Philippians 1:12-30

Philippians 1:12–16 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.

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Intro:

In verses 1-5.. we found out:

… that Paul was a man with a great burden..

This church in Philippi weighed heavy upon Paul..

He prayed for them continually, and never ceased to bring their case before the Lord..

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We also saw, that this burden… was not hindered by circumstance.

Where was Paul? He was in prison.

And yet, he was determined to encourage and equip the churches… To be invested in them… to write to them, to encourage them, to teach them, to correct them… and continually… to pray for them.

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We also saw…that the church in Philippi faced some challenging circumstances.

And yet, in spite of the fact that they were living in a culture that was contrary to their they faith… they continued on…

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Paul thanked God.. for their fellowship in the gospel..

A fellowship that continued unhindered from the first day..

The day that Lydia and her family received Christ..

The day where Paul and Silas preached openly in the streets...

Even the day, where Paul and Silas led their jailer to the Lord… from that first day

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Paul brought the gospel to Philippi.. and left..

And yet, their fellowship in the gospel.. continued..

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What was their circumstance?

They were a small band of believers..

…in a very pagan and idolatrous city.

And yet, they remained true in their faith.. ++

In the verses that followed..

We learned that God had a good work to do in and through the church at Philippi.

It was a work that they could be confident in.

A work that God had begun, and a work that God was responsible to complete… ++

God has a work to do.. in us and through us..

We may not know what it is fully. It might not meet up with our expectations. We might realize, that we are just along for the ride...

Why?.. because this passage in Phil 1:6 says.. it’s His Work.

Not.. my work. ++

There was a great encouragement in vs. 7.

Paul, in his less than desirable state.. in prison.. in chains..

.. was a partaker of grace, with the Philippians.

And Paul considered that a pretty good thing. ++

Paul might say, “Grace is incredibly good for me, even as I am locked up in prison. If it’s good for me in here, I know, It’s good for you out there.” ++

Verse 9 tells us.. what Paul was praying.. specifically, for the church in Philippi..

Paul prayed.. that they would know and walk in.. love..

But, it specifies that “love”..

Love.. real love.. is not free to express itself according to the whims of our emotions or our sympathies.

Real love.. is to abound in knowledge and discernment.

Real love.. is confined to truth.

Because of this, it may not always be well received. ++

When the heart says “Yes”, the truth might say, “No”.

Or, when sympathy drives us to embrace something, discernment might drive us to “step away”. ++

Paul’s prayer expounded upon the discernment side of love..

–that they would approve what is excellent.

–that they would be pure and blameless…

Essentially.. that they would recognize truth.. and be a people whose lives are purified in the truth.. ++

The final point mentioned.. in Paul’s prayer for the Philippians.. had to do with fruit..

These were redeemed saints who had received freely, through God’s grace.. the gift of righteousness.

Of no merit of their own, they were considered righteous.. simply because Jesus is righteous..

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But Paul’s prayer hand nothing to do with them being righteous.

Instead, he prayed that they would display the “fruit of righteousness”

His desire for the Philippians, is the same for all believers… Even u... ++

Because God has saved us.. redeemed us.. justified us..

..because of the great gift that we have received.. and the incredible cost that was paid..

.. there should be some kind of fruit… some kind of product in our life… aresponse.. a change.. a manifestation in action.. in attitude.. in behavior.. in everything.. ++

At this point.. Paul transitions..

Starting in vs. 12.. he moves directly into his testimony.. sharing, how he really feels about being bound in chains.. ++

Philippians 1:12 ESV

12 I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel,

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I want to first focus in on this phrase: “what has happened to me”…

Notice that.. simply stated… -things happened to Paul! ++

Several years ago, a friend of mine named Steve was stationed in Japan while in the Navy. Steve was: homesick, depressed and just received the dreaded break-up letter from his girl friend.

When the letter came, Steve happened to be out walking the streets with a Japanese man whom he had befriended.

..this man knew very little English, and communication between them was difficult. Yet, they still, somehow managed to build a relationship.

