joy in spite of my circumstances
Posted by: preacher30673 <preacher30673@...>
Everyone wants happiness, but most people seek it in the wrong way.
Most people assume that happiness comes through good circumstances, so they set out to improve their circumstances.
If they're single, they seek a spouse and a happy marriage.
If they're married, but unhappy, they get a divorce and look for someone else who can make them happier.
If they're married and childless, they seek to have children.
If they're married with children who are giving them problems, they don't know what to do (since murder is not legal)!
If they're poor, they seek to get rich.
If they're rich, they discover that money doesn't give them what they're looking for. One person said, "They say it's better to be poor and happy than rich and miserable. But couldn't something be worked out, such as being moderately wealthy and just a little moody?"
Think of who Paul was -- God's chief apostle to the Gentiles. He was well-educated, experienced, and influential man.
But where was Paul? He was in prison in Rome, awaiting a trial that could result in his execution. He was chained to a Roman guard 24 hours of every day.
His circumstances were enough to make any man unhappy, and yet we find him abounding with joy.
In our text, we find Paul in circumstances in which we could not fault him for being unhappy, and yet he is happy.
I. THE UNCOMFORTABLE CIRCUMSTANCES OF PAUL
In verse 12 Paul mentions the "things which happened unto me." The things that had happened unto Paul were very trying and uncomfortable. Paul describes two particular things in our text that had happened to him.
A. There were the bonds that held him
"my bonds" is mentioned in verses 13, 14, and 16. Serving Christ had not been an easy road for Paul. He described some of the hardships he had encountered serving Christ in 2 Cor. 11:23-28. Paul was now shackled night and day to a member of the Roman guard. Whenever he ate, wrote, talked, or slept, a rugged Roman soldier remained handcuffed to him.
B. There was the brethren that hurt him
In verses 15, 16 Paul describes how some of the brethren had taken advantage of his bonds and sought to add grief to what he was already experiencing.
There were some Christians in Rome who were apparently making the most of the situation in which Paul was placed for their own ends. With Paul out of the way they were making the most of their opportunity and getting themselves into positions of strong influence. Some were preaching Christ out of envy. They were jealous of Paul—envious of his success and resentful of his influence in the Roman church.
Some valued their own individual success, not as a triumph over paganism, but as a triumph over Paul. It would make them feel good if they could make his sufferings in prison more acute by reason of jealousy which might arise in his heart. But their evil motives did not steal his joy, for as long as Jesus was being proclaimed as the Messiah, Paul was content.
Paul' aim was to glorify Christ and get people to follow Christ; some of his colleagues' aim was to promote themselves and win a following of their own. Some were canvassing for office. They were preaching Christ but with purely selfish motives. They were using Paul's plight to improve their prestige. They were pro-Christ but anti-Paul. It is possible to preach truth for selfish reasons. It is possible for believers to use the suffering of others to promote themselves.
Some were preaching Christ out of an unholy competition.
When the famous sculptor Michelangelo and the painter Raphael were creating works of art to beautify the Vatican, a bitter spirit of rivalry rose up between them. Whenever they met, they refused to speak to each other. Yet each was supposedly doing his work for the glory of God.
Jealousy can often parades behind the facade of religious zeal.
I. THE UNCOMFORTABLE CIRCUMSTANCES OF PAUL
II. THE UNinterrupted CAUSE OF PAUL
It would appear that Paul's ministry had been interrupted. It seemed as if his voice had been silenced, his work had been stopped, his ministry had been stymied, and his service had been suspended.
Yet just the opposite is true. His opposition was in reality an opportunity. The same God who used Moses' rod, Gideon's pitchers, David's sling, used Paul's chains.
What seemed like a hindrance was in reality a help.
"furtherance" - was a word used to describe the progress of an army. It came from a verb which was used to speak of cutting away trees and undergrowth. Furtherance was used to describe trailblazers who opened the way through uncharted regions.
Paul's chains were the means by which the Gospel made progress in new areas in Rome. Paul's imprisonment was clearing the way for the gospel in areas that were previously impossible to reach. Paul's sufferings removed obstacles allowing the gospel to be presented in arenas that would otherwise have been available.
A. God was doing a work of evangelism through Paul's chains
God gave Paul an exciting and effective prison ministry. Paul's chains gave him contact with sinners that he would not normally have had. He was chained to a Roman soldier 24 hours a day. The shifts changed every six or so hours. With each changing of the guards came a new opportunity. For Paul difficulties had become doors. The prison became a pulpit. Imagine being chained to a man who either prayed, preached, or penned epistles for hours upon hours.
So effective was Paul's new ministry that at the end of this epistle Paul is able to speak about the saints that are of Caesar's household.
