"Facing Difficult Circumstances!"
Captivated by Christ: An expositional sermon series on Paul's Letter to the Church in Philippi (message #6)
Pastor Jerry Ingalls
May 16, 2010
Philippians 1:12-14 (NIV): "Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly."
The Apostle Paul has concluded the introduction of his letter and begins the body of his letter to the Philippians. Paul is giving an accurate account of his situation and what is happening because of His witness for Christ. More so than studying this simply as a historical account, we can learn so much from Paul's words about what faithful discipleship looks like in the face of difficult circumstances.
How do we live as Christ-followers in the face of all that is difficult, painful, and disappointing in our lives?
Open your sermon notes and let's dive into our teaching time, first: TO MOVE FORWARD IN THE FACE OF DIFFICULT CIRCUMSTANCES WE MUST LEAVE THE PATH OF SELF-PITY!
Paul begins in verse 12, "Now I want you to know, brothers [adelphoi = brothers and sisters], that what has happened to me has really served to advance [prokopen] the gospel."
What has happened to Paul that has served to advance the gospel? When Paul wrote this letter he was under house arrest in Rome chained to an elite Roman guard where he awaited trial by Caesar because he could not receive a fair trial in Jerusalem. Paul had been beaten, flogged, shipwrecked, he had gone without food and sleep, abandoned, hunted, plotted against, jailed and persecuted all for defending the Christian faith.
Paul has suffered a great amount for the gospel of Jesus Christ, but he does not allow himself to get stuck in a victim mentality. Rather, Paul emphasizes not his circumstances or his sufferings, but rather all that has happened to him has advanced the gospel. The Greek word that Paul uses in the original language is prokopen and its context of usage is in an army advancing. Specifically, it means to clear away the obstacles that would hinder a military advance.
Paul is saying that his imprisonment and his sufferings for Christ have not hindered the gospel, but they have allowed the gospel to advance forward; to penetrate deeper into enemy territory!
Paul does not boast about his imprisonment, rather Paul is praising God for how God is using the difficult circumstances of his life to do what he could not have done by his own strength or with his own planning!
If we are going to witness the glory of God in our circumstances, then we must let him use the difficult circumstances! The wonderful truth is that we are never alone in our circumstances; God is with us calling us to Him, and in our response to His presence He advances the gospel! Listen for His invitation!
What gets in the way of the gospel advancing in our difficult circumstances? We do! We fall into the rut of self-pity focused upon our circumstances and how they make us feel. Self-pity is a negative spiral that takes our eyes off of our God and takes our eyes off of our witness to God's glory, and we get stuck! We not only get stuck, but the harder we try to get out, the deeper we sink into the muddy rut and in that place of spinning our wheels we lose our focus, our attitude, and our witness!
Paul taught in 2 Corinthians 6:3-5, "We put no stumbling block in anyone's path, so that our ministry will not be discredited. Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger."
The first step to facing difficult circumstances is to remember whose you are in the midst of difficult circumstances: we are children of God and we belong to a God who is bigger than our circumstances! Our witnesses and ministries as Christ-followers are not forged in the days of comfort and ease, but in the days of adversity and pain in the midst of the challenges of everyday life.
So do not let your eyes turn inwards and fall into the path of self-pity. As the Bible declares in Hebrews 12:2, "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."
The truth is that difficult life circumstances are the reality of living in a fallen world; a world that crucified the living God. The question is who are you going to point people to in the face of your difficult circumstances?
That leads us to our second teaching point: TO MOVE FORWARD IN THE FACE OF DIFFICULT CIRCUMSTANCES WE MUST SHARE ABOUT JESUS CHRIST MORE THAN WE TALK ABOUT OUR CIRCUMSTANCES!
In verses 13 and 14, Paul now explains two ways that the gospel has advanced because of his imprisonment. We are going to learn the historical context as well as see how this applies to our lives today.
In verse 13 Paul explains, "As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard [praitorion] and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ."
What is the historical context for Paul's situation?
It is recorded for us in Acts 28:16-31. Let me read to you the beginning and end of this historical account of Paul's imprisonment. "When we got to Rome, Paul was allowed to live by himself, with a soldier to guard him. ...For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. Boldly and without hindrance he preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ" (Acts 28:16, 30-31).