..on that dreaded night, Steve was really bummed out. His Japanese friend felt helpless. He wanted to console his friend.. but didn’t know how to express the right words of comfort… ++

Finally.. he came up with a few words.. and when he had compiled the right message into English..

… he laid on hand on Steve’s shoulder, looked him in the eyes, and said: “Steve, in life, there are things.”

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That’s all he had… he couldn’t expound on that. But, in spite of all that… this compassionate Japanese man was correct. - In life, there are things. ++

Sometimes we’re looking for the magical words that will bring understanding to our hardship..

But in reality.. those words aren’t always there.

The world we inhabit is fallen.. it’s cursed… God has allowed us to experience and see the massive impact of sin.

Mankind has taken the curse of sin to astounding levels of debauchery and wickedness.. ++

Sometimes.. we can make sense of the things..

Sometimes.. there is no sense.. there is no reason.. there is no logic..

It’s just.. a thing.. that has happened.

And things are happening… every day.. every second.. everywhere. ++

In Southern and Eastern Africa, thousands of people contract AIDS on a daily basis, and have been for years. - In that portion of Africa, is where the most dense infection rate exists. Over 20 million people, in that region alone, are estimated to be living with HIV. ++

Last May, and article put out by the BBC, noted that worldwide persecution of Christians, mainly at the hands of Muslims, Hindus, and Chinese Communists… was close to reaching the UN’s established definition of genocide.

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We think all is lost in our country because of… either the president we have, or the president we might get… but if you’ve traveled the world at all… beyond the touristy hot spots of Europe… you will recognize that poverty and oppression are rampant in most parts of the world… and those of us who are in the 99% as Americans, are most likely in 1% globally. ++

In our nice.. safe.. clean.. protective society..

we don’t usually confront that kind of perpetual tragedy. Even this current pandemic, which is more inconvenient to over 99% of us… than deadly… pales in comparison to what most of the world faces… ++

We have it good..

And yet.. –Things still happen.

We experience heartache.. disappointment.. sickness.. death.. loss.. ++

Sometimes we feel like we’re trying and trying and trying..

But we never seem to make it to that desired place.. that expected goal.. that hopeful reward.. ++

Things happen.

Mankind belches out another senseless ramification of it’s sinful state..

And we end up.. suffering.

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In life… there are things…

But God has given us a formula.. for dealing with those things..

In Romans 8:28.. we are told..

Romans 8:28 ESV

28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

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Later on.. in vs. 35 of that same chapter.. it goes on to talk about:

… tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger and the sword..

Guess what vs. 37 of that same chapter call’s the items in this list?

they are called… things!

Romans 8:37 ESV

37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

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these things happen..

But.. we are the called..

We who love God..

And through these things..

We are more than conquerors. ++

Again.. we can fall into discouragement if we presumptuously try to define “conquering” ..as being that state.. where trials and hardships go away.

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Some things come along.. as consequences of our own sin, and we suffer.

Some things come along.. as consequences of other people’s sin, and we suffer.

Some things come along.. randomly and w/o reason, and we suffer.

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Things happen. -Now what? ++

Well, we’re going to see what Paul has to say.

Something happened to him.

He was seen in the temple by some Jews that didn’t like him..

He was falsely accused of bringing Gentiles into the temple..

He was arrested.. ++

And from that point on.. he was in the custody of the Romans.

So.. how is Paul becoming more than a conqueror? How, as a prisoner in chains, is one considered to be ‘conquering’? ++

How.. in Paul’s life.. are “all things working together for the good?” ++

Well, he states in generally.. here in vs. 12..

this happened.. to serve a greater purpose. It has ‘really served to advance the gospel.’

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Philippians 1:13–18 ESV

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,

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So… the gospel is ‘going out’… in a few different ways here…

The first way the Gospel is going out.. is unto the imperial guard. ++

Every 6 hours, a new guard is assigned to watch over Paul..

They can’t leave..

So… Paul.. uses this as an opportunity to share his story.. and to share the story of Christ..

