Sermons
A Chain Reaction
Sun, Oct 22, 2017
Teacher: Tom Blackford Series: Sunday Sermons - 2017 Scripture: Philippians 1:12-20
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“A Chain Reaction”
Philippians 1:12-20
INTRO:
Good Morning. We are continuing to study Paul’s letter to the church in Philippi. A church Paul loved so deeply, and as we have seen in our studies, they loved Paul. They were concerned for him. They had heard that Paul had been arrested and he was in a Roman prison. Paul did not know if his life was going to end there or not. They picked a man named Epaphroditus, gave him some money and told him to go to Rome and take it to Paul for his needs. More importantly they wanted him to bring back news about how Paul was doing.
That’s what we are going to look at today. We are going to study Paul’s reaction to his chains. Paul tells the church in Philippi and us how he was doing when he was chained for the gospel of Jesus. The text for today is Philippians 1:12-20.
One of the things I have learned in watching people is that people react differently to the same set of circumstances. Some people choose to live above their circumstances that other people choose to live under. I used to wonder about this. How can some people live under the same set of circumstances that others rise above? Paul is going to give us the answer to this. Paul is going to tell us that it all depends on the way we look at our problems. He will tell us that it is because the way we look at a problem is more important than the problem itself.
I’m going to tell you a story about an old man lying on his deathbed. He propped himself up one day and spoke to his lovely wife Sarah. He said, “Sarah you know, when I asked you to marry me, I had hardly a thing to my name, but you said yes. Then what little I had, I lost in the depression, but you stuck with me. The war broke out and I had to enlist and you enlisted as a nurse to be with me.” “When I was wounded in battle, you were there by my side in that hospital all the way through my long recovery. Since then, Sarah, we have been through one struggle after another and you’ve stuck with me. Here I am on my deathbed, and the first face I see every morning is yours. He said, you know something Sarah? You’re plain bad luck.”
That obviously was a man who needed a new orientation. We know that our circumstances will never be ideal. I cannot promise you a perfect carefree life, and no preacher can who wants to keep his integrity. Life is not perfect and circumstances will never be ideal, therefor I suggest we need a better way to look at life. No one modeled this better than the apostle Paul.
If you read the end of the Book of Acts, you’ll find out that Paul was illegally arrested. He was misrepresented in court. He was manipulated as a political pawn. He was shipwrecked on his way to trial and then he was incarcerated and forgotten for 2 years by the Roman judicial system. He is in prision when Epaphroditus shows up, brings him the funds sent by Philippi and tells Paul they want to know how Paul is doing. How are you getting along, Paul?
Paul writes them a letter to tell them how he is doing, but we need to notice how Paul writes. He doesn’t write like a victim. He writes like a victor. The Philippians might remember how he was the first time he was in Philippi—he was beaten and thrown in the Philippian jail. They would remember how he and Silas prayed and sang hymns. This letter to the Philippians is another hymn of joy written this time from prison.
I. I want you to notice Paul’s “chain reaction” if you will. Starting in chapter 1 verse 12-20 - "But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel; So that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and in all other places; And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some also of good will: The one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds: But the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defence of the gospel. What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice. For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death. "
A. Paul had the desire to one day preach the gospel in Rome. It was the ambition of Paul to take Christianity to the greatest city the world knew at that time. I can imagine planning this, going to Rome, finding a large venue and having the biggest Gospel crusade the world had ever seen but God had different plans for Paul as we see in scripture.
B. Paul was arrested and I suppose you might say God gave him a pre-paid ticket to Rome as a prisoner. It wasn’t very pretty. Thrown away in jail, literally chained to a palace guard that was changed every so many hours, and he lived like this for 2 years. If anybody had the right to throw a pity party, it was Paul because his circumstance seem pretty miserable at this point, but when Paul writes, it isn’t like he sees himself as a man in prison. He sees himself ultimately as a man in Christ. Perhaps that’s why some people can live above circumstances that others live under them. The joyful few focus on Christ, and not on their chains.
C. Did you know that many of us have chains? We do. I know many of us today are dealing with chains right now. There are circumstances in life that inhibit or prohibit us from doing the things that we would like to do, from going everywhere we’d like to go. We’re dealing with those chains. Some people are dealing right now with disease and illness that has changed their life. Even our age can put chains on us. Some people are dealing with great financial uncertainty. They’ve lost their job or they don’t know if they’ll have it next month. Some of us have come from home situations that have greatly inhibited our ability in the way we would like to live.
