WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.800 weeks in Philippians chapter 1, so that's where we'll continue today. 00:00:07.160 --> 00:00:12.400 And it'll be starting in verse 12. So turn your Bibles there or in your worship guide. I'll be 00:00:12.400 --> 00:00:17.580 reading from the English Standard Version, but read from what your version is or from the worship 00:00:17.580 --> 00:00:23.100 guide. But for those who are visiting, first of all, welcome. Thank you for being here. If you 00:00:23.100 --> 00:00:27.320 don't know a whole lot about us at Cheyenne Mountain, we're a Reformed church, which means 00:00:27.320 --> 00:00:32.480 we talk, means among other things, we talk a lot about the sovereignty of God. And why do we do 00:00:32.480 --> 00:00:38.320 that? Well, first of all, because it's true. And we remember, well, for instance, we remember the 00:00:38.320 --> 00:00:43.560 catechism question, question 11. What are God's works of providence? God's works of providence, 00:00:43.659 --> 00:00:47.120 maybe by the end of this morning you'll have this memorized, God's works of providence are his most 00:00:47.120 --> 00:00:53.700 holy, wise, and powerful, preserving and governing all his creatures and all their actions. That's 00:00:53.700 --> 00:00:58.800 what we mean by the sovereignty of God. The sovereignty of God is what provides for us, for 00:00:58.800 --> 00:01:03.520 his people. And that comes from the Bible. The principle that we get from the catechism comes from 00:01:03.520 --> 00:01:10.340 the scriptures. Hebrews 1.3, for instance, he upholds, Christ upholds the universe by the word of his 00:01:10.340 --> 00:01:16.760 power. And in Matthew 10.30, Jesus put it in more earthy terms. He said, even all the hairs of your head 00:01:16.760 --> 00:01:25.680 are numbered. And if it's true, it should be comforting to us, right? If a good God is ruling 00:01:25.680 --> 00:01:32.340 all things, that ought to be a comfort to us. Because after all, God reveals his sovereignty to 00:01:32.340 --> 00:01:39.000 us for the purpose of our comfort. But it also has two sides to it. There's a positive side and a 00:01:39.000 --> 00:01:45.200 negative side to God's providence. And for this reason, I think sometimes it's not all that comforting 00:01:45.200 --> 00:01:51.460 when you're going through suffering to be reminded of God's sovereignty and his providence. We have a 00:01:51.460 --> 00:01:55.700 hard time being comforted with this sometimes. The positive side, of course, is easy to remember. 00:01:56.079 --> 00:02:01.040 It's what we talked about two weeks ago, Philippians 1.6. Paul says, I'm sure of this, 00:02:01.340 --> 00:02:05.200 that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Christ Jesus. 00:02:06.460 --> 00:02:11.460 But there's the negative side. What the word of God also said to Paul, and this was to Ananias, 00:02:11.460 --> 00:02:17.439 before Paul's experience of conversion, where God stopped him on the road to Damascus, 00:02:18.580 --> 00:02:23.100 God revealed to Ananias, the preacher who was going to preach to Paul, what was about to happen 00:02:23.100 --> 00:02:29.060 to Paul. And this is from Acts 19. This is God's providence to Paul. The Lord said in Acts 9.16, 00:02:29.400 --> 00:02:37.219 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name. And Paul reminded that to us, to the Roman 00:02:37.219 --> 00:02:43.979 church in the first century, where he said in Romans 8, we are the children of God, provided that we 00:02:43.979 --> 00:02:50.360 suffer with him. So that aspect of God's providence, God's preserving and governing, sometimes is not 00:02:50.360 --> 00:02:57.719 all that comforting. But in this passage, Paul is telling the church, he's saying, in my suffering, 00:02:57.819 --> 00:03:03.000 I've seen both sides. I've seen the positive and the negative side. And the Spirit of God desires for 00:03:03.000 --> 00:03:09.560 us to see it too, that through Paul's life, we can understand both sides of God's providence when 00:03:09.560 --> 00:03:15.659 we go through suffering. Paul wrote this letter, sharing his testimony to the Philippian church, 00:03:15.979 --> 00:03:21.939 so that they might be steeled for the time of suffering. We know intuitively that it's easier 00:03:21.939 --> 00:03:28.139 to understand and bask in God's providence before we go through a time of suffering, rather than in the 00:03:28.139 --> 00:03:32.719 time of suffering, when your well-meaning Christian brothers and sisters say, this is all for a purpose. 00:03:33.460 --> 00:03:38.699 This is all in God's hands. We understand the difference, don't we? In one case, I find it 00:03:38.699 --> 00:03:44.020 more easy to be comforted. In another case, I might actually be annoyed because I don't see God's hand. 00:03:44.199 --> 00:03:48.740 I don't understand what God is doing. But Philippians 1 teaches us, using the example of Paul, 00:03:49.340 --> 00:03:54.259 that the Lord is governing your suffering and he's preserving you in it. I like the way John put it. 00:03:54.379 --> 00:03:59.780 Sometimes God doesn't calm the storm, he calms his child in the storm. Preserving and governing 00:03:59.780 --> 00:04:04.919 are both aspects of God's providence. So let's look at the passage here, Philippians chapter 1. 00:04:05.360 --> 00:04:09.860 It starts in verse 12 and I'll read through verse 18. This is the word of the Lord. 00:04:09.860 --> 00:04:16.040 I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, 00:04:16.660 --> 00:04:21.580 so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my 00:04:21.580 --> 00:04:26.180 imprisonment is for Christ. And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord 00:04:26.180 --> 00:04:33.240 by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. Some indeed preach Christ from 00:04:33.240 --> 00:04:40.540 envy and rivalry, but others from goodwill. The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put 00:04:40.540 --> 00:04:46.639 here for the defense of the gospel. The former proclaim Christ out of rivalry, not sincerely, 00:04:47.420 --> 00:04:55.939 but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense 00:04:55.939 --> 00:05:04.819 or in truth, Christ is proclaimed. And in that I rejoice. May the Lord add his blessing to the reading 00:05:04.819 --> 00:05:14.740 and to the careful hearing of his word today. Amen. So what happened to Paul in verse 12? He doesn't 00:05:14.740 --> 00:05:19.199 go into details in the book of Philippians, but there's a lot that happened to Paul in his life 00:05:19.199 --> 00:05:24.779 and ministry on earth. Let's just start a little bit of a list from Paul's own record. He was whipped 00:05:24.779 --> 00:05:30.539 five times by the Jews, beaten with rods at least three times, and stoned once by the Gentiles. 00:05:31.139 --> 00:05:36.000 He was shipwrecked, left adrift at sea for a day and a night. He was imprisoned at least twice, 00:05:36.139 --> 00:05:41.799 probably three times. So what is Paul referring to here when he says, what has happened to me has 00:05:41.799 --> 00:05:47.979 served to advance the gospel? The context around Philippians and where Paul is in prison, probably 00:05:47.979 --> 00:05:54.699 in Rome, around 62 AD, that imprisonment started, the record started back in Acts 20, where he 00:05:54.699 --> 00:05:59.860 went to prison in Jerusalem because the Jews inside of the Romans saying that this guy Paul was 00:05:59.860 --> 00:06:04.099 teaching another king besides Caesar. So that imprisonment really started several years ago in 00:06:04.099 --> 00:06:09.439 Jerusalem, and Paul was a prisoner all the way to Rome to where he writes this letter. So what has 00:06:09.439 --> 00:06:14.480 happened to Paul is probably this, his imprisonment starting from Jerusalem up to the time of his 00:06:14.480 --> 00:06:21.180 writing. While imprisoned by the Romans on charges that the Jewish leaders couldn't prove, he made an 00:06:21.180 --> 00:06:25.740 appeal to Caesar. That's why they brought him to Rome. That was his right as a Roman citizen. Remember, 00:06:25.840 --> 00:06:30.720 this is an important fact for Philippians. Paul was a Roman citizen, right, which changed the talk, 00:06:30.920 --> 00:06:34.759 changed the dynamic, changed the way he was in prison. He was in prison in a form of house arrest, 00:06:34.840 --> 00:06:40.220 right, given the privileges of a Roman citizen. So he was sent to Rome, shipwrecked on the way, 00:06:41.220 --> 00:06:45.439 and it's from his imprisonment or that house arrest that he writes of what happened to him. 00:06:45.960 --> 00:06:47.680 And he says about that in verse 12, 00:06:47.680 --> 00:06:51.660 I want you to know that what's happened to me has really served to advance the gospel. 