WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:15.040 The following sermon is made available by Lakeside Bible Church in Cornelius, North Carolina. 00:00:15.640 --> 00:00:19.160 For more information about our church or to find more recorded sermons, 00:00:19.660 --> 00:00:22.719 please visit us online at lakesidebible.church. 00:00:22.980 --> 00:00:25.719 We'd also love to connect with you on social media. 00:00:25.719 --> 00:00:30.660 You can find us by searching Lakeside Bible NC on Facebook and Instagram. 00:00:31.399 --> 00:00:37.859 For specific questions about the Bible or our church, please email us at info at lakesidebible.church. 00:00:39.820 --> 00:00:43.219 I want to invite you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Philippians. 00:00:43.920 --> 00:00:45.299 Philippians chapter 1. 00:00:46.299 --> 00:00:49.140 But I would that you should understand, brethren, 00:00:49.140 --> 00:00:56.140 that the things which have happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel 00:00:56.140 --> 00:01:04.140 or the advancement of the gospel, so that my bonds in Christ are manifest or made known in all the palace 00:01:04.140 --> 00:01:05.539 and in all other places. 00:01:06.240 --> 00:01:09.819 And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, 00:01:10.159 --> 00:01:13.340 are much more bold to speak the word without fear. 00:01:13.340 --> 00:01:17.260 Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife. 00:01:18.159 --> 00:01:20.020 And some also of goodwill. 00:01:20.120 --> 00:01:26.780 The one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds. 00:01:27.400 --> 00:01:32.340 But the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defense of the gospel. 00:01:33.379 --> 00:01:33.980 What then? 00:01:34.620 --> 00:01:36.280 Or so what, Paul says. 00:01:36.280 --> 00:01:54.219 I think a helpful synopsis of this particular passage in the title for our message today 00:01:54.219 --> 00:01:56.900 is simply the advance of the gospel. 00:01:57.460 --> 00:01:59.020 The advance of the gospel. 00:01:59.680 --> 00:02:01.579 As we study through the book of Philippians, 00:02:01.579 --> 00:02:10.159 we must keep in mind that this book is God's word having been delivered to us in the form of an actual letter. 00:02:10.719 --> 00:02:15.180 It's a real letter, a real historical event, a real historical moment 00:02:15.180 --> 00:02:21.620 that was written by a real person named Paul to a real church in a real city called Philippi. 00:02:22.020 --> 00:02:27.460 It's easy for us, if you're like me, it's easy to get caught up in the stories that we enjoy. 00:02:27.460 --> 00:02:31.479 It's easy to get caught up in the entertainment that we enjoy. 00:02:31.840 --> 00:02:35.660 And when we come to the word, we have a hard time distinguishing the difference 00:02:35.660 --> 00:02:39.080 between the fictional things that surround our lives and the truth of the scriptures. 00:02:39.820 --> 00:02:42.840 And sometimes we come to a book like Philippians and we will read it 00:02:42.840 --> 00:02:45.620 acknowledging at least verbally that this is God's word. 00:02:45.740 --> 00:02:49.220 But in the back of our minds, we're not processing that this is actual truth. 00:02:49.400 --> 00:02:52.320 This is a real person writing to a real group of people. 00:02:52.740 --> 00:02:55.620 And so it's helpful for us to remember that as we study this book, 00:02:55.620 --> 00:02:58.500 this is a real letter written by a real person. 00:02:58.500 --> 00:03:03.719 The Philippian church was concerned for the welfare of the apostle Paul. 00:03:04.280 --> 00:03:08.879 And so they sent a man named Epaphroditus to visit Paul in Rome. 00:03:09.379 --> 00:03:15.360 He delivered a particular financial gift to assist with Paul's ministry there. 00:03:15.620 --> 00:03:19.740 He spent time comforting and encouraging Paul as he was in prison there. 00:03:19.740 --> 00:03:27.060 And then he was tasked with the purpose of reporting back to the church about what was going on in Paul's life. 00:03:27.460 --> 00:03:33.080 So in these first 11 verses, we see this partnership that Paul references that he has with this Philippian church. 00:03:33.219 --> 00:03:38.040 And then in this next thing, we see that we start to see the fullness of what's actually happening. 00:03:38.719 --> 00:03:43.300 That Epaphroditus has come because this church and their partnership was concerned for Paul. 00:03:43.840 --> 00:03:44.960 He's in prison there. 00:03:44.960 --> 00:03:50.180 They hadn't heard much from him and they hadn't heard much about the ministry and they were concerned about their friend. 00:03:50.780 --> 00:03:56.719 Now, most scholars date this particular book, this writing to AD 61 or 62. 00:03:57.159 --> 00:04:06.900 And towards the end of Paul's first imprisonment in Rome, the believers there in Philippi obviously were concerned about Paul's circumstances. 00:04:06.900 --> 00:04:14.800 But we can see as we read through these verses and as we'll study them this morning, that it wasn't just Paul's circumstances that gave them concern. 00:04:15.640 --> 00:04:17.980 They were concerned about the advancement of the gospel. 00:04:19.220 --> 00:04:26.120 All of them had been impacted in a tremendous way by Paul coming to the city of Philippi and preaching the truth about Jesus, 00:04:26.459 --> 00:04:31.399 marking the first time that the gospel of Jesus had ever actually made its way to the continent of Europe. 00:04:31.860 --> 00:04:33.240 This was a significant church. 00:04:33.579 --> 00:04:36.519 This was a people that were greatly impacted by him. 00:04:36.939 --> 00:04:38.599 Impacted by the message that he brought. 00:04:39.180 --> 00:04:44.039 And naturally, they cared for that message to go throughout the whole world, just like we would care. 00:04:44.120 --> 00:04:50.180 We want this gospel message of Jesus to go all through Cornelius and Davidson and hundreds of people on throughout the world. 00:04:50.259 --> 00:04:53.399 That's why we're involving ourselves in gospel partnerships all around the world. 00:04:53.500 --> 00:04:54.279 We desire that. 00:04:54.339 --> 00:04:54.859 We want that. 00:04:55.719 --> 00:04:57.199 This church wanted that too. 00:04:57.199 --> 00:05:07.719 And so when they hear that the man that has impacted them so greatly that the Lord had used so greatly in these other cities is put in prison and he's been in prison now for four years, 00:05:07.720 --> 00:05:12.200 their concern is that the gospel is not going to advance. 00:05:13.200 --> 00:05:14.720 What's going to happen with the gospel? 00:05:14.720 --> 00:05:18.900 What's going to happen with this good news that Paul's been sharing all across the world? 