Discover Joy in Christ by Advancing the Gospel

How many of you have made plans for the rest of today? We all made plans this morning to come to church - and I’m thankful for that. Everyday, we make decisions and plan for our future - whether those are big plans or small plans, we are planning. A common saying is, “The plan is useless, but planning is essential”.

Do you realize, that God has a perfect plan for every single one of us? He does - and it’s a perfect plan! The problem is, we get in the way!!! We don’t follow his plan or we don’t even try to discover his plan for us. We think we are in charge and make our own decisions without even thinking about God’s plans. Part of God’s perfect plan for all of us - is for us to advance the Gospel of Christ. That is how he plans to reach the world in need - through us! We are all called for this task - we must be aware of that and willingly participate in spreading the gospel of Christ.

Philippians 1:12–18 ESV

I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. 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,

April 20, 1999 at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, two young teenage boys entered the school that morning with a plan to kill as many students as they could. The teenage boys had made elaborate plans and details of how they would execute their fellow students and teachers. They went through the classrooms and hallways while wreaking havoc on anyone they could find. In the end, they would take the lives of 12 people while injuring another 23 before taking their own lives. This was one of the first large mass shootings to ever occur on school property and it sent shock waves throughout the nation. Shortly after the event, a story began emerging about one of the victims. A young lady was encountered by one of the murders that morning and she was asked if she believed in God. After a brief hesitation, she answered yes and was then shot on the spot. I cannot imagine the thoughts that young lady had before answering the question to her soon to be killer. I am sure she hesitated for a second to consider the consequence of her response. Ultimately, she decided it was worth whatever the cost to profess the gospel of Christ. We are all called on to profess the gospel of Christ. We can however choose if we will answer that call and boldly profess the gospel of Christ or if we will hide in fear.

Our text today describes Paul’s imprisonment but shows his boldness and determination to profess the Gospel of Christ regardless of his circumstances. No matter our circumstances, we are called to profess the gospel.

Why should we profess the gospel of Christ?

So that everyone can experience the joy of Christ through his never ending love

Philippians 1:12–13 ESV

It is important to be aware of why Paul was in prison. Paul was in prison in Rome for several different reasons. One being a rumor that he had taken a Greek into the Temple which at that time, would be considered a capital office and requirement imprisonment. He was also in prison due to his professing the gospel of Christ. His preaching had drawn large crowds and a considerable amount of attention. The Roman Empire obviously would not like this as they strived to be in control and lord over everyone. The Roman leaders were threatened by Paul and the preaching of Christ and so they put Paul in prison essentially to silence him. On top of that, Paul was in the interior of the prison and guarded by Caesar’s guards who were the highest trained prison guards. Paul was now faced with a decision to make. Should he be silent and not profess the gospel in hope of being released from prison alive or should he continue to profess the gospel regardless of the cost. Thankfully, Paul chose the latter and continued preaching the gospel. Paul did not care about the potential penalties or even death and he stayed determined to profess the gospel to everyone he encountered – even the prison guards!

Paul was determined to profess the gospel of Christ to everyone that he encountered

When my son Cooper was 6 years old, he made the decision to follow Christ and committed to a relationship with him. It was an exciting time for our family to say the least. I remember having a conversation with him shortly thereafter about sharing our faith with other people. We talked a little bit about the Great Commission and the need to follow the commandment given to us from God. Time went on and we got into the normal business of life. One day, we were running some errands and were at the stop light by Burger King and Walmart. There was a man standing by us with a sign asking for money. Cooper read the sign and said to me that instead of money, we should pull over and share the gospel with this man. This was a moment that struck me. A lot of times we see people standing at stoplights asking for money or food and we tend to think they are abusing the system, asking for money so they can get alcohol or something worse. In the eyes of a child, Cooper did not see that person the way we often do. Cooper saw that gentlemen as an opportunity to share Christ. How often do we look at our situation in the eyes of the world and not in the eyes of Christ? Paul was not looking at his current situation through the eyes of a mortal man, but through the eyes of Christ and saw an opportunity to profess the gospel. We too should strive to see the world that way.

Why is it important to advance the gospel of Christ?

Matthew 28:16–20 ESV

Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

I want to focus primarily on one word that you find in this scripture passage. The word is commandment or commanded. Jesus was commanding his disciples to go and spread the gospel message and to make other disciples for Christ. This was not a suggestion or a simple request of them to do this whenever they had time. Jesus commanded them to do this and to make it a priority as a Christian. Also, consider the context of the passage. In this period of time, commandments were viewed differently than they are today. If you broke a law or a commandment, there was a serious penalty to pay. Everyone knew that when a commandment was given, it was fully expected to be carried out to completion. In today’s society, we have become complacent and lackadaisical in following through on our side of this commandment.

Commandment is like a law. Let’s pretend its like a speed limit for a road - that’s a law you must follow right? No, that’s not a good example. It’s more like the law to not murder somebody, because then you’ll go to jail. No, that’s not good because you may not get caught. Here we go - this commandment should be like us knowing how to breath. It should be so important to us as Christians that it becomes second nature…something we do automatically, all the time!

