The Gospel on the Move -- 10/18/09

Sunday, October 18, 2009

THE GOSPEL ON THE MOVE
Phil. 1:12-13

We have finished with what we might call Paul’s introduction to his letter. Two weeks ago we looked specifically at his prayer for the Philippian believers in verses 9-11. As we come to verse 12, we see that he jumps right into his subject matter. This morning we are going to read verses 12-21, but we are going to spend our time lingering over verses 12 and 13. I believe it will be time well spent.

Before we read our text for this morning, I have to ask you a question. If you were in jail, what would you write to your family and friends? No doubt, they would be interested in how you were doing? Is it warm in the prison? Do you have enough to eat? Are the guards cruel to you? Would you write about these things? Would you tell them about your daily routine? With those questions in mind, let’s read Phil. 1:12-21…
But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel; 13. So that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and in all other places; 14. And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. 15. Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some also of good will: 16. The one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds: 17. But the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defence of the gospel. 18. What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice. 19. For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, 20. According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death. 21. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

I. Things Happen

Before I say anything else, I must share with you a startling revelation which we find in verse 12. This is going to shock some of you, but I must say it. THINGS HAPPEN. Did you know that? Like it or not, things happen. Paul talks about that very truth in verse 12. “Brothers and sisters, I want you to know that the things which happened unto me…” Some things happened to the apostle Paul. Literally, the text reads, “I want you to know that the things according to me…” Things not only happen, but they happen to you and to me. Yes, some things happened to Paul.

Now let’s pause right there. What things have happened to you? You could share a lifetime of experiences on that subject. Regardless of who you are, what your background is, how old you are, things have happened to you. Surely no one here would say, “Nothing has ever happened to me.” Nothing is more certain than the fact that things happen, and that things happen to every individual. Paul was no exception, and neither are you.

Regardless of what translation you read, you will find that these are the things that happened to Paul, rather than things Paul made to happen. The NASV renders it “my circumstances,” but circumstances speaks of things that happen to us. This is the question I’m leading up to: “Who controls these happenings?” Was Paul in control of what happened to him? Are you in control of what happens to you? Do you know what will happen to you tomorrow? Did you know all the things that were going to happen to you this past month? James scolded his readers for boasting that they would do so and so in the future. He then makes this strong statement: “You don’t know what shall be on the morrow” (James 4:14).

But that only talks about knowledge. You don’t know what is going to happen to you. Beyond knowing, did you make everything happen in your life? Some one may argue: “Things happen to me because I make them happen. I don’t stand around and wait for things to happen; I make them happen.” What do you think of that attitude? Tell it to Job. He was a man of wealth and power. And he was a man who feared God. But guess what – some things happened to Job. In very short order, he lost all his possessions, all his children, and his health, and there wasn’t a thing he could do about it. Yes, things happened to Job.

So who controls these happenings? Prov. 16:9, "A man's heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps." Jer. 10:23, "O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps." Or let me answer that question with an illustration. Suppose we were to experience a great drought, absolutely no trace of rain for two years. What will people do? I’m not talking just about us, but people in general. I can just see it now – people signing a petition, asking Congress to make it rain. Why not? Because even the atheist knows that neither Congress nor any other human institution has power over the weather. Let things get serious enough, and we might be surprised who would come to a prayer meeting to ask God for rain. The God who created the heavens and the earth is the God who makes things happen.

If you want to know what God says about Himself and His power to make things happen, just go and read chapters 40-46 of Isaiah. In chapter 45 alone, five times He makes this basic statement: “I am the Lord and there is none else; there is no God beside me.” Listen to Is. 46:8-10…
Remember this, and show yourselves men: bring it again to mind, O ye transgressors. 9. Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, 10. Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:

Or come and read Ps. 135:1-8…
Praise ye the LORD. Praise ye the name of the LORD; praise him, O ye servants of the LORD. 2. Ye that stand in the house of the LORD, in the courts of the house of our God, 3. Praise the LORD; for the LORD is good: sing praises unto his name; for it is pleasant. 4. For the LORD hath chosen Jacob unto himself, and Israel for his peculiar treasure. 5. For I know that the LORD is great, and that our Lord is above all gods. 6. Whatsoever the LORD pleased, that did he in heaven, and in earth, in the seas, and all deep places. 7. He causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings for the rain; he bringeth the wind out of his treasuries. 8. Who smote the firstborn of Egypt, both of man and beast.