00:05:18.980 --> 00:05:21.820 This good news that has changed our lives radically? 00:05:21.980 --> 00:05:26.200 This good news that we desire to change the lives of everyone else as well? 00:05:26.199 --> 00:05:33.699 So Paul uses these verses, 12 through 18, as a means of comfort for the troubled Philippians. 00:05:34.319 --> 00:05:42.399 And in these verses, he provides both an encouragement and an exhortation as it relates to the advancement of the gospel, 00:05:42.399 --> 00:05:46.560 as well as our perspective of various life circumstances. 00:05:47.219 --> 00:05:50.179 Now, I hope that you were able to grab one of those scripture journals when you came in. 00:05:50.219 --> 00:05:53.379 If you didn't, we'll get you one at the end of the service and you can keep notes. 00:05:53.659 --> 00:05:56.079 I only have two particular notes I'm going to have you write down. 00:05:56.299 --> 00:05:59.620 What I'm about to tell you is not on the screen, but I'm going to mention it to you. 00:05:59.620 --> 00:06:03.399 And it may would be helpful for you to write it down to reference back later in your own study. 00:06:03.659 --> 00:06:06.179 The first thing that we see as far as this encouragement, 00:06:06.399 --> 00:06:10.939 remember there's an encouragement and an exhortation that overshadows this whole section of verses. 00:06:10.939 --> 00:06:17.560 The encouragement is this, that God's gospel purposes cannot be stopped. 00:06:18.379 --> 00:06:24.100 God's gospel purposes cannot be stopped. 00:06:24.920 --> 00:06:34.819 For 2,000 years now, God's gospel purposes have been attempted to be thwarted by many, many, many people. 00:06:35.879 --> 00:06:39.839 Attack after attack for thousands of years has come against the church of Christ. 00:06:39.839 --> 00:06:42.099 It has come against the inerrancy of the scripture. 00:06:42.439 --> 00:06:44.639 It has come against the gospel of Jesus Christ. 00:06:44.779 --> 00:06:48.879 But God's gospel purposes cannot be stopped. 00:06:49.000 --> 00:06:52.679 That is an overwhelming encouragement in these few verses here. 00:06:53.699 --> 00:07:02.500 The scriptures teach us this glorious truth that God is sovereignly at work in every circumstance of our lives. 00:07:02.500 --> 00:07:11.180 In order that, his gospel purposes might be accomplished in us first and then through us and in the lives of others. 00:07:11.439 --> 00:07:13.579 Let me give you just a couple of other examples. 00:07:13.699 --> 00:07:15.360 Do you remember Joseph in the book of Genesis? 00:07:16.100 --> 00:07:21.740 His own brothers beat him up, threw him in a pit, and sold him into slavery. 00:07:21.740 --> 00:07:34.519 And leaving the comforts of his own home and of his own family, he is taken to Egypt to live in a land that he's never been to, to learn a language that he's never spoken, and he becomes a slave. 00:07:35.079 --> 00:07:38.620 And at the end of that story, you can read it in the end of the book of Genesis. 00:07:38.620 --> 00:07:44.240 At the end of that story, when God's purposes are actually revealed, and we see all that happens with Joseph's life. 00:07:44.240 --> 00:07:49.600 Joseph's brothers, after his dad dies, Joseph's brothers come back to him, and they're scared for their life. 00:07:50.180 --> 00:07:53.199 They're scared that Joseph is going to get his revenge now that dad's dead. 00:07:53.920 --> 00:07:58.000 And Joseph looks at him in Genesis chapter 50, and he says, you guys don't understand. 00:07:58.280 --> 00:08:04.879 You meant this for evil, but God meant this for good in order to save much people alive. 00:08:06.280 --> 00:08:08.840 Sure, it was Joseph's brothers that threw him in the pit. 00:08:08.840 --> 00:08:12.500 It was the action of their doing that sold him into slavery. 00:08:12.500 --> 00:08:25.500 But God was in sovereign control of all of those events in order that he might accomplish his purposes in Joseph's lives, and then to save a lot of people alive during a very, very sore famine in the land of Egypt and around the world. 00:08:26.220 --> 00:08:33.100 Then we see in Paul's own testimony, remembering the testimony of how he started this church in Philippi. 00:08:33.759 --> 00:08:37.600 He thought maybe he was going to die in Philippi on that journey. 00:08:37.600 --> 00:08:40.680 He leads a girl to the Lord. 00:08:40.779 --> 00:08:43.980 He cast out a demon out of a slave girl, and he gets in trouble for it. 00:08:44.240 --> 00:08:53.100 He's beaten nearly to death, stripped of his clothes in public in front of all the other people in Philippi, cast into prison, thinking that he's going to be executed the next morning. 00:08:53.960 --> 00:09:02.019 Yet God used that experience and that event in his life to bring about the conversion of the jailer that had actually thrown him into prison. 00:09:02.019 --> 00:09:07.819 And that's the backdrop of what he writes in Philippians chapter 2 and verse 13 when he says, 00:09:08.000 --> 00:09:09.620 It is God which works in you. 00:09:10.079 --> 00:09:14.259 It's God that works in you, both to will and to do of his good pleasure. 00:09:14.480 --> 00:09:18.240 And we can go story after story and passage after passage. 00:09:18.460 --> 00:09:24.059 And the overwhelming truth of the Bible is that our God actually is God. 00:09:24.919 --> 00:09:26.240 And he acts as God. 00:09:26.659 --> 00:09:28.100 He controls as God. 00:09:28.100 --> 00:09:34.680 He works in every situation in our lives to accomplish his purposes in us and then to accomplish his purposes through us. 00:09:34.840 --> 00:09:42.980 So when we look at Paul's situation in Rome as he's in prison, when we see the worry of the Philippian church, Paul easily writes back to them and says, 00:09:43.220 --> 00:09:45.259 Don't worry, God's got this. 00:09:45.899 --> 00:09:47.500 And he's going to take care of this. 00:09:47.700 --> 00:09:50.639 And he's doing this for his glory. 00:09:51.680 --> 00:09:54.940 Paul's imprisonment was all about the gospel. 00:09:54.940 --> 00:09:59.900 Your reason for being here today has a gospel purpose. 00:10:00.460 --> 00:10:06.360 Either you need to be impacted by the gospel or you need to be encouraged in the impact that you're sharing with others about the gospel. 00:10:06.680 --> 00:10:11.240 And what we understand as we study verses like this and verses like 2 Peter 3, 9, 00:10:11.480 --> 00:10:18.960 is that God in his overwhelming love and grace, his capacity for forgiveness for us is relentless. 00:10:18.960 --> 00:10:24.620 And he knows everyone that's going to be saved from now until the end of time. 00:10:24.740 --> 00:10:30.620 And he will not stop his plan until each of those people have come to faith in Christ. 