They all knew.. that Paul was all about Jesus.. ++

He wasn’t in prison because of typical criminal activity..

No crime of lust.. no crime of greed.. no crime of anger..

He was in prison.. because he was serving Jesus full throttle.. and that caused conflict. ++

Every guard knew… that Paul was all about Jesus..

And surely, every guard heard how they too could be all about Jesus.. ++

Paul did all of this… while in chains.

Sometimes.. we might feel like we have chains.

You’re a mom, and you have a lot of children.. and you don’t feel like you are free to do what you really want to do..

Well, consider Susannah Wesley..

She had 19 children. She didn’t have epidurals. She didn’t have disposable diapers. She didn’t have day-care.

In life, there are things. For Susannah, there were 19 things..

And her chains.. were in Christ..

She wasn’t free to travel, or go to parties… but she was able to pray.

So… instead of seeing her 19 children as chains… she saw them as opportunities… and prayed that God would do something wonderful through them. ++

From that pack.. came John and Charles Wesley, whose combined ministries shook the British Isles for Christ. ++

Maybe your chains are in the flesh..

and you think.. “I can’t do what I want to do, because of my condition.”

Well, think of Fanny Crosby.. who, at six weeks of age.. was blinded..

But even as a youngster, she was determined not to be confined by the chains of darkness. ++

In time, she became a mighty force for God.. through her hymns and Gospel songs.. ++

Paul could have considered his condition and said:

“I want to be free to continue planting churches.”

“I want to be free, so that I can encourage the believers.. start Bible schools.. hold evangelistic crusades.” ++

He could of thought of many different things that he “wanted” to do.

but those were not options..

instead.. he became single minded..

He looked at his circumstance as a God given opportunity to advance the Gospel… ++

2 Timothy 2:9 ESV

9 for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound!

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How often do we say: “I want to do.. this or that.. I want to become a great.. this or that.. BUT.. I can’t. BUT.. I’m chained.. to my family, my job, my condition, my tragedy, my failures, my regrets, my consequences..

… -How often do we look at all our chains… and draw just such a conclusion?

We think of the many things we want to do… but can’t do because of our chains… and we don’t think of the one, or maybe two things… we are able to do, in spite of our chains. ++

Paul was chained..

And those chains acted as his opportunity.. to share the gospel with those who were present.

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THE SECOND WAY THE GOSPEL WAS FURTHERED.. -..Paul’s situation, encouraged and brought boldness to others.. to speak the word w/o fear.

Paul preached the Word.. and Paul got thrown into prison.

That might discourage a lot of up and coming preachers.. ++

Moms and Dad were telling their kids.. “You’re not gonna preach.. you’ll end up in prison!”

But Paul’s attitude reversed the potential affect.

Paul did not complain..

Instead.. he rejoiced.. ++

He shared his heart, his attitude, his testimony of faith..

And that encouraged others..

That fueled the fire.. to speak.. (a word, which refers to every day conversation).. about the things of Christ.. ++

What looked like a tragedy in the eyes of the world.. Paul presented as golden-plated opportunity from God to do great things.. ++

… kindof makes me think..

We Christians can complain. One of my job descriptions sometimes, is to listen to those complaints.

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I know I’m also guilty of this. I’m a good complainer. I can whine about hardship with the rest of them… ++

Which is why, I need to come back and read passages like this one…

And when I do… things kind of fall into perspective.. ++

Whoa.. this “thing” - is not my: demise.. not my disaster.. but it’s my declaration..

It’s my opportunity..

How? ++

Well… figure it out!

Stop complaining about your chains and ask God..

How your chains can be used.. to advance the gospel. ++

So.. the gospel was spread amongst the palace guard..

Boldness was given to believers to speak the word w/o fear..

And.. ++

THE THIRD THING: Christ was preached..

Now.. Paul is going to show us some revolutionary thinking here..

Some preached.. w/the right motive..

Some preached.. w/the wrong motive..

What’s a wrong motive?

Vs. 15.. envy and rivalry..

Vs. 17.. selfish ambition..

