LAWSON: I want to invite you to take your Bible
and turn with me to the book of Philippians chapter 1, and in this session, we want to look at
verses 12 through 14. I want to begin by reading these verses, setting them back before your eyes
and your heart. The Apostle Paul writes, "Now, I want you to know brethren that my circumstances
have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel so that my imprisonment in the cause
of Christ has become well known throughout the whole praetorian guard and everyone else,
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." We see in these verses how the Apostle
Paul interpreted his circumstances always through this lens, "How does this advance the
gospel?" "How does this set of circumstances provide an open door in a new way for the
gospel?" As Paul finds himself imprisoned, the believers in Philippi are very worried for
Paul. They have gotten word he is imprisoned, "He is our spiritual father," and so they have
sent Epaphroditus with a love offering to Paul. Paul had to actually pay for his own imprisonment.
He had to pay for his own house arrest. And so, the church at Philippi has taken up this love
offering and have sent it eight hundred miles to him to help him pay the rent. And Paul is
concerned for the Philippians' concern for him. And so, he wants to put them at ease that,
"I know you're worried about my imprisonment, but you need to know this, that my imprisonment
has been used to further the gospel. So I want you to know I'm okay, and I'm actually rejoicing
because the gospel is going into places it would have never gone unless I had been arrested,
imprisoned, and put here in this house-arrest." So, Paul viewed this trial through the paradigm of
how does this progress the gospel. That's how you and I need to interpret our circumstances.
For example, a trip to the hospital. What opportunity does this provide me to witness
for Christ? A death in the family, how does this provide an open door for me to share my
faith in Christ with other family members? Or the loss of a job, and now I'm having
to interview other places. How does this provide for me greater opportunity to be a witness
for Christ with people with whom I would have never had this opportunity? So, that's how we
must see our circumstances. That's how Paul saw his circumstances, and that is also how he could
rejoice while he was in prison because he had a captive audience. They couldn't get away from him.
They were chained to him. And as they're rotating the praetorian guard through being chained
to Paul, he's picking them off one at a time with the gospel. They can't get away from him.
They're going back into Caesar's household, right where Caesar lives, and they're spreading
the gospel with other servants and with other people who work there. Paul could have
never gotten the gospel inside there except he was imprisoned. So, he
wants the Philippians to know, "Hey, I know you're worried for me. Don't
worry. God's using this in a far greater way." So, let's look at these verses. I think these
should be a great encouragement to us, especially in this hour in which we live in which
there's so much uncertainty in the world and we see so much moral decline,
and it upsets us, rightly so. But let's also remember there are new
opportunities to share the gospel through all of this, and our comfort is not the goal.
It's the spread of the gospel is what we want. So, having said that, I want you to note
first, "Paul's confidence" in verse 12, Paul's confidence. Paul begins, "Now, I want you
to know, brethren." He's very emphatic about this, and it's almost like he understands he's going
to have to really get through to them. "You're going to have to really understand
this, what I'm about to tell you, and you're going to have to trust me for
this." "I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances," and he's referring to his
imprisonment, a two-year imprisonment by the way, "have turned out for the
greater progress of the gospel." That's a very spiritual perspective.
That is taking an eternal perspective. The word "progress" here means to advance
forward, to proceed forward. It was used of a pioneer advancing into uncharted territory, and
Paul understands that's exactly what is happening, that the gospel is going forward just like a
pioneer scout into uncharted territory to bring the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ into
places where it would have never gone otherwise. But it's not just the progress. Please note "the
greater progress." Do you see that in your Bible? The word "greater" means "very much greater
progress." It wasn't just a little progress; it was opening up a whole vast frontier for
the gospel. It was opening up a whole new realm into which the gospel now can advance. So, from a
human perspective, these were the worst of times. From the divine perspective, these were
the best of times. It all depends what perspective do you have. And so, this gospel
perspective must be our gospel perspective. And I want to say it again, if you become ill and
have to go to the hospital, I mean, in one sense, that's not good news, but in another sense, it is
good news because now there's going to be nurses and doctors and hospital administrators and all
kinds of people with whom you will come in contact that you can be a witness for Christ
to them. Let's say you get a flat tire after this session, and you have to call
roadside assistance. There's an opportunity for you to tell someone about Jesus Christ.
That flat tire is actually good news for you because now you have a new congregation
to whom you may preach the gospel. So, that's Paul's confidence. That must be your
confidence, and that must be my confidence. When I miss an airplane flight, I fly a lot, I used to get all stressed out about it. But now,
I just think, "Lord, who do You want me to witness to? Who's going to sitting next to me? Who is on
this other flight? You just reshuffled the deck by Your sovereign will." There
is a purpose for everything, and God's purpose is to spread the gospel.
