Jesus, when he was about to ascend into heaven, to go back to His Heavenly Father, told His disciples, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matt 28: 20, NIV) So having said that he would be with his disciples, he duly left them to be with His Father. Of course, the account in Luke tells us more information. Jesus’ expanded account states, “I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” (Luke 24: 49, NIV) The promise was the Holy Spirit, and they were not to start their evangelising until the Holy Spirit came down on the Day of Pentecost, and they would witness under the power of the Holy Spirit. John goes even further by saying, “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me. And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.” (John 15, 26&27) Notice the words, “you MUST testify”. This is not an optional extra to living a Christian life. Testifying/ witnessing/ evangelising is a core activity of every Christian. This work is not simply left to the likes of Peter or Paul. It's down to everyone. However, we need to take great comfort that we, “...do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.” (Matt 10: 19b & 20, NIV).
I am aware that some will say “How do I evangelise?” Take heart, Christians have a lot to learn from Paul when it comes to spreading the gospel. Paul didn't let his limitations stop him from sharing the good news about Jesus because he knew his circumstances couldn't limit the gospel’s power.
Paul wrote about the advancement of the gospel in Philippians 1. Despite what people expected, his imprisonment gave him new opportunities to share Jesus and to encourage others to do the same. Can you get your head around that? Paul was in prison and he shared the Good News even there. Paul found joy despite his circumstances because:
he knew that God could work despite his limitations
he was single-minded in preaching the gospel
he knew that ‘to live is Christ and to die is gain’
Let’s now look at these three items:
1. God uses our limitations to advance the kingdom
The power of the gospel is far stronger than our limitations and Paul gave us the perfect example in making the most of what we have.
Do you wish you had more people to talk to about Jesus? Perhaps you find yourself wishing your church had more resources. Paul could have complained about the physical chains holding him in prison, but he decided to focus on who he could witness to. The gospel spread despite his bleak situation.
Paul reminds us in 2 Cor 12.9 that God’s power is made perfect in our weakness. When we are at our weakest, when we have limitations that we can’t see past, God is at his most powerful. When we shift our focus to the limitless power of God and his word, rather than to our circumstances, and when we embrace our limitations as an opportunity for God’s power to be displayed, we can be confident that his word will spread. As Paul said, ‘What has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel, not hinder it.’(Phil 1.12, NIV)
We shouldn’t think that every dreadful situation in our life is ordained by God for his glory. However, we can be confident that God can use our limitations to advance his kingdom.
2. Paul was single-minded – what does that mean for us?
Despite his suffering, Paul’s primary aim was that Christ was preached. Paul wanted to be preaching in Rome but he found himself a prisoner. However, because he was single-minded in his mission, he could still witness for Christ. He was able to see his situation as a chance to show Christ to those around him. As a result, the gospel advanced, the prison guards knew of his faith and others gained boldness in speaking about Jesus too.
Perhaps you’re not exactly where you want to be right now. How can you use the situation you find yourself in to show Christ to those around you? In what ways can you act or speak differently so that people see Christ in you?
Despite his imprisonment and there being mixed motives in people’s preaching, Paul rejoices because he knows that the gospel advances. Again, Paul is single-minded about Christ being preached. Although some preach out of selfish ambition, if Christ is being preached, Paul trusts that God is at work in those listening and that the gospel is reaching people’s hearts.
Of course, this isn’t to say that it’s fine to preach Christ just to be in the spotlight, but Paul shifts the focus from the preacher to Jesus. If Jesus is being preached, we can rejoice and trust that ‘he who starts a good work will bring it to completion’ (Phil 1:6, NIV).
What would this single-minded focus on Christ being preached look like for us? One aspect might be our unity as a wider Church body, not stressing the differences between our churches (or within our church) but knowing that the greater goal is the preaching of Christ. No matter where or how the gospel is preached, it can advance and has power beyond our comprehension.
3. Adopting Paul’s mindset: to live is Christ and to die is gain
In the Western world, martyrdom is rare, so how can we read this today? We may not die for Christ, but we can certainly live for him. Paul ‘chose’ to stay alive and to keep witnessing to Christ because of his love for the people of Philippi. He desired that they grow in Christ and that Christ would be glorified through him. When we adopt the mindset of ‘to live is Christ and to die is gain’ we are adopting a selfless mindset where we are either glorifying God or leading others to glorify God. And in this, we too can rejoice with Paul knowing that the gospel advances.
Paul saw his decision as a win-win situation. What an inspirational attitude for us to emulate today!
Paul knew that if he were to keep living, it must be wholeheartedly for Christ and his people and to show Christ to others. He challenges us to do the same.
