Well, now we turn to the preaching of God's Word.
Today we're going to continue our series looking at the letter of Philippians, Paul's letter
to the church at Philippi.
So we'll be looking specifically in chapter 1, verses 12 through 18 today.
And as you turn there or look on the screen behind me, I wonder how many of you have heard
of or seen the TV show, The Deadliest Catch.
Now, I don't know if it has quite the same following here in the UK that it's had in
the States for nearly two decades, but it's a reality show that follows these crab fishermen
in the Bering Sea off the coast of Alaska during the crab season.
And so as the title of the show shows, this is dangerous work.
It's known as one of the most dangerous jobs in the world.
And if you've seen the show before, you'd know why.
Because as these fishermen go out into sea, we see these raging waters, these torrential
storms that they encounter.
They're dealing with these huge heavy equipment on their ship that they cast into the sea in
hopes of collecting crab in a few days or weeks or however long they're out there.
And we see that because of the temperatures and the storms, this deck is solid ice.
They have to deal with this equipment as the boat is tossing to and fro.
And so while this may provide great entertainment for some of us, some of us are left asking,
why in the world would these guys care to do this?
Because even though there may be some money in it, if you're lucky enough to have a good
season, who would want to risk life and limb just for a few dollars or a few crab?
Well, this morning we're looking at a passage where Paul may offer a similarly bleak view
of Christianity.
We know that he is sitting in jail.
He's awaiting trial that's eventually going to lead to his own death.
We know that he's been stoned and flogged and beaten and imprisoned.
He's been shipwrecked himself.
And we may think, man, this seems like a really bad recruitment strategy for the New Testament
church to have Paul as your leader spreading the gospel.
And yet he sits in jail.
He's continually the focus of persecution from both Romans and Jews.
And so we may think, man, that's a hard sell.
That's a hard sell back then.
That's a hard sell now to think that coming to Christ means you're going to face persecution.
That coming to Christ, you should expect to die.
And so we need to recognize that this calling, though this was a calling on Paul's life, this
was a calling for the New Testament church, this is also the calling for our church today.
And so it's a sobering reminder, especially in the Western world where we live in relative
comfort and ease, where we see the world tell us to seek your own comfort and security,
to secure your own physical blessing and wealth.
And unfortunately, those feelings and those desires and that call can start to permeate
the church.
And so the call to suffer is something that may be unfamiliar with some of us.
It may be something that's uncomfortable for many of us.
But we're going to see in our passage today, this is not how Paul responds to suffering.
Rather than complain or focus on his own hardship, we see that he rejoices.
And so because of his rejoicing, through his suffering, he recognizes that God is at work.
Not only in his life, but in the lives of others.
Through his suffering, the gospel is being advanced.
Through his suffering, God is ultimately going to receive the glory.
And so let's turn to our passage then.
Philippians 1, verses 12 through 18.
I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance
the gospel.
So it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my
imprisonment is for Christ.
And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more
bold to speak the word without fear.
Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from goodwill.
The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel.
The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, but thinking to afflict me
in my imprisonment.
What then?
Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed.
And in that I rejoice.
Pray with me again.
Lord, as we turn to your word, we pray that we may receive your truth.
And as we struggle with the topic of suffering and figuring out what it means for us and thinking
about why we suffer and how we should suffer well, Lord, we pray that we'll be able to submit
to you to recognize your goodness and your worthiness.
We pray in Jesus' name.
Amen.
Well, if you've been with us the last few weeks, we know that we've taken three weeks
just to move through the introduction that Paul gives at the beginning of the letter,
where he introduces himself, he addresses in church, the encouragement that he has seen
within the church at Philippi, and a prayer that he has for him, for the church.
And so now we see a natural turn where Paul is giving a personal report of sorts.
This is a church that is longing to hear from Paul.
They want to know what's going on in his life.
And so we see in this brief report two things that stick out.
One is Paul's own persecution.
And two, the gospel proclamation.
And so we're going to see today how one actually leads to the other.
So I want to focus on them individually.
First, Paul's persecution and then the gospel proclamation.
And so let's consider this persecution.
We've talked about how the church at Philippi was one of the very first churches to support
Paul and his missionary journeys.
