A Sufferer’s Perspective – part 1 (Philippians 1:12-18)
A Sufferer’s Perspective – part 1
Philippian 1:12-30 (12-18)
September 22, 2013
As you know we have recently begun a study
Of Paul’s letter to the Philippians.
The Philippian church was the first church ever started in Europe.
God did some amazing things in opening the eyes of Lydia and orchestrating the
salvation of the Philippian jailor, and thus started this church.
And even though they are poor, they are a tremendously faithful church.
They are generous, they are faithful,
And they are compassionate toward Paul.
The motivation for this letter came from the fact that
Even though Paul was imprisoned in Rome
This church still revived their concern for him and sent him some help.
Paul wrote this letter of encouragement in response to their generosity.
So what we have is a letter from a man in prison
To a church that has its own struggles.
And that means that it was only a matter of time
Until the concept of suffering is addressed.
And the remainder of Philippians chapter 1
Is one of the best portions of Scripture in the Bible
As it pertains to maintaining a proper perspective in suffering.
Look, we know that suffering is promised.
John 16:33 “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”
And for a believer that tribulation actually comes from two places.
On one hand we suffer the plight of humanity.
This world is fallen, the sin curse runs rampant.
And just because we are believers does not mean
We are suddenly exempt from our share of humanity’s suffering.
We still get sick, we still have pain, we still face death, etc.
On the other hand we also suffer persecution.
Believers however have the added assurance that because they follow Christ they will have an extra amount of suffering.
Matthew 10:22 “You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.”
So not only do believers suffer with the rest of the world,
We also suffer at the hands of the rest of the world.
This is just a promise.
And that means that as humans in this world and especially as believers in Jesus Christ we had better learn to deal with suffering.
Now we are studying Philippians chapter 1,
But the Bible is not lacking in passages regarding suffering.
James 1:2-4 “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”
James is as clear as anyone when he tells you that
The best weapon against suffering is a good attitude.
THERE IS NO BETTER WEAPON AGAINST SUFFERING
THAN A BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVE AND A JOYFUL ATTITUDE
Continually the writers of Scripture try to hammer this home.
Consider Peter,
• Writing to a group of scattered believers.
• Some had lost their property, some had lost their jobs.
• They were hated and maligned in the world.
1 Peter 3:13-17 “Who is there to harm you if you prove zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. AND DO NOT FEAR THEIR INTIMIDATION, AND DO NOT BE TROUBLED, but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence; and keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame. For it is better, if God should will it so, that you suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong.”
Can you hear Peter addressing their Biblical perspective?
Don’t look at what pleases you, look at what pleases God.
God is glorified when you suffer well.
Peter would go on to say:
1 Peter 4:12-14 “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation. If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.”
There again, look past your trials.
Find something to rejoice in.
And I’ll tell you this much, suffering as a Christian may not be fun
But I’ll give you one positive: it proves you are a Christian.
Even Jesus spoke on handling suffering
When faced with a discouraged John the Baptist.
Matthew 11:2-6 “Now when John, while imprisoned, heard of the works of Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to Him, “Are You the Expected One, or shall we look for someone else?” Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you hear and see: the BLIND RECEIVE SIGHT and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the POOR HAVE THE GOSPEL PREACHED TO THEM. “And blessed is he who does not take offense at Me.”
Jesus was clear to John.
“John, you are looking for blessing in the wrong way. You think it would be a blessing to get relief from your circumstances.”
No, the blessing is when you don’t fall away just because it is hard.
That produces an endurance, an assurance, and a strength of faith
That is far more valuable than comfort.
John, seek the true blessing of endurance, not the quick blessing of relief.
And you get the point.
Scripture repeatedly speaks to the concept of suffering
And it always asks people to look at their suffering
Through a Biblical perspective and a proper attitude.
And we know that.
How familiar we are with the life of Joseph
Who was sold into slavery and faced all sorts of hardships.