00:10:31.480 --> 00:10:39.180 There's nobody that he knows will be saved that he'll just decide before they ever get that opportunity that he's going to call it quits and just take us on home to heaven. 00:10:39.179 --> 00:10:43.759 And he relentlessly pursues that through us. 00:10:44.579 --> 00:10:47.259 So that when Paul goes to prison, he understands, 00:10:47.599 --> 00:10:52.620 Well, God's got me here because there's people here that need to be saved that otherwise I wouldn't be able to share the gospel with. 00:10:53.799 --> 00:10:58.679 And we begin to see this unfolded in these verses, this wonderful truth. 00:10:59.759 --> 00:11:00.859 God can't be prevented. 00:11:01.479 --> 00:11:03.939 That's the encouragement that overshadows these verses. 00:11:03.940 --> 00:11:12.200 Here's the exhortation that because of that truth, believers must stay focused on the gospel. 00:11:13.220 --> 00:11:19.860 We, Lakeside Bible Church, must stay focused on the gospel. 00:11:20.940 --> 00:11:25.600 Paul uses these verses to warn the Philippians of becoming distracted. 00:11:27.220 --> 00:11:32.900 Hardship and persecution can easily cause us to take our focus off the gospel. 00:11:32.899 --> 00:11:42.779 And this passage serves as an instruction for us to view every circumstance of our life through the lens of God's gospel purposes. 00:11:43.559 --> 00:11:47.799 We must remain focused if we are to persevere and to please the Lord. 00:11:48.559 --> 00:11:52.720 All of this is summed up in Paul's statement in verse number 12. 00:11:52.799 --> 00:11:53.860 Would you look at it with me again? 00:11:55.039 --> 00:11:56.720 But I would that you would understand, brothers. 00:11:56.720 --> 00:12:06.879 In other words, I want you to know, brethren in Christ, I want you to know that the things that have happened to me have served the purpose of advancing the gospel. 00:12:08.180 --> 00:12:10.519 Verse 12 is the point of the passage. 00:12:11.080 --> 00:12:15.320 Verses 13 through 18 is the explanation of verse number 12. 00:12:15.639 --> 00:12:18.899 So everything that's happening is happening for the advancement of the gospel. 00:12:19.320 --> 00:12:21.860 Now let's talk about the two ways that he demonstrates that. 00:12:21.980 --> 00:12:22.759 The first one is this. 00:12:22.840 --> 00:12:23.300 Write this down. 00:12:23.299 --> 00:12:26.639 The gospel advances in spite of difficult circumstances. 00:12:26.939 --> 00:12:32.199 The gospel advances in spite of difficult circumstances. 00:12:33.279 --> 00:12:34.759 Acts chapter 21 through 28. 00:12:34.879 --> 00:12:36.159 In fact, write that in the margins. 00:12:36.279 --> 00:12:37.639 You can reference that later. 00:12:37.779 --> 00:12:43.899 Acts chapter 21 through 28 give a detailed description of the events leading up to Paul's writing of this letter. 00:12:43.899 --> 00:12:49.259 What you'll find happening there is Paul makes his way to Jerusalem in Acts chapter 21. 00:12:49.919 --> 00:12:54.439 The Jews there did not like that he was preaching the gospel of Christ, so they had him arrested. 00:12:55.120 --> 00:13:02.340 He was taken into custody there, and he was passed back and forth through various legal proceedings as he was there in Jerusalem. 00:13:02.459 --> 00:13:07.120 And eventually, he's sent to Caesarea or Caesarea, however you want to say it. 00:13:07.259 --> 00:13:12.460 He's sent to Caesarea, and he's put under house arrest there until they were willing to reopen his case. 00:13:12.460 --> 00:13:14.300 Now, here's the thing about it. 00:13:14.540 --> 00:13:16.300 There was no criminal charge against him. 00:13:17.060 --> 00:13:18.400 That's one of the issues here. 00:13:18.800 --> 00:13:20.440 There was no criminal charge against him. 00:13:20.560 --> 00:13:21.720 He had done nothing wrong. 00:13:22.019 --> 00:13:26.340 This was simply a group of Jews that hated the gospel message of Jesus Christ. 00:13:26.660 --> 00:13:36.100 The Romans at that time that had ruled Jerusalem were afraid that insurrectionists was going to happen within the Jewish culture and sect there in Jerusalem. 00:13:36.320 --> 00:13:39.660 And so they went along with it, and so they sent him to Caesarea. 00:13:39.659 --> 00:13:40.879 Here's the problem. 00:13:41.699 --> 00:13:46.199 He didn't have his case reopened for two years. 00:13:46.639 --> 00:13:52.399 He sits under house arrest, chained to a Roman guard for two years for no reason. 00:13:52.639 --> 00:13:53.639 That's his circumstance. 00:13:53.639 --> 00:13:59.600 Finally, after two years, a man named Festus opens up his case again. 00:13:59.960 --> 00:14:11.199 And in that process, Paul, being a Roman, appeals to Caesar, which in Roman law meant that he had to go to Rome, and he would have his day in court, so to speak, in front of the emperor. 00:14:12.059 --> 00:14:13.580 So he makes this journey to Rome. 00:14:14.120 --> 00:14:16.679 The gospel advancing throughout the entire process. 00:14:16.939 --> 00:14:18.939 He's shipwrecked as a part of that process. 00:14:19.299 --> 00:14:21.139 People are saved even through the shipwrecking. 00:14:21.139 --> 00:14:23.399 I mean, this guy has gone through it. 00:14:24.000 --> 00:14:24.960 And he gets to Rome. 00:14:25.659 --> 00:14:26.919 Caesar's not ready to see him. 00:14:27.500 --> 00:14:30.759 So they keep him on house arrest for another two years. 00:14:32.299 --> 00:14:41.939 When Paul writes this letter, he has now been in prison for four years for no reason. 00:14:42.659 --> 00:14:45.000 Paul's situation was difficult, to say the least. 00:14:45.000 --> 00:14:46.799 But he was not defeated. 00:14:47.779 --> 00:14:51.740 He understood that God was using his imprisonment for the advance of the gospel. 00:14:51.799 --> 00:14:55.360 And he gives two specific proofs of that in these verses. 00:14:55.480 --> 00:14:56.360 The first one is this. 00:14:56.700 --> 00:15:01.159 In verse number 13, we see that Paul's imprisonment produced a unique opportunity. 00:15:01.700 --> 00:15:03.120 It produced a unique opportunity. 00:15:03.220 --> 00:15:04.279 Look with me at verse 13. 00:15:04.279 --> 00:15:19.079 If you're using one of the church Bibles, you'll see at the end of verse 13, places is actually in italics. 00:15:19.139 --> 00:15:21.600 That means it was added by the translators later. 00:15:21.860 --> 00:15:23.220 It's not actually in the text. 00:15:23.220 --> 00:15:34.300 So when we read this particular verse, we can read it as it is made known in all of the palace or the praetorian guard and in all others is really what it's a reference to there. 