They provided him with finances.
They actually set Epaphroditus to be with him, to deliver this money, to care for him.
And so this letter was coming back with Epaphroditus.
And the church would then be excited to know, Paul, what's your condition?
What's been going on?
We've heard rumors or short stories about your imprisonment and your persecution.
We want to hear it from you firsthand.
But if the church might have been hoping for some sort of sensational story from Paul about all that's happened to him,
it would have been really disappointed because Paul really doesn't say much about his suffering at all.
He sums it up by just using the phrase, all that has happened to me.
He doesn't give any more details.
There's no more specifics regarding his imprisonment, regarding his flogging, regarding his shipwreck.
And so if you're not familiar with Paul, obviously this letter in Philippians says very little about Paul's effort to see the spread of the gospel.
But we only have to turn back to the book of Acts a little bit earlier in the New Testament where it's documented.
Paul's missionary journeys, the sufferings that he endured.
And so if we were to move back to Acts 21, we know that Paul has just returned from his third missionary journey.
He's back in Jerusalem.
He's worshiping at the temple.
And these Jewish leaders recognize him.
And they immediately grab him and throw him out of the temple and begin to beat him.
It's only because the Roman guards interfere.
They chain him up.
They drag him away from the crowd who most certainly wants to kill him.
And as the guards are about to do a flogging of their own and interrogation as to who this person is, Paul reminds them of his own Roman citizenship, which grants him certain rights that wasn't available to others.
And so we know that then he is put in jail temporarily when there's this word about the Jews who want to ambush him and kill him.
And so the Romans decide, well, we need to take him to Caesarea, to the governor, and he can consider his case.
And so that's what they do under armed guards.
Paul's taken to Caesarea, goes before the governor, and we see that Governor Felix, he decides, well, I'm going to hear your case.
But actually, he never decides his case.
And Paul is thrown in prison where he sits for two years, forgotten, until a new governor comes in place, Governor Festus.
He says, yes, I'll consider your case as well.
Let's go back to Jerusalem where we have your trial.
Paul says, no, I'm appealing to Rome.
And so then he gets sent on a ship to Rome with other prisoners.
And on that ship across the sea, we know he hits bad weather.
He's shipwrecked on the island of Malta where he's stranded for three months, finally rescued, brought to Rome where he's put in under house arrest.
And that's how the book of Acts ends.
And so you may think, man, if this was a modern day missionary, had a story like this, his, I mean, would Christian publishers not be banging down his door in order for a book deal that they can share with others?
I mean, if we have a story like this of our own, some sort of harrowing experience, we want to share it with other people, right?
We want people to know what experience we went through, whether to gain their sympathy or maybe to be a little prideful and say, look what I've overcome.
Paul wants none of that here.
He deflects all attention away from himself.
In doing so, he refuses the opportunity to receive any sort of sympathy, any sort of praise from the church.
And so even though he doesn't go into details about his suffering here, we know that he has suffered.
He sums it up for us.
There's really two truths that I think we can take away when we consider Paul's suffering.
One is that suffering is normal for believers.
There's doubtless, there were many people within the church who would have thought that Paul's imprisonment was a bad thing.
They might have wondered, is God really in control?
I mean, what's going to happen if Paul is killed or if he's left in prison?
Is the gospel going to continue in advance?
What's going to happen to me and my family?
Are we going to receive the same persecution that Paul has?
They may question God's providence and his sovereignty.
But Paul in this letter consistently, both in Philippians and his other letters, he's trying to normalize suffering.
We already know when we've gone over at the beginning of this book, Paul says he refers to himself as a servant, as a slave of Christ.
And later on, we're going to see in chapter 3, verse 10, he says,
I want to know Christ, yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his suffering, becoming like him in death.
And so Paul is willing to suffer for Christ because he knows that Christ willingly suffered for him.
And he understands that his suffering for Christ is going to bring him into greater knowledge of Christ,
greater appreciation for all that Christ has done for him.
And because we know that Christ comes and fulfills prophecy of what it says in the Old Testament,
not to come and set up an earthly kingdom, not to come and rule and reign and subject others under him.
No, he comes as a suffering servant.
As it says in Isaiah 53, he was despised and rejected by mankind.
