Sermon Tone Analysis

Intro:

Why do bad things happen to good people?

Maybe this is a question you have pondered after hearing the news of someone who seemed to be doing all the right things only to have something tragic take place in their life.

Maybe you remember the story of a 27 year old man named John Chau.

He was all over the news in November when he was murdered by a tribe on a remote Indian Island that is actually illegal to travel to.

John Chau’s intentions were to take the Gospel to a tribe that had little to no access to the outside world and it’s very likely that the tribe has never heard the name of Jesus.

We look at that story and think?

How can that happen?

You have this 27 year old man who is passionate about taking the good news of Jesus Christ to a group of people who have never heard the name of Jesus and never got the chance because he was murdered almost immediately upon entering the island.

This morning, we get to talk about a glorious topic and that is “Suffering.”

I’m going to ask you to turn in your Bible’s to this morning.

We tend to stay away from anything that might cause us to suffer.

We are continuing our series walking verse by verse through Philippians this week.

Last week we set the stage for Philippians by talking about the author, the audience and Paul’s genuine love for the church that he helped start in present day Europe.

We spent the majority of our time last week looking at the key ingredient to a successful church and we broke down Paul’s prayer for the church and looked at the idea of how a church should “Abound” or grow in love for Christ but also one another.

As Paul continues his letter in V. 12-18, we see the Apostle gives a report to the church about his current condition.

We already established the fact that Paul wrote this letter to the church at Phillipi as he was in prison.

This morning we are going to look at these verses and see what the significance of Paul’s imprisonment is and how we can deal with suffering as a believer.

It’s important for us to realize that not only did Paul love the people that made up the church at Phillipi but they also loved Paul dearly.

There are times when we read God’s word and should place ourselves in the shoes of the characters to fully grasp the way they were feeling during the situation they are in.

A good example is the story of Abraham being asked to offer his son as a sacrifice.

As a parent, I cannot imagine the deep anguish that Abraham was going through as he was hiking up the mountain to sacrifice his son Isaac.

We know that he actually didn’t sacrifice his son because an angel of God appeared to him and instructed him otherwise but Abraham’s faith was willing to be obedient to that point.

So putting ourselves in Abraham’s shoes helps us understand the great emotions he must have been going through.

Now let’s put ourselves in the shoes of the people who made up the church at Philipi.

Receiving this letter from Paul would have given them much encouragement because it gave them an update that Paul was still alive but he was still in chains.

It had been four years since they had seen Paul and due to not hearing much about Paul’s condition, they had questions such as: Was Paul still in prison, was he sick, had he gone to trial yet, or even the question as if Paul had been martyred for his faith in Jesus Christ?

Now they receive the letter from Paul and it had to give them a sense of joy knowing that Paul was still alive.

We can imagine them reading this letter with anticipation of knowing Paul’s condition.

Paul begins by explaining to the church at Philippi of his current condition but also the purpose of his current condition.

As we begin in V. 12 we see Paul moving from his prayer for the church at Philippi to talking about himself and his current condition.

As the church was reading this letter, it may have been encouraging that Paul was in fact still alive because many may have thought he had already been marytyred, but Paul writes this not to make the beleiver’s feel sad for him but to encourage them about what God is doing through his imprisonment.

I want us to consider the question “Why do bad things happen to good people”

There is a major error in that question and maybe you have already noticed it.

Let me read

9 What then?

Are we Jews any better off?

No, not at all.

For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, 10 as it is written:

9 What then?

Are we Jews any better off?

No, not at all.

For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, 10 as it is written:

“None is righteous, no, not one;

11  no one understands;

no one seeks for God.

12  All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;

no one does good,

not even one.”

These verses give new meaning to the question “Why do bad things happen to good people?”

There are no “Good” people?

Scripture says’ we are all sinners in need of a Savior.

God’s word also tells us that the wages for sin is death and that as sinners, every breath we take is a gift from God because according to our sin we shouldn’t even be alive.

Now, To God be the Glory for sending his son Jesus to live a perfect life, die on a cross, and defeat the grave so that we can believe in Him and have everlasting life.