00:15:35.120 --> 00:15:40.399 Because he was Roman by birth and because there was really no real criminal charge against him, 00:15:41.600 --> 00:15:46.820 Paul wasn't subjected to a typical jail cell or dungeon type experience. 00:15:46.820 --> 00:15:51.780 When he says my bonds in verse 13, he's referencing this house arrest. 00:15:52.540 --> 00:16:01.379 In God's providence, Paul was given a place to live where his companions could come and go as they pleased to see him and to minister to him. 00:16:01.840 --> 00:16:08.900 But a part of this house arrest was that he was chained 24 hours a day to a Roman guard. 00:16:09.340 --> 00:16:12.440 That's where the word palace comes in in verse number 13. 00:16:12.440 --> 00:16:17.360 This is a reference to the praetorian guard or the imperial guard is what it is. 00:16:17.760 --> 00:16:20.580 This was an elite group of soldiers in the Roman Empire. 00:16:21.080 --> 00:16:22.420 They were the best of the best. 00:16:23.140 --> 00:16:28.860 10,000 of them lived in Rome and they were so powerful that at one time in history, 00:16:28.860 --> 00:16:33.760 they were even responsible for setting up and empowering the emperor of Rome. 00:16:34.160 --> 00:16:35.680 This was a powerful group of men. 00:16:36.600 --> 00:16:40.620 24 hours a day, Paul was chained to one of those men. 00:16:40.620 --> 00:16:43.779 They went in six hour shifts is what history tells us. 00:16:43.960 --> 00:16:50.080 And every six hours, Paul would have a unique opportunity to share the gospel with another person. 00:16:50.279 --> 00:16:54.159 So if we're just considering the two years that Paul's in Rome, think about this. 00:16:54.779 --> 00:17:01.299 There is the potential that in his imprisonment, four soldiers a day for two years, 00:17:01.299 --> 00:17:13.740 Paul had the potential of sharing the gospel with nearly 3,000 of these men that were responsible for ruling the world at that time. 00:17:15.099 --> 00:17:16.539 That's in God's providence. 00:17:17.539 --> 00:17:22.819 When Paul looked at his condition, when we think of Paul's difficult circumstance, 00:17:23.139 --> 00:17:25.119 he didn't view it as a difficult circumstance. 00:17:25.119 --> 00:17:31.279 He viewed it as God's way of advancing the gospel because four times a day, he had fresh meat, so to speak, 00:17:31.539 --> 00:17:33.759 that would come in, that would switch out the chains. 00:17:34.359 --> 00:17:39.299 And he knew, God knew that those men were never coming to any of Paul's evangelistic talks. 00:17:40.019 --> 00:17:43.699 They weren't coming to 10 o'clock worship service at Cornelius Elementary School, okay? 00:17:43.779 --> 00:17:44.939 They weren't going there for that. 00:17:45.859 --> 00:17:47.039 They didn't have time for that. 00:17:47.039 --> 00:17:52.119 God knew they weren't going to come, but God had a gospel purpose in some of their lives. 00:17:52.279 --> 00:17:55.039 So God put Paul in a place where they had to come to him. 00:17:55.740 --> 00:18:01.579 It meant imprisonment for four years for Paul, but it meant the radical life change of some of these men. 00:18:02.079 --> 00:18:06.879 And that gospel message spread because of Paul's imprisonment all throughout Rome. 00:18:06.960 --> 00:18:12.539 So at the end of verse 13, it was known not only to all the Praetorian Guard, all 10,000 of these men, 00:18:12.639 --> 00:18:14.460 but it was known in all others in Rome too. 00:18:14.460 --> 00:18:20.140 Paul stuck in a room for four years, yet the gospel spreads like wildfire. 00:18:20.480 --> 00:18:22.079 That is in God's providence. 00:18:22.600 --> 00:18:27.100 So when you see your circumstance today, we don't view it as a woe is me. 00:18:27.220 --> 00:18:31.460 We view it as a God is good, and it doesn't matter what my circumstance is. 00:18:31.720 --> 00:18:35.220 God has a purpose for this, and it's not just a purpose in me. 00:18:35.319 --> 00:18:37.039 It's a purpose in others around me. 00:18:37.460 --> 00:18:40.600 So when you see your difficulty and you see your struggle, 00:18:40.599 --> 00:18:45.559 look for God's gospel purposes in your struggle. 00:18:46.559 --> 00:18:48.740 Think of the conversations these men would have heard. 00:18:49.639 --> 00:18:55.839 I would imagine, as bold as Paul was, each one that came in probably got a straightforward gospel presentation. 00:18:56.099 --> 00:18:57.480 May have been the first thing that he did. 00:18:57.579 --> 00:18:59.099 I mean, might as well get it out of the way. 00:18:59.159 --> 00:19:00.319 You're going to be here for six hours. 00:19:00.319 --> 00:19:07.720 But one of the unique things about God's providence in this house arrest is Paul's companions could come and go. 00:19:08.059 --> 00:19:10.240 He couldn't come and go, but his companions could. 00:19:11.539 --> 00:19:16.139 Epaphroditus shows up from Philippi, and he comes and he sits down in the house. 00:19:16.720 --> 00:19:20.500 Imagine the conversation that that Roman guard heard that day. 00:19:20.500 --> 00:19:25.859 This Roman guard is used to a society that's a dog-eat-dog world. 00:19:27.019 --> 00:19:28.259 He comes in this day. 00:19:28.880 --> 00:19:31.160 He's sitting probably as far away from Paul as he can sit. 00:19:31.779 --> 00:19:34.940 And he hears this conversation between Paul and Epaphroditus. 00:19:35.579 --> 00:19:38.180 And Epaphroditus is talking about love. 00:19:39.660 --> 00:19:40.740 Paul, we love you so much. 00:19:40.839 --> 00:19:42.380 We're just, we're concerned about you. 00:19:43.220 --> 00:19:44.920 By the way, here's some money. 00:19:45.000 --> 00:19:49.059 You know, we don't have much, but we just want to be a blessing to you. 00:19:49.059 --> 00:19:52.379 However this can help the gospel purposes here, here it is. 00:19:52.700 --> 00:19:58.659 Everything that was opposite of that Roman soldier was demonstrated in that conversation, most likely. 00:19:59.879 --> 00:20:01.940 Imagine the prayers that they heard Paul pray. 00:20:03.339 --> 00:20:06.039 Lord, thank you for this imprisonment. 00:20:06.700 --> 00:20:07.740 I know you're using it. 00:20:08.539 --> 00:20:12.179 And thank you for my friend Epaphroditus that has come to encourage me today. 00:20:12.240 --> 00:20:14.500 And thank you for my friends in Philippi. 00:20:14.500 --> 00:20:21.319 And thank you for this praetorian guard that's heard our full conversation today, that's heard your gospel. 00:20:21.819 --> 00:20:24.940 And thank you for the guy that came before him that heard it too. 00:20:25.480 --> 00:20:27.140 Imagine the impact. 00:20:27.140 --> 00:20:33.560 All because Paul viewed his circumstance, not as a woe is me, I got to get out of this as soon as I can. 00:20:33.740 --> 00:20:36.080 But as a God has me here for a reason. 