A man of suffering and familiar with pain, he was despised and we held him in low esteem.
And Isaiah goes on to say this, he says,
He took our pain.
He bore our suffering.
He was pierced for our transgressions.
He was crushed for our iniquities.
And so what a wonderful truth this is, to know that Christ has suffered for you.
To know that because of Christ's suffering, we may receive his salvation.
And so Paul, in wanting to participate in his suffering, isn't saying,
I need to help God out here.
I need to participate in such a way that I am contributing to my salvation.
No, that's not Paul's point here.
He's responding out of a heart of gratitude,
recognizing that the God of the universe subjected himself to the torture of man
in order that we may be saved.
And so therefore, we should be willing as his followers to do likewise.
And so as believers, I think oftentimes we may come to Christ and think,
you know what?
If I'm willing to follow Christ, then maybe my life's going to be okay.
Maybe I'll experience physical, blessing, financial comfort and success in this life.
But nowhere in the Bible does God promise that to us.
In fact, if we go back to the words of Jesus over and over again,
he says just the exact opposite.
He tells his disciples to take up their cross and follow him.
He says a servant is not above his master.
So if Christ was willing to suffer and die for us,
what should we expect and be willing to do also?
Jesus made it very clear to his disciples when he sends them out.
He says, the world is going to hate you because of me.
And so if we think of Paul's own conversion,
we know this dramatic conversion story of when he's going on the road to Damascus.
He himself is a Pharisee.
He himself is persecuting the church.
He wants to see the spread of the gospel fizzle out.
But we see God confront him on the road to Damascus.
We see him turn to Christ and receive salvation.
But what happens also is the direction and instruction that Jesus gives to a disciple in Damascus,
a man named Ananias.
And so listen to what he tells Ananias.
He says, go for he, talking about Paul,
says go for he is a chosen instrument of mine
to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and children of Israel.
For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.
How is that for an introduction into the family of God?
You know, there's none of this, hey, welcome into the family.
Make yourself comfortable.
Have a cup of tea.
No, he says, praise the Lord.
He has saved you.
Now prepare to suffer.
And so how does that strike us?
Are we willing and ready in the same way to suffer for Christ?
And not that we should purposely seek out suffering or make light of suffering,
but it's something that we need to expect as believers.
I think unfortunately, though, this idea of suffering is something that's so foreign within the Western church.
Like we were saying before, society tells us to build up your own kingdom,
to seek your own comfort,
to make sure that you are secure financially,
that your family is well off,
that troubles won't come to you.
And so when we experience suffering within the church,
I think we often tend to grumble.
I think we often ask, why?
God, why?
Have you allowed this to happen to me?
We ask, when?
God, when is this going to stop?
We see oftentimes that suffering,
more so than many other circumstances in our life,
can reveal to us where our hope and where our trust truly lies.
Because suffering exposes the idols in our lives.
What are we relying on more than Christ?
What, when it's taken away from us, is going to be so painful?
And so Paul is saying here, no.
Not to follow the things of this world,
but to be willing to suffer.
So what does this mean to us?
Are we willing to ask difficult questions?
To ask, what's the value of the gospel in our lives?
Are we willing to forsake our comfort for the sake of Christ?
Are we willing to put aside possessions and security
and our future for the advancement of the gospel?
While this may seem radical to some of us now,
it certainly seems radical to those outside the church.
But what Paul is saying here is, no,
these are normal questions to ask.
This is the normal life of a Christian.
This is the essence of a Christian life.
And so then that second truth,
if we know that suffering is normal for the believer,
we can also trust that God is still in control
in the midst of our suffering.
We looked just a few weeks ago at chapter 1, verse 6,
where Paul says,
he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion
at the day of Jesus Christ.
And so Paul is able to say this in the midst of suffering.
He's writing this letter from prison.
And so he's acknowledging that it's Christ who has saved him.
And even though he is experiencing suffering,
that Christ is continuing to work on him
and that Christ promises to bring that work to completion.
And so Paul understands that suffering,
it doesn't interfere with God's work.
It's actually a part of God's work.
And so he was able to have confidence
in God's sovereign plan for his life,
to continue trusting in the ongoing work of Christ.