We remember the end of his life, speaking to his brothers when he said:
Genesis 45:4-8 “Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Please come closer to me.” And they came closer. And he said, “I am your brother Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. “Now do not be grieved or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. “For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. “God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant in the earth, and to keep you alive by a great deliverance. “Now, therefore, it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh and lord of all his household and ruler over all the land of Egypt.”
That is perspective isn’t it?
Joseph saw what God was doing.
However, Joseph saw that after he rose to power.
Even though God told him ahead of time through a dream,
Joseph had a better understanding of it after the suffering was over.
What we are asking for is the right kind of perspective
In the middle of the suffering.
And tonight we have an example of it.
Paul wrote this letter from prison.
He was not in a dungeon, he was in his own quarters.
Acts 28:30 “And he stayed two full years in his own rented quarters and was welcoming all who came to him,”
However, the whole time he was there, he was chained to a Roman guard.
He had no privacy, ever.
And that after the ordeal of the previous three years.
Prison, false trials, a shipwreck, a snakebite
You get the point.
Paul is not writing from the victory side of suffering.
Paul is writing from the middle of it.
And it’s valuable to us that he is,
Because he shows us tremendous perspective while suffering.
Now, we can’t cover the entire perspective tonight.
All I can give you is the first point.
Tonight let me show you the first attitude and perspective
By which you handle suffering.
#1 FIND A REASON TO REJOICE
Philippians 1:12-18
What you have here is Paul giving the Philippians his reason for rejoicing.
You actually see that in verse 18.
“and in this I rejoice.”
• He is not rejoicing in his circumstances.
• He is not rejoicing in his pain.
• But he is most certainly rejoicing in what his circumstances are producing.
And isn’t that what James told us to do?
James 1:2 “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials,”
You have to make a decision to rejoice.
And before we get into this text just let me say that
Choosing to rejoice is far different from feeling joyful.
When you wake up in sour circumstances you don’t naturally feel joyful.
You must force yourself to see realities that can allow you to rejoice.
That is what Paul is doing here.
He isn’t happy to be in jail.
He isn’t happy to be chained to a soldier.
He isn’t happy to be kept from traveling.
So he is looking for what he can rejoice in.
And maybe in your suffering this is what you need to do as well.
If the surface isn’t joyful, then look deeper, look longer, look broader,
And find a reason to rejoice.
Let me show you Paul’s reasoning.
There are three reasons he gives for why he can rejoice
Even while being in prison in Rome, chained to a guard.
1) THE OPPORTUNITY IT HAS PRESENTED (12-13)
“Now I want you to know…”
It carries the idea of Paul grabbing their head
And forcing them to look at what they might not otherwise see.
The natural human reaction would be to jump into the “woe is me’s”
With Paul and see how hard it is.
“Oh poor Paul, that’s so terrible, how do you endure?”
And then for Paul to say, “Ohhh, it’s tough, but I’ll make it”
And then we can all have this wonderful little pity party.
Paul is making sure this letter does not turn into a pity party.
He tells them what he wants them to know.
• Nothing about the bed…
• Nothing about the food…
• Nothing about the chain…
• Nothing about the length of time…
He is choosing not to focus on those things
And he is asking the Philippians not to focus on them either.
In fact, he is not giving a prayer request here at all,
He is giving a praise report.
At the end of this section it is Paul’s desire
That you be motivated to praise God, not feel sorry for Paul.
(How we as believers need this perspective)
We love prayer request times so we can get everyone
To focus on how awful our circumstances are.
That isn’t what Paul is doing,
He wants everyone to focus on how faithful His God is.
He doesn’t want the Philippians to know about his struggles,
He wants them to know about his opportunities.
“Now I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel,”
Regardless of what you think about me being in prison, I want you to know that me being in prison is opening some mighty doors.
WHAT DO YOU MEAN?
(13) “so that my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the whole praetorian guard and to everyone else,”
Because Paul is in prison, his story has become well known “throughout the whole praetorian guard and to everyone else”
Let that sink in.
