Trusting God No Matter What

Intro

Last week I was gone in Oregon visiting my family out there

I think it was Mike that taught you all, right?

What did he teach you? What did you learn?

Who can remember what book we were in when I left off last times I was here?

And I have mentioned a few times the different name that Philippians is sometimes given, do you remember what that is?

The Book of (Joy)

Who remembers why it is called that?

Joy is mentioned 16 times in only 4 chapters! It’s the main focus of Paul throughout the book

Does anyone remember why this is important? Why is important to that Paul is focusing on joy in this book? What is going on in his life at this time?

He’s really struggling. He’s in prison and doesn’t know if he will be released or die

In this hard time Paul doesn’t despair, he doesn’t get angry

What does he do? He rejoices!

Paul is full of joy even when in prison.

Why do you think that is?

Because he knows that even though he has been in prison, God is still working

Paul trusts God even in these hard times because everywhere he looks, he can see God doing amazing things!

Our passage today is Philippians 1:12-18. This passage gives us three reasons to trust God no matter what: God uses hard times (12-14), God uses imperfect people (15-17), God is still saving people (18)

Read passage

Philippians 1:12–18 ESV

I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that 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 good will. 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. Yes, and I will rejoice,

God Uses Hard Times (12-14)

Do yall ever get discouraged?

Like you try and try and try… but it seems that nothing works

Maybe you keep studying for a test, but you still only get a C

Or you keep training and practicing to set a PR, and yet meet after meet you can’t quite reach it

Paul has dedicated much of his life for the Gospel

He has faithfully served Christ

He has traveled by horse, by foot, and by boat to preach Christ

But what has happened?

He has been beaten

He has been Shipwrecked

And now he is in prison and maybe going to die

But in this, what does Paul focus on?

He says, “ Look at what God is doing! I may not have chosen all of these difficulties, but somehow God is using them for good!”

He gives two examples of this

The first is the imperial guard, also called the praetorian guard

These were soldiers hand selected by the emperor to protect the city of Rome

These were the Navy Seals of their time

And they were the ones guarding Paul

And what do you think Paul did while he was with them every single day?

He preached

He told them the Gospel

Over and over and over again Paul told them about Jesus

God had brought him here

God brought Paul Rome

And God brought each of those guards to him

So that through Paul they would hear the Gospel

And some of them even believed it!

Because Paul is chains, the imperial guard became full of men who were trusting in Christ and telling others about Him

The whole city was full of the Gospel because God sent Paul to Rome in chains.

And it wasn’t just the imperial guard!

The Christians in Rome were also encouraged and inspired by Paul

They saw him full of joy while in prison, and they were filled with confidence to also proclaim Jesus

There is a woman named Joni Eriksontada

As a young woman, she became paralyzed in a horse riding accident

She went from being very very athletic, to never being able to walk

She can’t even use her hands

Yet she has become a painter, holding the brush in her mouth!

She has written several books, all focusing on Christ

In her pain, she has been able to point thousands of people to Christ

In her suffering she has been able to remind people that the greatest joy that can be had is found in Christ

Her story is encouraging to me

It inspires me to serve Christ

Because if she could do so much with everything that hinders her, what excuse do I have to not also faithfully serve Christ?

In prison, Paul was the same way

His endurance encouraged all of the other Christians to be filled with confidence to preach the Gospel

You and I will go through difficult times

These could take many different forms

The question for us is if we are looking for ways to let Christ shine through our pain?

Because He hasn’t led us here for no reason

Your pain is never wasted if you let Christ use it like Paul did

Trust God, He may not explain why He led you here, but maybe it’s so that the prison guards see Christ in you just like Paul

God Uses Imperfect People (15-17)

Paul is filled with joy seeing what God is doing as he is in chains

It seems like the whole city is filled with people preaching the Gospel!

But not everyone is doing it for the same reasons

Have you ever been jealous of someone?

It’s okay to be honest, I think that most if not all of us have been jealous of another person

You see them and think, “Why can’t I be like them?” or “Why can’t I look like them?”

And when they succeed in something or get an award… you kinda get upset about

Like rather than being happy for them, you get mad?

This is wrong, and we know it is

Thankfully Christ forgives us of this and helps us change

But there were people who had these same feelings about Paul!

Paul says in verse 15

Philippians 1:15 ESV

Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will.

These people, saw Paul in prison and took their opportunity to steal the spotlight

They envied Paul. They envied his position. They envied his authority. They envied his following.