So, that's Paul's confidence; it must be ours. I want you to note, second, now in verse
13, "Paul's Confinement." He says in 13, verse 13, "so that my imprisonment," and the word
"imprisonment" literally means bonds or chains. The King James Version translates it "chains."
And Paul's imprisonment was more than just he was imprisoned in a house or a room, but that
he literally had chains in which he was fastened to Roman soldiers twenty-four
hours a day, seven days a week. He adds, "My imprisonment in the cause of Christ."
Paul is suffering for righteousness' sake. Paul is suffering for the gospel, for the cause
of Christ. Now, sometimes, we suffer because it's our own fault, it's our own mistake, or it's our
own sin. In this case, no, it's because of Christ, and that is suffering for righteousness and
we should wear that as a badge of honor. So, look at verse 13 again, "So that
my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout
the whole praetorian guard." Now, let's just stop here for a moment, "the praetorian
guard." These were the most elite group of Roman soldiers in the Empire. These were
the personal bodyguards of Caesar. They served in Caesar's palace. And they did more
than just protect Caesar. At times, they were even counselors of Caesar to let him know what's going
on out there. They were assigned to guard Paul because he was so important as a prisoner. Think
about this, they could have just sent, you know, the rank-and-file Roman soldiers to keep an eye on
Paul, but the gospel is always so controversial. The gospel always shakes things up, and so they
assign the praetorian guard, which would be like the Navy Seal or something, to be chained to Paul
because "We cannot afford to have this man lose, preaching the gospel in the streets of Rome."
And it also speaks to how powerful the gospel is. And so, they assign these guards to Paul,
and Paul writes, "Well, it's well known throughout the praetorian guard that I'm here
for the cause of Christ." How would it be made known? Because Paul's given him an earful,
that's why. Paul has told them time and time again who he is and what he believes and why
he's here and what they must do. And they know the gospel because they're hearing it from
Paul, and Paul has become the talk of the palace as they go back and spread it among the others.
And Paul was so effective in his witness, you may want to just turn back to it to chapter 4 verse
22. This is a very interesting little footnote at the end of the book of Philippians. Don't let this
escape your attention. Philippians 4 verse 22, the text reads, "All the saints greet you
especially those of Caesar's household." Hello? These praetorian guard are now followers
of Jesus Christ. They now have surrendered their life to the King of kings and the Lord
of lords. As they serve in Caesar's household, their allegiance is now to the Caesar of Caesar,
Jesus Christ our Lord. And so, Paul just adds this at the end of the book of Philippians, with
probably a little smile on his face, just to encourage the Philippians, "Hey, God's got this
all under control. God is using my imprisonment to invade Caesar's household with the gospel."
Listen, God never has to have the circumstances just right in order for Him to spread the gospel.
In fact, the gospel has always spread the greatest when there has been adversity, and the gospel has
always been slowed down where there is prosperity because with prosperity we become lax, we
become lackadaisical, we become self-reliant, we become worldly, we become distracted. But with
adversity, we are now weaned off of the world, we are on our knees in prayer, and we're thinking
of eternal issues. And that's exactly what's going on here through the adversity of Paul the
gospel is spreading in extraordinary measure. We also learn from this how just one person being
saved can affect so many people. Paul is affecting now a vast multitude of people, and we might
say, "Well, that's just because that was Paul." Listen, Paul's in chains. I mean,
Paul's very confined and restricted, but because of his courage and boldness with
the gospel it's spreading like wildfire. And I think we learn from this that the gospel
is contagious, the gospel cannot be contained, and the gospel when one person is bold in their
faith has a multiplying effect that reaches so many other people. In fact, I've
been a pastor for almost forty years, and I have seen in my pastorate that when one
person is saved it inevitably means three more people are going to be saved because of their
circle of friends. Because people who know them and have thought, "Well, I thought you were
a Christian." "No, I just now am born again." That affects them and it just shakes up so many
people. It's happened almost every time. When one person gets saved, there's going to be three
or four more people who are going to be saved. I remember once after a church service, I had a
lady come to me and said, "I have to talk to you." And her husband was with her, and we went
into a back room there in the church, sat down. She poured her heart out.
I shared the gospel again with her, and she prayed and committed her life to Christ.
I mean, that little room was like a maternity ward as she was just birthed into the Kingdom, and she
said, "Amen." We raised our heads, getting ready to walk out, her husband was standing right there
and he said to me, "Well if she needs to be saved, then I know I need to be saved." I couldn't
believe it. So, I said, "Well, here, you sit in the chair where she's been sitting.