D. Some of the chains are perhaps of our own forging,... some are thrust upon us,... and some are just part of how we developed over the years. Some can be over come, broken with knowledge, effort, practice and some can never be made lighter, but get heavier with each passing day.
E. You see, chains are a part of life. The question is how are we going to react to our chains? Are we going to see ourselves mainly as a person in chains or mainly as a person in Christ? What Paul does for us is show us the orientation we need for our life. How could Paul, in prison, be full of so much joy and optimism?
II. First let's look at what Paul saw. Even though he was in chains, Paul tells us, “they cannot chain the gospel of Jesus”. We noticed earlier that the Philippians were anxious to know how Paul was doing. Remember we looked at that a few weeks ago as well. When Paul writes back, he doesn’t tell them how he is doing.
A. The first thing he tells them how the gospel is doing. Even though Paul was in chains, the gospel was going fourth. He says in Philippians 1:12, “I want you to know brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel”. Paul is saying, “What has happened, my going to prison has actually served to be a platform for getting the gospel all over Rome”.
B. How could that be? Paul tells us, he explains that first it is, “Because I’m in prison, the story of Christianity is being talked about all over the city”. He said in Philippians 1:13, “It has become quite common knowledge I am in chains for Christ”.
C. In other words Paul says, “they know I’m not a criminal. They know I’m not here because I have broken the law. They know I am a religious prisoner and people are talking. People are asking about Christ. They’re asking about this new religion. They’re talking about the story of Jesus”. “Because of my chains, the gospel is going all over the city, but not only that," Paul says, “but remember it’s become quite clear to the whole palace guard”...
D. Who were those people by the way? Who were the guards? Scholars tell us that these probably were the Roman army’s special group of soldiers; the finest regiment in the Roman army called the Praetorian guard. The emperiors own soldiers who guarded the palace. For 2 years, every 3 or 4 hours, one of Rome’s finest soldiers, had to walk in and chain himself to Paul.
E. What do you think Paul did for the time he was chained to those guards? I mean, who was chained to whom? Was the soldier sent there to watch Paul or was Paul sent there to teach the soldiers?
F. Maybe that explains how in chapter 4:22, Paul says, “All the church sends greetings, especially those that belong to the household of Caesar”. How did the gospel get into Caesar’s house? I strongly suspect that Paul was preaching to his guards every single day. In addition, in chapter 1:14 Paul says, “Christians in Rome have become bolder because I am in prison.” He says, “My imprisonment has actually advanced the gospel”.
G. What others would look upon as a setback, Paul says is progress. He even rejoiced that the gospel was being preached by some people whose attitudes towards Paul were quite ugly and pretty negative. Paul says in Philippians 1:15-17, “There are some people in Rome, who see me in jail and they are full of rivalry for me and they see my being in jail as a chance to advance their personnel agendas, and their personal stature and their personal prestige”. [para]
H. Notice these people are not described as anti-Christ, but they are anti-Paul with a vengeance. They go out with some pretty lousy attitudes preaching the gospel. Yet, they are preaching the gospel. If they were not preaching the gospel, they would have been condemned by Paul. Like we saw in Galatians where the legalists were trying to preach Jesus plus the law, Paul condemned those legalists.
III. I find this interesting. Paul doesn’t condemn what they are preaching; he condemns their attitude. Paul says in verse 18, “What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached; and in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice.”[NKJ] - Even though they have got bad attitudes, they are preaching Christ, and people are hearing about the Savior. I rejoice in that.
A. This shows us that the gospel is so strong that it cannot be bettered or chained even by the mixed motives of the people proclaiming it. That is marvolus. We should be very glad it cannot be chained. It also tells us that the gospel cannot be bettered and that gives me comfort. I can’t tell you that every time I preach, my motives are 100% pure. I would like to think they are, and certainly that is my intent both in writing and preaching. I hope that my motives are for the seeking of God’s glory in all my sermons. Yet, I know I wrestle with pride; I wrestle with envy, just like everybody else.
B. Paul says, “Listen, the gospel of God is so strong that even when the preacher has a bad attitude the gospel still does good”. I'm very thankful for that. Paul says, “I rejoice that my chains are pioneering a path to which others can come to know Jesus”.