So when he went to prison, they weren’t encouraged in their faith

And they didn’t pray for his wellbeing

No, they stepped in to steal the spotlight

They were still preaching Christ! But they were doing that out of selfish reasons, to make a big name for themselves and have all the eyes on them

This sort of thing happens all the time!

They were doing the right thing, but with the wrong motivation

Imagine a community service event (ask for examples food pantry if none)

You sign up to help because you genuinely want to help people. You want to serve others in a way that you are able to.

But others may not have the same intention. They may not actually care about people and only want something to include in their college applications

They are doing the right thing, but for the wrong reason

Just like a community service activity, Paul saw people preaching the Gospel because of him, some from envy and some from good will

Our motivations matter when we do things

1 Corinthians 10:31 ESV

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

When we do things, we need to them for the right reason

But we don’t need to worry or panic if we think people are doing things with the wrong motivations

The people Paul is talking about, they are still preaching Jesus Christ

And through them, people are hearing the Gospel

And that, that is a good thing.

Why do you think it is a good thing that the people Paul is talking about are preaching the Gospel, even though their motivations are wrong?

Romans 10:14–15 ESV

How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”

The only way anyone is saved is through hearing the Gospel

So Paul isn’t worried about their motivation as much as he is worried about their message

As long as they are truly preaching Christ, Paul is able to be happy and joyful because more and more and more people are hearing the Gospel

God uses imperfect people all the time to accomplish His will

We can trust God that even if we question the motivations of others, that He will work out His plan of salvation

And if God can use those with the wrong motivations, He can certainly use us

Love God, and love others. Desire to serve them and point them to Jesus, He will take care of the rest

God is Still Saving (18)

This brings us to our last point

It seems like Paul has every reason to despair

He is prison, he has people who are preaching out of envy of him

But what does he say?

Verse 18

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,

He rejoices!

No matter the circumstances or what other people are doing, Paul rejoices in Jesus!

Paul had every reason to be bitter and angry

Looking at his circumstances, it would make no sense to be joyful

But Paul rejoices rather than despairing

Because he isn’t focused on his circumstances

His eyes are fixed on what God is doing

Christ is being proclaimed!

Rome is filled with the Gospel

People are being saved

That’s a BIG DEAL

There’s nothing more important than people’s salvation!

Paul really loves people. And he really desires that they would saved

He writes in Romans 9:2-3

Romans 9:2–3 ESV

I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh.

In those verses Paul is specifically thinking about his fellow Jews.

His fellow Jews didn’t know Jesus

In every city Paul went to, he would first visit the synagogue. There he would preach Christ crucified for the forgiveness of sins

He had such a longing to see his people come to know Jesus. So much that he writes telling us that he would even give up his own salvation if he knew that it would mean they would be saved

There is no bigger deal than salvation

Paul understood this

So when he heard that because of his suffering, the Gospel was exploding all over the city, he wasn’t bitter or angry or resentful

He was joyful!

In fact, Paul would be willing to endure even more suffering for the Gospel

Sometimes in our difficult circumstances, it can be easy to loose sight of what God is doing

It becomes really easy to focus on ourselves and ignore the people around us who need to the Gospel

Even more, it becomes easy to forget that God is present in our suffering

God is still saving people. He is saving people all around us

And He is working out every situation, no matter how bad they look to us

And He is using every person, no matter confused they are

So that His plans will be completed

We rejoice because we know with certainty, that even if we struggle to understand HOW God is working, we know that He IS working

Are you finding your joy in the same things that Paul was?

Are you able to rejoice in the hard and confusing things, knowing that Christ is working?

You won’t be able to control everything in your life

When things come out of control, will you still be able to rejoice in Christ?

Conclusion

This world is going to through crazy things at you

Who knows, maybe the whole world will shut down again with a new COVID

None of us know the future or can control the world around us

But we rejoice knowing that the Gospel keeps on marching on

God uses everything for His plan.

He uses hard times in prison, messy people, and in all of it He gives very real joy

We are all looking for hope. We are looking for joy. We are all looking for peace in this crazy world

And that can only really be found in Jesus

He is the only source of true peace and joy

Without Him, you will drown in the flood of this life underneath your own sin.

But in Him there is salvation from sin and a solid rock

Have you found Christ and come to Him for salvation?

If not, then I cannot encourage you strongly enough to turn to Him. He is found in His Word

If you want to know more, please talk to me or any other adult here. We are so happy to help you learn more about how beautiful Jesus is

And if you do know Jesus, is He your goal in life?

Is it your goal to point others to Jesus, no matter what?

If not, what better goal could there be?