Philippians: Gee—God Really is In Control!

Text: Philippians 1:12-18

Theme: The providence of God is always at work in the life of His people

I. PAUL’S CHAINS WERE DIVINELY PLANNED

“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.” (Philippians 1:12–13, ESV)

1. the apostle Paul knew that Christ, now seated At the right hand of the Majesty on high, was in full control of his life

a. all the factors of time and space were in his hands

b. nothing happened by chance

1) if one atom, somewhere in the distant reaches of the universe, could randomly wander off course, God would cease to be sovereign

2) all the varied threads of circumstances of Paul’s life—both good and bad—are being woven by God into a pattern that would result in His eternal praise

ILLUS. When I felt called into the ministry, one of the books my pastor gave me was entitled Dark Threads the Weaver Needs, by Herbert Lockyer. The first chapter contains a lengthy poem that compares our lives to a weaver weaving a tapestry. Let me share just two stanzas from it.

Not till each loom is silent,

And the shuttles cease to fly,

Shall God reveal the pattern

And explain the reason why

The dark threads were as needful

In the weaver’s skillful hand

As the threads of gold and silver

For the pattern which He planned.

2. Paul was a prisoner in chains

a. his liberty ended where the chains ended

1) it would be easy, from a worldly point of view, to see this as the end of his evangelistic ministry—or at least a major postponement of it

2) Paul’s enemies are rubbing their hands in glee assuming this will shut him up

3) it does anything but

b. Paul had been driven by an overwhelming compulsion to travel the Roman empire to make Christ known

1) he had been extraordinarily successful

ILLUS. He has been on three missionary journeys, seen thousands come to faith in Christ, and helped to plant dozens of churches. His is a spiritual record any modern-day church-planter would envy.

c. now his plans, from a human perspective, are in limbo

ILLUS. Years ago the apostle had made plans to go to Rome and take the city by storm. The adage was true, “All roads, did indeed, lead to Rome.” People from all over the Empire would travel those same highways to visit Rome, and once there hopefully they would hear the gospel, and once hearing it would take it back to their homes. From Rome, Paul had planned to go to Spain and then Gaul — lands where Huns, and Gauls and Vandals lived in pagan darkness. Beyond that the islands of Britannia also beckoned. Paul’s plan for evangelism had been as wide as the world.

1) Paul has made it to Rome, but not in the way he had thought

d. But Paul is now in chains, under house arrest, shackled to a Roman soldier 24 – 7

1) a lesser man might have questioned God’s ways, fretted over his enforced inaction, and perhaps become embittered

e. not the apostle Paul!

1) Paul knew his chains were divinely planned and God made no mistake; he knew God had not lost control

2) if Paul could not go then he would write, and he would pray, and people would come to him and he would win them to faith in Christ

3. the Philippian believers knew that their friend Paul was experiencing the trial of imprisonment

a. Paul knew that they knew

4. Paul fears that they may be distressed on his account and discouraged in their proclamation of the gospel

a. so he hastens to reassure them that he is far from defeated even though he is in prison

b. in fact, he's right where God wants him!

5. When the Christian Finds Him or Herself Right in the Middle of a Difficult Situation, it May Be That You're Right Where God Wants You at That Moment

a. when bad things happen to believers, it's not always because we've sinned

b. when bad things happen to believers, it's not always because someone else has sinned and we got caught in the middle

c. when bad things happen to believers, it may be the providence of God at work

Paul’s Chains Were Divinely Planned, and ...

II. PAUL'S CHAINS WERE DISTINCTLY PRODUCTIVE

"As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ." Philippians 1:13 NIV

1. the word know in vs. 12 means to know by or through experience

a. Paul has been here before ... jail that is

b. it may look like the situation is out of control, but Paul has experienced God's presence in similar situations

ILLUS. I’m sure a midnight hymn sing in Philippi came to mind as Paul writes this letter.

c. he knows God is with him in his present difficulty

2. Paul wants the Philippian believers to know that although circumstances seem to be controlling him, that in reality Paul knows Who is actually controlling the circumstances

a. it's the Lord

3. Paul's seemingly negative situation has in reality served to advance the gospel

ILLUS. Now that's an interesting term: served to advance. Paul uses a military term that refers to trained woodsmen who precede an army, cutting a way through a forest to enable the soldiers to march forward without breaking rank.