Every day for 2 years a Roman soldier was chained to Paul to guard him. Not just any guard, but one of the 9000 elite soldiers assigned to Caesar in Rome; they were the palace guard known as the Praetorian Guard.
How did Paul spend his time over these 2 years? What did he do with his captured audience?
We get an idea of what Paul did from his prayer request in Ephesians 6:19-20, "Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should."
And that is what Paul did: one guard at a time he shared about Jesus Christ more than he talked about his own circumstances! One visitor at a time he talked about Jesus Christ more than he talked about his own circumstances!
And that made Paul different from every other prisoner that was awaiting trial by Caesar. And these elite guards knew character when they saw it and they told their fellow soldiers and the word got around to the entire palace guard: The Prisoner Paul was in chains for Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the one who did miracles and raised people from the dead, he was crucified and rose from the dead 3 days later. The One these people call kurios (LORD), a title in the Roman Empire reserved only for Caesar. And his followers are willing to die for this Lord and stand strong in their faith and conviction even facing their own death trial!
Paul's witness to Jesus Christ spread throughout the most influential soldiers and statesman of the time; this was the hub of power and prestige in Paul's world! All because God used difficult circumstances to bring Paul to a place of great influence and Paul responded!
Paul had a choice how to respond to his difficult circumstances; we each do! How are you responding?
And that brings us to our third teaching point, TO MOVE FORWARD IN THE FACE OF DIFFICULT CIRCUMSTANCES WE MUST TRUST IN GOD'S PLAN FOR EACH OF OUR CIRCUMSTANCES!
In verse 14, Paul describes the second way that his imprisonment advanced the gospel.
He records, "Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged [pepoithotas] to speak the word of God more [perissoteros] courageously and fearlessly" (Philippians 1:14).
There is one modification to our English translation that I feel compelled to highlight to you from the original language; the clause "in the Lord" should not modify adelphoi [brothers and sisters]. It should modify the Greek word pepoithotas which means to convince or persuade and is used connote confidence.
And a point of interest: the Greek word perissoteros is the adverb form of the verb we learned last week (perriseuo) which we saw its rich usage in verse 9 (your love may overflow with knowledge and insight). The Christ-followers in Rome have been given confidence in the Lord to speak the word (the gospel) with an overflowing courage and fearlessness.
What do we learn from Paul's testimony? Our attitudes and actions are contagious! When we live out our faith in difficult circumstances, whether we realize it or not, we motivate and encourage other people to do the same!
Suffering is not always a consequence of sin or the absence of a good and loving God or the sign of evil's presence. In the reality of difficult situations, God is still in control and we must trust that He is with us.
Don't be so quick to pray difficult circumstances away; they may be just the situation God has brought forth to advance His Kingdom and bring glory to His Name through the way you respond!
This reality is captured ever so clearly in the context of one of the favorite Scriptures to quote. Many quote Jeremiah 29:11, but I want to read it to you in its context. This is God's message through the Prophet Jeremiah to God's chosen people who were currently in exile in Babylonian captivity. A message to the people to make the most of their circumstances, to not listen to false prophets, and to trust God's plan: "This is what the LORD says: 'When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future" (Jeremiah 29:10-11).
Brothers and sisters, we can trust God and yes we can trust Him in the face of difficult circumstances, because we know that He knows! He knows His plan for our lives and those plans are to prosper His people, not to harm us and we live in the reality and fulfillment of God's plans to give us a hope and a future. We are the bride of Christ; the children of God; the sons and daughters of the King!
And we have this promise that allows us to face difficult circumstances with trust. Found in Romans 8:28, "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."
How are you facing the difficult circumstances of your life?
Don't face them alone! I invite you today to ask Jesus Christ into your life. If you do this then I do not guarantee you a life of ease and comfort, but I guarantee that in your difficult circumstances you will never be alone. The God who made you and loves you will be present to you and work for good all that you are going through. If you will trust Him!
Are you willing to put your trust in God today and trust Him in the midst of your difficult circumstances from this day moving forward?
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