Our Joy is found in the advancement of the gospel and not our circumstances...

At the church where I serve, we are spending our time in a sermon series entitled finding joy. During this series, we are looking at a letter that was written by the Apostle Paul and that is recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible called the book of Philippians. And as we go through this series, our hope and our prayer is to be able to answer the question "What is joy?" along with sharing the several timeless truths that the Apostle Paul found as he lived a life that was marked by joy.

This week, I would like for us to pick up where we left off last week. And as we jump into the next section of this letter that the Apostle Paul wrote to early followers of Jesus while in prison facing the possibility of death that we will discover another timeless truth when it comes to finding joy. So let’s discover that timeless truth together, beginning in Philippians 1:12:

Now I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel, so that my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the whole praetorian guard and to everyone else, and that most of the brethren, trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment, have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear.

The Apostle Paul begins this section of his letter by explaining to the members of the church at Philippi that his circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel. You see, Paul wanted these early followers of Jesus to know and understand 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’s circumstances, which took place in an attempt to hinder the advancement of the kingdom mission that he had been given, actually were advancing the kingdom mission that he had been given.

Paul then provides the reason why the circumstances of his arrest and imprisonment were actually advancing the gospel in verse 13. You see, word of Paul’s arrest and imprisonment had spread throughout the known world. Paul’s arrest positioned Paul in Rome, which was the capital city of the most dominant military and political power on the planet at this time in history. And as Paul found himself chained to the Roman Praetorian Guard, who were the group of soldiers that guarded Roman prisoners in Rome, he would end up engaging in conversations with the members of the Praetorian Guard. You know the type of conversations that often occur between prisoners and between prisoners and their guards. “So what are you locked up for? Oh me, I was arrested for telling people about Jesus? You were arrested for telling people about who? Who is Jesus? Well, let me tell you about Jesus.”

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. Paul’s circumstances of being locked up in Rome resulted in the gospel being preached throughout Rome, as the members of the Praetorian Guard, after hearing Paul proclaim the message of the gospel, began telling their friends and family about the guy that they were guarding who was arrested and imprisoned for talking about Jesus. 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.

And it is here that we see that Apostle Paul reveal for us a timeless truth when it comes to finding joy. And that timeless truth is this: Our Joy is found in the advancement of the gospel and not our circumstances. 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. We see Paul unpack this reality for us in verse 15:

 Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ even from envy and strife, but some also from good will; the latter do it out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel; the former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition rather than from pure motives, thinking to cause me distress in my imprisonment. What then?

Now to fully understand what the Apostle Paul is communicating here, we first need to understand how people in the first century were responding to Paul’s arrest and imprisonment. You see, some people responded to Paul’ arrest and imprisonment by continuing to proclaim the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel out of what Paul refers to as envy and strife. These 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.

Other people responded to Paul’ arrest and imprisonment by continuing to proclaim the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel out of what Paul refers to as from good will. These were people who were driven by a desire to want the best for Paul. Paul explained that those who were driven by a desire to want the best for Paul continued to proclaim the gospel out of a love for Paul, recognizing that Paul had been given the kingdom mission to defend and proclaim the gospel by God. And as a result of their love for Paul and their desire for Paul to succeed in the kingdom mission that he had been given by God, they continued to proclaim the gospel in Paul’s place.

However, 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. Paul understood that 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 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? Tomorrow, we will see how Paul responded…