And so Paul didn't need to highlight the circumstances of his suffering.
He didn't need to talk about his shipwreck
or talk about how many times he'd been flogged
or how many days he's been in prison.
He's not focusing on himself or his own welfare.
He's fixed on Christ.
And so that's why he can say in Romans 8,
for I consider the sufferings of this present time
are of no worth compared to the glory
that he is to reveal to us.
And so Paul can endure temporary sufferings
because he knows of the internal glory that is to come.
And so what does that mean for us?
Likely none of us will experience the same physical chains
that Paul does here.
But certainly if we're called to suffer,
if that's an expectation of believers,
there's certainly going to be suffering that we endure.
And so what does that look like for each one of us?
Is it an overbearing boss?
Is it a marriage that's on the rocks?
Is it a rebellious child?
Is it that diagnosis of cancer?
Is it an ongoing struggle with anxiety and depression and loneliness?
Whatever it may be,
are we going to be willing to respond to the Lord with confidence,
to know that God is still in control,
to recognize the purpose of our suffering?
Because that really brings us to our next point.
We don't suffer just for the sake of suffering.
God's not the kind of God who just wants to see us in pain.
There is reason for our suffering.
And that's why Paul refers to his suffering here.
But when we talk,
thinking back about that TV show,
The Deadly Catch Again,
there's lots of interviews after seasons
or after certain episodes
where some of the captains either come together
or are interviewed individually about their experience.
And one of the common questions that's always asked is,
why do you do this?
And the answer that is always repeated among all the captains
is usually one, for the money,
if you get lucky enough to have a good catch,
and two, for the high that it gives you,
for the excitement that you receive
that you can't get doing other regular work.
And so their goal in doing something that seems outlandish to us
is their own personal profit,
is their own personal experience.
It's all about self.
But we see Paul give a very different answer here.
Why does he suffer?
It's for gospel proclamation.
It's for the advancement of the gospel.
And so it's probably safe to assume
that the church in Philippi had heard reports
that Paul was maybe not doing well,
that he'd be in prison,
that he may have been shipwrecked.
They might have not had all the details,
and that's what they were expecting
they might receive through this letter.
They might have expected that,
you know what, we may get a bad report here.
We may hear that Paul's in prison,
and his gospel work is hindered,
and the advancement of the gospel
is not going like we hoped.
But that's not the message that Paul gives.
He gives the exact opposite message,
that even though I am suffering,
the gospel is advancing.
Verse 12,
Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters,
that what has happened to me
has actually advanced,
has actually served to advance the gospel.
And so I think there's something
very important to notice here,
how Paul talks about suffering.
He doesn't say the gospel is advanced
in spite of my suffering.
He said the gospel has advanced
as a result of his suffering.
And so he recognizes that it's his suffering,
that it's his adversity,
that's actually aided the advancement of the gospel.
One of the things that my family loves to do
around Edinburgh that we've enjoyed doing
that's really close to our house
is just being able to hike up Blackford Hill.
And while there's some certain ways
that kind of most people go up the steps on one side
or drive up to the observatory on the other,
what my kids like doing
is kind of blazing their own trail.
And the problem is when you do this,
you're going a very narrow path
that a lot of people don't go on
that are just overrun with gorse.
If you know what gorse is,
it's that beautiful,
has that beautiful blossom,
yellow blossom in the spring.
But if you're up close to these bushes,
they are awful,
just filled with thorns.
It's not something that you want to brush up into
or kind of have to navigate through.
But inevitably, this is what the kids want to do
and they're a little smaller than me,
can make it a little easier than I can.
But every time we go up these trails,
I think, man, I just need to bring some shears
or clippers with me
to kind of clear out these trails
and make it a lot easier to go up.
Well, Paul here in verse 12,
when he uses this word advanced,
the gospel,
it really gives a military connotation
of soldiers that are blazing a trail
for an army to follow behind.
Like they're clearing a path
for easy advancement.
And so if we think about climbing a hill
with all this gorse,
we may think,
if we try to analogize it to our lives,
we may think,
well, the gorse is the suffering
that we have to endure
that we need to push away
in order to advance.
But Paul's saying, no,
it's the shears,
it's the clippers that we have
that are actually the suffering.
