Philippians - Chains, Critics and Crisis, Part 1

Are you rejoicing in your ministry today? I don't know what your ministry is, but are you rejoicing in it? Are you enjoying your ministry or enduring your ministry? Well, the Lord Jesus knows because he can see your heart, and you know, and before long everybody will know because we cannot hide it.

In Philippians, we're looking at the joy of ministry, and in Philippians 1 we're focusing on the joy of the message of our ministry: Jesus Christ and the Gospel. And Paul applies this gospel to three different groups of people. The inner circle of the saints, Philippians 1:3-11, the fellowship in the gospel. Philippians 1:5, he gives thanks with joy "for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now."

Then in Philippians 1:12-26, he talks about the furtherance of the gospel. "But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel." Now he's applying the gospel not to the believers, but to the unbelievers: Philippians 1:12-26. Then in Philippians 1:27-30, he'll be talking about how the gospel applies to our adversaries, those who oppose the work of the Lord.

You see, if you go through life thinking only about yourself, you're going to be miserable. But if you go through life ministering because you are concerned about Christ and the gospel, then you are going to be happy. You're going to have joy.

We have the most joyful message in all the world to present. Good tidings of great joy, which shall be unto all people, for Jesus Christ the Savior has died for the sins of the world. The Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. Now, is that why you're living? Are you living to get this message out? Now, if you are, you'll be a happy person. If you have a single mind for Christ and the gospel, then you're going to have Christian joy. You're going to relate as you should to God's people, and you're going to relate as you should to the unsaved.

Paul's great desire was to preach the gospel at Rome. When he wrote the letter to the Romans, he said so in Romans 1:15, that he had a great desire to come to Rome to preach the gospel. Well, he did come to Rome, but not as a preacher, but as a prisoner. You remember in Acts 27, you have that awful shipwreck described, and Paul finally does arrive at Rome. And then some difficulties appear even in Rome. He has some needs. The Philippian church sent him some material help to assist him in his ministry, and that's why he wrote this letter that we call Philippians.

"Well, I should have you understand," he wrote to them, "that the things which happened unto me have fallen out, they have worked out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel." This word "furtherance" means pioneer advance. It means to move forward in spite of obstructions and difficulties. It's the word that was used for that part of the army that went on ahead, cleared away all the debris, got rid of all that was standing in the way of the march of the army. You know, the devil puts roadblocks in our way.

Right now you may say, "Well, Brother Wiersbe, I'm facing that roadblock. Here we are in our church, or our mission station, or our Sunday school class, or our home, and we're trying to move forward and serve the Lord, and right away we've hit a roadblock. We've hit a blank wall. We're on a dead-end street." Oh no, you're not. When you're living to promote Christ and the gospel, to spread the good news of the gospel, there is no such thing as a dead-end street, or a wall, or a roadblock along your path.

You see, God wants us to take the gospel out into new territories. That's the problem in so many churches: we keep sowing the same seed on the same soil; we keep fishing in the same pond. But God wants us to take the gospel into new territory. Furtherance. A pioneer advance. God is saying, "Let's move into some new territory." Are there areas in your town or city that have never been touched by the gospel? How are you going to get the gospel in there?

Well, the Apostle Paul had three very wonderful tools that God gave him to get the gospel out to areas where it had never reached. Philippians 1:12-14, his chains. "So that my bonds in Christ are manifest," and people are talking about this. My chains. Because of his chains, Christ was known. Philippians 1:12-14.

Then Philippians 1:15-19, his critics. Oh, Paul had some critics there in the city of Rome. There were some who were not preaching the way they should preach. They were preaching out of contention and division and dissension. But Paul tells us in Philippians 1:15-19 that because of his critics, Christ is preached. Notice now: because of my chains, Christ is known; because of my critics, Christ is preached; and Philippians 1:20-26, because of my crisis, Christ is magnified.

What was his crisis? He might be killed. He says, "For to me to live is Christ, to die is gain." His great concern was not just to spare his life, but to use his life. Now, get ahold of these three tools. His chains: Christ is known, Philippians 1:12-14. His critics: Christ is preached, Philippians 1:15-19. His crisis: he might be killed; Christ is magnified, Philippians 1:20-26.

Now today, let's look at these first tools, his chains and his critics, and let's find out how you and I, in spite of the obstacles, the problems, the difficulties that we face, can promote the gospel, spread the gospel, get the Word of God out where it has not reached before.

Philippians 1:12-14, he talks about his chains. "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." Paul was chained to a Roman soldier, and they probably changed that guard about every six hours or so. Now, Paul is telling us that when he was chained to this Roman soldier, it gave him opportunity to witness. Imagine being chained to the Apostle Paul, who said, "Pray without ceasing." Imagine being chained to the Apostle Paul, who wrote, "The love of Christ constraineth me." That poor soldier had to listen to the gospel, had to listen to Paul dictating letters, praying, and of course, witnessing.

