WHEN GOD SPOILS YOUR PLANS
When our plans got spoiled by God
12 Now I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel,
13 so that my aimprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the whole praetorian guard and to everyone else,
14 and that most of the brethren, trusting in the Lord because of my aimprisonment, have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear.
15 Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ even from envy and strife, but some also from good will;
16 the latter do it out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel;
17 the former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition rather than from pure motives, thinking to cause me distress in my bimprisonment.
18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice.
Yes, and I will rejoice,
19 for I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,
20 according to my earnest expectation and hope, that I will not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness, Christ will even now, as always, be exalted in my body, WHETHER BY LIFE OR BY DEATH.
12 Now I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel,
13 so that my aimprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the whole praetorian guard and to everyone else,
14 and that most of the brethren, trusting in the Lord because of my aimprisonment, have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear.
15 Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ even from envy and strife, but some also from good will;
16 the latter do it out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel;
17 the former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition rather than from pure motives, thinking to cause me distress in my bimprisonment.
18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice.
Yes, and I will rejoice,
19 for I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,
20 according to my earnest expectation and hope, that I will not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness, Christ will even now, as always, be exalted in my body, WHETHER BY LIFE OR BY DEATH.
To Live Is Christ
21 FOR TO ME, TO LIVE IS CHRIST AND TO DIE IS GAIN.
Paul wanted to go to Rome as a preacher, but instead he went as a prisoner!
12 Now I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel,
12 Now I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel,
13 so that my aimprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the whole praetorian guard and to everyone else,
14 and that most of the brethren, trusting in the Lord because of my aimprisonment, have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear.
15 Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ even from envy and strife, but some also from good will;
16 the latter do it out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel;
17 the former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition rather than from pure motives, thinking to cause me distress in my bimprisonment.
18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice.
Yes, and I will rejoice,
19 for I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,
20 according to my earnest expectation and hope, that I will not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness, Christ will even now, as always, be exalted in my body, WHETHER BY LIFE OR BY DEATH.
God sometimes uses strange tools to help us pioneer the Gospel.
12 Now I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel,
Paul wanted to take the message eastward into Asia, but God directed him to take it westward into Europe. What a difference it would have made in the history of mankind if Paul had been permitted to follow his plan!
God sometimes uses strange tools to help us pioneer the Gospel.
Sometimes God has to put “chains” on His people to get them to accomplish a “pioneer advance” that could never happen any other way
The secret is this: when you have the single mind, you look on your circumstances as God-given opportunities for the furtherance of the Gospel; and you rejoice at what God is going to do instead of complaining about what God did not do.
Sometimes God has to put “chains” on His people to get them to accomplish a “pioneer advance” that could never happen any other way
Sometimes God has to put “chains” on His people to get them to accomplish a “pioneer advance” that could never happen any other way
The secret is this: when you have the single mind, you look on your circumstances as God-given opportunities for the furtherance of the Gospel; and you rejoice at what God is going to do instead of complaining about what God did not do.
(Phil. 1:14). They were “much more bold to speak the word without fear.” That
(Phil. 1:14). They were “much more bold to speak the word without fear.”
courage to the saved
(Phil. 1:14). They were “much more bold to speak the word without fear.”
The churches there were divided. Some preached Christ sincerely, wanting to see people saved.
(Phil. 1:14). They were “much more bold to speak the word without fear.”
The churches there were divided. Some preached Christ sincerely, wanting to see people saved.
The latter group was using the Gospel to further their own selfish purposes. Perhaps they belonged to the “legalistic” wing of the church that opposed Paul’s ministry to the Gentiles and his emphasis on the grace of God as opposed to obedience to the Jewish Law. Envy and strife go together, just as love and unity go together.