00:20:36.259 --> 00:20:38.360 And that reason is the advancement of the gospel. 00:20:38.660 --> 00:20:42.220 And so when we look at this difficult circumstance, we don't see Paul's circumstance. 00:20:42.500 --> 00:20:44.980 We see that God is sovereignly in control. 00:20:45.180 --> 00:20:49.120 And that his gospel purpose will not be stopped. 00:20:49.800 --> 00:20:51.200 He couldn't have gone to them. 00:20:51.200 --> 00:20:54.480 So God put them in a circumstance that they'd have to come to Paul. 00:20:55.100 --> 00:21:00.900 And we see once again that God's ultimate purpose is not our comfort and happiness. 00:21:02.120 --> 00:21:09.819 Don't believe any preacher that will tell you that when you get saved and you come to faith in Christ, your life will get better. 00:21:10.000 --> 00:21:11.799 Because that's not necessarily true. 00:21:12.900 --> 00:21:16.860 Because God's primary concern is not your comfort, your happiness. 00:21:16.859 --> 00:21:21.559 God's primary concern is his glory through the gospel. 00:21:21.939 --> 00:21:24.119 In you first and then through you. 00:21:24.299 --> 00:21:27.979 Which means there could be an imprisonment of sorts ahead for you and for me. 00:21:28.740 --> 00:21:33.439 And when that happens, do we step back like Paul and say, God's using this. 00:21:34.479 --> 00:21:37.879 And I will witness the gospel because that's why God has put me here. 00:21:38.939 --> 00:21:41.639 Not only did his imprisonment produce a unique opportunity, 00:21:42.000 --> 00:21:44.639 verse 14 shows us that it produced boldness in other believers. 00:21:45.019 --> 00:21:46.159 And it's still doing that today. 00:21:46.160 --> 00:21:47.860 I'm encouraged by this passage. 00:21:48.380 --> 00:21:51.200 I'm emboldened today by Paul's example. 00:21:51.700 --> 00:21:54.300 There's two ways that he shows this boldness in verse 14. 00:21:54.759 --> 00:21:56.680 First is that they were bold in faith. 00:21:57.220 --> 00:21:57.980 They were bold in faith. 00:21:58.160 --> 00:21:59.040 Look at verse 14. 00:22:00.620 --> 00:22:03.519 Many of the brethren in the Lord waxing confident by my imprisonment 00:22:03.519 --> 00:22:06.000 are much more bold to speak the word without fear. 00:22:06.980 --> 00:22:08.880 Now the arrangement of these words is unique. 00:22:08.980 --> 00:22:10.279 If you're using one of those scripture journals, 00:22:10.360 --> 00:22:11.700 it'll say it a little bit of a different way. 00:22:11.860 --> 00:22:13.100 And here's the way that it says it. 00:22:13.100 --> 00:22:13.980 Here's what it means. 00:22:13.980 --> 00:22:19.940 That many of the brethren waxing confident in the Lord because of my imprisonment 00:22:19.940 --> 00:22:22.660 are much more bold to speak the word without fear. 00:22:22.819 --> 00:22:24.940 The first thing they were bold in was bold in faith. 00:22:24.940 --> 00:22:31.320 They saw the way that God was using Paul in that prison and it caused them to be more confident, 00:22:32.100 --> 00:22:36.220 not in themselves or in Paul, but confident in the Lord. 00:22:36.860 --> 00:22:40.559 And this point that Paul's trying to drive that God's pursuit is relentless 00:22:40.559 --> 00:22:44.140 and he cannot be stopped is what they began to understand. 00:22:44.279 --> 00:22:47.799 That even if we get cast into prison, it's fine because God will use us in the prison 00:22:47.799 --> 00:22:49.120 like he's using Paul in the prison. 00:22:49.460 --> 00:22:50.440 God can't be stopped. 00:22:50.440 --> 00:22:52.039 They got confidence in the Lord. 00:22:52.200 --> 00:22:56.000 And then beyond that confidence in the Lord, we see that they were bold in their witness as well. 00:22:57.340 --> 00:23:00.820 A persecution that at one time brought fear to the church 00:23:00.820 --> 00:23:06.460 was now responsible for a passionate boldness to preach the truth. 00:23:07.600 --> 00:23:11.580 Which as we study the history of the church, understand that that's most often what happens 00:23:11.580 --> 00:23:12.640 with persecution, isn't it? 00:23:12.640 --> 00:23:16.540 We see heavy persecution even today. 00:23:17.280 --> 00:23:21.040 We begin to see this gospel message spread like wildfire. 00:23:21.259 --> 00:23:22.120 It's wild. 00:23:24.020 --> 00:23:26.180 It's not how we would think that it would work. 00:23:27.040 --> 00:23:31.880 You would think somebody gets murdered or martyred or cast into prison for their faith. 00:23:32.140 --> 00:23:35.440 That's going to scare people from assuming that same faith. 00:23:36.259 --> 00:23:40.480 Over and over and over throughout all history, the opposite is what has happened. 00:23:40.480 --> 00:23:45.279 Paul gets cast into prison for four years and the gospel spreads like crazy because everybody 00:23:45.279 --> 00:23:46.599 else is bold to preach the gospel. 00:23:46.920 --> 00:23:47.299 Weird. 00:23:48.940 --> 00:23:50.440 We see this in the Middle Ages. 00:23:50.799 --> 00:23:52.460 Some of you will know John Bunyan. 00:23:53.599 --> 00:23:56.120 He's most famous for writing The Pilgrim's Progress. 00:23:56.299 --> 00:23:57.140 You've probably read it before. 00:23:57.980 --> 00:23:59.720 He was also a fantastic preacher. 00:24:00.680 --> 00:24:03.960 And he was arrested because of preaching the gospel and he was thrown into prison. 00:24:04.160 --> 00:24:07.759 And they said that as he would sit in his prison cell, he had to preach the gospel. 00:24:07.759 --> 00:24:12.119 So he'd preach it as loud as he possibly could so that the people on the other side of the wall 00:24:12.119 --> 00:24:15.379 through a window could come by and they could listen to him preach the Bible. 00:24:16.119 --> 00:24:20.640 And the authorities got so tired of him yelling out the gospel message that they moved him 00:24:20.640 --> 00:24:23.099 to the innermost part of the prison where nobody could hear him. 00:24:23.299 --> 00:24:24.059 And they locked him up. 00:24:24.619 --> 00:24:29.839 Thinking that they had shut John Bunyan up finally for the rest of his life, 00:24:30.079 --> 00:24:32.680 that he'll never have this gospel impact anymore. 00:24:32.680 --> 00:24:36.799 sitting in that room where nobody can hear him, he writes The Pilgrim's Progress, 00:24:37.299 --> 00:24:41.680 which today is still used to spread the gospel all throughout the world. 00:24:41.900 --> 00:24:47.600 400 years later, imprisonment cannot stop God's purposes. 00:24:48.680 --> 00:24:53.340 And whatever it is you're chained to today, that's not going to stop God either. 