God uses strange tools, doesn't He? He used Moses' rod, He used Gideon's pitchers, He used David's sling, He used the little boy's loaves and fish, and He used Paul's chains. Now, Paul did not consider himself chained by Rome. He said, "my bonds in Christ." By the way, all of us have chains of one kind or another. You're listening to me today and you say, "Oh, I'm chained to my home. I have these little children to take care of." Or, "I'm chained in my job. Oh, how I wish I could do more for the Lord." Or, "I'm chained by some handicap." You might be in bed. You might be flat on your back right now and you say, "Oh, why has the Lord permitted me to be chained?" Would you notice now, the Apostle Paul said these chains are accomplishing wonderful things for the gospel.

Now, if you're thinking only about your own comfort and your own concern, then chains are a problem. But if you're thinking about spreading the gospel, then chains become an opportunity. Number one, those chains gave him contact with the lost. Number two, those chains gave courage to the saved.

Contact with the lost. Here were these Roman soldiers, and he's talking here about the elite Praetorian Guard. He's talking about those nine thousand elite soldiers that were the guardians of the Emperor in Rome. Now, if Paul had come to Rome and tried to get an invitation to preach to this crowd in their barracks, they would never have let him in. But now, one by one, these soldiers were hearing the gospel because they were chained to the Apostle Paul.

You say, "Here I am in a hospital bed. I'm chained, I can't get out." Oh, what an opportunity it will give to you to share the gospel in love and in patience. I had a friend who was in the hospital for surgery, and as the nurses and doctors came in and out of his room, he witnessed to them. And before he left that hospital, he had the joy of seeing a couple of those nurses come to Jesus Christ. In fact, the nurses were warning each other: "Watch out when you go into that room, there's a preacher in there." But he was using that opportunity to win people to Jesus Christ.

The Apostle Paul was chained to a Roman soldier twenty-four hours a day. Four different soldiers every day. And over the space of those months and years, Paul was witnessing to them, and many of them found Christ as their Savior.

I remember being called to rush to the hospital to see one of our men. I was pastoring a church at the time. One of our men had been rushed to the hospital and they didn't know what was wrong with him. And they called me up and said, "Pastor, you come right now." And I got in the car and drove down to the hospital, and I went into the ward where they had put my friend. And there he was, quite ill, and I talked with him and we prayed together.

And I thought to myself, "Why would this godly man be in the hospital?" As I was leaving the ward, a woman stopped me and said, "Oh, Brother Wiersbe, I'm glad you're here. My husband was rushed in, I haven't had a chance to call you. He's dying. Would you come to see him?" And before I left that ward, I had the privilege of leading that man to Jesus Christ. The next day, the other fellow was released. They never did know what was wrong with him. I know why he was in that hospital: to get that preacher down there to lead that dying man to Jesus Christ.

Now, my friend, you have chains. You are chained to your children, to your home, to your job, to your wheelchair. You say, "I can't serve the Lord." You can have the joy of ministry if you'll just let God use those chains for the furtherance of the gospel.

Now in Philippians 1:15-19, Paul had his critics. We all have our critics. I receive mail from people who criticize some of the things we say and do, or we don't say and do. And I've been a pastor of three different churches; I know what criticism is like. I don't mind honest, loving criticism—it can help me—but oh, that malicious, divisive criticism, that really hurts. Paul talks about that in Philippians 1:15-19.

"Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some also of good will: the one preach Christ of contention," rivalry, competition, "not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds: but the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defense of the gospel." That word "set" means I'm on duty. I'm not a prisoner, I'm a soldier. I'm on duty here to defend the gospel. "What then? Notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretense, 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," meaning deliverance from prison, "through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ."

You see, in Rome, the church was divided. There was a three-way division here with regard to the Apostle Paul. Number one, there was a small group of people who were silent. They weren't saying anything. They said, "We don't want to get involved." Then the majority was speaking out and witnessing for the Lord, but the majority was divided into two groups. There was one group that was out to sincerely preach the gospel and win people to Christ. The other group was preaching the gospel to create problems for Paul.

Isn't it too bad we have competition and abrasion in the work of the Lord? Isn't it too bad that there are those who are standing away from us and criticizing? Isn't it too bad that there are people who can actually preach gospel sermons but do it in such a spirit that they create dissension and division? Now, how should we respond to this? Paul had to respond to his critics, and what they were doing was cutting much deeper than his chains were cutting. They were insincere. They were using the gospel to further their own desires and their own purposes. They were using it in a political sense, and they were hurting others. They were unloving; they were making it hard on Paul.

Are you making it difficult for other people to minister? I have a friend who prays every day, "Lord, help me today not to add to anybody's burden." That's a good prayer. They were divisive. They probably envied Paul, and they were out trying to cause contention. Now, here were these three groups of people: the silent minority, the majority witnessing for Christ, part of them out of love for Paul, part of them trying to create problems for Paul. And what did Paul do? He said, "I'm just glad they're preaching the gospel."