Let me go back over this with you one more time," and he prayed and committed his life to
Christ, right there, two at once. We come walking out of that room, I run into another
man. It's the third verse same as the first. Whenever one person is saved, it inevitably leads
to others who are saved. It's a chain reaction, and that's what's taking place here in Rome as
Paul is leading these praetorian guards to faith in Christ. It's just spreading.
Now, I want you to see verse 14, "Paul's Challenge," Paul's challenge. He
says in verse 14, "And that most of the brethren have far more courage to speak the Word
of God without fear." You see, Paul's boldness and Paul's courage has had an effect on
the other Christians. Not only has Paul's boldness led the praetorian guard
evangelistically to faith in Christ, but Paul's boldness also has an effect upon
those who are already saved. It makes them all the more bold in their faith because
they see it in Paul, and it pushes them in the right direction. It convicts them, it
challenges them. And that's what Paul is saying here that "most of the brethren," referring to
those who are in Rome, and the word "most" here carries the idea of large numbers. "Have far
more courage," and the word "far more" is that same word that means "beyond measure," exceedingly
more, more in a far greater degree. "Have far more courage," they're becoming daring in their witness
for Christ. It kind of is shaming everyone else and urging them to up their game that "we're
going to have to speak." If Paul can speak out while he's chained to Roman soldiers awaiting
trial before Caesar, then surely we can speak up in our neighborhood, then surely we can
speak up when we go into the marketplace.
And so, it says, "That most of the brethren have
far more courage to speak the Word of God without fear," and the "Word of God" here refers to
the gospel of God, the name of Christ, the way of salvation, the necessity of repentance, the
commitment of faith. "They have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear," without
hesitation, without fear of consequences, without being reluctant, without being
tongue-tied. And he says, "Trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment." They are
trusting in the Lord to protect them. They are trusting in the Lord to use them, and
everyone who is effective in being a witness for Jesus Christ is someone who is trusting in
the Lord to do it in them and through them. And you may find it an encouragement that in
the book of Ephesians chapter 6 and in verse 20, Paul says, "Pray for me that the Lord will give
me boldness to speak as I ought to speak." So, Paul was not Superman. Paul was of
flesh and blood like you and me, and even the Apostle Paul had to
ask the church in Ephesus, "Listen, while you're praying, pray for my boldness that
I will have courage to speak up for Christ." And please note, Paul was not praying,
"Get me out of prison." Paul was praying, "Give me boldness while I'm here in prison." And
as God answered that prayer, it emboldened the other believers in Rome who are living under
the shadow of Caesar's palace and household. So, what do we draw from this
for our Christian lives? Well, Alexander McLaren was a noted Scottish
preacher in the nineteenth century, and he said this, "One soul all on flame has power
to kindle others," close quote. In other words, one man on fire for God, one woman on
fire for God is ignited with a fire that spreads to others in their family,
in their close contacts and associations, that that fire spreads like wildfire to
others. So this speaks to how you and I need to be first of all with people like this. We
need to be with people who are on fire for God. We need to fellowship with people who are on
fire with God. Whoever in this room is most on fire for God, you need to spend time with them,
and just pray that you'll catch fire as you're with them. And then, you need to find people who
are not on fire and let that fire spread to them. We are all either being ignited by someone
else or we're igniting someone else or both at the same time. And so, that's how we need
to allow our life to be used for the Lord. I am reminded in 1555, Mary the First, known as
"Bloody Mary," sat on the throne of England and issued the order to burn the English Reformers. In
fact, in front of my preaching Bible, some of you may know this, I keep a picture of John Rogers.
He was the first Marian martyr burned at the stake in Smithfield, London, February 4, 1555. Later,
the greatest preacher of the English Reformation, Hugh Latimer, and the greatest theologian
of the English Reformation, Nicholas Ridley, were arrested and taken to Oxford
where they stood trial, heresy trial, and it was there that they were strapped to the
same stake. I was just there a year ago, and there is an 'X' that marks the spot in the middle of the
road. And as they were strapped to the same stake back-to-back, and the stake was ignited, as you
know this famous account, Latimer says to Ridley, "Be of good comfort, Master Ridley, play the
man. We shall this day light such a candle, by God's grace, in England as I
trust shall never be put out." Well, may you be used by God to light such a flame
of a witness for Christ that will spread to others that its effect will never be put out. And as you
view your circumstances as the Apostle Paul did, even when others are trying to encourage you, you
have a great opportunity to say, "Hey, it's okay. God is using this trial to advance the gospel in
places it would have never advanced otherwise. God has His sovereign purposes in this, and in this
I rejoice because the gospel is moving forward." May God give us this kind of faith, and may
God give us this eternal perspective that the worst of times in reality can be the best of
times as it relates to the gospel of Jesus Christ.