That's what pushes away the things
so the gospel can advance.
And so that's what Paul wants to show us here
is how the gospel advances.
It really advances in two forms,
through the suffering.
At first, he says that the gospel
has spread throughout the whole
imperial guard and beyond.
And so the imperial guard
would have been
10,000 or so imperial soldiers
that worked in Rome,
that would have been under the rule
of the emperor,
would have served as some form
of police force in Rome.
And so these would have been
the ones that were responsible
for guarding Paul
while he was under house arrest.
24-7, Paul would have been
chained up to a Roman guard.
And these guards would have shifted
with time,
whether a three-hour shift
or a six-hour shift,
they would have changed up.
So certainly,
Paul would have had
a lot of face time
with a lot of different soldiers.
And so if you ever want
a captive audience with anyone,
Paul certainly had it here.
There's nothing else
for these soldiers to do
but to spend time
listening to Paul,
talk to his visitors,
listen to Paul write letters,
and certainly have
personal conversations with Paul.
And so we know
that these soldiers
interacting with Paul,
he certainly would have been
any different
than any other person
they would have guarded before.
you wonder
what kind of conversations
they had.
You wonder
what kind of conversations
those guards
then had with other guards
about their time with Paul.
And we know through that
that everyone
knew who Paul was.
But not only the guards,
it says that
the governors
knew of him.
He testified
before Governor Felix,
Governor Festus,
before King Agrippa.
How in the world
would Paul have had
such an audience
if he wasn't in chains?
And so there's
great blessing
that we see
through Paul's persecution.
The Jews
were hoping
to silence Paul.
The Jews
wanted to kill Paul
to hope
that the spread
of the gospel
would fizzle out.
But we see
the exact opposite
happen here.
Because of Paul's
imprisonment,
people know him
from Rome
to Jerusalem.
They know
what he's preaching
and that gospel
is spreading.
And so
it's really
interesting language
at the end
of verse 13.
It says that
in most versions
it's talking about
everyone knew
Paul's imprisonment
was for Christ.
But actually
in the Greek
it's not for Christ
it's in Christ.
That Paul's
imprisonment
was in Christ.
And so it's really
one of Paul's
favorite phrases.
To be in Christ.
We see it repeated
throughout his letters.
What does it mean
to be in imprisonment
in Christ?
Well Paul's making clear
here that he's not
doing something
for God
by suffering for him.
As if he's
receiving credit
or as if
this is
of his own doing.
Paul is linking
himself not only
to Christ
but to Christ's plan.
So he's standing
in solidarity
with Christ.
He is empowered
by Christ
in order to suffer.
He's making clear
that the only reason
that he sits in prison
is because of his
union with Christ.
And so we see
then that his testimony
not only affects
Roman soldiers
and leaders in Rome
but it also affects
the believers as well.
In verse 14.
It says this
and most of the brothers
having become
confident in the Lord
by my imprisonment
are much more bold
to speak the word
without fear.
And so we might have
expected that the opposite
would have happened.
Those Christians in Rome
when they see Paul
begin to
brought in
and imprisoned
persecution
beginning to happen
you may think
God these guys
are going to just
go into hiding.
They're going to scatter
just like Jesus' disciples
did when he was arrested.
But we see the opposite
have an opposite
effect happen here.
I mentioned a few weeks
ago how my wife
and I lived in China
over a decade ago.
And when we lived there
we worked in close
connection with
a local house church.
There were several
points of the house
church in our city.
There was one very
close to where we lived
because there was a lot
of university students
there.
And it was one Sunday
that that house church
was meeting to worship
and it was raided
by the police.
And the pastor
was arrested
and the elder
was arrested.
They spent several
days in jail.
All the students
that were there
were taken into
interrogated
and they were
threatened that you
ever come back here.
Whoever hear of you
doing this again
you're never going to
graduate from university.
And it was amazing
to see the effect
that that had
on the church.
Because you may think
these students
are going to be
scared out of their mind.
they're never going
to meet together again
in public or in private.
But you know
what happened?
Those same students
were the ones
who were doing ministry
that very next week.
Those were the same
students who were
back at church
the next week.
They were the ones
who encouraged others
in their faith.