00:06:53.139 --> 00:06:59.740 And it's explained how that gospel is advanced in verses 15 and 16, where he says, essentially, 00:07:00.280 --> 00:07:05.399 my imprisonment had the same effect on my adversaries and on my brothers and sisters, 00:07:06.160 --> 00:07:12.420 because both were emboldened to proclaim Christ. And that's kind of a perplexing effect, isn't it? 00:07:12.420 --> 00:07:18.220 Only God's providence can do a thing like this, right? Advance the gospel through Paul's enemies 00:07:18.220 --> 00:07:23.319 and through the brothers and sisters who are actually in Christ. So they were, first of all, 00:07:23.439 --> 00:07:28.960 in verse 15 and 16, those who loved Paul were proclaiming Christ more boldly and without fear. 00:07:29.439 --> 00:07:34.480 And why would that be? Well, the principle I think we can draw from this is that when others see your 00:07:34.480 --> 00:07:40.300 devotion, it has the effect of strengthening them. Though Paul was removed from his brothers and 00:07:40.300 --> 00:07:46.060 sisters, they were strengthened. They no longer had their evangelist. Paul was the apostle given the 00:07:46.060 --> 00:07:51.000 gifts of evangelism in Philippi and in Rome. He was removed from them. But what did the brothers 00:07:51.000 --> 00:07:55.580 and sisters do? They didn't say, I don't have an evangelist anymore. What do we do? No, they were 00:07:55.580 --> 00:08:01.379 emboldened. The Spirit of God was in them too. They didn't have the same gifts as Paul did, but now they 00:08:01.379 --> 00:08:06.800 had a vacuum, a vacuum that the Holy Spirit can fill, though their apostle was not present with them. 00:08:06.800 --> 00:08:14.480 So when others see your devotion, it has the effect of strengthening others. So when you face 00:08:14.480 --> 00:08:21.600 perplexing difficulty, but you still see God's graciousness in it, you embolden the rest of us. 00:08:23.139 --> 00:08:29.800 For instance, when you see a brother or sister who loses their job or loses a promotion because they 00:08:29.800 --> 00:08:37.279 hold on to their integrity, I look at that and I'm strengthened. I'm emboldened because I saw your 00:08:37.279 --> 00:08:45.139 strength giving glory to God. When you see a brother or sister forgive at great personal cost to them, 00:08:45.820 --> 00:08:52.539 and keep in mind, real forgiveness always, always comes at personal cost, and then their forgiveness 00:08:52.539 --> 00:09:01.019 is rewarded with further insult, but they persist in forgiving, well, that emboldens the rest of us. 00:09:01.620 --> 00:09:09.360 We are able to forgive more boldly and better when we see you doing it. When you face degenerative 00:09:09.360 --> 00:09:16.419 illness, when you face the death of a spouse, and you remain an example of praying and encouraging 00:09:16.419 --> 00:09:24.299 others, you embolden us. You embolden your brothers and sisters in Christ when we see you, when we see 00:09:24.299 --> 00:09:32.439 God's grace working through you. So those who loved Paul were emboldened by his example. Paul was holding 00:09:32.439 --> 00:09:38.559 fast in prison, and it had the effect of strengthening the brothers. And then on the other hand, there were 00:09:38.559 --> 00:09:44.519 those who envied him. They preached, Paul says, for ambition's sake, for envy's sake, and to afflict him. 00:09:44.519 --> 00:09:50.720 It's like they were preaching in order to goad Paul in a negative way, to afflict him. 00:09:52.539 --> 00:09:58.019 Now there is reason for this, for those in power in Roman Philippi to be envious of Paul and his influence. 00:09:58.360 --> 00:10:04.340 Paul had cultural influence. Remember how Paul and Silas were treated in Thessalonica? 00:10:04.539 --> 00:10:09.659 This is from Acts 17, if you want to turn there. I'll read it. But Paul and Silas were in Thessalonica 00:10:09.659 --> 00:10:13.179 preaching and starting to gain influence, not only in the synagogues, but among 00:10:13.179 --> 00:10:18.139 the Greeks and the Romans. I'm going to read Acts 17. This is starting in verse 4. 00:10:19.199 --> 00:10:23.899 And some of them, the them is the Jews in the synagogue in Thessalonica, were persuaded 00:10:23.899 --> 00:10:29.299 by Paul's preaching and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few 00:10:29.299 --> 00:10:35.899 of the leading women. But the Jews were jealous. And taking some wicked men of the rabble, they formed a 00:10:35.899 --> 00:10:41.039 mob, set the city in an uproar, and attacked the house of Jason, seeking to bring them out to the crowd. 00:10:41.039 --> 00:10:45.699 And when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the authorities, 00:10:45.860 --> 00:10:51.959 shouting, These men have turned the world upside down and have come here also. And Jason has received 00:10:51.959 --> 00:10:57.740 them. And they're all acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying there is another king, Jesus. 00:10:58.319 --> 00:11:04.199 This is a crime in Rome, right? To say there is another king. But they say they're acting against 00:11:04.199 --> 00:11:08.319 the decrees of Caesar, saying there is another king, Jesus. And the people and the city authorities 00:11:08.320 --> 00:11:14.720 were disturbed when they heard these things. And the city authorities in Thessalonica were rightly 00:11:14.720 --> 00:11:21.340 disturbed. Paul and Silas were undermining the whole system of Caesar worship in the Roman colonies. 00:11:22.200 --> 00:11:26.420 Now, was something like that happening in Rome? It seems as if it is. It stands to reason that it's 00:11:26.420 --> 00:11:32.060 something like this, given Paul's words. So while he was in prison, Paul's adversaries, as we saw in 00:11:32.059 --> 00:11:36.899 Thessalonica, would try to stir up the people by drawing them to the offense that Paul was preaching. 00:11:37.639 --> 00:11:41.559 They would say something like this, Do you know, have you heard in the marketplace or in the imperial 00:11:41.559 --> 00:11:46.319 guard, have you heard this preacher, Paul, this Roman citizen, and what he's been saying? 00:11:47.519 --> 00:11:54.199 He says, The divine Caesar has no right to call himself Lord. That there is another king, this Jesus. 00:11:54.200 --> 00:12:01.379 And he talks about all these Jewish prophecies, supposedly about this Jesus. Now, the Romans 00:12:01.379 --> 00:12:06.100 were superstitious. They were into prophecy. So that would have caused a stir when he says, 00:12:06.200 --> 00:12:10.920 there are prophecies about this king Jesus. And that usurps all the Roman prophecies that say, 00:12:11.560 --> 00:12:16.740 this Caesar is Lord, right? All the omens that the Romans worshipped that all wound up somehow 00:12:16.740 --> 00:12:23.879 supporting Caesar worship. And he says, they would say, this man, this Jesus, having been 00:12:23.879 --> 00:12:30.100 crucified. And again, crucified would have a particularly emotional meaning for the Romans. 