This week we are looking at a section of a letter that is
recorded for us in the Bible called the book of Philippians. Yesterday, we
looked on as the Apostle Paul explained to the members of the church at
Philippi that his arrest and imprisonment as a result of proclaiming the claims
of Christ and the message of the gospel had resulted in the advancement of the
gospel. Paul responded to his circumstances by continuing to proclaim the
claims of Christ and the message of the gospel that got him into the
circumstances that he found himself facing in the first place.
And as word of Paul’s courage to continue to proclaim the
message of the gospel in spite of his circumstances spread, other followers of
Jesus gained the courage to proclaim the message of the gospel in whatever
circumstances they found themselves in. These other followers of Jesus gained
the courage to fearlessly proclaim the message of the gospel in the face of
opposition as they saw how God was using Paul to spread the gospel in spite of
his arrest and imprisonment. These early followers of Jesus gained courage to
fearlessly proclaim the gospel as they saw Paul’s joy in the fact that the
message of the gospel and the kingdom mission that he had been given was
advancing in the midst of the difficult circumstances that he was facing.
We
discovered that just as it was
for the Apostle Paul, just as it has been for followers of Jesus throughout
history, our joy is found in the advancement of the gospel and not our
circumstances. The reason why the Apostle Paul could talk about experiencing
joy in the midst of his arrest and imprisonment because the Apostle Paul recognized
that joy was attitude of delight in life that took the long view of God’s
activity in spite of his current circumstances. The reason why the Apostle Paul
could talk about experiencing joy in the midst of his arrest and imprisonment
because the Apostle Paul recognized that joy is a mind-set
that produces a quality of life that recognized the eternal significance and
impact that his circumstances were having when it came to the advancement of
the gospel.
Paul found
an attitude of delight in life because Paul understood that his circumstances
were providing the opportunity for the advancement of the gospel. And in the same way today, we can find joy in
the midst of difficult circumstances when we understand that God often works
through our difficult circumstances in a way that provides us the opportunity
to be the vehicle that He uses to reveal His Son Jesus and His message of
rescue through the message of the gospel to those around us as we go through
those difficult circumstances.
Paul
then explained that there were people
who were driven by a desire to want the position, popularity and prominence
that Paul had while not wanting Paul to have the position, popularity and
prominence that he did have. These were people who were driven by a desire to
engage in rivalry with Paul so that they could have the position, the
popularity, and the prominence that Paul had.
And for those driven by a desire to want the position,
popularity and prominence that Paul had while not wanting Paul to have the
position, popularity and prominence that he did have: for those who were driven
by a desire to engage in rivalry with Paul so that they could have the
position, the popularity, and the prominence that Paul had, they continued to
proclaim the gospel because they wanted to stir up trouble for Paul while he
was in prison. There were people who were proclaiming the gospel out of selfish
ambition and competition hoping that their continued proclamation of the gospel
would result in Paul’s death at the hands of the Roman Empire. They continued
to proclaim the gospel because they believed that after Paul was put to death
by the Roman Empire, they would receive the position, popularity, and
prominence that Paul had.
Now today, I want us to take a minute and imagine being the
Apostle Paul. Imagine being in prison for proclaiming a new message to people;
a new message that provided people the opportunity to experience forgiveness
and the relationship with God that they were created for. Imagine that there
were a group of people who you knew were proclaiming that message because they
believed that by proclaiming that message you would end up being put to death.
Imagine that there were people out of envy and rivalry were proclaiming the
message that you had been proclaiming to a specific group of people hoping that
they would come to the point that they would kill you.
You are the Apostle Paul. Your life hangs in the balance.
What would you be thinking? How would you be feeling? How would you respond? We
see how Paul responded in the second half of Philippians 1:18:
Only that in
every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I
rejoice.
In other words, Paul basically
says “however the message of the gospel is proclaimed, regardless of whether
the motives behind the proclaiming of the gospel are false and faulty or are
upright and true, at the end of the day the gospel is being proclaimed.
Regardless of the motives that drive the gospel being proclaimed, people are
hearing about Jesus. And because people are hearing about Jesus, regardless of
the motives behind them hearing about Jesus, they are still having the
opportunity to come to experience forgiveness and a relationship with Jesus.
And because of that reality, regardless of how their hearing about Jesus
impacts my circumstances, I will rejoice in the reality that more and more
people are hearing about Jesus”.