C. I wonder, could God do the same thing with our chains? Could God take our illness or our age or our job or our broken family and use those chains, to get the gospel into people’s hearts? With Paul we find they can throw the messenger in jail, but they can’t jail the message. Paul said, “I rejoice, (Why? because) hell doesn’t have a chain that is strong enough to bind up the gospel of Jesus.” That’s a chain reaction we all need, isn’t it?.
IV. Paul tells us then, “They cannot chain the gospel of Jesus”. Secondly, Paul says, “the way I see it, they cannot chain the help of Jesus”. Paul not only looked back with joy with what happened in Rome, but he looked ahead with joy knowing what was going to happen. That would be be good as well. He says in Philippians 1:19, “For I know that this will turn out for my salvation through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ” - Paul will continue to rejoice, because he knows that through their prayers and the help given by the Spirit, what has happened will also be for his salvation.
A. In other words, Paul said, “Jesus promised if we go into all the world, he would be with us till the end of the age.” Paul knew that no matter what happens tomorrow, Jesus is going to be there to help him. How is Jesus going to help him?
i. There are two ways. First Paul said, through prayers. The apostle Paul was never too big to ask for prayers. Where can you be, anywhere on this planet, that we can’t pray for you? Paul says, “I don’t know what is going to happen tomorrow, but I know through your prayers, Jesus is going to help me”.
ii. The second way Jesus helps Paul says, “By the help given by the Spirit”. Paul knew that the presence of the Holy Spirit was the fulfilment of Jesus’ promise to be with him. Paul knew that the Holy Spirit would help him bear witness to his faith, especially in his upcoming trial. Remember Jesus promised us when we are on trial for our faith, the Holy Spirit will be there to give us something to say.
B. Remember Mark 13:11 for example, Jesus said, "... when they shall lead you, and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye: for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost." I wonder how differently we might react to our chains, if we truly believe that the Holy Spirit is there to help us?
C. The Bible says that, “But when they arrest you and deliver you up, do not worry beforehand, or premeditate what you will speak. But whatever is given you in that hour, speak that; for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit.” Paul knows he can count on the Holy Spirit to strengthen his life. Paul knows that God doesn’t just rule over our chains, but God sustains us in our chains from within.
D. Let us think for a moment about what is said here.
i. All believers have the Holy Spirit. All of us when we are baptized into Jesus Christ, receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
ii. We, as a person, will sometimes experience the power of the Spirit in greater abundance. This is what the Bible calls being filled with the Holy Spirit.
iii. Then sometimes we are not filled with the Spirit, and sometimes we can even quench the Spirit. Sometimes we might put out the Spirit’s fire as the Bible says.
V. What we need is to be filled with the Spirit. In Acts 4 when Peter and John are brought up in front of the Sanhedrin for preaching Jesus, the Bible says starting in verse 8ff, “They were filled with the Spirit and spoke of Jesus”.
A. Later in that same chapter in verses 18-30, when they were told they can’t preach about Jesus anymore, they prayed to God. In verse 31 the Bible says, “The room started to shake and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly”[para]. Now these people had the Holy Spirit before they prayed, but because they prayed to God, they were filled with the Spirit and became even bolder in their testimonies. The Bible says in Ephesians 5:18 – “do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Holy Spirit,”
VI. Folks, in the Book of Acts when it says, these people were filled with the Spirit, you will notice it was a time of testing, it was a time of trial. Paul is going through a test right now as he writes this letter. He’s going to be on trial very soon, and he wants the Philippians to pray that he is going to be full of the Holy Spirit. He’s going to be led by the Holy Spirit and Jesus is going to help him.
A. Should we be praying for people who already have the Holy Spirit? Absolutely. We should be praying for Christians, especially when they are in chains, that they will receive an abundant measure, the filling with the Holy Spirit and that they receive help from Jesus Christ.
B. Think about it! Where can you go? What jail cell on this whole planet? What hospital room? What court room? What ER waiting room? Can you be on this whole planet where our prayers and the Spirit’s presence cannot reach you?
C. Paul tells us, “they can’t chain the gospel of Jesus and they cannot chain the help of Jesus” and third he says, “they cannot chain the glory of our Lord”. Everybody has a passion. Everybody has an obsession.
i. What is the ultimate consequence of people whose desire is money?
ii. What is the ultimate consequence of people whose desire is family?
iii. What is the ultimate consequence of people whose desire is for owning property?
iv. What is the ultimate consequence of people whose desire is power or fame?
