Reasons for Rejoicing

Philippians 1:12-26

12 I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, 13 so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. 14 And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

15 Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. 16 The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 17 The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. 18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.

Yes, and I will rejoice, 19 for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, 20 as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. 23 I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. 24 But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. 25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, 26 so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.

  1. God is Advancing His Kingdom

 

  1. How should we interpret what we see?

                Paul is in prison. It doesn’t make sense that God would                        work this way.

 

God did miracles demonstrating that He was at work. And                    yet there is all this other stuff.

Acts 16: a specific calling to Phillipi

6 And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in         Asia. 7 And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to    go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. 8 So,       passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas. 9 And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing    there, urging him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help         us.” 10 And when Paul[c] had seen the vision, immediately we        sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

Lydia is converted

Pauls casts a demon of divination out of a slave girl.                   And is persecuted for his good work.

Paul’s reward?

19 But when her owners saw that their hope of gain was gone,      they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers. 20 And when they had brought them to the magistrates, they said, “These men are Jews, and they are disturbing our city. 21 They advocate customs that are       not lawful for us as Romans to accept or practice.” 22 The crowd       joined in attacking them, and the magistrates tore the garments off them and gave orders to beat them with rods. 23 And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into     prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely. 24 Having received this order, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their   feet in the stocks.

 

And then…

25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, 26 and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bonds were unfastened. 27 When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul cried with a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.” 29 And the jailer[e] called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas. 30 Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 31 And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” 32 And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. 33 And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family. 34 Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them. And he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God.

 

  1. How did God work in Jesus’ life?

        He did miracles. He made disciples. He suffered persecution. His life bore fruit for the Kingdom of God. Not everything that looks        like defeat is defeat. Is God ever defeated?

 

  1. What does Paul see here?

        12 I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, 13 so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. 14 And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

Now, what does Paul not see? What is God doing through Paul’s imprisonment that is totally defeating Satan’s efforts to frustrate Paul and the Kingdom of God? What is Paul doing that has the greatest lasting impact on the Kingdom of God? He is writing the NT! And he does not see it. Will God do this in your life? He will if you are investing in the Kingdom of God!

        Harsh and terrible circumstances to do not frustrate God!

  1. Even in Sinful Circumstances God is at Work

 

15 Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. 16 The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 17 The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. 18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.

  1. Some preach the gospel out of envy and rivalry

        “We’ve got the Spirit, Yes we do!”

        Men seek to afflict Paul while he is in prison!

Paul is not gonna make it about himself!!

What is Paul choosing to look at? Think about our own culture. Is         God at work? Unleash the power of the gospel!

  1. Gospel truth carries its own power

Romans 1:16-17

16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”

The goal is not faith, but faith in Christ. And it’s not just faith in Christ for our justification, but faith for our daily lives as well. Give us this day our daily bread!

 

  1. Notice how much softer Paul is here

        Compared to Galatians. You see how important expressing the gospel as trusting in Christ is. And you see how important it is that we leave room for people to grow into the likeness of Christ.

Finally we see Paul move on to the big picture of what his life is all about.

III. Get the Big Picture

       

  1. To live is Christ

        Christ will be honored in my body. I live to honor Jesus. This is the big picture. When you are struggling with circumstances, ask yourself how Jesus is being honored in you in the moment. You may find that you are acting out of pride, fear, selfishness etc.

Having trouble loving your spouse, kids, co-workers, boss etc? What would Christ do through you! And expect for this to be an area of growth, not instant maturity!

 

  1. We are impacting the lives of others

Paul is impacting their lives. They are impacting Paul’s life. This is where we are meant to be.

In the flesh we have fruitful labor. You have to find this. It is all around you if you will surrender to the Holy Spirit and pursue it.

25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith,

 

  1. Death is Not Loss

21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. 23 I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.

 

The date of Paul’s death is believed to have occurred after the Great Fire of Rome in July 64, but before the last year of Nero’s reign, in 68

 

Nero was the emperor when Paul wrote these words:
Romans 13: Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, 4 for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. 7 Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.