You see, Paul found and
experienced joy because Paul recognized the reality that joy was not the
product of his circumstances. Instead Paul recognized that joy
is a mind-set, an attitude of delight in life that took the long view and is
not based, limited, or tied to external circumstances, but on people having the
opportunity to experience eternity in the relationship with God that they were
created for as a result of the advancement of the gospel in their lives.
And just as it was for the Apostle Paul, as
followers of Jesus, our joy in the midst of our circumstances provides the
opportunity for the advancement of the gospel. But not only does joy in the
midst of our circumstances provide the opportunity for the advancement of the
gospel. In addition, our joy in the advancement of the gospel impacts our
expectations for what the future holds. We see Paul reveal this reality
beginning in the final part of verse 18:
Yes, and I
will rejoice, for I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through
your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my
earnest expectation and hope, that I will not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness, Christ will
even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.
Here we see Paul explain to the members of the church at
Philippi that the reason why he could have a mind-set
that produced an attitude of delight in life and a quality of life that was not
based, connected, or tied to his circumstances was because he was convinced
that he would be delivered from his circumstances. As Paul heard about the
members of the church at Philippi who were engaging in prayer for Paul; as Paul
reflected on the reality that he had the power of the Holy Spirit dwelling
within him; Paul had become convinced that he would be delivered from his
circumstances.
As a
matter of fact, Paul was so convinced that he would be delivered from his
circumstances that he eagerly anticipated the day of that deliverance. Paul
stated that, “according to my earnest expectation and hope, I will not be put to shame in anything, but that with
all boldness, Christ will even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether
by life or by death.” You see, Paul had a confident
expectation for the future that he would not disgrace Jesus but would instead
make much of Jesus regardless of how his circumstances turned out.
Whether
he ended up being released from his imprisonment, or executed at the end of his
imprisonment, he wanted every moment of every day of his life to make much of
Jesus. Paul was so convinced that he would be delivered from his circumstances
that he confidently looked forward to his deliverance from his circumstances,
regardless of how his circumstances turned out. We see Paul hammer home this
reality in verse 21:
For to me, to live is Christ and to die is
gain. But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and
I do not know which to choose. But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to
depart and be with Christ, for that is
very much better; yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your
sake. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all
for your progress and joy in the faith, so that your proud confidence in me may
abound in Christ Jesus through my coming to you again.
Now when Paul states “to live is Christ and to die is
gain”, this phrase, if communicated in the language that we use in our culture
today, would have sounded something like this: I can confidently look forward
to being delivered from these circumstances in the future, because either way I
win. I win if I am delivered from my circumstances by being released from
imprisonment because I will be able to continue to make much of Jesus in the
kingdom mission I have been given for Jesus. And I win if I am delivered from
my circumstances by being executed because I will gain the ability to be with
Jesus.”
Paul then explained that if he was released from his imprisonment,
he would have the continued opportunity to be used by Jesus to produce results
for Jesus. And because of that reality,
in verses 23-24, Paul gives the members of the church at Philippi a glimpse
into the internal struggle that he was experiencing when it came to how he
desired to be released from his circumstances. Paul was hard-pressed. In other
words Paul was distressed by the choice of options that lay before him when it
came to his circumstances.
On the one hand, Paul deeply desired to depart from the
earth so that he could be in the presence of Jesus, free from the pressures and
circumstances that he was facing while on earth as he engaged in the kingdom
mission that he had been given by Jesus. On the other hand, Paul recognized
that to be released from his imprisonment so that he could remain engaged in
the kingdom mission that he had been given by Jesus would be far more
beneficial for the members of the church at Philippi.
And because of that reality, in verse 25, Paul let the
members of the church at Philippi know that he was confidently convinced that
he would be released from prison so that he could continue to engage in the
kingdom mission that he had been given by Jesus. Paul was confidently convinced
that his continued engagement in the kingdom mission that he had been given by
Jesus would result in the spiritual good and growth of the members of the
church.
Paul was confidently convinced that his continued
engagement in the kingdom mission that he had been given by Jesus would result
in the members of the church gaining a mind-set, an
attitude of delight in life that took the long view and is not based, limited,
or tied to external circumstances, but that was tied to their confident trust
in the message of the gospel. And Paul was
confidently convinced that his continued engagement in the kingdom mission that
he had been given by Jesus would result in the members of the church boasting
about all that Jesus had done in and through Paul so as to bring Paul to the place
where he was released from his imprisonment and in their presence in Philippi.
Friday, we will see Paul conclude this section of this
letter with a timeless command when it comes to joy and the advancement of the
gospel...
No comments:
Post a Comment