Joy Unretrained: Gospel Advancement at all Costs

Notes:

12 I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, 13 so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. 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.

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.

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

Introduction:

Winston Churchill’s Inaugural

May 13, 1940: He explained to House of Commons that he accepted the position of Prime Minister from the King.

Forever Famous for his leadership in Britain during World War II

Famous: “Blood, Toil, Tears and Sweat” Speech, to announce his resolve to win this war:

“You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word: It is victory, victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory, however long and hard the road may be; for without victory, there is no survival.”

“Victory at All Costs”

“Gospel advancement at all Costs”

Major theme of this passage: Gospel Advancement at all costs!

1. Good News from a Bad Place

12 I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, 13 so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. 14 And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the fword without fear.

Good News:

Good news is that the Good News is spreading!

“Caesar’s bodyguard could not intimidate Paul.... Caesar’s chains released the power of the gospel of Christ.” Walter Hensen

Meaning: “People are seeing that my incarceration is for Christ!”

Incredible Influence:

The whole imperial guard and “all the rest”

Imperial Guard=Palace Guard: 9,000 elite soldiers. Very powerful group. Had the power even over the Caesars in some cases, ousting some and propping up others.

Here Paul’s influenced “the whole imperial or palace guard ‘and all the rest.’

Paul sees the Gospel advance!

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.

Domino effect of courage:

Paul’s courageous while facing imprisonment.

Now others are following his lead!

v.14: “Courage is contagious.” Hensen

Fellow Christians are emboldened and encouraged to speak the word without fear!

The Gospel is going out!

Paul sees the Positive in his situation.

He maintains his razor sharp focus on Advancing the Gospel.

Note: Paul doesn’t describe what his situation is. Plenty of broad strokes here… Would love to know the details!

What’s important is not his situation, but the Gospel’s Advancement!

By not focusing on himself is really the point: God is using his situation to advance the gospel, and that’s Paul’s purpose. How the Gospel advances is less of concern, even if that means he’s afflicted along the way!

Major theme of this passage: Gospel Advancement at all costs!

APPLICATION:

What do we learn from this?

1. Affliction is Bad

“Jail is awesome!”

No: Jail’s an affliction, but despite it, God’s using it.

But he does see that God is using his affliction for good, for a purpose.

Joseph: “You meant it for evil, but God used it for good.”

But God can use our affliction for his purposes!

But God can use the result of the fall (sin, evil, brokenness), for His purposes!

Paul’s not rejoicing over his affliction, he’s rejoicing how God can take something bad and use it for His purposes.

And that’s what leads us into this second point:

2. Seek Joy

Not merely finding PURPOSE in his affliction, but fighting for JOY in his affliction.

These first 3 verses are teaming with joy!

Paul could have resigned, could have given up!

Not merely finding joy in his affliction, but fighting for it!

John Piper?

See online

3. Follow the Leader

Paul’s modeling for the Philippians how to handle and understand suffering

Phil 1:30 “30 engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.”

Phil 1:28 “28 and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God.”

Not about modeling Paul, but about modeling Jesus!

One of the hardest things to do: Hebrews 12:2 “For the joy set before him he endured the cross.”

2. Wrong Interpretation with the Right Result

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.

NIVAC: 2 Columns: Frank Thielman

Quick Look at the Grammar

Paul Describes Two Groups:

Paul’s Friends:

Preach Christ (ONLY SIMILARITY AND ONLY FOCUS!)

Out of good will

in love

knowing

that I am put here

for the defense of

the gospel

in truth.

Who are these guys?

Timothy?

Phil 4:21-22: “Brothers who are with me greet you. All the saints greet you, especially those of Caesar’s household.”

Paul’s Rivals:

Preach Christ (ONLY SIMILARITY AND ONLY FOCUS!)

out of envy and rivalry

from selfishness, not sincerely

supposing

that they can stir up

trouble for me while I

am in chains

in falsehood.

Amazing symmetry!

Who are THESE guys?

We know who they aren’t!

Not Judaizers or “wolves in sheep’s clothing.”

Judaizers: Galatians 1:6-7 “6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.”

II cor 11:13-14 “13 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.”

Guys who were just self-centered, envious, perhaps, of Paul’s success. Perhaps preached that Paul’s imprisonment proved Paul as illigetament, as a rebel rouser as opposed to a faithful preacher.

“Paul’s more successful in prison then we are out and about as free!”

Misinterpreting the Situation due to Misguided Motivation:

Motivation: envy

“Their preaching, though true in content, was actually a facade, a pretence, for their envious, self-seeking desire to hurt Paul. Their motive for preaching contradicted the content of their message.” Hensen

Misinterpreting people’s intentions or positions. Happens all the time:

Example: I have arthritis. When people here I was a gymnast, I can’t tell you how many people have said, “Oh, makes sense that you have arthritis, you were pretty hard on those joints!”

Gymnastics has nothing to do with RA. Wear and tear on the joints is Osteoarthritis. Rheumatoid Arthritis acts in almost the exact opposite way.

