When Bad Things Happen
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Introduction
Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually advanced the gospel,
so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard, and to everyone else, that my imprisonment is because I am in Christ.
Most of the brothers have gained confidence in the Lord from my imprisonment and dare even more to speak the word fearlessly.
To be sure, some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of good will.
These preach out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel;
the others proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, thinking that they will cause me trouble in my imprisonment.
What does it matter? Only that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is proclaimed, and in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice
because I know this will lead to my salvation through your prayers and help from the Spirit of Jesus Christ.
My eager expectation and hope is that I will not be ashamed about anything, but that now as always, with all courage, Christ will be highly honored in my body, whether by life or by death.
Breaking Down the Passage
Breaking Down the Passage
Paul tells the Philippians that it is really a good thing he is in Jail.
This is because he has been able to spread the Gospel.
The brothers in Christ have been emboldened by Paul’s imprisonment.
There are those that want to cause trouble for Paul by preaching Christ out of envy and rivalry.
It does not matter, Christ will be proclaimed.
Through all of this Christ will be honored in Paul’s body, whether by life or by death.
The one main connection we can make from this passage is though bad things are happening to Paul. But he has an optimistic outlook about the situation.
Up front, we are going to establish the main thing I believe we can take from this passage today: Christians should have an optimistic outlook when bad things happen.
Paul’s attitude here in this passage is reminiscent of several passages we see leading to this idea:
As Jesus said in Matthew 5:11-12
“You are blessed when they insult you and persecute you and falsely say every kind of evil against you because of me.
Be glad and rejoice, because your reward is great in heaven. For that is how they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
This is echoed in James.
Consider it a great joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you experience various trials,
What we will seek to answer today is this: How do we apply this mindset we see exemplified by Paul and commanded in Scripture in our lives? When bad things happen, how can we respond in a way that is glorifying to God?
We start by understanding:
Bad Things Will Happen
Bad Things Will Happen
We see without exception that bad things are happening in the life of Paul.
One of the great unfortunate realities of this life is that evil exists and bad things will happen.
Sickness.
Accidents.
Natural Disasters.
It does not matter who you are or where you come from, one of the things that is clear is that you cannot escape this.
Young, old, rich, poor, bad things can happen to anyone.
Bad things happen. Evil exists in the world.
Sin is the reason these things exist.
We see this happening throughout Scripture. Examples of Bad things happening to people in Scripture:
Joseph (Gen. 37. (sold into slavery) Gen. 39. (framed by Potiphar’s wife and thrown in prison).
Elijah in 1 Kings 19.
David being hunted by Saul.
The Book of Job.
Jesus even promised difficulty to his disciples. With the certainty of his statement in John 16:33.
John 16:33b (CSB)
You will have suffering in this world.
One of the most common questions that people have is “Why do bad things happen?”
This questions leads to one of the most common objections often referred to as the problem of evil.
Epicurus, an ancient Greek philosopher said it this way:
Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil?
Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?
The idea that if there is an all-powerful good God there wouldn’t be evil.
Since evil exists those who push this idea say that either God is not all powerful, he is not all good, or he doesn’t exist.
God is sovereign over evil, but He is not the author of it.
This is difficult to work through, but it is important that we do so.
We have to examine what we believe to be true about God.
Baptist Faith and Message has this to say in regards to God:
There is one and only one living and true God. He is an intelligent, spiritual, and personal Being, the Creator, Redeemer, Preserver, and Ruler of the universe. God is infinite in holiness and all other perfections. God is all powerful and all knowing; and His perfect knowledge extends to all things, past, present, and future, including the future decisions of His free creatures. To Him we owe the highest love, reverence, and obedience. The eternal triune God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being.
With this understanding of who God is, we have some realities that we must work through.
God knows evil will happen.
God is powerful enough to stop evil.
God allows evil to happen.
Why does God allow evil?
What level do we want God do away with evil?
“I wish God would do away with evil.”
Noah and the flood.
We would be destroyed.
The main reason we can understand I think is clear as to why God allows Evil is:
His Grace For us.
There is a clearer picture that we can grasp as we delve deeper into this, but first we need to admit.
When Bad Things Happen It Stinks
When Bad Things Happen It Stinks
We see Paul expressing a resolute attitude about his circumstances.
This could cause us to feel inferior if we don’t immediately have this attitude.
This IS the attitude that we should have. An attitude of optimism toward our trials and the bad things that happen to us, but how do we get there?