00:12:30.679 --> 00:12:36.240 Many of them had seen crucifixions. They knew the shame of the crucifix. He says, this man, 00:12:36.340 --> 00:12:42.240 having been crucified, rose from the dead and appeared to him. So they said all these things, 00:12:42.439 --> 00:12:49.059 or things like them, in order to stir people up, to get them angry about the usurpation of Roman worship 00:12:49.059 --> 00:12:55.119 that Paul was advocating. But what were they doing to do it? They were proclaiming the truth of the 00:12:55.119 --> 00:13:03.159 gospel, weren't they? They were proclaiming Christ in order to get at Paul. And did the guards who were 00:13:03.159 --> 00:13:07.599 chained with Paul in his imprisonment, this is a form of house arrest, remember, did they challenge 00:13:07.599 --> 00:13:12.599 Paul about that controversy? When they heard the talk, did they ask Paul, did you actually say these 00:13:12.600 --> 00:13:20.879 things? Did you as a Roman citizen just reject Caesar as your Lord? So what a beautiful opportunity 00:13:20.879 --> 00:13:27.840 for someone like Paul to share the gospel. Oh, for those opportunities for us, when there's no 00:13:27.840 --> 00:13:33.820 formulating and agonizing over the strategy for opening up the conversation to spiritual things, 00:13:34.159 --> 00:13:37.980 you don't have to have a strategy, they just start coming to you. Did you really defy 00:13:37.980 --> 00:13:46.180 Caesar as Lord? And what does a guy like Paul say? Well, yes. Yeah, I guess I did, right? I did 00:13:46.180 --> 00:13:52.460 defy Caesar as Lord. And let me tell you why. And then as Paul was wont to do, he explained the word 00:13:52.460 --> 00:14:00.440 of the Lord to them. And there were brethren in Rome among the population. They were emboldened as well 00:14:00.440 --> 00:14:06.680 from verse 14. They heard the talk, and people in the marketplace, and people, brethren, in Caesar's 00:14:06.679 --> 00:14:11.159 household would hear that talk, and the Romans would come to the brethren and say, did you hear? 00:14:11.239 --> 00:14:15.319 Do you hear what's going on? Did you hear about this preacher who is imprisoned and he's defying 00:14:15.319 --> 00:14:20.799 Caesar? They would respond to those people in the market and in the imperial guard, well, yes, 00:14:21.179 --> 00:14:30.899 I've heard that. And I say it as well. I defy Caesar as Lord. I worship this King Jesus. Let me tell you why. 00:14:30.899 --> 00:14:37.000 So you can see how that would embolden the people. They don't have to find a strategy for opening the 00:14:37.000 --> 00:14:42.539 conversation. The talk is the talk. The talk is about the apostle and his message. And in essence, 00:14:42.659 --> 00:14:47.939 those brethren, they didn't have the evangelistic power, the talents of Paul, but all they had to 00:14:47.939 --> 00:14:57.519 say was, yeah, me too. I worship this King Jesus. They could more easily overcome their intimidation 00:14:57.519 --> 00:15:02.480 by just identifying with Paul. When you say, you know what Paul said. You know what he said about 00:15:02.480 --> 00:15:08.039 the prophecies, about this Christ who was crucified and risen, who is the true King, the one true King. 00:15:08.399 --> 00:15:17.840 And I, too, call Jesus my only Lord. We don't know exactly what that talk was, but we do know 00:15:17.840 --> 00:15:23.220 that in God's providence, his amazing providence, he strategically set up Paul in a prison. 00:15:23.220 --> 00:15:30.440 So not just the brethren, but the gospel's enemies would be emboldened. Because in both cases, 00:15:30.540 --> 00:15:35.420 the Lord is working it out that the gospel was preached more broadly and more boldly than before. 00:15:36.060 --> 00:15:42.360 So we might say that God actually governed Paul's imprisonment for the express purpose of advancing 00:15:42.360 --> 00:15:50.120 the gospel. Now, how unfair does that sound? That you're the servant, the chosen instrument of God, 00:15:50.120 --> 00:15:55.299 chosen to be imprisoned. Is that a good way? Is that the way a good God treats his instruments? 00:15:56.080 --> 00:16:00.000 Shouldn't the sacrifices involved in serving God be rewarded by him with blessing? 00:16:01.379 --> 00:16:04.299 Well, good question. It was one that the Philippians were asking. 00:16:05.340 --> 00:16:10.620 They were asking about, why have we lost our beloved apostle? How can this be advancing God's 00:16:10.620 --> 00:16:17.180 purposes? If our apostle, the one who is preaching to the world, converted Philippi, Thessalonica, 00:16:17.179 --> 00:16:21.899 the Jews everywhere in the synagogues, now he's in prison. He's taken away from his mission of 00:16:21.899 --> 00:16:29.159 evangelism. How can this advance the gospel? Well, there's at least one family that Paul wrote to in 00:16:29.159 --> 00:16:36.079 Philippi. They knew exactly what the Lord was doing. They knew exactly how God could use an 00:16:36.079 --> 00:16:41.240 imprisonment. When Paul told the Philippians that it's become known that my imprisonment is for Christ, 00:16:41.240 --> 00:16:47.799 verse 13. There was this one family in the Philippian church that could testify to those 00:16:47.799 --> 00:16:53.240 strange and amazing ways that the Lord uses his servants. Let me tell you a story from Acts chapter 00:16:53.240 --> 00:16:59.720 16. Several years before Paul's imprisonment in Rome, Paul was in prison with Silas in Philippi, 00:17:00.080 --> 00:17:06.279 and there was a jailer. After Paul and Silas were causing these riots, the official said to the jailer, 00:17:06.279 --> 00:17:12.279 lock them up tight. These are rioters. So he was given a strict charge by the magistrates to keep 00:17:12.279 --> 00:17:15.319 the rioters secure in prison. So he fastened them in the stocks and put them in the inner 00:17:15.319 --> 00:17:21.559 room of the prisons to keep them extra secure. And he did his job well. He held them fast in the 00:17:21.559 --> 00:17:26.319 stocks in the inner prison. Then in the darkest part of the night, the Lord sent an earthquake, 00:17:26.940 --> 00:17:32.639 and he shook the prison to the foundations, and the prison doors broke open, and Paul and Silas's 00:17:32.640 --> 00:17:39.840 bonds were unfastened. The prison guard, the jailer, thinking that his charges were just escaping, 00:17:40.000 --> 00:17:46.060 ran in to check on them, and he knew immediately that these prisoners were under the care of the 00:17:46.060 --> 00:17:52.380 God of creation. And what was the simple, beautiful response of the Philippian jailer when he saw what 00:17:52.380 --> 00:17:58.480 had just happened? And these apostles, Paul and the disciple Silas, were still in the prison. 00:17:58.480 --> 00:18:04.799 Seeing this, he begged, sirs, what must I do to be saved? And he wasn't talking about being saved 00:18:04.799 --> 00:18:11.440 from the Romans by, you know, letting prisoners loose. He became known, the power of God became 00:18:11.440 --> 00:18:17.400 known to him. And he responded, sirs, what must I do to be saved? And on hearing the word of the Lord 00:18:17.400 --> 00:18:23.180 from Paul and Silas, that jailer and his whole family were baptized. They became part of the church 00:18:23.180 --> 00:18:28.759 in Philippi, and it stands to reason that they're sitting there as Paul's letters being read to the 00:18:28.759 --> 00:18:35.320 church in Philippi with a knowing glance, as the rest of the church in Philippi struggles with why 00:18:35.320 --> 00:18:42.180 would our God put his apostle in prison? Well, the jailer knew, didn't he? How do you think this 00:18:42.180 --> 00:18:47.140 jailer reacted to Paul's words when Paul says, what has happened to me has really served to advance the 00:18:47.140 --> 00:18:53.600 gospel? And it has become known that my imprisonment is for Christ. Do you think a knowing smile kind of 00:18:53.600 --> 00:18:58.580 crossed his face? Do you think he said to the brothers and sisters in Philippi, I remember when 00:18:58.580 --> 00:19:05.620 Paul was my prisoner. I remember what God did with that. And praise God that the Lord's apostle was shut 00:19:05.620 --> 00:19:11.900 up in my prison because it changed that jailer's life. It changed the life of his family. It was the 00:19:11.900 --> 00:19:16.680 greatest day of their lives. They were brought into the kingdom of God as a result of the apostles 00:19:16.680 --> 00:19:23.100 imprisonment. Was he able to encourage the rest of the church at Philippi? When they heard the letter 00:19:23.100 --> 00:19:27.660 and they were in anguish, Paul is in prison. What's going to happen? Did the jailer say, just relax? 