God does whatever He chooses to do. He not only does so in the physical world around us, but in verse 8 we see that He intervenes in human history and does what He pleases there as well. Yes, it is the Lord God who makes things happen.

Now Paul speaks of the things which happened to him. What is he talking about? He is speaking primarily of his arrest and imprisonment. The Philippian Christians were aware that Paul was in prison, and Paul knew they were aware of it. No doubt, he was concerned about them. Later, in chapter 2, we read about Epaphroditus, who had brought Paul an offering from the Philippians. Let’s just read it in Phil. 2:25-26, "Yet I supposed it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, and companion in labour, and fellowsoldier, but your messenger, and he that ministered to my wants. 26. For he longed after you all, and was full of heaviness, because that ye had heard that he had been sick." That must have been the attitude of Paul toward the Philippians. He knew it would trouble them to know that he was in prison. One of the reasons he wrote was to console his brothers and sisters in Philippi, as we shall see.

And where was Paul in prison? I have to tell you that Bible students differ on that question. Some say he was imprisoned in Ephesus when he wrote this letter, and some believe he was in Caesarea, but the view long held is that Paul was in Rome. Ultimately, it doesn’t make a lot of difference. I believe he was in Rome, and what I say will reflect that. If he was in Rome, that means that he had been imprisoned for a few years. We know from the record in Acts that after Paul was arrested in Jerusalem, he was then kept in Caesarea under governor Felix for two years, before Festus took the place of Felix. We aren’t sure how long he remained in Caesarea after that, before he was transported to Rome. And the trip to Rome took some time as well. We know from the last chapter of Acts that Paul was imprisoned in Rome for at least two years. So it is likely that when Paul wrote this letter, he had been in prison for three years or more.

II. For a Purpose

Now let’s move on. Things happen, but that isn’t the end of the story. Things happen for a purpose. The God who causes things to happen does not just do things arbitrarily. To the unbeliever, it seems that things just happen, but to the one who trusts God, all happenings are directed by the purposes of God. As one author puts it, “God’s choices flow from who He is” (Paul Washer, The One True God, p. 25). In other words, what God does is determined by who God is. God makes things happen, and He does so for a purpose.

Many of you know that the Bible states this truth very explicitly in Rom. 8:28-29, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son…” This promise, of course, is restricted to those who love God and are the called according to His purpose. For us, we know that God is working all things together for good. Why? So that He might conform us to the image of His Son, so that He might make us like Jesus.

So it is with Paul’s arrest and imprisonment. “Brothers, I want you to know that the things which happened to me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel.” On the surface, what happened to Paul looked bad. What could be good about the apostle Paul sitting in a Roman prison? Here was the man who had done more to further the gospel than any other human being, and now he is detained by a Roman system that cared nothing for the true God. What’s good about that? Furthermore, there was a good chance that Paul would be condemned and executed by the Romans.

Now before we go any further, let me remind you of the life of Joseph. We looked at his life in some detail just recently. What could be good about a 17-old-boy being sold into slavery by his own brothers? What could be good about a selfish woman viciously lying about that young man and having him thrown into prison? What was good about Joesph rotting in that prison, even while the man he befriended and helped forgot all about him? How could any good come out of Joseph being separated from the father who loved him dearly? Joseph himself gives the answer, when almost 40 years after they sold him, he spoke these words to his brothers: "But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive" (Gen. 50:20).

We read these words in II Cor. 5:7, “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” When things happen to us, we are not always able to immediately figure out the purpose of God. Joseph didn’t know how God was going to use what happened to him for His own glory and Joseph’s good. When I was 11 years old and my parents suddenly told me we were moving from Texas to Alaska, I couldn’t see any good in that. What good could there possibly be in moving a promising baseball player to the land of the frozen north? I couldn’t see any good in it at the time, but praise God that His hand was in it and He used it in a mighty way in me and my whole family. When we walk by faith, we trust God. We can’t see the end, but God can. So we trust Him, even when we don’t understand. He didn’t make a mistake with Joseph; He didn’t make a mistake with Paul; He didn’t make a mistake with me; and He has never made a mistake with you.