We DIAGNOSE things all the time, and we have to be so careful. Often times we are clouded by our own lack of awareness, or desire to justify our own positions, jealousy, envy. The list of vices go on and on.

APPLICATION:

Misinterpreting the Situation due to Misguided Motivation:

In this case: Opponents seek to kick Paul while he’s down because they were jealous of Paul’s what? Talent? Influence? Speaking abilities?

Their envy clouded their judgment.

How often is that the case for us?

Church planting, easy to judge!

Easy to judge my home church. “My church was too boring!”

The church I start isn’t going to be boring.

BUT, it can be to our kids sometimes!

Envious of growth strategies:

Questionable church planting techniques. One church planter posting pictures of a massive pool party.

Easy to judge that situation!

Good friends are helping to plant the Summit in Fuquay Varina: started with like a few hundred people!

Takes a bit for me to be like, “HMM, how nice that is for you...”

But, like, who am I to judge the work the Spirit!

Envy clouds judgment.

Envy is hard to spot sometimes. And it misinterprets reality.

So we need to be so careful to speak about something or someone without envy being at the root.

What would be an example in your life when your misinterpret a situation with misguided motivation?

But perhaps your envious of other families, fellow co-workers, or other competitors in the field.

You “Fully believe that you’ve objectively interpreted reality, but in actually, you’re judgment is clouded by envy.

Anger does the same thing, I talked about this a couple of weeks ago.

“Speak when you’re angry and you’ll make the best speech you’ll ever regret.”–Groucho Marx

“Interpret reality when your envious, and you’ll make the best judgment you’ll ever regret.”

Curve ball in this passage:

There are other times when Paul rebukes envy:

I Corinthians 13:4 “4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant”

Paul includes the sin of envy in more than one place Romans and Galatians.

But here’s the amazing thing: Paul doesn’t rebuke those who are speaking out against him in this case.

He’s actually completely okay with it as long as one thing continues to happen: Christ is Proclaimed!

Thielman: “God can use unscrupulous televangelists, money-grubbing radio preachers, and sophisticated but unbelieving clergy to communicate his truth. The work is God’s, and when we find ourselves surrounded by unfaithful people of the church who do not respond to our pleas that they mend their ways, our joy will remain intact if we remember that God is in control and that wherever Christ is preached, God can advance the gospel.”

Focusing on Christ’s Reputation

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

Not about me. Not about you. It’s about Christ.

Look at all the bad ways in which a good thing happens:

1. Paul’s imprisoned (BAD!), but two positives:

People see Christ is in prison for Christ.

People are growing in their boldness.

2. People have envious motives which result in inaccurate conclusions about Paul’s imprisonment BUT THE POSITIVE?

CHRIST IS PROCLAIMED!

Total disregard for his own reputation.

One focus: Christ Preached.

Is Christ being preached? IF so, that’s a good thing!

Paul=totally embedded in grace, that he feels no need to defend himself.

Philippians 1:21 “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”

Can I say that? Can you say that? We’ll get more into this next week, but for today’s purposes, I think it’s important just to recognize HOW Paul models Jesus:

Kenosis: Emptying himself.

Philippians 2:6-7 “Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing.”

Made himself nothing:

Emptied himself:

“Render void”

HOW?

Phil 2:8: “And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!”

And so for Paul to say, “What then?”= “SO WHAT!”

“The advancement of the message, not the advancement of Paul, is the source of Paul’s joy. His promotion or demotion does not matter to him.” Hensen

Remedy to our Envy:

GET OVER YOURSELF!

Dedicate yourself to the promotion of the Gospel!

Challenge:

When challenges hit, when things happen to you that question your reputation,

Advancing Christ’s reputation gives us great joy! Joy leaps out of these verses!

Don’t give a rip about reputation!

Look for the positive? Pie and the sky?

Think theologically about your suffering and to seek the joy within in. Internal glowing hope.

How is the gospel advancing through your suffering?

What are you willing to give up to see the gospel advance?

What are you willing to give up in order for the sake of the Gospel?

Paul was willing to give up his creaturely comforts

Paul was willing to give up his reputation

Paul was willing to let his name be slaundered.

“The story of Jim, Elisabeth, and Valerie Elliot and their labor among the Quichua and Auca ethnic groups of Ecuador has become a monumental example of faithfulness among evangelical Christians to the gospel’s missionary mandate. And rightfully so. After Jim and four other missionaries lost their lives trying to establish contact with the Aucas, Elisabeth herself established contact with the tribe and went with her young daughter, Valerie, to live among them so that she might learn their language, reduce it to writing, and explain the gospel to them. Despite the emotional and physical hardship of life in the jungle among people whose language and culture neither she nor any other outsider understood, Elisabeth pressed forward in obedience and accomplished the work that God had given her to do. In her commitment to communicate the gospel in the face of loss and hardship, Elisabeth Elliot acted in the spirit of the imprisoned Paul.” Thielman