You Can’t Stop God’s Plans

Philippians 1:12-14

Introduction:

We are continuing our series, Joy In The Journey, and today is the third message.

Today’s title is: You Can’t Stop God’s Plans and we will specifically be in Philippians 1:12-14

Recap: Share about Paul writing the letter to the church to encourage and thank them. The theme of this book is JOY! We learned in verse 1 Paul and Timothy are servants of Christ Jesus, Doulos! Slaves to Jesus Christ. We have learned Paul prays often for the Philippians with Joy because of their partnership in the Gospel! We learned Paul wants to be with them/has a personal relationship with them, especially because he is in a Roman prison and can not be out on the streets sharing the Gospel and working together with them. And we have learned about Agape love, the selfless and unconditional love Paul wants them to have and abound more and more with knowledge and all discernment to be good witnesses to the community of Philippi. It’s all about abiding in Jesus!

Today’s scripture is going to show us how God’s plans in our life may not always make sense, but they are serving a bigger purpose that HE is in control of! He is still sovereign, still in full control, and allows us to be a part of what He is doing, if we choose!

Prayer:

Read The Text:

Philippians 1:12-14

Central Idea:

If we are going to stand for anything, let it be for Jesus.

Walk Through The Text:

Read Verses 12-14

POINT ONE: Paul’s bondage was not a mistake

Read Verse 12

Paul is addressing brothers (other translations say brethren or brothers and sisters), that what has happened to him has really served to advance the Gospel.

What has happened to Paul that has served to advance the Gospel?

He is in a roman prison because he shared the Gospel and the roman authorities were trying to stop him from doing it. If Paul is in prison (the main guy leading the charge for Christianity in this area), then that will stop the Gospel from being shared, they thought. It would silence those working with Paul to share the Gospel as well. (They were wrong by the way!!)

A very good pastor friend of mine shared a statement that would have served as a good reminder to the Philippians as they read this letter aloud in the group setting together and to us today: When you are in the will of God, you can not fail.

POINT TWO: Paul’s Bondage Was Bigger Than Himself

Read Verse 13

Who is the whole imperial/palace guard? The roman guards/soldiers who were tasked with watching and guarding Paul during his imprisonment. Along with watching/guarding other prisoners during his stay.

One commentator said this about Paul’s time with the roman guards/soldiers: “Since Paul was chained constantly to a guard during his two years of imprisonment, he was able to witness to the guards. The guards also observed how Paul spoke about his friends, how he wrote to them, and how he prayed over them. The guards were changed every six hours, thus, in two years of being imprisoned, the apostle Paul may have been able to witness and share the Gospel to nearly three thousand soldiers.”

Paul also says it has become known to all the rest (other types of soldiers, roman servants, staff, government officials, everyone else in this colony)

They all have come to find out that Paul’s imprisonment is for Christ!!

His circumstance in prison didn’t change his relationship with Jesus, the mission stays the same. Tell others about Jesus (AT ALL COST).

POINT THREE: Paul’s Bondage Was A Motivation

Read Verse 14

The other believers throughout this roman colony became confident and much more bold to share the Gospel because of Paul’s imprisonment

Fear was not the driver but boldness in Christ was

Application: Take the Gospel of Christ seriously

Illustration: I had the fortune to hear the story recently of Ying and Grace Kai! An incredible couple in Asia, who in the early 2000’s as international missionaries, God gave them an opportunity in an area of 20 million people to go and serve. There director challenged. He said “I remember when our training director challenged us to find more than 100 different ways to share the gospel and put it in our strategy plan. There was a quote on the wall that touched my heart: “How many people in your city will hear the gospel today?” We prayed and studied the Bible every day to ask God to give us a strategy for how to spread the gospel as quickly as possible and for people to turn to the Lord.” They were led to Matthew 28:19-20 and Ying said “We also wrote that there are only two kinds of people in the world: the lost and the saved. To the lost, we will share the love of Jesus, leading them to believe in Jesus, and immediately train them to become trainers who train others. To the Christians, we determined to train them as trainers to share the gospel and train others to do the same.” They started this immediately and Within a decade, more than 1.7 million people became Christians, and more than 150,000 churches were started. Let that sink in for a minute, how big God really is!

Application:

Share your Jesus story with someone this week

Let God use you this week

Conclusion:

Spend the next few minutes in prayer. God may be calling you to repent. God may be calling you to draw closer to Jesus this morning if you have strayed. God may be calling you to surrender to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and start your relationship with Him today. If you do not have a relationship with Jesus, if he truly is not your Lord and Savior, I would love to talk to you right now about how you can leave here with a relationship with Jesus Christ today!

However God has spoken to you this morning to respond, do it!