Joy In All Circumstances

Philippians 1:12–26 ESV

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. Yes, and I will rejoice, 19 for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, 20 as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. 23 I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. 24 But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. 25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, 26 so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.

When you are a missionary one of your greatest desires is to share share the gospel, Paul was no different as a missionary he want to preach the gospel more than anything else in Rome.

He wrote rom Corinth,

Romans 1:15 ESV

15 So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.

Paul wanted to go to Rome as a preacher, but instead he went as a prisoner!

What do you do when it seems like everything is going wrong, everything that could go wrong has gone wrong. Now you feel trapped and your wondering how did I get here.

Paul wanted to go to Rome as a preacher, but instead he went as a prisoner!

How did I get here, Lord I following what you asked me to do but things have gone from bad to worst.

He could have written a long letter about that experience alone. Instead, he sums it all up as “the things which happened unto me” (Phil. 1:12).

The record of these things is given in Acts 21:17–28:31, and it begins with Paul’s illegal arrest in the temple in Jerusalem. The Jews thought he had desecrated their temple by bringing in Gentiles, and the Romans thought he was an Egyptian renegade who was on their “most-wanted” list. Paul became the focal point of both political and religious plotting and remained a prisoner in Caesarea for two years. When he finally appealed to Caesar (which was the privilege of every Roman citizen), he was sent to Rome. En route, the ship was wrecked! The account of that storm and Paul’s courage and faith is one of the most dramatic in the Bible (Acts 27). After three months of waiting on the Island of Malta, Paul finally embarked for Rome and the trial he had requested before Caesar.

Many of all of us, this would have looked like failure, but not to this man with a “single mind,” concerned with sharing Christ and the Gospel.

Paul did not find his joy in ideal circumstances; he found his joy in winning others to Christ. And if his circumstances promoted the furtherance of the Gospel, that was all that mattered!

The word furtherance means “pioneer advance.” It is a Greek military term referring to the army engineers who go before the troops to open the way into new territory. Instead of finding himself confined as a prisoner, Paul discovered that his circumstances really opened up new areas of ministry.

God sometimes uses strange tools to help us pioneer the Gospel. In Paul’s case, there were three tools that helped him take the Gospel even into the elite Praetorian Guard, Caesar’s special troops:

his chains (Phil. 1:12–14)

his critics (Phil. 1:15–19)

his crisis (Phil. 1:20–26)