00:19:28.980 --> 00:19:35.940 Let's see what the Lord does with this. It's happened before. He more than anything and anyone else 00:19:35.940 --> 00:19:43.039 knew that the Lord he now knew could bring Paul out of prison at any time he wanted. And he more than 00:19:43.039 --> 00:19:51.039 anyone else knew that prison walls and shackles were nothing to the God of creation. So if Paul was in 00:19:51.039 --> 00:19:59.659 there, it's because God wished it to be so. If Paul remained in prison, it was by the plan of God. 00:20:01.700 --> 00:20:07.980 Just watch what happens, the jailer might say to his brethren. He could have written the words that we 00:20:07.980 --> 00:20:09.700 read this morning that Paul wrote to the Corinthians, 00:20:09.700 --> 00:20:15.700 for the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. 00:20:17.080 --> 00:20:23.960 In other words, watch. Watch what the Lord seems to take in these hopeless circumstances and bring 00:20:23.960 --> 00:20:30.380 about a salvation that you could not have predicted. But as for the rest of the believers in Philippi, 00:20:30.460 --> 00:20:34.700 they probably had a little more trouble taking encouragement from Paul's words. It didn't seem 00:20:34.700 --> 00:20:39.319 like the ideal circumstance, the way a sovereign God would work to them. Even the preaching of the 00:20:39.319 --> 00:20:45.660 gospel was being done by selfishly ambitious rivals, and they were winning, right? Remember how Paul's 00:20:45.660 --> 00:20:53.140 story ends. His rivals actually win, right? They get him executed. The hard part for the Philippians and 00:20:53.140 --> 00:20:58.380 for us is that in order to watch and wait for the Lord to reveal his glory and his purposes through 00:20:58.380 --> 00:21:05.600 suffering, we have to stare it in the face. We have to prolong, take a look at suffering, staring it in 00:21:05.600 --> 00:21:12.900 the face, waiting, waiting in the midst of suffering for God's glory to be revealed. You might be waiting 00:21:12.900 --> 00:21:18.620 for the length of Paul's imprisonment, which was probably a couple years or less. You might be 00:21:18.620 --> 00:21:25.180 waiting the length of time that Daniel waited in Babylon, a seven-year wait for God's glory to be 00:21:25.180 --> 00:21:32.140 revealed in an imprisonment. In Matthew's series on Ruth, we understood that God takes our suffering 00:21:32.140 --> 00:21:38.140 and uses it for his plan of redemption. And after hearing Paul's testimony, we also can say now that 00:21:38.140 --> 00:21:44.900 God sometimes makes our suffering specifically for his plan of redemption. Paul knew it well. 00:21:45.660 --> 00:21:49.840 The Lord announced it. As I said before, on the day he brought him low on the road to Damascus, 00:21:50.400 --> 00:21:55.160 when he was speaking to Ananias, the one who shared the message with Paul that laid his hands on Paul, 00:21:55.180 --> 00:22:02.180 and healed him. The secret that he revealed to Ananias, that he was about to reveal to Paul, 00:22:02.880 --> 00:22:08.240 was I will show him how much he must suffer for my name. That was the sovereign plan of God. 00:22:09.380 --> 00:22:14.660 Then what did the Lord do? On the road, he took Paul, he knocked him off his horse, 00:22:15.480 --> 00:22:19.380 metaphorically speaking, I don't know if he was riding a horse, and blinded him. 00:22:19.380 --> 00:22:28.480 But this, I'll call it a divine assault, was the greatest day of Paul's life, in retrospect. 00:22:30.140 --> 00:22:34.400 But in that moment, it was just the beginning of a life of suffering. 00:22:36.480 --> 00:22:39.180 Imagine what an experience like that does to your perspective. 00:22:39.180 --> 00:22:43.000 In one moment, Paul knew exactly what he was to do with his life. 00:22:43.240 --> 00:22:48.440 He had the letters from the synagogue, he had a mission, he knew exactly what he was supposed to do, 00:22:48.500 --> 00:22:50.019 and he was on that mission. 00:22:51.100 --> 00:22:51.940 With certainty. 00:22:52.600 --> 00:22:55.360 The next moment, his face is in the dirt, 00:22:56.180 --> 00:22:58.480 and his certainty has just evaporated. 00:22:59.960 --> 00:23:00.940 Oh, and he's blind. 00:23:00.940 --> 00:23:04.400 That's the way God changes our perspective. 00:23:06.320 --> 00:23:08.440 What kind of advance of God's kingdom was that? 00:23:08.920 --> 00:23:10.480 Well, it was impossible for Paul to know, 00:23:11.820 --> 00:23:15.360 but we have a phrase in our modern times to describe it. 00:23:15.440 --> 00:23:17.340 It's called a road to Damascus experience. 00:23:18.600 --> 00:23:19.000 Coincidentally. 00:23:19.600 --> 00:23:20.400 Not coincidentally. 00:23:21.120 --> 00:23:22.700 It's when the, we have a name for it, 00:23:22.740 --> 00:23:27.440 and that name means when the Lord advances his agenda by setting you back on your heels. 00:23:27.440 --> 00:23:31.759 But what it also is, it's the thing that the Lord does 00:23:31.759 --> 00:23:34.740 when he wants us to stop worrying about what's likely to happen 00:23:34.740 --> 00:23:37.620 and remember what the Lord is able to do. 00:23:39.140 --> 00:23:42.039 In Rome, what was likely to happen to Paul? 00:23:42.960 --> 00:23:46.680 What was likely to happen is his adversaries would eventually win. 00:23:47.820 --> 00:23:50.900 Because remember, Paul was what they accused him of. 00:23:51.559 --> 00:23:52.799 He did commit the crime, 00:23:53.440 --> 00:23:55.960 namely proclaiming another king besides Caesar. 00:23:55.960 --> 00:23:59.579 And the people, the Romans, were stirring him up, 00:23:59.660 --> 00:24:01.539 stirring up the Roman officials, 00:24:02.160 --> 00:24:03.640 and that's a pretty good strategy. 00:24:04.880 --> 00:24:06.019 It was bound to work. 00:24:07.240 --> 00:24:09.519 But Paul now had this knowledge, this experience, 00:24:10.019 --> 00:24:12.720 that shaped his present attitude in the circumstance. 00:24:13.240 --> 00:24:14.059 How did he react? 00:24:14.200 --> 00:24:14.920 What was his attitude? 00:24:15.799 --> 00:24:19.180 Well, it wasn't what his adversaries were doing, 00:24:19.360 --> 00:24:20.340 envying and afflicting. 00:24:20.700 --> 00:24:21.420 There was no envy. 00:24:21.880 --> 00:24:24.019 There was no envy for those who were gaining influence, 00:24:24.019 --> 00:24:26.460 gaining influence at his expense while he was in prison. 00:24:26.900 --> 00:24:29.559 There's no consideration even for his own affliction. 00:24:29.700 --> 00:24:31.680 He didn't describe to the Philippians that, 00:24:31.779 --> 00:24:35.720 you know, the shackles, the sores, the hunger, the filth. 00:24:36.639 --> 00:24:38.379 None of that is in the letter of Philippi. 00:24:38.720 --> 00:24:40.240 There's just encouragement to his brethren. 