Can you trust God with all the happenings of life? Can you believe that all things happen for a purpose, because they are directed by a perfect, holy, and loving God? If you have trouble with that, you need to check out God’s track record? The Bible gives us undeniable evidence that nothing has ever happened without His say so and that all those happenings were good for those who trusted Him.

III. The Progress of the Gospel

That brings us to the obvious question: What was the good in the things that happened to Paul? What was the purpose behind his arrest and imprisonment? Literally, “The things according to me have come about rather for the progress of the gospel.” Now in this case, Paul had plenty of time to think and pray, and the purpose behind these events had become clear to him. Things happened for the progress of the gospel.

That word translated “furtherance” or “progress” is very interesting. The basic root word means “to cut.” The little preposition before it gives it the literal meaning “to cut before.” I picture a dense forest. We need to get through that forest to the other side. Someone has to go in there and cut a trail before us so that all may pass through the forest. Paul uses this picture to speak of the advance of the gospel. Sometimes we talk about being on the “cutting edge” of things. Well, Paul was definitely on the cutting edge of the gospel. Paul could see how his imprisonment was cutting a new path for the advance of the gospel. We will be looking at the specifics of that advance. For now, picture the army of Jesus Christ going forward. At the front of the column is a man in a jail cell! One author put it like this: “The gospel is on the march in hearts and hands and on the lips of believers, and the gates of hell shall not be able to stand against it” (Howard Vos, A Study Guide to Philippians, p. 34).

Go back for a moment to that time when Paul was confronted by a hostile Jewish crowd at the temple in Jerusalem. Had it not been for the Roman soldiers rescuing him, surely they would have killed Paul. The chief captain of the Romans arranged for Paul’s accusers to bring their case before him, but it ended in a squabble between the Pharisees and Saducees. It was at this point that we read, “And the night following the Lord stood by him, and said, Be of good cheer, Paul; for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so much thou bear witness also at Rome” (Acts 23:11). Paul knew he would testify in Rome, but at that point he didn’t know he would be going as a prisoner. Nevertheless, it didn’t matter to Paul, as long as the gospel was advanced.

Before we go any further, let’s just think about that concept. Again, Paul must have been very concerned about the Philippians. He didn’t want them to worry about what him. Humanly speaking, they had plenty of reason to worry about their precious brother Paul. Notice what Paul didn’t tell them. He didn’t say, “Oh, it’s all right. Everything will turn out all right.” Nor did he say, “You don’t worry about me. I can take care of myself.” In order to comfort their minds and hearts, he told them that the things which had happened to him were being used to cut a new path for the gospel. He trusted that the knowledge of the advance of the gospel would bring comfort to their hearts and minds, as it had done for him.

Christian, let me ask you a question: When you know that the gospel is advancing, does that bring comfort to you in midst of all adversity? That may be difficult to answer, if we rarely have any adversity. Then we have to ask questions like this: If your son or daughter were to tell you, “Mom and Dad, I believe the Lord wants me to move to Peru to share the love of Christ there,” how would you respond? Your heart would be torn by the words “move to Peru.” But would your heart be comforted, when you heard “to share the love of Christ there”?

Here is the real question: Do you value the progress of the gospel that much? What about your pocketbook? Do you value the advance of the gospel enough to do without in order that others may hear the good news about Jesus Christ? Do you value the progress of the gospel enough to alter your lifestyle, to cut out some things that demand your time and energy so that you can pray and blaze a new trail for the gospel of Christ?

Isn’t it amazing that Paul had such confidence in the Philippian church? He understood that when they heard the gospel was being advanced by his imprisonment, everything would be okay. While they loved Paul dearly and were very attached to him, their love for Paul was in the context of a much greater love and greater goal. Both they and Paul longed to see Jesus Christ lifted up before a lost and dying world. That was more important than the life of any one of them, including the life of the apostle Paul.

IV. Imprisoned for Christ

So now comes the next logical question: How did Paul’s imprisonment cut a new road for the gospel? How was it possible for Paul’s arrest and imprisonment to advance the cause of the gospel? The answer is in verse 13, “So that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace and in all other places.” The key words in this verse are “in Christ.” If we miss that, we will miss Paul’s true emphasis.

