Sermon Tone Analysis

! INTRODUCTION

overview of verses 12-19

A.    OUR CIRCUMSTANCES OFTEN THROW US AND DEFEAT US, THIS WAS NOT THE CASE WITH PAUL.

Paul said 2 Timothy 4:16-17 At my first defense no one stood with me, but all forsook me . .

.but the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that the message might be preached fully through me, and /that/ all the Gentiles might hear.

And I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion.

B.

THE MATURITY OF A PERSON CAN BE SEEN BY HOW WELL HE OR SHE HANDLES THE THINGS THAT HAPPEN TO HIM.

1.

I (we) must learn to /live above our circumstances – /How can we do that?

a.       Isaiah 40:28 Have you not known?

Have you not heard?

The everlasting God, the LORD, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary.

His understanding is unsearchable.

b.      Isaiah 40:31--But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew /their/ strength; They shall mount   up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint

1)      An eagle, when it want’s to rise up in the air to a higher altitude, do you see it flapping its wings getting tired?

NO.

The eagle spreads its wings and catches the wind under them, which causes the eagle to rise high in the air.

2)      Remember the song, “You are the wind beneath my wings”?

The Lord is the “wind beneath our wings, and when we wait and rely upon His strength we will rise up above our circumstances.

a)      Paul prayed in Ephesians 1:19 that we would know “what /is/ the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power”

b)      And “that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, Ephesians 3:16.

c)      David said to his son Solomon, “Be strong and of good courage, and do /it/; do not fear nor be dismayed, for the LORD God--my God--/will be/ with you.

He will not leave you nor forsake you, until you have finished all the work for the service of the house of the LORD 1 Chronicles 28:20.

d)     Finally, my brethren, “be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might” . . .

because “you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you” . .

.”strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy”

 

2.

This is the subject in which we will be studied today: the marks of a mature witness.

—       He shares the gospel regardless of circumstances (v.12-14)

—       He holds no personal jealousy nor desire for credit or prestige (v.15-18)

—       He possesses the assurance of a happy ending: deliverance (v.19)

 

 

 

 

I.

He Shares The Gospel Regardless of Circumstances, /v.12-14/

A.  Paul Faced Dark Circumstances: He Was A Prisoner In Rome.

1.      Paul was waiting to appear before the Supreme Court in Rome.

2.      He was imprisoned for two years.

3.

He had done nothing that should cause his arrest and imprisonment.

4.      The Philippians has sent Epaphroditus to Paul because they had heard that Paul was in need.

Since Epaphroditus’ departure, they had probable heard nothing of Paul.

They may well have supposed that his ministry was at a standstill and that he was understandably depressed.

But the news Epaphroditus brought was different.

Read 1:12-26 with the eagerness the Philippians might have felt for new from Paul.

Think about how remarkable Paul’s attitudes are.

/But I want you to know brethren . .

.I don’t want you to be ignorant/

1.

The church at Philippi were probably asking the question, “what is going to happen to Paul? 

2.

But Paul’s primary question was not, “what is going to happen to me,” but, “how is the gospel-cause affected by whatever happens to me?”

This should be our attitude.

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Paul first writes about, “the gospel,” “the message of God,” “the Christ” (v.12-18), and then about his own hope of release (v.19-26).

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Also about “Christ being magnified” (v.20), this is the /single mind/

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Paul did not find his joy in his circumstances but in winning others to Christ.

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J.O.Y. – Jesus, others, you.

/the things which happened to me . .

./

1.

These things are given in Acts 21:17-28:31

#. 2 Corinthians 11:23-28 are just some of these things which had happened to Paul

 

/have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel, /

1.      Furtherance of the gospel, “pioneer advance”

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Greek military term referring to the army engineers who are sent ahead of the troops in order to remove obstructions and clear the roads for the rest of the army.

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The gospel had obstructions that needed to be removed.

1)      mistrust and hostility (1:15-18)

2)      fear and cowardice (1:27-30)

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Paul’s experiences and reactions, had served to remove these obstacles

1)      Satan sets up road blocks to hinder /the furtherance of the gospel/

a)      1 Thessalonians 2:18 -- Therefore we wanted to come to you----even I, Paul, time and again----but Satan hindered us.

For you future husbands 1 Pet.

3:7

2)      road blocks are stepping stones to rise above our circumstances

a)      Paul had been bound, but the Word of God could not be bound

(1) 2 Timothy 2:8-10 -- Remember that Jesus Christ, of the seed of David, was raised from the dead according to my gospel, for which I suffer trouble as an evildoer, /even/ to the point of chains; /but the word of God is not chained/.

Therefore I endure all things for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.

(2) Isaiah 40:8 – The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.

b)  Paul discovered his circumstances opened up new areas for ministry.

2.      Acts 16:16-34  

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But note:

1)      Paul did not grumble or complain

2)      Did not question God and wonder why

3)      Did not whine and murmur

4)      Did not fall to pieces

5)      Did not curse God nor give up his faith

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Paul did:

1)      pray

2)      sing hymns to God while the other prisoners listened

3)      lead a Roman Guard to Christ

 

B.

Paul Used His Dark Circumstances To Spread The Gospel, /v.13-14/

1.      Paul did not see himself as a prisoner of Rome, but an “ambassador for Christ” (Ephesians 6:20).

a.

Paul’s chains gave /contact with the lost./

1)      Paul was chained to a guard 24 hours a day, changing guards every 6 hours (4 guards per day)

2)      The gospel went from guard to guard, to the families of the guards, to Caesar’s household (Phil.

4:22).

3)      *What do you suppose Paul talked about*?

Thought 1.

We must never let circumstances get us down—or defeat our testimony for Christ.

b.

Paul’s chains gave /courage to the saved./

1)      1:28 – at first they were frightened

2)      1:14 – then they became “much more bold to speak the word without fear”

a) this became their “everyday conversation” 

 

c.

Paul chains gave us the prison Epistles

1)      Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Philemon

 

Application: Has God “chained” you to anyone (in a hospital bed, school, someone you keep running in to quite often, office, etc.) in order to share the gospel (1:13)?