00:24:40.639 --> 00:24:42.279 He didn't remember himself in his affliction, 00:24:42.700 --> 00:24:44.579 even knowing the irksome fact 00:24:44.579 --> 00:24:47.960 that the accusations that were brought to him were actually true. 00:24:48.319 --> 00:24:49.940 He did deny Caesar as Lord, 00:24:49.940 --> 00:24:52.620 and that meant his adversaries were likely to win. 00:24:53.340 --> 00:24:54.360 They sought his death, 00:24:54.840 --> 00:24:56.220 and they would probably get it. 00:24:57.759 --> 00:24:58.600 But in reality, 00:24:59.640 --> 00:25:02.279 what Paul also knew is his death was already done. 00:25:02.960 --> 00:25:04.960 He wrote to the Galatians with these words, 00:25:05.480 --> 00:25:06.640 Galatians 2.20, he says, 00:25:06.820 --> 00:25:08.160 I have been crucified with Christ. 00:25:08.860 --> 00:25:10.240 It's no longer I who live, 00:25:10.640 --> 00:25:12.140 but Christ who lives in me. 00:25:12.140 --> 00:25:14.980 And the life I now live in the flesh, 00:25:15.360 --> 00:25:16.960 I live by faith in the Son of God, 00:25:17.340 --> 00:25:19.860 who loved me and gave himself for me. 00:25:20.920 --> 00:25:23.540 For Paul, his life was already over. 00:25:24.540 --> 00:25:26.800 What life remained to him belonged to Christ. 00:25:28.280 --> 00:25:29.880 So Paul took heart simply that 00:25:29.880 --> 00:25:32.259 God is using that life well. 00:25:33.240 --> 00:25:34.900 He's using it to advance the gospel, 00:25:35.240 --> 00:25:37.440 whether it means good times or bad for Paul, 00:25:37.600 --> 00:25:38.740 and he had a lot of both. 00:25:38.740 --> 00:25:43.700 Okay, so that's fine for the road to Damascus types, right? 00:25:43.900 --> 00:25:45.099 But what about those of us 00:25:45.099 --> 00:25:47.400 who live a more mundane Christian existence? 00:25:48.799 --> 00:25:51.420 When God does his work through our affliction, 00:25:52.019 --> 00:25:52.920 let's admit it, 00:25:52.940 --> 00:25:54.359 his hand can feel heavy. 00:25:56.460 --> 00:25:59.559 He will work his power through our affliction, 00:25:59.700 --> 00:26:01.460 and his hand will feel heavy upon us. 00:26:03.259 --> 00:26:07.019 Romans 8, verses 16 to 18, 00:26:07.339 --> 00:26:07.859 reminds us, 00:26:07.859 --> 00:26:10.059 the Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit 00:26:10.059 --> 00:26:11.439 that we are the children of God, 00:26:11.919 --> 00:26:13.259 and if children, then heirs, 00:26:13.839 --> 00:26:16.259 heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, 00:26:16.959 --> 00:26:19.319 provided that we suffer with him, 00:26:20.099 --> 00:26:22.919 in order that we may also be glorified with him. 00:26:23.939 --> 00:26:26.439 For I consider the sufferings of this present time 00:26:26.439 --> 00:26:29.139 not to be worthy to compare with the glory 00:26:29.139 --> 00:26:30.439 that is to be revealed in us. 00:26:32.399 --> 00:26:34.459 So you see, God's hand is so heavy 00:26:34.460 --> 00:26:37.240 that according to Paul's words in Romans, 00:26:37.340 --> 00:26:39.559 we can't even call ourselves part of his kingdom 00:26:39.559 --> 00:26:41.079 unless we're willing to suffer with him. 00:26:42.559 --> 00:26:43.740 But did Paul, like us, 00:26:43.799 --> 00:26:46.759 ever feel like he was being crushed 00:26:46.759 --> 00:26:49.259 by the weight of what God was doing to him? 00:26:50.840 --> 00:26:52.140 Another way of asking that question, 00:26:52.240 --> 00:26:53.160 was Paul still human? 00:26:54.100 --> 00:26:56.700 Did he still have the why me question 00:26:56.700 --> 00:26:57.539 come into his mind, 00:26:57.620 --> 00:26:58.600 occasionally at least? 00:26:58.599 --> 00:27:02.980 Because God did actually have a sort of conspiracy 00:27:02.980 --> 00:27:05.079 to advance his mission through his enemies, 00:27:05.480 --> 00:27:06.240 through Paul's affliction, 00:27:07.039 --> 00:27:09.179 and through who was his enemy, 00:27:09.339 --> 00:27:10.059 Saul of Tarsus. 00:27:12.240 --> 00:27:13.219 Remember this again, 00:27:13.379 --> 00:27:14.319 what Paul, 00:27:14.839 --> 00:27:16.359 what the Lord spoke about his enemy 00:27:16.359 --> 00:27:17.799 at the time Saul of Tarsus, 00:27:17.899 --> 00:27:18.639 I will show him 00:27:18.639 --> 00:27:20.319 how much he must suffer for my name. 00:27:20.319 --> 00:27:23.399 Does God ever prepare an assault like that 00:27:23.399 --> 00:27:24.839 for us? 00:27:27.159 --> 00:27:27.919 If so, 00:27:28.319 --> 00:27:29.939 it's the very best kind of assault 00:27:29.939 --> 00:27:30.659 we can hope for. 00:27:31.859 --> 00:27:33.480 It means that God's care for us 00:27:33.480 --> 00:27:34.279 is of this kind, 00:27:35.099 --> 00:27:36.519 that he will take it upon himself 00:27:36.519 --> 00:27:38.000 to overwhelm us by force, 00:27:38.619 --> 00:27:40.779 to make us effective instruments 00:27:40.779 --> 00:27:41.779 for him. 00:27:44.200 --> 00:27:45.919 Remember, before Paul was assaulted 00:27:45.919 --> 00:27:47.119 by the risen Christ, 00:27:47.839 --> 00:27:49.779 he was, as Acts 9 describes him, 00:27:49.779 --> 00:27:51.680 still breathing threats and murder 00:27:51.680 --> 00:27:52.980 against the disciples of the Lord. 00:27:53.639 --> 00:27:54.599 So for his own sake, 00:27:54.680 --> 00:27:55.700 for Paul's own sake, 00:27:56.440 --> 00:27:59.220 he desperately needed to be overwhelmed. 00:28:00.039 --> 00:28:01.680 He desperately needed to be set back 00:28:01.680 --> 00:28:02.279 on his heels 00:28:02.279 --> 00:28:04.680 in a road to Damascus experience. 00:28:05.759 --> 00:28:06.799 And he'll do that for us. 00:28:08.779 --> 00:28:10.000 He'll throw us off our horse 00:28:10.000 --> 00:28:10.819 in a manner of speaking. 00:28:11.500 --> 00:28:12.799 If that could be true of Paul, 00:28:12.859 --> 00:28:13.619 it can be true of us. 00:28:14.839 --> 00:28:15.839 He'll yank from us 00:28:15.839 --> 00:28:17.119 our evil ambitions. 00:28:17.119 --> 00:28:19.539 And in that vacuum, 00:28:19.639 --> 00:28:21.199 he will replace in us 00:28:21.199 --> 00:28:23.059 a heart that is never satisfied 00:28:23.059 --> 00:28:25.639 with enough love for its new master. 00:28:27.939 --> 00:28:29.679 He'll replace our satisfaction 00:28:29.679 --> 00:28:30.779 in our evil ambitions 00:28:30.779 --> 00:28:33.399 with a dissatisfaction 00:28:33.399 --> 00:28:36.079 that never has enough love 00:28:36.079 --> 00:28:36.939 for our master. 00:28:36.940 --> 00:28:40.140 We may find ourselves 00:28:40.140 --> 00:28:41.320 suffering under this kind 00:28:41.320 --> 00:28:42.160 of divine assault. 00:28:43.000 --> 00:28:43.840 So be prepared 00:28:43.840 --> 00:28:45.779 when it happens 00:28:45.779 --> 00:28:46.960 and when unbelievers 00:28:46.960 --> 00:28:47.860 come to ask you, 00:28:48.220 --> 00:28:49.440 like the Imperial Guard 00:28:49.440 --> 00:28:50.299 might have asked Paul, 00:28:50.779 --> 00:28:51.880 do you really believe 00:28:51.880 --> 00:28:53.240 your God means you 00:28:53.240 --> 00:28:54.440 to go through this? 00:28:54.799 --> 00:28:56.500 You, right upstanding citizen, 00:28:56.960 --> 00:28:58.160 you, compassionate person, 00:28:58.620 --> 00:28:59.720 you who comes to worship, 00:29:00.299 --> 00:29:01.720 you who speaks of Christ 00:29:01.720 --> 00:29:02.660 all the time, 00:29:03.100 --> 00:29:04.080 do you really believe 00:29:04.080 --> 00:29:04.779 that your God 00:29:04.779 --> 00:29:05.759 means for you 00:29:05.759 --> 00:29:07.160 to go through this? 00:29:08.799 --> 00:29:09.500 Now, you're probably 00:29:09.500 --> 00:29:10.279 not the evangelist 00:29:10.279 --> 00:29:11.000 that Paul was 00:29:11.000 --> 00:29:12.079 and the good news is 00:29:12.079 --> 00:29:12.799 you don't have to be. 00:29:13.319 --> 00:29:14.220 You don't need eloquence 00:29:14.220 --> 00:29:14.859 or a quick wit. 00:29:16.139 --> 00:29:17.519 Your unbelieving acquaintances, 00:29:17.899 --> 00:29:18.859 they'll come to you 00:29:18.859 --> 00:29:20.920 as it became known 00:29:20.920 --> 00:29:21.480 about Paul 00:29:21.480 --> 00:29:22.299 that my imprisonment 00:29:22.299 --> 00:29:22.920 is for Christ 00:29:22.920 --> 00:29:24.559 and they'll ask you 00:29:24.559 --> 00:29:25.599 how you can suffer 00:29:25.599 --> 00:29:27.859 and endure with joy. 00:29:28.960 --> 00:29:29.720 So be ready. 