“the praetorian guard” was sort of a secret service.
They protected the emperor
How many in here want the president to be saved?
Well who has access to the president?
You’d be better served to start with the secret service.
And because of his imprisonment Paul was able to witness to them.
And undoubtedly he had done such a good job with them
That “everyone else” had heard his story as well.
All of Rome knew about Paul.
All of Rome was familiar with his story.
You can even look to the end of this letter and see that some even in Caesar’s household had been saved.
Philippians 4:22 “All the saints greet you, especially those of Caesar’s household.”
Paul being in prison may have been a hard thing,
But it wasn’t hard for him to rejoice about it.
His being in prison had presented him with a very unique opportunity.
Every day a new member of the secret service
Was chained to his arm and was a captive audience.
And that opens our eyes to a very simple fact.
SUFFERING PROVIDED A PLATFORM FOR PAUL
THAT PROSPERITY NEVER COULD.
Suffering opened a door for him that comfort never did.
And the amazing thing is that all we do in church today
Is pray for prosperity.
That only shows that maybe we aren’t as concerned about the cause of Christ as we should be.
The apostles didn’t pray for prosperity, they actually sought suffering.
Philippians 3:10 “that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death;”
2 Corinthians 12:10 “Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.”
Listen to Peter:
1 Peter 2:19-21 “For this finds favor, if for the sake of conscience toward God a person bears up under sorrows when suffering unjustly. For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience? But if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God. For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps,”
1 Peter 4:1-2 “Therefore, since Christ has suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same purpose, because he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.”
Those guys sought suffering because suffering
Opened more doors for the gospel than prosperity did.
In fact, prosperity can even close some doors for you.
All those who have been to poor regions know that being prosperous only makes it harder to identify with the poor.
Suffering opens doors.
How many in here know who Nick Vujicic is?
“No Arms, No Legs, No Problem”
How many in here know who Bethany Hamilton is?
“Soul Surfer”
Doors are opened for them because of their hardship.
Paul knew that.
In his suffering he found a reason to rejoice,
And that was because of the opportunity it presented.
That’s true for you too.
Your suffering has opened up opportunities for you
That you must open your eyes to see.
Rejoice in that!
The Opportunity it has Presented
2) THE ENCOURAGEMENT IT HAS PROVIDED (14)
(14) “and that most of the brethren, trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment, have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear.”
Was it easy to be in prison? No
Did he enjoy being chained to a guard? No
But he could see that his hardship was opening doors of opportunity
And encouraging otherwise timid believers.
There were people who loved Jesus, who believed in Jesus, who wanted to share the gospel…
However the threats of the enemy had caused such an anxiety in them that they were too afraid to ever step out and do it.
What they needed was a leader…
They needed someone to obey and show them that God was still God even in the midst of opposition.
Paul had become that leader.
I’m reminded of an early church martyr I learned about in seminary. I can’t remember his name, but his church had been discovered and he was arrested and was going to be burned at the stake.
As the fires were lit, the rest of his church was hiding, watching from a distance, and as the fire began to rage the man lifted up two fingers, which was a sign to his brothers and sisters who were watching which meant, “It is bearable”.
He tasted the wrath and let them know that the grace to endure it was indeed sufficient.
That is what Paul was providing.
Other believers saw the way he handled adversity
And saw God’s faithfulness in the middle of it,
And were encouraged that they could do it to.
This caused Paul to rejoice.
TURN TO: 2 Timothy
This is the same encouragement that Paul gives Timothy throughout this letter.
(READ 1:8)
(READ 1:12-14)
(READ 1:15-2:1)
(READ 2:8-13)
(READ 4:16-18)
You can see that very encouragement.
I did it, you can do it.
And incidentally Paul’s encouragement must have had the same effect on Timothy that it did on these believers.
For at the end of the book of Hebrews we read:
Hebrews 13:23 “Take notice that our brother Timothy has been released, with whom, if he comes soon, I will see you.”