You know, there are some servants of God whose methods I disagree with, their motives I sometimes question—I don't want to judge them, only God knows their heart—but you know, I'm glad that they're preaching Christ. I'm glad that somehow through their voice, through their lives, Christ is being preached. We don't always agree on everything, but we do agree on the gospel. They were really only hurting themselves. Paul was out trying to establish the gospel so that these people could continue to minister. You'd think that they would have encouraged Paul.

How did Paul handle his critics? He prayed, Philippians 1:19. "For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ." God provides through the Holy Spirit and prayer all that we need to put up with our critics. Now, you may be being criticized right now. Right now, preacher friend, you may be going through a rough time; the board may have turned the heat on, I don't know. Or perhaps it's the other way around; perhaps you're a church member and all your preacher does is get into the pulpit and criticize you. Well, I want you to know this: God can use even our critics, even those who are creating problems for us, to further the gospel.

You see, if you and I are concerned about the furtherance of the gospel, we aren't going to worry about our chains. We're going to use those chains to get contact with the lost and to give courage to other people to witness. We aren't going to worry about our critics. We're going to let God take care of them. We're going to pray and do the job God wants us to do, and we're going to preach Christ, and we're going to rejoice that others are preaching Jesus Christ.

Now in Philippians 1:20-26, the Apostle Paul deals with the third tool that God used to advance the gospel, namely his crisis. What was his crisis? There was the possibility that he might die. You see, Paul was in Rome technically to defend the gospel of Jesus Christ. In the early stages of the church, the Roman Empire looked upon Christianity as another kind of Judaism. Now, the Jewish religion was an accepted, approved religion in the Roman Empire. The Romans did not persecute the Jews because they were not bowing down to Caesar. Well, the first Christians were Jewish people, and many of the first churches came out of synagogues, and the Jewish believers used to meet in the temple. And so in the early stages of Christianity, the Roman Empire looked upon the Christian church as one other group in Judaism.

Then when the Jews began to persecute the Christians, the Romans woke up to the fact that there was a difference, and they found out that the Christian faith was not Judaism continued, rather it was the fulfillment of Judaism. Now this meant that the Christian faith was on trial, and Paul was in Rome hoping to be able to get for the church the same kind of recognition that Judaism had. In other words, he wanted the Roman Empire to accept the Christian faith, because the Christians could not stand at an altar dedicated to a pagan god and say, "Caesar is Lord." Their confession was "Jesus Christ is Lord." And Paul was willing to lay down his life, if necessary, in order to give recognition to the church throughout the Roman Empire.

And so this is his crisis. Philippians 1:20-26. "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. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live in the flesh," that is in my human body, "this is the fruit of my labor: yet what I shall choose I wot not. For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better: nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you. And having this confidence, I know that I shall abide and continue with you all for your furtherance and joy of faith; that your rejoicing may be more abundant in Jesus Christ for me by my coming to you again."

Now, there was a possibility that Paul might die. There had been a preliminary trial, and Paul had apparently come off from that trial in pretty good condition; they must have made some decisions in his favor. Now there was going to be another trial, and Paul is facing this with great boldness. His great concern: Christ is magnified. Notice the sequence now. In the furtherance of the gospel, God used his chains: Christ is known. God used his critics: Christ is preached. And God used his crisis: Christ is magnified.

Now, we have two instruments today that magnify. We have telescopes and we have microscopes. A telescope is an instrument that takes distant things and brings them close. A microscope is an instrument that takes little things and makes them look big. When the world looks at Jesus Christ, He seems very far away. You stop the average person on the street and you say, "Excuse me, ma'am, excuse me, sir, where do you think Jesus is?" "Oh yeah, Jesus. Well, he was a character in history some two thousand years ago. Wasn't he born in Bethlehem?" As far as the average person is concerned, Jesus Christ is very far away. Now you and I are to be God's telescopes to bring Him near.

And as far as the world is concerned, Jesus Christ is very small. Who is Jesus Christ compared to some great athletic star, or some great movie star, or some politician? The average person in the world today would not think about Jesus Christ, let alone mention His name unless it be in vain. You and I are to be God's microscopes to make Jesus Christ very big. You see, Paul said, "I am not in Rome to make Paul big. I'm not here to magnify Paul." Now, if you're out to magnify yourself, you'll have no joy in your ministry. You may have praise, you may have a fan club, but you won't have any joy. If you want joy in your ministry, you make Christ known, and you preach Christ, and you magnify Christ.

Well, the test of our lives is Philippians 1:21. "For to me to live is" what? "For to me to live is money," to die is to lose it all. "For to me to live is build a kingdom," to die is to be forgotten. "For to me to live is power or fame," to die is to lose every bit of it. But when you can say, "For to me to live is Christ," then you can say, "to die is gain." Yes, God is able to use a crisis to magnify Jesus Christ. You may be in a crisis today; just say with Paul, "I want Christ to be magnified, whether it's by life or by death. I want Him to receive all of the glory."