00:29:30.859 --> 00:29:31.799 Be ready to stare 00:29:31.799 --> 00:29:32.759 suffering in the face 00:29:32.759 --> 00:29:34.460 because you are patiently 00:29:34.460 --> 00:29:35.619 expecting God's glory 00:29:35.619 --> 00:29:36.519 to be revealed 00:29:36.519 --> 00:29:37.180 in some way. 00:29:37.940 --> 00:29:38.740 Without knowing 00:29:38.740 --> 00:29:39.879 how patient you have to be, 00:29:40.619 --> 00:29:41.220 without knowing 00:29:41.220 --> 00:29:42.220 how long it's going to take, 00:29:42.420 --> 00:29:43.160 that's your lot. 00:29:45.680 --> 00:29:47.119 Your role is just 00:29:47.119 --> 00:29:47.779 to be patient 00:29:47.779 --> 00:29:48.440 and expect. 00:29:49.240 --> 00:29:50.039 Expect in faith 00:29:50.039 --> 00:29:51.079 knowing that it's going to happen. 00:29:52.140 --> 00:29:53.599 In seven years or 70, 00:29:54.779 --> 00:29:56.140 God's glory will be revealed. 00:29:58.039 --> 00:29:58.700 Paul says this 00:29:58.700 --> 00:29:59.539 to the Corinthians, 00:29:59.680 --> 00:30:00.519 but we have this treasure 00:30:00.519 --> 00:30:01.339 in jars of clay 00:30:01.339 --> 00:30:03.500 to show that the surpassing power 00:30:03.500 --> 00:30:04.419 belongs to God 00:30:04.419 --> 00:30:05.399 and not to us. 00:30:05.980 --> 00:30:07.459 We're afflicted in every way, 00:30:08.240 --> 00:30:09.039 but not crushed. 00:30:10.039 --> 00:30:11.679 We're perplexed, 00:30:11.679 --> 00:30:13.299 but not driven to despair. 00:30:14.259 --> 00:30:14.819 Persecuted, 00:30:15.759 --> 00:30:16.740 but not forsaken. 00:30:18.019 --> 00:30:18.699 Struck down, 00:30:19.480 --> 00:30:20.619 but not destroyed. 00:30:21.899 --> 00:30:23.579 Always carrying in the body 00:30:23.579 --> 00:30:24.559 the death of Jesus 00:30:24.559 --> 00:30:27.039 so that the life of Jesus 00:30:27.039 --> 00:30:28.579 may also be manifested 00:30:28.579 --> 00:30:29.259 in our bodies. 00:30:29.259 --> 00:30:33.000 The brethren Paul wrote to 00:30:33.000 --> 00:30:34.299 were afflicted, 00:30:34.740 --> 00:30:35.940 but not crushed. 00:30:36.799 --> 00:30:37.359 Persecuted, 00:30:37.799 --> 00:30:38.920 but not forsaken. 00:30:39.819 --> 00:30:40.420 Struck down, 00:30:40.539 --> 00:30:41.519 but not destroyed. 00:30:42.579 --> 00:30:43.640 Because Christ 00:30:43.640 --> 00:30:45.160 was crushed. 00:30:46.339 --> 00:30:47.240 He was forsaken. 00:30:48.379 --> 00:30:49.480 He was destroyed 00:30:49.480 --> 00:30:51.480 to the point of death. 00:30:51.480 --> 00:30:54.559 And our sufferings 00:30:54.559 --> 00:30:55.680 are what carry 00:30:55.680 --> 00:30:57.019 the body of this death, 00:30:57.839 --> 00:30:58.620 the death of Jesus, 00:30:59.380 --> 00:31:00.559 so that others can see 00:31:00.559 --> 00:31:01.759 the life of Jesus as well 00:31:01.759 --> 00:31:02.700 through us 00:31:02.700 --> 00:31:05.660 and have life in his name. 00:31:07.220 --> 00:31:09.039 So can God use evil 00:31:09.039 --> 00:31:10.640 to accomplish his redemptive work? 00:31:11.339 --> 00:31:11.860 Well, yes. 00:31:11.900 --> 00:31:12.759 And not only that, 00:31:13.160 --> 00:31:14.519 it's the singular expression 00:31:14.519 --> 00:31:15.980 about how God's sovereignty 00:31:15.980 --> 00:31:16.819 actually works 00:31:16.819 --> 00:31:18.539 over all events of history. 00:31:18.539 --> 00:31:19.940 And that's really when we mean 00:31:19.940 --> 00:31:20.539 God is sovereign 00:31:20.539 --> 00:31:21.240 over everything, 00:31:21.980 --> 00:31:22.799 it's easy to believe 00:31:22.799 --> 00:31:23.379 God is sovereign 00:31:23.379 --> 00:31:24.299 over what is good. 00:31:24.740 --> 00:31:25.819 What takes effort 00:31:25.819 --> 00:31:27.079 and takes concentration 00:31:27.079 --> 00:31:27.960 and takes submission 00:31:27.960 --> 00:31:29.039 and takes the Holy Spirit 00:31:29.039 --> 00:31:30.000 is to believe 00:31:30.000 --> 00:31:30.859 that God is sovereign 00:31:30.859 --> 00:31:31.480 over the things 00:31:31.480 --> 00:31:32.180 that are not good. 00:31:33.079 --> 00:31:33.819 When we say 00:31:33.819 --> 00:31:34.480 God is sovereign 00:31:34.480 --> 00:31:35.659 over all events of history, 00:31:35.839 --> 00:31:36.960 it's the evil ones 00:31:36.960 --> 00:31:38.059 that we stick on. 00:31:39.539 --> 00:31:40.599 So I can't look around 00:31:40.599 --> 00:31:41.200 the world and say, 00:31:41.299 --> 00:31:41.899 well, that's good. 00:31:42.319 --> 00:31:43.659 I can see God at work there. 00:31:44.279 --> 00:31:45.240 And then this is evil. 00:31:46.159 --> 00:31:47.099 God is not here. 00:31:47.099 --> 00:31:49.959 If I don't see God at work 00:31:49.959 --> 00:31:51.819 in either case, 00:31:52.699 --> 00:31:54.699 well, perhaps I can't. 00:31:54.939 --> 00:31:55.859 Perhaps I can't see 00:31:55.859 --> 00:31:56.679 what God is doing 00:31:56.679 --> 00:31:57.899 in good or evil. 00:31:58.359 --> 00:31:59.559 But let's not be so naive 00:31:59.559 --> 00:31:59.980 as to say, 00:32:00.059 --> 00:32:00.879 God is at work here 00:32:00.879 --> 00:32:01.419 in the good 00:32:01.419 --> 00:32:03.079 but not here in the evil. 00:32:03.519 --> 00:32:04.480 Because if he's sovereign 00:32:04.480 --> 00:32:04.939 over all, 00:32:05.000 --> 00:32:06.259 he is sovereign over all. 00:32:08.939 --> 00:32:09.719 In fact, 00:32:10.379 --> 00:32:11.299 Paul's measuring stick 00:32:11.299 --> 00:32:12.259 as he shows us 00:32:12.259 --> 00:32:12.899 in Philippians 00:32:12.899 --> 00:32:14.459 in terms of whether 00:32:14.459 --> 00:32:15.480 to respond with joy 00:32:15.480 --> 00:32:16.019 or mourning 00:32:16.019 --> 00:32:17.700 in any circumstance, 00:32:18.160 --> 00:32:19.000 whether that circumstance 00:32:19.000 --> 00:32:20.019 was good or evil, 00:32:20.339 --> 00:32:21.759 was not the good or evil 00:32:21.759 --> 00:32:22.380 of the circumstance. 00:32:22.599 --> 00:32:23.120 It was this. 00:32:23.480 --> 00:32:24.539 Does it cause Christ 00:32:24.539 --> 00:32:25.200 to be proclaimed? 00:32:26.759 --> 00:32:28.200 It was a simple formula. 00:32:28.839 --> 00:32:29.440 Good or evil, 00:32:30.200 --> 00:32:31.240 does it cause Christ 00:32:31.240 --> 00:32:31.940 to be proclaimed? 00:32:33.120 --> 00:32:33.599 And in that, 00:32:33.660 --> 00:32:34.200 he took joy. 00:32:34.539 --> 00:32:35.019 Whether it was 00:32:35.019 --> 00:32:36.519 from goodwill or evil, 00:32:36.920 --> 00:32:38.019 does it cause Christ 00:32:38.019 --> 00:32:38.620 to be proclaimed? 00:32:38.619 --> 00:32:40.899 Because our Lord 00:32:40.899 --> 00:32:42.059 specializes in taking 00:32:42.059 --> 00:32:42.839 great evils 00:32:42.839 --> 00:32:44.399 and turning them around 00:32:44.399 --> 00:32:45.039 for his glory. 00:32:47.539 --> 00:32:47.979 Remember, 00:32:48.079 --> 00:32:49.599 the greatest of all evils 00:32:49.599 --> 00:32:51.339 was what Paul wrote about, 00:32:51.839 --> 00:32:53.000 what happened to Christ. 00:32:53.619 --> 00:32:54.379 And this is the meaning 00:32:54.379 --> 00:32:55.199 of what happened to Christ 00:32:55.199 --> 00:32:56.399 as Paul gives it to us 00:32:56.399 --> 00:32:58.259 in 2 Corinthians 5.21. 00:32:59.000 --> 00:33:00.899 He made him who knew 00:33:00.899 --> 00:33:01.979 to be sin 00:33:01.979 --> 00:33:03.039 who knew no sin 00:33:03.039 --> 00:33:04.679 so that in him 00:33:04.679 --> 00:33:05.439 we might have 00:33:05.439 --> 00:33:07.000 the righteousness of God. 00:33:07.000 --> 00:33:09.559 God took the most 00:33:09.559 --> 00:33:10.519 offensive evil, 00:33:10.980 --> 00:33:12.400 the most offensive sin 00:33:12.400 --> 00:33:13.619 ever committed by man, 00:33:14.279 --> 00:33:16.180 the murder of God's own son, 00:33:16.980 --> 00:33:17.660 and ordained it 00:33:17.660 --> 00:33:18.220 for his glory. 