In Scripture we have abundant examples of people working their way to this position.
Sometimes it is ok, to not be ok.
In Scripture, we see people struggle with the difficulties they face.
Joseph (Gen. 37. (sold into slavery) Gen. 39. (framed by Potiphar’s wife and thrown in prison).
Elijah in 1 Kings 19.
David being hunted by Saul.
The Book of Job.
I am weary from my groaning; with my tears I dampen my bed and drench my couch every night.
My eyes are swollen from grief; they grow old because of all my enemies.
It is human to react to these events.
It is only sinful if we allow these events to control us.
Like any battle with sin, we can only overcome these things if we are faithful and obedient to God and allow Him to do the work.
As with any aspect of discipleship, getting to a place where our reactions to the events of life are in line with God’s calling takes discipline and transformation.
We cannot expect to immediately be able to have this sort of reaction to the worst things in life.
But ultimately this is the response that we should have. An optimistic joyful response when bad things happen to us. How is this possible?
It is possible when we have understand...
God Will Use Bad Things for Our Good and His Glory
God Will Use Bad Things for Our Good and His Glory
I want to address something at the start of this.
There is a phrase that people often say in moments of hardship to others… and it usually isn’t something that is received as helpful. “Everything happens for a reason.”
When we are saying that God will use bad things for our good and His glory, we are not saying that bad things are good.
In this passage Paul is expressing and living out the fully realized understanding of the promises we see in Scripture. In Romans 8 he says this:
We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.
He is living as though he believes the truth that he wrote to the church in Rome.
This is the same understanding of what is seen in Joseph’s story. He was betrayed, left for dead, and lied about… But God had other plans. He was elevated to the highest position for the preservation of the kingdom and his family. Here are Joseph’s words to his brothers as he forgives them.
You planned evil against me; God planned it for good to bring about the present result—the survival of many people.
This is the reality of how God works. He takes evil and bad things, turns them on their head for the good of those who love Him and for his Glory.
Max Lucado says it this way:
In God’s Hands intended evil becomes eventual good.
This does not mean that the things that happened were good. But that God can take these things and work them for our good.
Pauls expression of this:
Thrown in Jail -> What has happened to me has actually advanced the Gospel.
Those preaching from rivalry and envy -> Christ is proclaimed.
The things that have happened to us, can and will be used for our benefit, the benefit of others, and the glory of God.
The most evil thing to ever happen, the crucifixion of Jesus, God in the flesh resulted in salvation for all who would believe.
Paul acknowledges the absurdity of this to the world in 1 Corinthians 1:23
but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles.
The things that have happened to us, can and will be used for our benefit, the benefit of others, and the glory of God.
When we understand this, we can arrive at the optimistic attitude seen here by Paul in Philippians.
He is not viewing his circumstances, by the detriment they cause but by the good that God can and is working through them.
This does not negate the difficulty of the circumstances we face.
This should lead us to an unbridled optimism about the circumstances that we face.
I have no doubt that in your life, you can look at difficult situations that you have faced and can see how God worked in and through those situations for your good and His glory.
Again, and I cannot stress this enought, not that it was a good thing that happened, but even from the worst circumstances, God can work for the good.
We should approach all aspects of our life in this way.
It won’t be easy, but through the power of the Holy Spirit it is possible.
We can live this way unashamed and bold because we, like Paul, know that at the end of this all, we will realize the hope of our salvation.
Our goal being that Christ is highly honored in our bodies whether by life or by death.
We can live this way because we believe the Gospel.
We believe that everyone who believes in Jesus will not perish but have eternal life like it says in John 3:16.
We believe what it says in Revelation 21:3-4
Then I heard a loud voice from the throne: Look, God’s dwelling is with humanity, and he will live with them. They will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them and will be their God.
He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; grief, crying, and pain will be no more, because the previous things have passed away.
We started today with the reality Jesus said in John 16:33 Lets look at the fullness of that passage.
I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.”
Closing:
Where are you this morning?
Are you hurting and struggling with the evil and bad things you have experienced?
Give it to God this morning. Seek Him, trust Him, know that He is good and that no matter what has happened to you or what will happen to you, God can work it together for your God.
Do you have a relationship with God this morning? Has you understanding of the evil in the world included your sin? Jesus died so you could be forgiven and made right with God.
Turn to him today because he has been patient and expressed great love for you.