4. Paul's captivity has not stymied the advance of the gospel

a. in fact, those who have incarcerated Paul have acted like woodsmen who have actually allowed the army of the Lord to proceed

b. guard by guard, Paul has witnessed until the entire legionnaire barracks has heard the gospel

ILLUS. And these are not just run-of-the-mill Roman soldiers. Most bibles use the phrase “palace guard” in Phil. 13, but the word Paul uses is praetorian. The praetorian guard was an elite unit of the Imperial Roman army whose members served as personal bodyguards and intelligence officers for Roman emperors. Emperor Augustus formed them into his personal security detail. The Praetorians represented the best soldiers from the legions. These are Rome’s top soldiers ... young men, highly trained, highly motivated, highly skilled, brave and loyal ... think Seal Team 6!

c. these were the men Paul had the opportunity to witness to

5. Paul’s incarceration in Rome at this time is essentially a house arrest

a. each soldier takes a six-hour rotation, and soldiers are constantly rotated so as not to get too friendly with the prisoner

b. though he is shackled to a Roman soldier he is free to have visitors come and go

ILLUS. I’ve always wondered how some of those conversations with friends might’ve gone. Imagine Silas coming to visit his missionary partner. They chitchat for a while and then Silas winks at the apostle and says, “Paul, did you know that Jesus can save you from your sins?” And Paul responds, “Why, no Silas, I did not know that. Tell me about it.” And with that another Roman soldier hears the story of God’s redemptive work through a Jewish carpenter who is not only Israel’s Messiah, but the Savior of the world.

c. by the time Nero turned on the Christian community in A.D. 64 (less than five years after Paul wrote this letter) Tacitus, the Roman historian, could bear witness to the fact that there were vast multitudes of Christians in the capital — including many Roman legionnaires and former legionnaires

6. but the apostles chains would be productive in other ways

A. IT STRENGTHENED THE CONFIDENCE OF BELIEVERS

1. the phrase have become confident in the ESV is literally, waxing confident

2. they have seen Paul's unflinching courage and his undimmed faith during his imprisonment and it has strengthened their confidence

b. in vs.14 the apostle testifies that the Roman Christians had become fearless in their witnessing when they saw him sharing the gospel with his captors

1) this is the same man who had written to the Christians at Rome, “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:14-16)

B. IT DETERMINED THE CONDUCT THE CONDUCT OF BELIEVERS

1. the saints have become aggressive in their witness for the Lord and bold in their proclamation of the gospel

a. they have become courageous and fearless

1) the word courageous means a boldness that puts your body on the line

a) these Christians do not shrink back because of the possibility of martyrdom

2) the word fearlessly is the word from which we get our word phobia and refers to someone who takes flight because of a perceived terror

a) these believer are no longer terrorized about sharing the gospel

2. if Paul could win so many souls for Christ while he was chained to a Roman soldier and restricted to the four walls of the house, they who were free surely ought to be able to witness for God

C. IT EVEN EMBOLDENED HIS ENEMIES

1. Paul tells the Philippian believers that there are two kinds of people who are preaching the gospel

a. some preach Christ out of good will v. 15

1) they do it because they love Jesus and they love lost people and want to see lost people come to know the same Jesus they know

2) these preachers have been emboldened by Paul's vigorous defense of the gospel in a difficult situation

3) BUT ...

b. some preach Christ out of ill will v. 15

1) they are envious of Paul and preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not because they love Jesus and love lost people and want to see lost people come to know the same Jesus they do, but because they believe that doing so will continue to keep Paul in chains!

2. Paul's response? Who cares!

“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,” (Philippians 1:18, ESV)

3. did you ever have one of those passages that you really struggled with?

a. this was one of those for me

b. I mean, how can God bless the preaching of the Gospel by those who may not even believe what they are preaching?

ILLUS. Back in the late 50s, on through the sixties, and even into the early seventies, Marjo Gortner traveled the Evangelistic circuit preaching the gospel in tent revivals. He had started preaching when he was three years old and for years was touted by his parents as the world's youngest evangelist. He first gained national attention during the late 1940s when his parents arranged for him to be ordained as a preacher at age four, due to his extraordinary speaking ability. Raised in the Pentecostal tradition, Marjo tells of speaking in tongues, healing services and slaying people in the Spirit with a touch of his hand. In his early thirties, he renounced Christianity, and left the revival circuit for the bright lights of Hollywood. He became a celebrity again during the 1970s when he starred in Marjoe (1972), which was a behind-the-scenes documentary about the lucrative business of Pentecostal preaching. It won the 1972 Academy Award for Best Documentary Film. He maintains that everything he did or said was a fraud and that he only did it for the money.

c. and yet thousands of people who came to Christ through his preaching were genuinely converted

4.what's that answer? ... How can those who preach Christ out of envy or selfish ambition be successful?

a. the power of the gospel is in the message and not the messenger

1) Paul knew this and he rejoiced

2) as long as the gospel is presented, that is what's important

Paul concludes this section writing to the Philippians “ ... 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,” (Philippians 1:18–19, ESV). Paul had learned one of the great secrets of the Christian life, to see everything in the light of God's will and providence. No matter what happens he is totally surrendered to the will of God. If his death will glorify God he's ready, but if his life will glorify God that's OK too!