00:33:19.079 --> 00:33:20.480 If that doesn't show 00:33:20.480 --> 00:33:21.400 proof positive 00:33:21.400 --> 00:33:22.359 of God's sovereignty 00:33:22.359 --> 00:33:23.039 over evil, 00:33:23.420 --> 00:33:24.519 there is nothing that does. 00:33:25.420 --> 00:33:26.279 Because God took 00:33:26.279 --> 00:33:27.839 the most evil in the world, 00:33:28.339 --> 00:33:29.859 manifested in one act 00:33:29.859 --> 00:33:31.079 in the first century, 00:33:31.680 --> 00:33:33.079 and turned it around 00:33:33.079 --> 00:33:34.019 to the greatest glory 00:33:34.019 --> 00:33:35.339 that any of us 00:33:35.339 --> 00:33:35.900 will ever know. 00:33:37.000 --> 00:33:38.220 So take your cue 00:33:38.220 --> 00:33:39.339 from our Lord's suffering. 00:33:40.660 --> 00:33:41.200 Because our Lord 00:33:41.200 --> 00:33:42.480 also considered suffering 00:33:42.480 --> 00:33:43.880 his own personal anguish 00:33:43.880 --> 00:33:44.779 as small compared 00:33:44.779 --> 00:33:45.400 to the purposes 00:33:45.400 --> 00:33:46.359 that God was revealing 00:33:46.359 --> 00:33:46.759 in them. 00:33:47.559 --> 00:33:48.599 Jesus, when he was speaking 00:33:48.599 --> 00:33:49.420 to his disciples, 00:33:49.920 --> 00:33:51.160 his crucifixion was coming. 00:33:51.819 --> 00:33:53.099 But what was on Jesus' mind 00:33:53.099 --> 00:33:54.599 when speaking about 00:33:54.599 --> 00:33:55.440 his coming crucifixion, 00:33:55.500 --> 00:33:56.279 he told his disciples, 00:33:56.759 --> 00:33:57.339 don't let your hearts 00:33:57.339 --> 00:33:57.740 be troubled. 00:33:58.779 --> 00:33:59.500 Believe in God. 00:34:00.380 --> 00:34:01.279 Believe also in me. 00:34:02.180 --> 00:34:03.240 In my Father's house 00:34:03.240 --> 00:34:04.160 are many rooms. 00:34:04.519 --> 00:34:05.240 If it were not so, 00:34:05.240 --> 00:34:07.759 I would have told you 00:34:07.759 --> 00:34:10.519 that I go to prepare 00:34:10.519 --> 00:34:11.179 a place for you. 00:34:11.760 --> 00:34:12.739 And if I go to prepare 00:34:12.739 --> 00:34:13.300 a place for you, 00:34:13.360 --> 00:34:14.079 I will come again 00:34:14.079 --> 00:34:15.199 and take you to myself 00:34:15.199 --> 00:34:16.880 that where I am, 00:34:17.440 --> 00:34:18.099 you may be also. 00:34:19.139 --> 00:34:20.480 That was on our Lord's mind 00:34:20.480 --> 00:34:22.139 when he was about 00:34:22.139 --> 00:34:23.460 to suffer this affliction. 00:34:24.579 --> 00:34:25.300 That's the spirit 00:34:25.300 --> 00:34:26.099 that he gave Paul 00:34:26.099 --> 00:34:27.539 to encourage the church 00:34:27.539 --> 00:34:28.940 when he goes through suffering 00:34:28.940 --> 00:34:30.159 so that we, 00:34:30.619 --> 00:34:31.239 the Philippians, 00:34:31.320 --> 00:34:31.880 as well as we, 00:34:31.960 --> 00:34:32.719 might be emboldened. 00:34:32.719 --> 00:34:35.539 And let's be clear 00:34:35.539 --> 00:34:36.459 that I'm not saying 00:34:36.459 --> 00:34:37.539 that all suffering is good. 00:34:38.279 --> 00:34:39.579 This letter to the Philippians 00:34:39.579 --> 00:34:40.379 is not telling us 00:34:40.379 --> 00:34:40.839 that all things 00:34:40.839 --> 00:34:41.839 that we endure are good, 00:34:42.039 --> 00:34:43.199 only that we can trust 00:34:43.199 --> 00:34:44.480 the Lord in his providence 00:34:44.480 --> 00:34:45.279 to govern it, 00:34:46.019 --> 00:34:46.959 even for his glory. 00:34:47.879 --> 00:34:48.879 Because Paul endured 00:34:48.879 --> 00:34:49.859 some bad suffering. 00:34:50.679 --> 00:34:51.559 What Jesus endured 00:34:51.559 --> 00:34:52.719 was the greatest injustice 00:34:52.719 --> 00:34:54.359 humanity has ever exacted 00:34:54.359 --> 00:34:55.019 on another person. 00:34:55.819 --> 00:34:57.239 And we also may endure 00:34:57.239 --> 00:34:58.439 bad suffering. 00:34:58.440 --> 00:35:00.820 But I will say 00:35:00.820 --> 00:35:01.639 that in this suffering, 00:35:02.039 --> 00:35:03.240 it's a step forward 00:35:03.240 --> 00:35:04.139 in God's plan. 00:35:04.360 --> 00:35:05.079 It's not a retreat. 00:35:06.380 --> 00:35:07.119 In Paul's case, 00:35:07.200 --> 00:35:07.920 the Lord didn't look down 00:35:07.920 --> 00:35:08.539 from heaven and say, 00:35:08.700 --> 00:35:10.619 oh, Paul's in prison. 00:35:11.340 --> 00:35:12.400 What do I do now? 00:35:12.480 --> 00:35:13.900 I have to work this somehow 00:35:13.900 --> 00:35:15.280 in order to accomplish 00:35:15.280 --> 00:35:15.820 my purposes. 00:35:16.220 --> 00:35:17.139 He didn't say that. 00:35:17.200 --> 00:35:17.860 He ordained it. 00:35:18.380 --> 00:35:19.240 He ordained it before 00:35:19.240 --> 00:35:20.340 the foundation of the world 00:35:20.340 --> 00:35:21.460 and he governed it. 00:35:21.880 --> 00:35:23.179 He governed Paul's imprisonment. 00:35:23.539 --> 00:35:24.340 It was his means 00:35:24.340 --> 00:35:25.139 of growing his kingdom. 00:35:25.139 --> 00:35:27.639 And it's not just true 00:35:27.639 --> 00:35:28.940 for apostles and special people. 00:35:29.440 --> 00:35:30.299 It's for us. 00:35:30.960 --> 00:35:31.900 It's our encouragement 00:35:31.900 --> 00:35:33.259 to look suffering in the face 00:35:33.259 --> 00:35:35.079 because God's providence is there. 00:35:36.139 --> 00:35:36.839 God is governing 00:35:36.839 --> 00:35:39.079 all the actions around us. 00:35:40.379 --> 00:35:41.719 What are God's works of providence? 00:35:42.739 --> 00:35:44.139 His holy, wise, 00:35:44.259 --> 00:35:45.279 and powerful preserving 00:35:45.279 --> 00:35:46.539 and governing 00:35:46.539 --> 00:35:47.799 all his creatures 00:35:47.799 --> 00:35:49.400 and all their actions. 00:35:50.759 --> 00:35:52.619 And when I look at myself 00:35:52.619 --> 00:35:53.400 as a creature 00:35:53.400 --> 00:35:54.599 and my actions, 00:35:54.599 --> 00:35:56.519 I have a mix of both, 00:35:56.619 --> 00:35:56.920 don't I? 00:35:57.179 --> 00:35:57.799 And if we're honest 00:35:57.799 --> 00:35:58.420 with ourselves, 00:35:58.659 --> 00:35:59.579 we have to look 00:35:59.579 --> 00:36:00.679 at that principle 00:36:00.679 --> 00:36:01.360 of the catechism 00:36:01.360 --> 00:36:01.679 and say, 00:36:01.759 --> 00:36:02.339 if God is sovereign 00:36:02.339 --> 00:36:03.759 over all our actions, 00:36:04.279 --> 00:36:04.779 well, he's sovereign 00:36:04.779 --> 00:36:05.579 over sin as well. 00:36:05.799 --> 00:36:06.440 He's sovereign over 00:36:06.440 --> 00:36:07.579 the suffering that I endure, 00:36:07.920 --> 00:36:09.159 the suffering that I impose 00:36:09.159 --> 00:36:10.159 because of my sin 00:36:10.159 --> 00:36:11.799 and the suffering 00:36:11.799 --> 00:36:13.159 that I am a victim of 00:36:13.159 --> 00:36:13.819 that afflicts me. 00:36:14.460 --> 00:36:15.799 So we can look suffering 00:36:15.799 --> 00:36:17.139 and adversity in the face 00:36:17.139 --> 00:36:18.319 knowing that every moment of it 00:36:18.319 --> 00:36:20.079 is ordained by God's providence 00:36:20.079 --> 00:36:22.920 if we can lift our eyes 00:36:22.920 --> 00:36:23.900 from our own miseries 00:36:23.900 --> 00:36:25.880 taking the example 00:36:25.880 --> 00:36:26.360 of Jesus 00:36:26.360 --> 00:36:27.660 and from Paul, 00:36:28.039 --> 00:36:28.579 lift our eyes 00:36:28.579 --> 00:36:29.400 from our own miseries 00:36:29.400 --> 00:36:30.760 and hope for what the Lord 00:36:30.760 --> 00:36:31.880 will do through his kingdom 00:36:31.880 --> 00:36:32.880 as a result. 00:36:34.599 --> 00:36:35.340 Paul finishes 00:36:35.340 --> 00:36:37.000 this thought 00:36:37.000 --> 00:36:38.460 in verse 18 00:36:38.460 --> 00:36:39.039 where he says, 00:36:39.180 --> 00:36:39.519 what then? 00:36:40.300 --> 00:36:41.420 Only that in every way, 00:36:42.099 --> 00:36:42.840 whether in pretense 00:36:42.840 --> 00:36:43.420 or in truth, 00:36:43.559 --> 00:36:44.400 Christ is proclaimed 00:36:44.400 --> 00:36:46.019 and in that I rejoice. 