Vs. 18.. in pretense.. - which means… they have a different motive behind their words.. ++

There are those who will preach nothing but a reactionary gospel.

They don’t like the way someone else is doing it.. or saying it.. or succeeding at it..

So.. they will preach against.. a person.. or a denomination..

And that will be their thing.. ++

And even so.. many will do this w/a good conscience.. and will share the word..

And the gospel will be preached.. ++

There are those who will preach.. because there’s something in it for them.

Believe it or not.. some folks get rich.. from preaching..

They become famous.. they become powerful..

And as they preach.. even w/the wrong motive..

Sincere people with a heart to know Jesus listen..

And many.. get healed.. get saved.. get delivered..

Under the ministry.. the preaching.. of someone who’s thinking more about their success..

Than the gospel.. ++

Paul makes it clear..

some are talking about the right stuff for the right reason..

and some are talking about the right stuff, for the wrong reason.. ++

Now.. vs. 18 is where Paul gets revolutionary on us..

“..Christ is proclaimed… and in that… I rejoice. ++

Paul is gracious.. but not only that.. he recognizes.. yet again.. the grace of God working in the lives of others..

God is gracious to use the words and methods of someone who is not sincere..

.. to still.. impact people’s lives in a positive way. ++

Of course.. this is a teetering subject..

For insincere gospel toters can cause a lot of emotional damage..

These types of folks.. are going to be there.. ++

In life.. there are things.. and some preachers might be best described as “things”..

Yet.. even w/the wrong heart and the wrong motive..

People come, looking for an experience with God..

They could be exposed as a phony faith healer..

And yet.. people come.. with faith and anticipation to be healed..

And God is gracious.. - and they are healed… even as the Benny Hinns and the Kenth Copelands and the Todd Whites might be charlatans… maybe.. - People come with sincere faith… and they are healed… in spite, of the charlatan.

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Philippians 1:19–26 ESV

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.

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Paul has the best perspective.

If I die.. it’s all good. I’ll be with Jesus and I’ve gained everything..

If I live.. I live for Jesus..

Either way.. I want Christ to be magnified..

To be with Christ, is my greatest desire.. ++

But, if I remain, then I am here to be useful.

That’s what he said in vs. 24. _Hey, I’d rather be with Jesus, but if I’m still here, I want to be here on your account… to your benefit. If I’m here… believers in Philippi… I’m here for you. ++

This echo’s what’s already been said..

If I’m here.. I’m going to be a tool to further the gospel..

If I’m here.. in this life.. there will be things..

But I’m going to be useful.. ++

Philippians 1:27–30 ESV

27 Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, 28 and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. 29 For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, 30 engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.

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Paul expressed, in vs. 26.. a desire, that the church in Philippi would rejoice for Paul, because of what Christ had done in Paul..

And now, Paul is turning the table on them..

“I’ve given you my example.”

Now.. “give me yours.” ++

They’ve heard the good stuff that Paul has to say.. and they rejoice..

Now Paul tells them.. to live a life that is worthy of the gospel..

.. so that he will hear about it..

So that he can stand firm in one spirit..

That is.. being of one mind… for the faith of the gospel.. ++

Earlier on in the chapter.. Paul let them know.. that they were fellow partaker in the grace of God..

now.. he’s telling them, that they are going to need that grace in greater ways than they think..

For it has been granted unto them.. to suffer for the sake of Christ. ++

Why? They have the same conflict as Paul..

What is Paul’s conflict?

He lived full throttle for Jesus.. and the world had a hard time with that..

The church in Philippi had the same conflict..

They too, were called to live.. full throttle for Jesus..

Because of that.. their path was likely to be very similar.. to Paul’s. ++

Conclusion..

Some might say.. that Paul wasn’t successful, because he allowed himself to go to prison..

He could have gotten out of it.

He could have dealt with situations in a more tactful way..

Paul could have really been successful..

At least.. if we transferred Paul into our modern culture.. we might look at it this way..

But the Bible has some different views on success.. than we do. ++

My only hope… is that we are able to understand our circumstances… the way Paul understood his.

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