God At Work In Hard Times

Whether we like it or not, each and every on of us will experience hard times.

Some people experience more than others.

Main Idea

All things, whether good or bad, serve God’s purpose for you life.

What I’m not saying...

God enjoys inflicting pain on people

God is the author of evil

God likes it when we are in hard situations

Remember, this world has been infected by sin and there is a real devil and real demons working to hurt humans and make God look bad.

But, God works all of these things in order to accomplish His purposes for us and in this world.

The key to this is this...

God’s Purpose For You is Christ

Colossians 1:16 ESV

16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.

Everything in this world is meant to point to Jesus...

Good Things

a sunrise

a friendship

a delicious snack

Even Not So Good Things

We are going to learn about how God can use not so good things for His purposes in our life and then we will learn how we can find joy in the midst of these not so good things.

We are going to see from Paul’s example...

Because Christ is the purpose for your life...

Trials Can Become Tools

Philippians 1:12 ESV

12 I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel,

When he says “what has happened to me”, What is it that has happened to him? IMPRISONMENT

Paul’s number one concern was not...

His comfort

His reputation

Paul is literally in a jail cell.

See where Paul is directing our attention...

Not on his discomfort.

Not on the fact that people are talking about him being a convict.

I would have probably started complaining...

“the food is terrible!” “my guards are so mean!” “ I miss my mommy”

“what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel”

Paul’s focus is on the advancement of the gospel...

Remember the priority list for JOY:

J esus

O thers

Y ou

Paul is modeling this to us now.

Paul shows us that this very hard circumstance has actually become a tool to help the good news of Jesus spread!

Philippians 1:13 ESV

13 so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ.

#1 is Jesus

#2 is Others

People are getting a first hand experience of Jesus because Paul is sharing the gospel with his Roman prison guards. Jesus is being introduced to people and that is what matters most to Paul.

Paul’s Missions Recruiter

Jesus get’s the glory, Others get the opportunity to be saved, and You get prison!

It doesn’t stop there...

Philippians 1:14 ESV

14 And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

Jesus gets even more glory and even more people get the opportunity to be saved all because Paul’s imprisonment inspires his friends!

Here’s What We Should Do

Let’s use our trial as a tool for Jesus!

When life gets hard, let’s try to find creative ways to make Jesus famous so He gets the glory and others get an opportunity to be saved!

Hospital visits

School projects

Let’s remember that others are watching us and will either get inspired or disgusted.

When you have JOY priorities, you show people that there is something more to live for than worldly pleasures.

Paul also shows us that...

Because Christ is the purpose for your life...

Problems Can Change With Perspective

Philippians 1:15–17 ESV

15 Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. 16 The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 17 The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment.

Philippians 1:18 ESV

What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice,

For Paul, his enemies were preaching the gospel to attack him. Ironic really.

For you, you probably won’t have people attacking you by preaching the gospel. But, you can respond to their attacks, just like Paul, with the gospel.

likely, many of Paul’s enemies preached a false Gospel. But, Paul knew that Jesus had the power to sort it out.

What Paul is really doing here is learning to think critically and positively about how God can use everything in his life for good.

Paul has decided to make God’s #1 goal his #1 goal.

Making Jesus famous is God’s # 1 goal in this world.

Making Jesus famous should become our #1 goal for life!

When it is our goal, then everything becomes an opportunity to see our goal realized!

Here’s What We Should Do

We need to train ourselves to think about God’s big picture.

When we get overwhelmed with a trial or hardship, we need to take a step back and try to look at it from God’s perspective and how it might be serve His purpose for our life.

How is God working for his #1 Goal in this situation?

We need to stop listening to ourselves and start preaching to ourselves.

Your inner thoughts are likely to take you to a place that doesn’t glorify God.

Learn to be intentional about your thinking.

Main Idea

All things, whether good or bad, serve God’s purpose for your life.

My Main Takeaway

Because all things, whether good or bad, serve God’s purpose for my life, I will…

Discussion Questions

How much do you think you complain?

Do you complain about schoolwork?

Do you complain about chores?

Would you complain if you were in prison like Paul?

What is Paul doing instead of complaining?

Why is he doing this?

How can you use bad things that happen as a way to to glorify Jesus?

What is God’s purpose for your life?

Are you living out His purpose for you?

What are some ways you can begin to live our God’s purpose for your life?