00:24:53.339 --> 00:24:57.359 I don't know what it is you're chained to. 00:24:59.039 --> 00:25:01.419 Maybe you're chained to a job that you really hate. 00:25:02.720 --> 00:25:04.919 Every morning when you get up and you drive to work, 00:25:05.220 --> 00:25:07.519 it's the last thing that you want to do. 00:25:08.439 --> 00:25:10.980 Can I encourage you that tomorrow when you go to work, 00:25:11.419 --> 00:25:13.379 don't think about how much you hate your job. 00:25:15.240 --> 00:25:18.500 Think, God's chained me to this job for a reason. 00:25:18.500 --> 00:25:22.779 What is God's gospel purpose in me being at this place of work today? 00:25:24.640 --> 00:25:26.200 Some of you are chained to an illness. 00:25:27.480 --> 00:25:29.819 It's not that you hate your job, it's that you hate your health. 00:25:31.259 --> 00:25:33.619 And you just can't get over whatever it is that keeps coming. 00:25:35.220 --> 00:25:37.579 Hey, if you're discouraged in that, can I encourage you 00:25:37.579 --> 00:25:39.980 that God has a gospel purpose in that illness? 00:25:40.900 --> 00:25:42.240 So ask yourself today, 00:25:42.660 --> 00:25:45.000 what is God's gospel purpose in my illness? 00:25:45.160 --> 00:25:47.480 And how can I demonstrate his glory through it? 00:25:47.480 --> 00:25:51.380 It could be that it's your life that he's trying to impact. 00:25:52.180 --> 00:25:53.980 It could also be that it's the life of others. 00:25:55.720 --> 00:25:58.980 Find your chain today and then ask yourself, 00:25:59.279 --> 00:26:01.019 why has God given this to me? 00:26:02.099 --> 00:26:05.319 Not as a question of, Lord, I don't deserve this hardship, 00:26:05.539 --> 00:26:08.839 but as a question of, Lord, what are you doing in this? 00:26:09.420 --> 00:26:11.539 Help me be faithful to the gospel in this. 00:26:12.240 --> 00:26:14.900 So the gospel advances despite difficult circumstances. 00:26:14.900 --> 00:26:20.700 Finally, and more quickly, the gospel advances in spite of deceitful criticisms. 00:26:21.360 --> 00:26:23.300 In spite of deceitful criticisms. 00:26:25.000 --> 00:26:29.120 Paul gets through these first two verses in 13 and 14. 00:26:29.680 --> 00:26:34.480 He is reassuring the Philippians that God is in control 00:26:34.480 --> 00:26:38.120 and that he's using all of this for the advancement of the gospel. 00:26:38.119 --> 00:26:41.579 And then he anticipates a second question. 00:26:42.719 --> 00:26:46.219 Verses 13 and 14 anticipate the question by the Philippians, 00:26:46.639 --> 00:26:48.619 what is happening to the gospel that you're in prison? 00:26:48.919 --> 00:26:49.879 Paul answers that question. 00:26:50.459 --> 00:26:52.739 Everything that is good is happening with the gospel, 00:26:52.859 --> 00:26:53.619 even though I'm in prison. 00:26:53.939 --> 00:26:55.739 And then he anticipates the second question. 00:26:55.740 --> 00:26:59.259 Well, Paul, what about all of these people not in prison 00:26:59.259 --> 00:27:01.940 that are saying you're a big phony? 00:27:04.059 --> 00:27:05.960 That are saying that you're actually in prison 00:27:05.960 --> 00:27:08.259 because you broke the law in some way 00:27:08.259 --> 00:27:10.140 or they're criticizing you in some way. 00:27:10.240 --> 00:27:12.299 What's going to happen with the gospel for these people 00:27:12.299 --> 00:27:14.200 that are building their churches 00:27:14.200 --> 00:27:15.839 and they're building it on pretense? 00:27:16.779 --> 00:27:18.759 How can the gospel work through this? 00:27:19.500 --> 00:27:20.880 What's God going to do in this? 00:27:20.960 --> 00:27:21.960 That's the second question. 00:27:22.220 --> 00:27:25.039 You see Paul answering that in his opening statement in verse 15. 00:27:26.039 --> 00:27:27.680 Referencing back to those that are bold 00:27:27.680 --> 00:27:29.039 to speak the word without fear, 00:27:29.379 --> 00:27:31.420 he says, some of them indeed, 00:27:32.139 --> 00:27:33.559 as you might've been wondering, 00:27:34.539 --> 00:27:36.500 preach Christ even of envy and strife. 00:27:37.279 --> 00:27:38.639 Some also of goodwill. 00:27:39.839 --> 00:27:41.819 The second thing that's happened to him 00:27:41.819 --> 00:27:45.059 is that he was being personally attacked. 00:27:45.799 --> 00:27:48.279 He's not even got a way to defend himself. 00:27:48.799 --> 00:27:52.599 He's being personally attacked for his imprisonment 00:27:52.599 --> 00:27:54.059 and maybe even for the gospel. 00:27:55.039 --> 00:27:58.599 This unity is one of the greatest obstacles 00:27:58.599 --> 00:28:00.879 to the church's gospel focus. 00:28:02.220 --> 00:28:05.440 Satan's been attacking this unity since the beginning 00:28:05.440 --> 00:28:09.659 and it's for this reason that unity in the gospel 00:28:09.659 --> 00:28:12.399 is one of the dominant themes of the book of Philippians. 00:28:12.680 --> 00:28:14.039 Let me show you just a few verses. 00:28:14.220 --> 00:28:16.059 Look at verse number nine in chapter one. 00:28:16.119 --> 00:28:16.779 You're still there, right? 00:28:17.440 --> 00:28:18.819 This was a part of Paul's prayer. 00:28:18.819 --> 00:28:23.059 And I pray that your love may abound yet more and more. 00:28:23.259 --> 00:28:24.339 Right from the beginning, 00:28:24.339 --> 00:28:26.220 as he's talking about their gospel partnership, 00:28:26.500 --> 00:28:28.839 he emphasizes this unity together. 00:28:29.039 --> 00:28:31.279 Look with me at verse 27 of chapter one. 00:28:31.819 --> 00:28:32.960 He encouraged them, 00:28:33.240 --> 00:28:35.119 only let your conversation or your lifestyle 00:28:35.119 --> 00:28:36.960 be as it become at the gospel of Christ. 00:28:37.159 --> 00:28:39.879 That whether I come and see you or else be absent, 00:28:40.059 --> 00:28:42.200 I may hear of your affairs that you do what? 00:28:42.200 --> 00:28:44.860 That you stand fast in one spirit, 00:28:45.120 --> 00:28:46.360 with one mind, 00:28:46.700 --> 00:28:48.740 striving together for the faith of the gospel. 00:28:49.559 --> 00:28:50.460 Look at chapter two, 00:28:50.539 --> 00:28:52.600 the first four verses there. 00:28:52.720 --> 00:28:55.420 If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, 00:28:55.539 --> 00:28:56.860 any comfort of love, 00:28:56.960 --> 00:28:58.059 any fellowship of the spirit, 00:28:58.160 --> 00:28:59.279 any bowels of mercies, 00:28:59.420 --> 00:29:00.460 fulfill ye my joy, 00:29:00.840 --> 00:29:02.279 that you be like-minded, 00:29:03.039 --> 00:29:04.420 having the same love, 00:29:04.860 --> 00:29:07.240 being of one accord and of one mind. 00:29:07.680 --> 00:29:09.819 Look at chapter four in verse number two. 00:29:09.819 --> 00:29:12.839 He speaks to a specific situation in the Philippian church. 