And so to see
the solidarity
of the church
in that city.
To see their boldness
grow because they
had heard the stories
of persecution
of their fellow
brothers and sisters.
believers.
And so that's
what's happening here.
Believers in Rome
see Paul imprisoned
and rather than
cower in fear
they grow in confidence.
And not of their
own strength
not of their own resolve
it says they grow
in confidence
in the Lord.
It's the Lord
that they're trusting
that Christ is working
through Paul
and in Paul
it is Christ
who is responsible
for the fruit
that is coming
through his suffering.
And the church
in Rome says
I want that too.
And so it's really
good that we
familiarize ourselves
with suffering.
So often
we're so opposed
to suffering
it's something
that we want to avoid
we even want to avoid
hearing about it.
But we see here
the benefit
of familiarizing
ourselves with suffering
not just so
that we can know
about others
who are suffering
we know how to pray
for them
and encourage them
but that we too
can be encouraged
through the suffering
of others.
And so this is why
it's good
to read biographies
of the saints
of missionaries
of those who have
struggled for the gospel.
This is why
it's good
to keep up
with current events
to know
how the church
is being affected
globally
in political situations
and social situations.
This is why
it's good
for us
to know
of our brothers
and sisters
in this church
who are suffering
and so that we
can care for them
yes
but that we can
also grow
in confidence
as we see God
work in them
and through them.
Because we see
the result
of this confidence
it says at the end
of verse 14
they were much more
bold to speak
the word without fear.
And so this isn't
talking just about
elders
it's not talking
about deacons
or other leaders
or disciples
it's talking about
the whole church
that's how the verse
starts
by saying
most of the brothers
so this is
really a church-wide
effort to proclaim
the gospel.
And so if we look
back in Acts 14
the disciples
have received
the Holy Spirit
we know that
Peter and John
have been sent out
they've been preaching
the gospel boldly
and as a result
they've been arrested
they're released
a couple days later
and they come to the church
and the church surrounds them
and this is what
the church prays
they say
Lord grant to your servants
to continue to speak
your word
with all boldness
and when they prayed
that the place
in which they were
gathered together
was shaken
and they were filled
with the Holy Spirit
and continued to speak
the word of God
with boldness.
Now notice
what it doesn't say here
it doesn't say
they continued
to perform miracles
boldly
it doesn't say
they boldly cared
for the physical needs
of their community
it says
they boldly spoke
the word
of God
maybe you're familiar
with the phrase
that gets thrown around
a lot in the church
sometimes
to preach the gospel
at all times
and when necessary
use words
right
it's a cute
little phrase
but it's not
in the Bible
and it's not
biblical
we are commanded
to speak
the word
of God
our good works
yes they must
correspond
with our words
but our good works
are not a substitute
for our words
and so I think
this can be
really the scariest
part
when we think
about suffering
for our faith
in our context
is the fact
that God calls us
to share
our faith
using words
to speak
the gospel
we're so concerned
by avoiding
awkwardness
we're so concerned
by offending
other people
we're so concerned
about not having
the right answers
or wondering
how people
will respond
to us
that we just
clam up
yeah we'll
we'll do something
to meet someone's
physical needs
we'll join a program
or a ministry
but speak the gospel
to somebody
how do we do that
well
think about
your own
conversion story
who are the people
in your life
that ministered
to you
how was your
heart softened
for the Lord
did people pray
with you
or for you
did people
point out
verses in the
scripture
as encouragement
to you
did they actually
walk through
the Bible
with you
what are the
things that
we need to do
in order to
speak the truth
of the gospel
to those around
us
and be able
to do that
in the midst
of our suffering
that's what
this is
what Paul is
pointing to
here
to use
our suffering
for the
proclamation
of the gospel
and so what
does that mean
for us
when we have
an overbearing
boss
how we may
share the love
of Christ
with him
how do we
use that
that cancer
diagnosis
when we know
we're going to be
in the midst
of doctors
and nurses
and other
patients