We somehow develop the mindset that it’s the pastor’s job, or the evangelist’s job, or the deacon’s job to profess the gospel of Christ. That is wrong! It is every single Christian’s responsibility to spread the gospel of Christ. We need to make the commitment to intentionally spread the word of God to everyone. Just like the Great Commandment instructs us, Paul was determined to profess the gospel message to whomever he could. Paul took advantage of his situation and preached to the guards and everyone in the palace. He knew the importance of professing the gospel. We also need to realize this importance and strive to carry out the Great Commission as instructed to all of us by Jesus Christ himself.

We must know the Gospel of Christ in order to advance the Gospel of Christ.

Maybe that was the first time you heard of the Great Commission. Regardless, we need to make reading scripture a priority in our lives so that we can be properly equipped to advance the gospel.

We are called to advance the Gospel without fear!

Philippians 1:14 ESV

And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

Paul was not afraid to profess the gospel of Christ while in prison. He was facing the possibility of death for professing the gospel but continued to do exactly that while in prison to the prison guards! But look at what happened, because of his relentless dedication to profess the gospel of Christ to everyone without fear, people were gaining confidence to proclaim the gospel themselves! People realized that Paul was not afraid to profess the gospel and that inspired them to do the same.

Paul was facing the possibility of death for essentially preaching the gospel and stirring up trouble in the Roman’s viewpoint. He could have decided to take a step back from professing Christ in an effort to appease his accusers and not face punishment. However, Paul made the decision to follow Christ regardless of the fear he may have or the potential consequences. Let’s look at some other passages about fear.

Acts 28:31 ESV

proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance.

Hebrews 13:6 ESV

So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”

We have nothing to fear!

Let me give you an example of having fear and deciding to not allow it to control you. Example about preaching for first time.

There is no doubt that Paul was in a difficult situation. I do not think any of us would consider being in prison an ideal situation. I think it is easy for us as Christians to visualize telling somebody about Christ in the ideal situation and them responding in the ideal way. However, that is not based on scripture. Scripture does not tell us to only profess the gospel when it is easy and to those who want to hear the message. The calling is to profess the gospel to everyone and in every situation (both easy and difficult).

As Christians, we have the power of Christ inside of us and we should be bold and confident that God will guide us and protect us in our efforts to profess the gospel. The same power that gave Christ the courage to die for us on the cross lives inside of us through the Holy Spirit. The same power that helped Paul to profess the gospel to everyone regardless of how difficult it was, lives inside of us today. I challenge all of us to be intentional in spreading the gospel message. God would not give us such a Great Commandment as this unless he was going to provide a way for us to fulfill this commandment. Through the power, strength, encouragement, and love of Jesus Christ we can share the gospel to everyone if we make the conscious choice to obey. I am reminded of a passage found in Romans that speaks to this great power.

Romans 1:16 ESV

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

Profess the Gospel, with the correct motives

Philippians 1:15–18 ESV

Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. 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,

Paul is warning us to have the right motives and reasoning for advancing the gospel. We do it because we are commanded to, but when you have the salvation of Christ inside of you - not only do you want to be obedient but you want to spread the gospel for joyous reasons!

Luke 15:10 ESV

Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

It brings God joy to see his message spread to others and it brings God joy to see people saved. We too get to share in that joy by being obedient.

John 15:19 ESV

If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.

The point of this is that our point of view and perspective matters. If we are not of this world and are instead of Christ, then our perspective should change! We should be focused on the things of Christ and allow Christ to give us complete joy. We will then be joyful when things happen in this world that bring glory to Him! Joy can be found in every situation provided that the gospel is professed to everyone.

Find Joy in spreading the Gospel

Paul was thrown in prison in hopes of silencing him, but Paul continued to spread the gospel without fear or trepidation. He could have been killed but decided to intentionally profess the gospel of Christ. As a result of his faithfulness, many people were able to hear the word of God, accept Jesus Christ, and other disciples of Christ became confident in their attempt to spread the gospel message also. If Paul had been quiet and stopped spreading the word of God, what message would that have portrayed at the time? It would have said that this amazing gift of Jesus Christ is not worth making sacrifices for, not worth being persecuted for, and not worth dying for. But that is not the message from the Bible or the message of Jesus Christ.

Don’t wait

Do not wait for the preacher, or deacon, or Sunday school leader to share the gospel of Christ. We all need to take it upon ourselves as truly a commandment from God himself to profess the gospel to everyone and in every situation. With God on our side, nothing can stop us. There may be some of you here today that have never shared the gospel of Christ before because maybe you did not realize the need, or you were scared, or you thought somebody else would do that for you. Christian, today I appeal for you to take seriously this call that we must share Christ to everyone. If Christ is powerful enough to bring himself back from the dead, then he has the power to give us the strength to spread the word of God to everyone. We need to be intentional in professing the gospel of Christ. There are no excuses for not sharing Christ. If you are a Christian, then thankfully somebody likely took the initiative to introduce you to our wonderful savior. There may also be some of you here today that have never experienced the saving grace from Jesus Christ. In order to experience the full and complete joy that Paul had even while in prison, you must surrender your life to our creator Jesus Christ. He is there waiting for you to take the step of faith and experience salvation. God gave us the commandment to share our faith because He knows that you are worth it! You are extremely valuable in the eyes of God and he wants to personally know you today.

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