Search Here

Saturday, September 01, 2007

Godly Fruits of Trials


Text: Philippians 1:12-26
Title: Godly Fruits of Trials


I. Advancement of the Gospel (v.12-14)
Paul’s imprisonment because of the preaching of the gospel affected two groups of people. First, the non-Christians. The whole palace guard knows about Paul’s case. Probably they interpreted Paul’s imprisonment as one of the injustices of the government during his time. And because of this, the more it became an intrigue; the more people came to know Christ. Meaning, even if Paul is in chains, the advancement continues to the non-Christians because of his testimony.
Have you ever experience changing people’s lives through your testimony? Or your already happy contented with what kind of life you are living right now? Ephesians 2:10 says “10For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” We ought to live a life worthy of calling. A life that through it other people can know Christ. A life that does not only speak, but show the real meaning of having been united with Christ. How many people did we brought to Christ, through our testimony? If you have none or at least one, maybe its time to ask ourselves now “do I live a life worthy of calling?”
The second group of people was the Christians. Paul’s imprisonment stirred up the hearts of the Christians surrounding him. Instead of being afraid of what happened to him, the Christians became bolder in their evangelism. They became bolder in preaching the gospel. Paul already suffered from all kinds of political threats and was considered criminal. But these events, it did not stop the advancement of the gospel because Christians was deeply encouraged to what kind of life Paul is living.
How about us? We are Christians. But how did we treat trials in our lives? If there is trials and threat to our faith, some of us tend to fall away. Instead of standing and in the front line and become bolder in what we believe, we tend to become “secret Christians”. I tell you this, there is no such thing as secret Christian in the eyes of God. Matthew 10:33 “33But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.”So be careful in your conversation with the non-Christians who asked you about your faith. So what if they know that you are Christians? So what if they take away everything from us because of being Christians? They can take away everything, but be sure that they cannot take away your Lord, not your faith, not your salvation.


II. Love and Peace (v.15-18)
I love these verses because it gives me a positive outlook in life. Take note here that Paul is talking about two kinds of preachers. It is obvious that even in the time of Paul, there already exists false preachers. We can see here a picture that there are people who profess about Christ but they do that for dishonest gain. But of course on the other hand, we can see that there are preachers who preach sincerely for the advancement of the gospel. And in fact we can see both kinds of preachers in our days.
The wrong motive preachers instead of helping Paul, they are continually pressing Paul down for their own gains. Paul on the other hand instead of opposing them back, have a more positive outlook, he believes that through it, the more the gospel is being preached. Instead of developing hatred, he developed love and peace with those who surround him. He is an example of the man who loves his enemies.
Not only positive outlook, love and peace, we can also see here that Paul is also rejoicing even in the midst of trials. Even in chains, Paul continues to rejoice. In fact, one of the main themes of the book of Philippians is rejoicing – Philippians 4:4. Where can you find in the world that people go to prison and they are still rejoicing? Perhaps there are some, but that was only a few in a thousand prisoners. And we know that most of the people don’t like prison. We abide in the law because we do not want to go to prison. This passage speaks to us that in whatever situation that we are in, in trials or in abundance, we have to rejoice.


III. Deliverance (v.19-26)
In v.19 of our passage Paul expressly stated that through his current trials, with the prayer of fellow Christians and with the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, he will be brought out for his “deliverance”. In other translation, the word deliverance means “salvation”. This word can mean 4 things: 1) Paul’s ultimate salvation, 2) deliverance from threatened execution, 3) he can be defended by the emperor’s ruling of his case, and 4) his eventual release from prison. But whatever Paul’s precise meaning, he is looking forward to be freed from his temporary trials. V.20 shows that Paul had become bolder in pleasing his master and Lord Jesus Christ that he is willing to do it whether by life or by death. His goal is to exalt Christ in his body.
This statement signifies a self-less attitude of Paul. We can see here that he is more willing to work even on physical terms. And again, we can learn from here that God did not only call you to have spiritual union with him, but also to have a physical union with Christ. To work under his ministerial banner. It means, “hands on”. It means physically working for the ministry. But of course the Spirit and the body should always come together. They should not be separated from each other.
Putting it in our context, it means physical involvement in the ministry. Each one of us as part of the body of Christ should be working hard for the advancement of the Gospel. Paul gave here a statement that has become my life verse. Philippians 1:21 “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” Do we live like this? It means in our body, Christ should live and even if it cause our death, so be it because it is a great honor to die in Christ. How about us?
Did our work hinder us to go to prayer meeting and pray? Did our earthly bodies being so tired hindered us going to prayer meeting? To be honest brothers and sisters, until now, many of us haven’t learned the real meaning of living in Christ. But I am here to help you.
V.22-26 we can see here how Paul made a decision in his life, that whether he lives or die, he will do it for the glory and honor of the Lord Jesus Christ. V.22 says that even if Paul lives, that would mean a “fruitful labor”. Sometimes, we don’t even have a labor. Having no labor means having no fruit. And right now God is speaking to us directly; that this should be the kind of life that we should live, a life that labors and bear fruits in Him.


Conclusion:
No one is exempted from trials. But even then, God is measuring us on how do we respond to those temporary trials? God wants us to stay and consumed our life on him. Are we willing to give that to him? For to him, the real meaning of commitment is not only by heart, it involves a work to be done. And these two should come together. Brothers and sisters, it’s time to make a decision. I don’t know about you… but this is for me.
For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” -Philippians 1:21

Related Posts with Thumbnails