who don't
know the Lord
what does it
mean for that
student who's
been ridiculed
at school
over and over
again
to be able
to shower
grace
on their
classmates
what about
the person
who's
struggled
with depression
and anxiety
for years
how in the
world can
they speak
confidence
of the gospel
to friends
and family
who don't
know them
what about
those who've
lost a loved
one
to be able
to have
confidence
in the hope
of eternity
and be able
to speak
that truth
to family
who don't
know the Lord
there's
opportunity
all around
us
to speak
the truth
of the gospel
because this
is the ultimate
desire that
Paul has
here
that the
gospel
may be
proclaimed
that Christ
is proclaimed
and so that
needs to be
our desire
too
and so he
goes on to
say in
verses 15
through 18
we get this
picture of
the gospel
being preached
and it's not
being done
perfectly
some are
motivated
by authentic
love for
God
for a desire
to see
the gospel
spread
and Paul
also identifies
those who
do it out
of envy
and rivalry
and selfish
ambition
and so we
don't really
get a clear
picture of
why these
people are
doing this
we don't
know how
why they're
so offended
by Paul
and his
ministry
but we
know it's
happening
here
but what's
surprising
perhaps is
how Paul
responds
to these
individuals
who are
preaching the
gospel
out of
envy
and rivalry
he doesn't
specifically
identify
them
he doesn't
even
condemn
them
he's
excited
that the
gospel
is still
being
proclaimed
and so we
know that
Paul doesn't
pull any
punches
when there's
those who
are delivering
a false
gospel
we see that
in his
other letters
so we know
that's not
happening
here
we are
confident
that the
gospel
is being
preached
and so that's
why Paul
rejoices
that doesn't
mean we
can push
aside all the
motives why
someone preached
those are
still important
but that's
not Paul's
main focus
here
doesn't
care
whether
he is
the one
who is
mistreated
from people
outside the
church or
whether he's
mistreated by
people that
are inside
the church
what he cares
about is the
proclamation
of the gospel
because he
recognizes that
God in the
same way
that God
can advance
the gospel
through his
chains
God can
advance the
gospel
through the
bad motives
of others
in his
church
and so that's
good news
for us
that's good
news for me
that's good
news for each
one of us
who proclaim
the gospel
to recognize
God can use
broken
sinful people
who often
preach out
of selfish
ambition
and know
that he can
still accomplish
his purposes
that God's
will and
God's work
cannot be
thwarted by
bad intentions
of man
and so we
see in this
in these few
verses that
Paul's joy
is not rooted
in his
circumstances
it's not rooted
in his
reputation
it's solely
seeing the
gospel advance
and so is
this our
desire
is the
gospel
so beautiful
in our
lives
that we
desire to
share it
with others
is the
gospel so
valuable in
our lives
that we
will abandon
all else
to see that
it's advanced
is the
gospel so
trustworthy
that we can
recognize that
even though
suffering and
sorrow comes
we can rely
on Christ
and his
work in
our lives
is our
gaze so
fixed on
the future
of glory
of Christ
that the
sufferings on
this world
pale in
comparison
there's nowhere
in these
verses that
Paul says
suffering is
easy
but we can
be confident
that God
does not
abandon us
in his
suffering
we can be
confident that
our suffering
doesn't interfere
with God's
plan it is
a part of
God's plan
and so we
can have joy
just with
the same
way that
Paul does
in knowing
that it's
God who
is ultimately
working in
us and
through us
for our
good
for the
spread of
the gospel
and ultimately
for his
glory
let's pray
God it's
difficult to
pray
but we
thank you
for suffering
because we
know that it
doesn't come
apart from
your perfect
sovereign will
and so
Lord we
pray for
those who
are suffering
in our
midst
physically
spiritually
emotionally
that you
may meet
them
may we
not pray
why oh
Lord or
how long
oh Lord
but may
we pray
Lord use
us
may that
be our
desire
God
that you
receive the
glory
that your
gospel be
advanced
give us
great boldness
and being
able to
work through
our own
suffering
that you
give us
and being
confident in
the suffering
we see in
others
that you
love us
and that you
care for us
God may we
rely on our
suffering servant
Jesus
who paid the
penalty for our
sins
that we may
have life
eternal
we thank you
for your
love
we pray
this in
Jesus name
amen
now we're
going to sing
our final
hymn of
the morning
facing a
task
unfinished
will you
stand with
me to
sing
about
a