00:29:12.980 --> 00:29:15.980 I beseech Euodias and I beseech Syntyche 00:29:15.980 --> 00:29:19.439 that they be of the same mind in the Lord. 00:29:19.519 --> 00:29:20.439 Over and over, 00:29:20.799 --> 00:29:22.859 Paul is emphasizing to the Philippian church, 00:29:23.240 --> 00:29:25.639 unity in the gospel is most important. 00:29:26.139 --> 00:29:27.099 Unity in the gospel. 00:29:27.379 --> 00:29:28.759 Hey, Euodias, Syntyche, 00:29:28.899 --> 00:29:30.899 whatever this riff is you guys got going on, 00:29:30.939 --> 00:29:32.460 the gospel is more important than that. 00:29:32.559 --> 00:29:33.700 So get your act together 00:29:33.700 --> 00:29:35.359 and let's unify together in the gospel. 00:29:36.599 --> 00:29:37.839 And so when we see this point 00:29:37.839 --> 00:29:39.679 and the Philippians are maybe writing, 00:29:39.680 --> 00:29:42.440 asking about these people that are attacking him 00:29:42.440 --> 00:29:43.019 and Paul say, 00:29:43.120 --> 00:29:44.720 look, the gospel is going to advance 00:29:44.720 --> 00:29:46.380 whether people are on my side or not. 00:29:46.539 --> 00:29:49.580 What we care about is the gospel. 00:29:50.900 --> 00:29:52.740 We often expect to be criticized 00:29:52.740 --> 00:29:54.320 by those outside of Christ, 00:29:54.660 --> 00:29:57.799 but it's a particularly damaging blow 00:29:57.799 --> 00:30:00.620 when the criticisms come from those 00:30:00.620 --> 00:30:02.420 who are actually within the body of Christ. 00:30:04.460 --> 00:30:05.900 Paul wrote a number of times 00:30:05.900 --> 00:30:07.960 about attacks on his ministry, 00:30:07.960 --> 00:30:08.860 but in this case, 00:30:09.160 --> 00:30:11.539 he's not referring to false teachers 00:30:11.539 --> 00:30:14.059 that are proclaiming a false gospel. 00:30:15.380 --> 00:30:16.579 In this circumstance, 00:30:16.579 --> 00:30:18.160 he's been attacked by other believers. 00:30:20.299 --> 00:30:23.240 The problem here is not an issue of theology. 00:30:24.039 --> 00:30:27.860 It's an issue of a sinful motive of the heart. 00:30:27.859 --> 00:30:31.439 And we see that there will always be those 00:30:31.439 --> 00:30:34.459 that preach Christ with a sinful motive. 00:30:35.319 --> 00:30:36.839 Look at the descriptions Paul gives. 00:30:36.919 --> 00:30:38.419 He doesn't tell us the exact circumstance. 00:30:38.639 --> 00:30:40.740 We can probably figure it out pretty easily, 00:30:40.859 --> 00:30:43.059 but he doesn't tell us plainly, 00:30:43.299 --> 00:30:44.539 but he does tell us the spirit 00:30:44.539 --> 00:30:46.679 of some of these other preachers of the gospel. 00:30:47.179 --> 00:30:48.339 Look at verse 14. 00:30:48.500 --> 00:30:49.859 He describes them with two words, 00:30:50.179 --> 00:30:51.059 envy and strife. 00:30:51.159 --> 00:30:52.599 They preach Christ of envy and strife. 00:30:52.839 --> 00:30:54.059 Those two words are rivalry 00:30:54.059 --> 00:30:57.139 and jealousy is what they're a reference to. 00:30:57.799 --> 00:30:58.740 Look at verse 16. 00:30:58.839 --> 00:31:00.599 They preach Christ of contention. 00:31:00.740 --> 00:31:02.599 That means selfish ambition. 00:31:03.839 --> 00:31:05.259 They're not concerned about the gospel. 00:31:05.379 --> 00:31:07.179 They're concerned about building their own following. 00:31:08.339 --> 00:31:10.679 16 again, that they preach it not sincerely. 00:31:10.839 --> 00:31:14.359 That is without honesty and with an impure motive. 00:31:15.159 --> 00:31:18.619 16 again, that they seek to add affliction to his bonds. 00:31:18.700 --> 00:31:20.799 They hope that it would hurt him even further. 00:31:21.299 --> 00:31:23.259 They were trying to kick a guy while he was down. 00:31:24.059 --> 00:31:26.720 Verse 18, he says that whether they are preaching 00:31:26.720 --> 00:31:28.259 in pretense or in truth, 00:31:28.399 --> 00:31:30.940 pretense there refers to deceit or lies. 00:31:31.539 --> 00:31:33.480 That's the description given to these men. 00:31:33.639 --> 00:31:36.740 But the common thing of these particular men 00:31:36.740 --> 00:31:38.339 and these gospel preachers 00:31:38.339 --> 00:31:40.059 was that they actually had the gospel. 00:31:40.879 --> 00:31:43.220 But the fact is they were preaching the gospel 00:31:43.220 --> 00:31:45.519 with deceitful motives. 00:31:46.440 --> 00:31:49.019 They didn't actually care about people's lives being changed. 00:31:49.079 --> 00:31:50.799 They cared about growing their church larger 00:31:50.799 --> 00:31:51.819 than the guy down the street. 00:31:51.819 --> 00:31:57.460 They didn't care so much about Paul's imprisonment 00:31:57.460 --> 00:31:59.019 as far as his care and concern. 00:31:59.099 --> 00:32:00.319 They cared about his imprisonment 00:32:00.319 --> 00:32:01.939 because as long as he was in prison, 00:32:02.019 --> 00:32:03.279 they could grow their own following. 00:32:04.379 --> 00:32:05.980 That was the spirit of these men. 00:32:06.700 --> 00:32:07.779 The Philippians were concerned 00:32:07.779 --> 00:32:08.939 that it was gonna damage the gospel. 00:32:09.039 --> 00:32:10.839 And Paul says, as long as the gospel's being preached, 00:32:11.079 --> 00:32:12.839 I don't care what they say about me. 00:32:13.220 --> 00:32:14.480 Praise the Lord for the gospel. 00:32:14.480 --> 00:32:17.480 They may have preached the right message, 00:32:17.860 --> 00:32:21.380 but they preached it from the wrong heart 00:32:21.380 --> 00:32:22.880 and with the wrong motives. 00:32:23.440 --> 00:32:24.799 Remember John the Baptist said, 00:32:24.920 --> 00:32:26.539 and a question similar to this 00:32:26.539 --> 00:32:28.860 after Jesus was coming onto the scene, 00:32:29.779 --> 00:32:32.860 he said, I must decrease and he must increase. 00:32:33.500 --> 00:32:35.400 That was the opposite of these men's view. 00:32:35.960 --> 00:32:37.759 And there's a warning for us in this 00:32:37.759 --> 00:32:41.599 because it's amazing how often ego 00:32:41.599 --> 00:32:44.839 and selfish ambition can creep into the heart 00:32:44.839 --> 00:32:48.400 of a pastor or any believer for that matter. 00:32:50.160 --> 00:32:53.059 When we care more about our image 00:32:53.059 --> 00:32:55.420 than we care about the gospel, 00:32:55.680 --> 00:32:59.700 we will inevitably find ourselves doing the right things 00:32:59.700 --> 00:33:02.220 for all the wrong reasons. 00:33:02.220 --> 00:33:05.600 When we're ruled by jealousy, 00:33:05.940 --> 00:33:10.960 we'll resort to tearing down any pastor or church 00:33:10.960 --> 00:33:12.860 that God has blessed with the image 00:33:12.860 --> 00:33:14.519 that we desire to have. 00:33:16.400 --> 00:33:19.779 When impure motives have permeated our hearts, 00:33:20.600 --> 00:33:22.539 we'll look for any way possible 00:33:22.539 --> 00:33:24.779 to subtly rejoice in 00:33:24.779 --> 00:33:26.740 or even contribute to 00:33:26.740 --> 00:33:30.539 the hardship of someone that has what we want. 00:33:30.539 --> 00:33:34.119 It's amazing the disunity 00:33:34.119 --> 00:33:36.359 that's experienced among believers. 