00:36:47.139 --> 00:36:47.920 So what then, 00:36:48.000 --> 00:36:48.539 Paul says, 00:36:48.680 --> 00:36:49.519 is as if to say, 00:36:49.980 --> 00:36:50.900 the kingdom is advancing 00:36:50.900 --> 00:36:51.900 in a way that causes 00:36:51.900 --> 00:36:53.320 much hardship for me. 00:36:54.180 --> 00:36:54.619 And what? 00:36:54.960 --> 00:36:55.480 What of it? 00:36:56.700 --> 00:36:58.079 What did you expect, 00:36:58.340 --> 00:36:58.680 Philippi? 00:36:59.820 --> 00:37:00.579 What do you think 00:37:00.579 --> 00:37:01.639 carrying in our bodies 00:37:01.639 --> 00:37:02.880 the death of Jesus means? 00:37:03.920 --> 00:37:05.160 It's not just poetry. 00:37:05.840 --> 00:37:07.260 We are carrying in our bodies 00:37:07.260 --> 00:37:08.200 the death of Jesus. 00:37:09.119 --> 00:37:09.599 Death stinks. 00:37:10.380 --> 00:37:10.960 Death's unpleasant. 00:37:11.619 --> 00:37:12.300 Death corrupts. 00:37:13.680 --> 00:37:14.480 Don't think the Lord 00:37:14.480 --> 00:37:14.900 is waiting 00:37:14.900 --> 00:37:16.740 for your ideal circumstance 00:37:16.739 --> 00:37:19.039 for his kingdom to move 00:37:19.039 --> 00:37:21.019 because his ideal circumstance 00:37:21.019 --> 00:37:21.699 is the one 00:37:21.699 --> 00:37:22.579 that you're in right now. 00:37:23.719 --> 00:37:24.659 He ordained this too. 00:37:26.259 --> 00:37:27.379 We can stare suffering 00:37:27.379 --> 00:37:27.939 in the face 00:37:27.939 --> 00:37:29.539 not because of some 00:37:29.539 --> 00:37:30.379 naive belief 00:37:30.379 --> 00:37:31.979 that our suffering is good 00:37:31.979 --> 00:37:33.539 but because we know 00:37:33.539 --> 00:37:34.099 that our king, 00:37:34.639 --> 00:37:34.879 Jesus, 00:37:35.559 --> 00:37:36.259 is using it 00:37:36.259 --> 00:37:37.139 as a step forward 00:37:37.139 --> 00:37:37.859 in his plan 00:37:37.859 --> 00:37:39.039 for his glory 00:37:39.039 --> 00:37:40.019 and for our good. 00:37:41.759 --> 00:37:42.399 And yes, 00:37:42.479 --> 00:37:42.879 the governing 00:37:42.879 --> 00:37:43.679 of the Lord 00:37:43.679 --> 00:37:44.699 can be heavy on us. 00:37:44.699 --> 00:37:46.419 It's his preserving 00:37:46.419 --> 00:37:47.379 that we also need 00:37:47.379 --> 00:37:48.699 to remember as well. 00:37:49.599 --> 00:37:50.539 The hairs of your heads 00:37:50.539 --> 00:37:51.480 are numbered. 00:37:52.779 --> 00:37:53.879 We are afflicted 00:37:53.879 --> 00:37:55.500 but we're not crushed. 00:37:56.559 --> 00:37:57.639 We are persecuted 00:37:57.639 --> 00:37:59.759 but we're not forsaken. 00:38:00.939 --> 00:38:02.439 We are perplexed 00:38:02.439 --> 00:38:04.399 but we are not despairing. 00:38:08.059 --> 00:38:09.500 As we pray for this message 00:38:09.500 --> 00:38:10.259 to reach our hearts, 00:38:10.419 --> 00:38:11.159 I would like to read 00:38:11.159 --> 00:38:12.259 Psalm 37. 00:38:12.439 --> 00:38:12.980 That will be our 00:38:12.980 --> 00:38:13.960 closing prayer. 00:38:14.699 --> 00:38:17.659 Psalm 37 remembers 00:38:17.659 --> 00:38:19.519 from the psalmist 00:38:19.519 --> 00:38:20.859 who delighted in the Lord, 00:38:21.279 --> 00:38:21.919 David, 00:38:22.019 --> 00:38:22.899 we know his life 00:38:22.899 --> 00:38:24.639 in the midst of suffering. 00:38:25.019 --> 00:38:26.119 And he wrote these psalms 00:38:26.119 --> 00:38:27.939 throughout his affliction. 00:38:28.579 --> 00:38:29.159 And they're psalms, 00:38:29.419 --> 00:38:30.139 these are prayers 00:38:30.139 --> 00:38:30.919 given to us 00:38:30.919 --> 00:38:32.419 that we in times of suffering, 00:38:32.619 --> 00:38:33.519 we in times of doubt, 00:38:33.939 --> 00:38:35.019 whether it's a magnitude 00:38:35.019 --> 00:38:36.879 large or small suffering, 00:38:37.319 --> 00:38:38.519 we can be encouraged 00:38:38.519 --> 00:38:39.219 and emboldened 00:38:39.219 --> 00:38:40.519 by our brother in Christ, 00:38:40.639 --> 00:38:40.939 David, 00:38:41.419 --> 00:38:42.939 who also suffered. 00:38:42.940 --> 00:38:44.119 And wrote these words 00:38:44.119 --> 00:38:44.960 in Psalm 37. 00:38:46.260 --> 00:38:47.119 Fret not yourself 00:38:47.119 --> 00:38:48.099 because of evildoers. 00:38:48.639 --> 00:38:49.340 Be not envious 00:38:49.340 --> 00:38:50.179 of wrongdoers. 00:38:50.900 --> 00:38:51.679 For they will soon 00:38:51.679 --> 00:38:52.559 fade like the grass 00:38:52.559 --> 00:38:53.840 and wither like the green herb. 00:38:54.800 --> 00:38:55.559 Trust in the Lord 00:38:55.559 --> 00:38:56.139 and do good. 00:38:57.099 --> 00:38:57.880 Dwell in the land 00:38:57.880 --> 00:38:59.119 and befriend faithfulness. 00:39:00.260 --> 00:39:00.860 Delight yourself 00:39:00.860 --> 00:39:01.320 in the Lord 00:39:01.320 --> 00:39:02.119 and he will give you 00:39:02.119 --> 00:39:03.139 the desires of your heart. 00:39:04.500 --> 00:39:05.059 Commit your way 00:39:05.059 --> 00:39:05.539 to the Lord. 00:39:06.579 --> 00:39:07.200 Trust in him 00:39:07.199 --> 00:39:08.679 and he will act. 00:39:09.879 --> 00:39:10.799 He will bring forth 00:39:10.799 --> 00:39:11.299 your righteousness 00:39:11.299 --> 00:39:11.980 as the light 00:39:11.980 --> 00:39:13.319 and your justice 00:39:13.319 --> 00:39:14.159 as the noonday. 00:39:15.259 --> 00:39:16.319 Be still before the Lord 00:39:16.319 --> 00:39:17.419 and wait patiently for him. 00:39:18.359 --> 00:39:19.139 Fret not yourself 00:39:19.139 --> 00:39:19.639 over the one 00:39:19.639 --> 00:39:20.779 who prospers in his way, 00:39:21.480 --> 00:39:22.099 over the man 00:39:22.099 --> 00:39:23.319 who carries out evil devices. 00:39:25.000 --> 00:39:25.819 Refrain from anger 00:39:25.819 --> 00:39:26.679 and forsake wrath. 00:39:27.859 --> 00:39:28.619 Fret not yourself, 00:39:28.719 --> 00:39:29.960 it tends only to evil. 00:39:30.639 --> 00:39:31.500 For the evildoers 00:39:31.500 --> 00:39:32.259 shall be cut off, 00:39:32.960 --> 00:39:33.739 but those who wait 00:39:33.739 --> 00:39:34.259 for the Lord 00:39:34.259 --> 00:39:35.599 shall inherit the land. 00:39:35.599 --> 00:39:37.880 In just a little while 00:39:37.880 --> 00:39:38.279 the wicked 00:39:38.279 --> 00:39:39.079 will be no more. 00:39:40.219 --> 00:39:41.099 Though you look carefully 00:39:41.099 --> 00:39:41.779 at his place, 00:39:42.299 --> 00:39:43.199 he will not be there. 00:39:44.179 --> 00:39:44.839 But the meek 00:39:44.839 --> 00:39:45.779 shall inherit the land 00:39:45.779 --> 00:39:47.380 and delight themselves 00:39:47.380 --> 00:39:48.900 in abundant peace. 00:39:50.179 --> 00:39:50.940 Father in heaven, 00:39:51.079 --> 00:39:52.239 you are completely trustworthy. 00:39:53.559 --> 00:39:54.299 Whatever it is 00:39:54.299 --> 00:39:55.039 that you have in mind 00:39:55.039 --> 00:39:55.539 for the lives 00:39:55.539 --> 00:39:56.440 of your saints here, 00:39:57.019 --> 00:39:57.900 we receive it. 00:39:59.139 --> 00:39:59.699 What's more, 00:39:59.779 --> 00:40:01.119 we want to eagerly accept it, 00:40:01.739 --> 00:40:02.639 knowing that through it 00:40:02.639 --> 00:40:04.059 you will give us hope 00:40:04.059 --> 00:40:04.880 in the promise 00:40:04.880 --> 00:40:05.820 you've already secured 00:40:05.820 --> 00:40:06.660 for us in Christ. 00:40:07.940 --> 00:40:09.180 But when we're not eager, 00:40:10.240 --> 00:40:10.900 heal our hearts 00:40:10.900 --> 00:40:12.140 so that we can have 00:40:12.140 --> 00:40:13.039 the joy that looks up 00:40:13.039 --> 00:40:14.059 from our own sufferings 00:40:14.059 --> 00:40:15.180 into the glory 00:40:15.180 --> 00:40:15.960 that you will reveal. 00:40:17.119 --> 00:40:17.860 We ask this 00:40:17.860 --> 00:40:18.720 in the name of your Son 00:40:18.720 --> 00:40:20.059 and our Savior, 00:40:20.460 --> 00:40:21.059 Jesus Christ. 00:40:21.059 --> 00:40:22.200 Amen.