A. Paul Confidently Asserts His Trust in Christ in the Face of Suffering.
1. As
a. V.19 – Read – Paul declares that he knows what he is going thru will work out for his benefit. Now, I do not believe Paul is talking here about salvation. That has been his experience for decades. Rather, I think the apostle is talking about something else here that we all need to come to terms with as a believer. His prison experience has actually delivered him from something. This suffering has stripped him of the importance of lesser things in his life. His sufferings have proven to him what is preeminent in his life! His faith and trust in Christ. Everything else has been taken away. Possessions, power, pride??? All shattered on the anvil of Christ’s sufferings. Brokenness affords the opportunity to evaluate one’s life.
b. Let me ask you, Christian…What are you finding your identity in? What really has preeminent position in your life? Is God using the sufferings you are going thru right now to refine you? Are you responding to those efforts by further relying on His grace or not? When God brings financial reversals to a person and wealth or good disappear, that person must face the issue of whether Christ or possessions are preeminent. When God touches our bodies and limits our health we come face to face to with question as to whether health or Christ is preeminent.
2. Paul clearly states where he finds his comfort and strength in this vulnerable position.
a. V. 19 – Through “your prayers” and the “Spirit of Jesus Christ”. Intercessory prayer of and by the Saints is of inestimable value. The inner ministry of the Holy Spirit is invaluable in victory over defeat and discouragement. God wants us to live life to the fullest, to serve Him joyfully as long as we have life. Paul was not suicidal or morbid. But he was expendable. He is saying here, that if God were to call him to heaven, that suited him just fine, because he knew he would be with the Lord.
b. For effectual intercessory prayer, we must go beyond ourselves, our needs and problems, and be in a place and position spiritually to enter into this blessed ministry with Jesus Christ, taking upon us the burden for others in a real soul-travail, and allowing the Holy Spirit to pray through us in the will of God. That means that we put ourselves alongside of the Lord Jesus Christ, seek to know the burden of His heart, find out the plan, the program that He wants carried out, and then pray with that in mind. Often we do not think of this. The whole burden of our prayer is centered upon ourselves. It is our needs, our desires, that are uppermost in our prayers. We must pray until we have dealt with everything that concerns ourselves and then launch out in intercession on behalf of others. What does God want done? What is His plan for this work or that? How best can we serve the interests of the Lord Jesus Christ and glorify Him? These are the questions that must be asked.
B. Paul Rejoiced in His Liberty Although Imprisoned.
1. Even Though Paul was in Prison He realized that Christ Had Preeminence over His Liberty.
a. Paul was more free, knowing and loving Christ as a prisoner of Rome than the very Emperor who ruled the Empire. Paul was living for Christ. The emperor for self.
b. Paul is saying that as the Philippians prayed for him and as God’s Spirit enabled him, he would be delivered from denying Christ and disgracing the gospel at his trial before Caesar. Thus he would be vindicated in the ultimate court, before God, by exalting Christ, even through martyrdom if need be. The only cause for shame to Paul would be not to hear “well done” from Christ when he stood before Him.
2. Paul’s Desire was to Glorify Christ in his life or if it came to it, his death.
a. Paul longed to live for the Lord but was equally prepared to die for the Lord.
b. Illust: George Atley was killed while serving with the Central African Mission. There were no witnesses, but the evidence indicates that Atley was confronted by a band of hostile tribesmen. He was carrying a fully loaded, 10 round Winchester rifle and had to choose either to shoot his attackers and run the risk of negating the work of the mission in that area, or not to defend himself and be killed. When his body was later found in a stream, it was evident that he had chosen the latter. Nearby lay his rifle—all 10 rounds still unfired. He had made the supreme sacrifice, motivated by his burden for lost souls and his unswerving devotion to his Savior. With the apostle Paul, he wanted Christ to be magnified in his body, “whether by life or by death.” Writing on Philippians 1:20 in The Bible Knowledge Commentary, Robert P. Lightner said, “Paul’s concern was not what would happen to him but what testimony would be left for his Lord. Release would allow him to continue preaching Christ. But martyrdom would also advance the cause of Christ.”
c. C. Applic: Is that your and my attitude today?