The apostle Paul made the statement that he was the chief of sinners in .

The real question we should ask this morning is “Why do Christians Suffer?”

As I said last week, going verse by verse through a book of the Bible makes it to where we cannot skip over the hard passages.

I didn’t wake up this morning and think “Yes, I get to preach on suffering today!”

It’s not an easy thing to talk about.

Paul gives the Church at Philipi that answer for why he is suffering and we see Paul’s faith in the Lord through the difficult season in his ministry.

I want us to break down the text this morning and see Paul’s purpose for suffering and how we gain encouragement from suffering.

God doesn’t waste our suffering.

Paul wanted the church to know that his suffering and his imprisonment served to “advance the gospel.”

Paul wanted the church to know that his suffering and his imprisonment served to “advance the gospel.”

This is a bold statement from a man who lived a life filled with pain, hurt, and constant persecution because of his bold faith in Christ and his boldness to share the message of Christ in a hostile culture.

Paul wants the church at Philipi to know, I am in prison and I am in chains, but God is using this imprisonment to advance the message of Jesus Christ.

Oftentimes, we try everything we can to stay away from any type of suffering or discomfort as a Christian.

If it means avoiding a conversation with someone at work or engaging in talk with a group of friends who are talking in a way that does not bring honor or glory to God, we tend to stay away from bringing up our faith in jesus because we may be looked at differently.

Something we need to realize is that suffering for our faith in Jesus Christ is going to happen, it’s not a “maybe it will happen”

We live in a culture hostile to God.

We can’t fool ourselves into thinking that we will be able to live our Christian life out in an easy care-free way.

That is a hard truth.

It would be easy to think that having a relationship with God is going to be happy all the time and care-free, but that’s not the case.

As believer’s there will be seasons in our life where we will suffer.

The important thing for us to deal with this morning is how are we going to handle suffering as believers?

We look at Paul’s boldness for Jesus and where did it get him?

Jail.

Notice what Paul says about his current situation.

What has happened to him has really served to “advance the gospel.”

The world “Advance” as it appears in this context is the same word for blazing a trail before an army.

Paul viewed the events he was going through as opportunity for the Gospel to move to new territory and change lives’ of many people for the glory of God.

This is a little confusing because thinking about the Apostle Paul in prison, one might think that the Gospel is not able to advance because he’s not able to be out among the people and share the message of Jesus Christ.

It was almost as Paul knew that God was using his suffering and his current situation to help spread the Gospel to areas that may not have heard the Gospel yet.

This points to a Sovereign God that can use anything He pleases to see people saved by grace.

Paul’s suffering is encouraging for us because we know that God can use us in our most miserable and terrible times in life to bring Him glory and minister to others in ways we may not ever know or understand.

We may want to run and hide from suffering but that may not be God’s plan for us because it may just very well be God will use our suffering to further his Kingdom and lead others to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

Sometimes God is working most in our lives’ when we are going through trials and tribulations instead of simply coasting.

Which goes right into Verse 13.

Suffering can make it possible for people to hear the good news of Jesus.

Suffering makes a way for people to hear the Gospel.

Suffering can make it possible for people to hear the good news of Jesus.

Another reason why Paul is rejoicing in his current circumstances is the fact that people are hearing and responding to the message of Jesus Christ.

He might not be in a very good situation, but Paul’s message of Jesus was at least being heard among the guards.

When he uses the phrase “imprisonment is for Christ” we see that the guards knew that he was in prison because of his faith and obedience to Jesus.

Can you imagine how Paul’s situation would have ministered to the guards.

Paul’s faith in Jesus led him to a terrible situation but the guards would have been able to hear Paul’s message and know that Paul was willing to be thrown into prison for sharing the message of Jesus Christ.

Our negative situations in life may lead us to people who simply need hope in Jesus Christ.

There’s a man named Peter O’brian who is a Bible Scholar and his work is studied and quoted by theologians, Pastors, and professors.

Peter O’brian’s story of coming to Christ came through a faithful servant that used her suffering to bring honor and glory to the Lord.

His mother came to know Jesus by the faithfulness of a neighbor who had an incurable disease and suffered day after day.