Dave Dravecky had pitched with remarkable success for the San Diego Padres and the San Francisco Giants baseball teams. But his pitching arm developed an unusual soreness. Medical tests identified the problem-- cancer. Surgery and months of rehabilitation followed. Then, after pitching for a time in the minor leagues, Dave made a widely applauded comeback to the majors. But in Montreal, as he was delivering a pitch, his arm snapped. The cancer had not gone away. To save his life, doctors removed his arm and much of his shoulder. A committed Christian, Dave didn't wallow in self-pity. He said, "There is no struggle about feeling sorry for myself. The question is not, 'Why me, God?' The question is, 'What is Your plan for me?'"
Then he said, "I see this as God giving me the opportunity to share the gospel with a lot of people."
Just as Paul saw how his chains lead to opportunity (Phil. 1:12), Dave saw God open doors for him to speak about his faith in Christ.
When trouble strikes, destroying our dreams or crippling our bodies, do we react with self-pity? Or do we see an opportunity to demonstrate the sufficiency of God's grace?
B. God was doing a work of encouragement through Pau's chains (14)
Not only did Paul's chains give him contact with sinners, but it also gave courage to the saved. Other Christians caught the infection of Paul's courage!
Discouragement spreads, but so does encouragement.
Wherever we find ourselves and whatever our circumstances, there is opportunity for service!
C. God was doing a work of edification through Paul's chains
Note verse 19. God not only used Paul's chains for the salvation of sinners and the strengthening of saints, but God used all that had happened to Paul for his own well being. "Salvation" - here implies well- being (spiritual good - my spiritual health). Paul was in prison for the lost, for the saved, and also for Paul's sake.
There may be qualities lacking in your life as a Christian that God can only secure if He puts you in a place that is utterly difficult. Some things God can't do anywhere else except in the fire, so he puts you in it.
Paul was counting on this work to be successful through the prayers of the saints and the power of the Spirit.
I. THE UNCOMFORTABLE Circumstances OF PAUL
II. THE UNinterrupted CAUSE OF PAUL
IiI. THE UNDEFILED CHARACTER OF PAUL
When things happened in our life we can either act or react. We can receive them in a positive way or resist them in a negative way. We can allow them to foster bitterness or allow them to further blessedness.
See verse 18.
Paul did not get bitter over the sheer unfairness of his chains or the subtle unfriendliness of his colleagues.
A. There was an absence of resentment
Paul was not bitter against God nor bitter against the brethren for what they were doing and saying about him. Paul did not have a problem with the brethren's message. It was their motive that concerned him. It mattered not that some were for him and some were against him. All that mattered was the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Even though some motives for preaching Christ were wrong, they were preaching Christ, and in that Paul was rejoicing. Paul was rejoicing in the message and not in the manner or methods. Paul was not going to allow their inferior motives for preaching Christ to dismay, demoralize, or defeat him.
Three churches, located on different corners of the same intersection, didn't get along together. One Sunday each of them opened their meeting with a rousing song service. It was a warm day and all the doors and windows were wide open. One congregation began singing the old hymn, "Will There Be Any Stars in My Crown?" The strains had barely faded away when the congregation across the street started singing, "No, Not One, No, Not One!" They had scarcely finished when the third church began singing, "Oh, That Will Be Glory for Me."
Though this is just a humorous story, it reminds us that a spirit of divisive competition does exist among some churches. Naturally, we will want to support our own church, pray for it, and rejoice in its growth. But we must never feel self-satisfied or be critical of churches that have problems or are not growing. If there is a place for "competition," let it be to oppose those who deny scriptural fundamentals and the gospel. But if a church is true to God's Word and is winning people to Christ, regardless of its label, we should rejoice. The work is bigger than we or our church is.
B. There was the presence of rejoicing
Paul's heart was filled with joy. God had enlarged his ministry. God had encouraged the saints. God had edified his own soul. His heart was full of praise. He is a man singing in a difficult place. Paul did not react negatively; he acted positively. How are you acting concerning the things which happened to you?
Conclusion
Paul may have found himself in the circumstances, but he did not get under the circumstances.
Paul magnanimously overlooked the mean spirit of jealous men and rejoiced that the gospel was being preached. He was irrepressible. No one could get him down. He was a man with a single passion: it was the gospel that mattered. He focused his attention on the preaching, not on the preachers. When anyone exalted Christ and won souls, he could rejoice.
Paul was so gospel-intoxicated, so centered on getting the good news of Christ out to the lost in Rome, that his feelings and aspirations were subsumed and subject to the gospel.
Paul's example is impressive and clear. He put the advance of the gospel at the center of his aspirations. His own comfort, his bruised feelings, his reputations, his misunderstood motives—all of these were insignificant in comparison with the advance and splendor of the gospel.
When you have the single mind, you look on your circumstances as God-given opportunities for the furtherance of the Gospel; and you rejoice at what God is going to do instead of complaining about what God did not do.
IN HIS ETERNAL GRIP,
Pastor Jimmy Chapman
Victory Baptist Church
706-678-1855
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