00:33:37.720 --> 00:33:39.879 All because of selfish ambition, 00:33:41.500 --> 00:33:42.559 envy and strife, 00:33:43.579 --> 00:33:44.579 rivalry and jealousy. 00:33:48.879 --> 00:33:50.279 And then we see that 00:33:50.279 --> 00:33:52.680 we shouldn't be distracted 00:33:52.680 --> 00:33:54.099 by the criticisms of others. 00:33:55.759 --> 00:33:57.960 One element of caring about your image 00:33:57.960 --> 00:33:58.779 more than the gospel 00:33:58.779 --> 00:34:01.420 is that you become ruled by jealousy. 00:34:01.420 --> 00:34:02.759 You do all the right things 00:34:02.759 --> 00:34:03.579 for the wrong reasons. 00:34:04.700 --> 00:34:06.039 Another element of that 00:34:06.039 --> 00:34:10.039 is that you can't let go 00:34:10.039 --> 00:34:11.539 of the criticisms 00:34:11.539 --> 00:34:12.940 that have been hurled your way. 00:34:14.840 --> 00:34:16.519 I don't know how many times 00:34:16.519 --> 00:34:18.219 I've seen pastors, 00:34:19.360 --> 00:34:19.800 Christians, 00:34:20.199 --> 00:34:21.500 come under fire 00:34:21.500 --> 00:34:23.599 from people within the faith 00:34:23.599 --> 00:34:26.139 and they lose their focus 00:34:26.139 --> 00:34:27.639 on the gospel because of it. 00:34:27.639 --> 00:34:30.179 They're not the ones 00:34:30.179 --> 00:34:31.719 that were hurling insults, 00:34:31.819 --> 00:34:33.359 but they get so obsessed 00:34:33.359 --> 00:34:34.299 with the criticisms 00:34:34.299 --> 00:34:35.239 that come their way 00:34:35.239 --> 00:34:36.400 that every message 00:34:36.400 --> 00:34:37.579 is about why that church 00:34:37.579 --> 00:34:38.219 and why that guy 00:34:38.219 --> 00:34:39.379 is not doing it the right way. 00:34:41.039 --> 00:34:42.259 Christians that have been hurt 00:34:42.259 --> 00:34:43.480 in one church or another 00:34:43.480 --> 00:34:45.379 and the last thing 00:34:45.379 --> 00:34:45.980 that they would do 00:34:45.980 --> 00:34:47.319 despite the gospel witness 00:34:47.319 --> 00:34:47.920 of that church 00:34:47.920 --> 00:34:49.619 is say anything positive about it. 00:34:50.319 --> 00:34:51.259 All they can do 00:34:51.259 --> 00:34:52.839 is tell you why that pastor 00:34:52.839 --> 00:34:53.400 is a problem 00:34:53.400 --> 00:34:54.460 and the problems 00:34:54.460 --> 00:34:55.559 that they had in that church 00:34:55.559 --> 00:34:56.539 and why that place 00:34:56.539 --> 00:34:57.179 is doing it wrong. 00:34:57.420 --> 00:34:58.519 And in all of that, 00:34:58.599 --> 00:34:59.880 they lose their own focus 00:34:59.880 --> 00:35:00.500 of the gospel 00:35:00.500 --> 00:35:02.360 to where they can't even rejoice 00:35:02.360 --> 00:35:03.900 in the gospel focus 00:35:03.900 --> 00:35:04.739 of another church 00:35:04.739 --> 00:35:06.099 because they can't get past 00:35:06.099 --> 00:35:06.699 the criticisms 00:35:06.699 --> 00:35:07.259 or the hardship 00:35:07.259 --> 00:35:07.860 that they faced 00:35:07.860 --> 00:35:08.420 in that place. 00:35:10.619 --> 00:35:11.679 It's one thing 00:35:11.679 --> 00:35:12.440 to lose focus 00:35:12.440 --> 00:35:13.019 of the gospel 00:35:13.019 --> 00:35:14.019 because you're jealous. 00:35:15.079 --> 00:35:15.840 It's another thing 00:35:15.840 --> 00:35:16.639 to lose focus 00:35:16.639 --> 00:35:17.219 of the gospel 00:35:17.219 --> 00:35:18.139 because you've been hurt 00:35:18.139 --> 00:35:20.139 and you can't get past it. 00:35:21.039 --> 00:35:21.619 Paul says, 00:35:21.679 --> 00:35:22.239 I don't care. 00:35:23.099 --> 00:35:23.799 I'm just glad 00:35:23.799 --> 00:35:24.199 they're preaching 00:35:24.199 --> 00:35:24.759 the gospel. 00:35:25.879 --> 00:35:26.940 And we're not at war 00:35:26.940 --> 00:35:27.679 with any other church 00:35:27.679 --> 00:35:28.339 in Cornelius. 00:35:29.920 --> 00:35:30.759 We're not trying 00:35:30.759 --> 00:35:31.480 to pull away 00:35:31.480 --> 00:35:32.759 from the other churches here. 00:35:32.819 --> 00:35:33.299 That's not what 00:35:33.299 --> 00:35:33.920 we're here for. 00:35:34.879 --> 00:35:35.539 We're here to preach 00:35:35.539 --> 00:35:36.039 the gospel. 00:35:37.099 --> 00:35:37.879 Be thankful 00:35:37.879 --> 00:35:39.379 for any witness 00:35:39.379 --> 00:35:40.000 of the gospel. 00:35:40.839 --> 00:35:41.659 Look at verse 18. 00:35:44.819 --> 00:35:45.579 So what, 00:35:45.699 --> 00:35:46.259 Paul says, 00:35:46.260 --> 00:35:48.300 in every way, 00:35:48.980 --> 00:35:49.740 whether in pretense 00:35:49.740 --> 00:35:50.280 or in truth, 00:35:50.400 --> 00:35:51.180 Christ has preached 00:35:51.180 --> 00:35:52.780 and I'm going to rejoice 00:35:52.780 --> 00:35:53.880 when Christ has preached. 00:35:54.600 --> 00:35:55.900 I will rejoice. 00:35:57.640 --> 00:35:58.440 The gospel 00:35:58.440 --> 00:35:59.640 was Paul's main concern 00:35:59.640 --> 00:36:01.380 and my prayer 00:36:01.380 --> 00:36:01.980 is that it would be 00:36:01.980 --> 00:36:02.860 our main concern. 00:36:03.800 --> 00:36:04.740 Thank you for listening 00:36:04.740 --> 00:36:05.400 to this sermon 00:36:05.400 --> 00:36:05.980 made available 00:36:05.980 --> 00:36:07.400 by Lakeside Bible Church. 00:36:07.840 --> 00:36:08.800 Feel free to share it 00:36:08.800 --> 00:36:09.500 wherever you'd like. 00:36:10.020 --> 00:36:10.980 Please do not charge 00:36:10.980 --> 00:36:12.120 for it or alter it 00:36:12.120 --> 00:36:12.740 in any way 00:36:12.740 --> 00:36:13.620 without express 00:36:13.620 --> 00:36:14.380 written consent 00:36:14.380 --> 00:36:15.800 from Lakeside Bible Church. 00:36:16.260 --> 00:36:16.980 Don't forget 00:36:16.980 --> 00:36:17.940 to visit us online 00:36:17.940 --> 00:36:19.460 at lakesidebible.church 00:36:19.460 --> 00:36:21.020 or find us on Facebook 00:36:21.020 --> 00:36:21.700 and Instagram 00:36:21.700 --> 00:36:22.380 by searching 00:36:22.380 --> 00:36:24.120 for Lakeside Bible NC. 00:36:24.840 --> 00:36:25.480 If you live 00:36:25.480 --> 00:36:25.980 in the Charlotte 00:36:25.980 --> 00:36:26.860 or Lake Norman area, 00:36:26.980 --> 00:36:27.640 we'd love for you 00:36:27.640 --> 00:36:28.200 to attend one 00:36:28.200 --> 00:36:29.200 of our worship services. 00:36:29.620 --> 00:36:30.520 We meet every Sunday 00:36:30.520 --> 00:36:31.600 morning at 10 a.m. 00:36:31.600 --> 00:36:32.400 in the gym 00:36:32.400 --> 00:36:33.960 at Cornelius Elementary School. 00:36:34.340 --> 00:36:35.400 We'd love to meet you.