D. All these desires and passions and obsessions have vast control in people’s lives. There is a the problem that people have. The problem with most people is that their life’s obsessions can be affected by chains.
i. That money—can be gone.
ii. That health—can go away.
iii. That family—can fail.
iv. That job—can be lost.
v. Those material things—can be lost and destroyed.
vi. That education—can be for naught.
E. The problem we have with our desires and obsessions, for this life, is that these things can be chained.
VII. Not Paul’s. Paul said in Philippians 1:20 – “according to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death.”[NKJ] Paul’s expectation is he will not be ashamed, but have sufficient courage that Christ be exalted in his body, whether by life or by death. In other words Paul says, “Listen, my passion is to exalt Christ and there is nothing they could do to me, that’s going to keep me from doing my passion”. “There’s nothing they can do that can keep me from exalting Christ”.
A. Paul says, “I don’t know what is going to happen next, I don’t know what is going to happen tomorrow, but one thing I am certain of, no matter what happens tomorrow, I am going to honor Christ. Jesus will receive glory”. What we would see as opposites, Paul says, “lead to the same thing.” “Death, life, it doesn’t matter, either way, Jesus is going to get the glory”.
B. Let us ask ourselves, how do you chain a man like that? How do you chain a man when you can’t do anything to him that’s going to keep him from his life’s passion? When you can’t take away what he cares about most of all, how do you truly bind him? We need to be clear. Jesus Christ is going to receive glory, Jesus Christ is going to be exalted whether we participate or not.
C. What Paul said is, “that there is not a chain on this earth that can keep you from being a vehicle for giving Jesus glory”. Paul said, “He’s going to be exalted in my body whether by life or death”. In other words, hell does not have a chain on the gospel of Jesus; it cannot chain the help of Jesus, Paul said, “There’s nothing they can do, to chain the glory of Jesus”. Paul said, “they cannot chain my joy in Jesus”.
CONCLUSION:
The real challenge of Christianity is not to eliminate the hard circumstances from life. I cannot do that, and I cannot promise that. No preacher should attempt to. If someone told us that if we become a Christian life becomes ideal, and we’ll have no more problems, it’s a lie. It’s a lie because the real test of Christianity is not to eliminate the hard circumstances from life. It’s to live above them. We are to live above those circumstances because we’ve got a better orientation.
We are not a people in chains anymore; we are a people in Christ. We will not lose our joy if we do not lose our focus on Him. We can’t lose Jesus even if we lose everything in this world.
Let me ask each of us, how are we reacting to our chains this morning? I think the real key to understanding Paul is in the next 7 words, Philippians 1:21, he said, “For to me, to live is Christ.” Paul says, “I’m not a man in prison; I’m a man in Christ”.
The answer to how we are reacting in our chains depends on how we are looking at our chains. What are our desires, our obsessions? How would we complete this phrase? “For me, to live is.... What are we thinking? Some people we know might answer this way; For me to live is ... education. For me to live is... making money. For me to live is... family. For me, to live is... success. For me to live is... getting married. For me to live is... getting out of my marriage.
The problem we often have is that we give a first class rating to second class causes. There is only one answer we can put in that blank that’s going to be there no matter what the circumstance. If there is anything in our blank that a chain can take away, we need a new answer. We need a New Hope and His Name is the Name which is above every other Name. His Name is Jesus Christ. Those people out in the world who are chained today need to see that they need help to break away the chain of sin.
If you’re not a Christian this morning, then you still need help to break away the chain of sin in your life. The only One who has the power to do that is Jesus Christ. If you want to know how He can help you to do that then please don’t leave here today without asking someone about it.
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We learn from the New Testament how to be saved. We need to hear the word; believe in Jesus; repent of our sins; we must confess our belief that Jesus is the Son of God; and be baptized for the remission of our sins... If we follow these steps, the Lord adds us to His church.
Perhaps there is someone in the assembly today with the need to be buried with Christ in baptism. If you have never done these things, we urge you to do so today. If anyone has this need or desires the prayers of faithful Christians on their behalf, we encourage them to come forward while we stand and sing.
# 598
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Mike Glover
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