There is a question about whether “in Christ” is to be taken closely with “bonds” or with the words “are manifest.” In other words, is Paul saying that he is a prisoner of Christ? Or, is he saying that it has become clear that his chains are there because of Christ? While it is true that he was a bond-servant of Christ, here he seems to be saying that it is becoming clear to all that he is in prison because he is a follower of Jesus. His bonds are manifest in Christ. The NASV puts it like this: “So that my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the whole praetorian guard and to everyone else.” It must have caused quite a stir to actually have a man brought into the prison in Rome because he preached Jesus Christ. This is what Paul is talking about when he says that his imprison-ment has served to advance the gospel.

In the King James we have the word “palace.” The Greek word is “praetorion,” and most agree that it is a reference to the Praetorian Guard. This was a very elite group of Roman soldiers. It was made up of about 9,000 men. This was a highly-respected division of the Roman army.

Think about it. For the most part, Christianity was thriving among the common people, what we might call the lower classes. But now through Paul’s transfer to Rome, the gospel has come to the very center of the Empire, and no less than the Praetorian Guard were being exposed to that gospel. It is most likely that one member of that guard was chained to Paul at all times. These were the kind of men who would not likely have listened to Paul, if he had been a free man, but because it was their job to guard him, they really didn’t have much choice. They not only were a captive audience to his words, but they also were witnesses to the way he lived day and night. What an opportunity! How would you like to have someone bound to you continually so that you could show them what it is really like to follow Christ? Yes, this was the advance of the gospel.

Not only was it clear to the Praetorian Guard that Paul was in jail because of his faithfulness to Jesus, but that same truth was made clear in all other places. Word must have traveled fast in Rome. We must also remember that Paul was a Roman citizen. This was not just some run-of-the-mill man who was imprisoned by Rome; he was one of its citizens. Why would a Roman citizen want to follow Jesus of Nazareth? Surely many people were asking that very question. Rest assured that Paul and others who followed Jesus were ready to give an answer.

Conclusion

In his description of Christian character Jesus said this: “Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 5:10). Think of that. If you are persecuted because you cling to Jesus, you are blessed. We thank God for the blessing of being able to worship freely in this country. Praise God! So we should. Nevertheless, if we begin to suffer severe persecution, we will praise Him even more, because we are truly blessed! Jesus then went on to say, “Blessed are you when men shall revile [insult] you, and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil things against you falsely for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you” (Matt. 5:11-12). But is it possible for us to really do that? Yes, it is. When all twelve of the apostles were beaten and commanded not to speak any more in the name of Jesus, “they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name. And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ” (Acts 5:41-42).

We tend to just pass that off and say it was because they were apostles. Of course, they were able to do that, but we can’t. The key to their behavior was not the fact that they were apostles; it was because they shared the heart of their Lord. Their desire was to see the gospel of Jesus Christ advanced. That’s why they continued to preach and teach Jesus Christ. When Jesus’ soul was troubled, but He still prayed, “Father, glorify your name,” they took note. As the Holy Spirit of God worked in their lives, they too longed to see the Father glorified through their lives, no matter what the cost.

Sometimes we think that if there were just a lot more Christians, things would change. Brothers and sisters, what we need is not more Christians, but more people who will rejoice even in the midst of persecution, because they have forsaken their own goals in order that the gospel of Christ might be advanced. Of course, it is easy for us to say that is our goal. May it ever be so. But sometimes it is hard for us to know our own hearts until the crisis comes. How we need to be asking the Lord to search our hearts and mold us into the image of Christ, because the crisis is coming! How do I know? Because the scripture tells us clearly that all who want to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution (II Tim. 3:12). When it comes, may we know we are blessed, as we rejoice with abundant gladness.

Let the Lord test your heart. The dearest person to you on this earth is in jail because of his or her faith in Jesus. You get a letter from that person that says, “Don’t grieve for me. This is my mission field. I am able to share the truth of Christ with people day in and day out. It is 24/7 reality missions. My days are filled with fellowship with the Lord and with bearing witness in His name. I am experiencing joy unspeakable and full of glory. Know that God is working in and through me and I am in the center of His will. Tell all the brothers and sisters to rejoice with me.” Will that news settle your heart? Can you rejoice? Paul trusted that those who loved the Lord would find great comfort in that truth.