Apparently Timothy pushed forward, obeyed Christ,
Proclaimed boldly and found himself in prison just like Paul.
Sometimes people just need encouragement and Paul was that.
Peter used the same concept.
1 Peter 5:8-10 “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.”
Peter was writing to encourage suffering believers,
And to encourage them he pointed out other believers
Who had successfully endured the same type of suffering.
Let their endurance encourage you…
Next time you suffer, find a reason to rejoice.
Look at the opportunity it has granted you
And then look at how many other people your endurance is encouraging.
You aren’t the only one to suffer
You aren’t the only one who has it rough
And if the way you approach your suffering can encourage one other person to trust Christ as well, then that is a good thing.
Find a reason to rejoice.
The Opportunity his suffering has Presented
The Encouragement his suffering has Provided
3) THE MOTIVATION IT HAS PRODUCED (15-18)
We just saw that other believers had now been encouraged
To trust Christ and endure as well.
Here we find that some had even been encouraged
To go out and boldly preach the gospel.
Now, first you need to notice that Paul was not naïve.
He knew full well that not everyone who was preaching
Was doing so with the best of motives.
(15-17) “Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ even from envy and strife, but some also from good will; the latter do it out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel; the former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition rather than from pure motives, thinking to cause me distress in my imprisonment.”
Paul was not referencing false prophets here.
Everyone that was preaching was preaching the true gospel.
The sermons were theologically sound.
The issue was the motive for why they preached them.
Some saw Paul’s imprisonment as an opportunity
To swoop in and steal his position.
They envied him. They wanted his clout,
They wanted his role, they wanted his ministry.
And the fact that Paul was in prison afforded them that opportunity.
It’s kind of the “Prince John” affect.
King Richard went off to fight and Prince John
Sought to seize the opportunity to take his throne.
Paul knew that this “envy” and “selfish ambition” were present in some.
They preached a true gospel, but they did it for selfish reasons.
However Paul also knew that some did it out of genuine motivation.
They did it from “good will” and “out of love”
There motive wasn’t to steal Paul’s position,
But rather to hold down the fort until he came back.
Both were preaching the gospel, some did it to steal Paul’s place,
Some did it to preserve his place.
That would be a hard scenario to accept.
And yet Paul is rejoicing.
WHY?
(18) “What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice.”
• Paul held no animosity.
• Paul held no envy.
• Paul named no names.
He simply found a reason to rejoice and that reason was that
In spite of his current situation the gospel was being preached.
Remember what Paul told Timothy?
2 Timothy 2:8-9 “Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, descendant of David, according to my gospel, for which I suffer hardship even to imprisonment as a criminal; but the word of God is not imprisoned.”
Paul rejoiced there because despite his current situation
The cause of the kingdom moved forward.
Can you rejoice in that?
You are suffering, you are hurting, life is hard.
Can you rejoice in the fact that your hardship hasn’t stopped the kingdom from growing?
Can you rejoice that the cause of Christ still pushes forward in spite of your hardship?
Paul did.
Sure his circumstances were bad.
No one wanted to be stuck in prison.
• But instead of having a pity party…
• Instead of moaning to the Philippians…
Paul rejoiced and gave the Philippians reason to rejoice.
• His suffering opened a door of opportunity to reach those who otherwise might have been off limits.
• His suffering encouraged otherwise timid believers that they too could stand strong for Christ.
• His suffering didn’t hinder the cause of Christ in any way, in fact it may have furthered it.
“and in this I rejoice”
So next time you suffer…
Instead of quickly gathering a group of professional mourners around you and seeing if you can bring them down to your level of despair.
Why don’t you first look for a reason to rejoice and see if you can’t leave those believers encouraged?
I don’t think the Philippians went away from this letter sad.
I think they went away energized.
That is what we want to do for others even when we suffer.
SO FIND A REASON TO REJOICE.
Next week we’ll move on.
Paul’s second encouragement is: FIND A REASON TO ENDURE
And we’ll see that next week.
