God Can Use Any Situation To Further the Gospel

We can learn it from Paul’s example. Paul demonstrates the right attitude in spite of his troubles - troubles that would make most of ours look pale by comparison. Here’s what Paul says. Philippians 1:12, “But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel.” Wow! The troubles have actually helped, Paul says.

His troubles – his chains and imprisonment – they haven’t stopped the spread of the Gospel. On the contrary, they have “actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel.” Mission Accomplished! Because wasn’t that Paul’s burning passion? Didn’t he say in 1st Corinthians 9:16, “Woe is me if I do not preach the Gospel?” So, if the Gospel is furthered by his troubles, he ought to be overjoyed – AMEN? That was what he lived for. So if his imprisonment helped that – Praise God! He could have joy.

Obviously, Paul was not deterred by his troubles. He wasn’t discouraged. His joy wasn’t being robbed from him. Nor do troubles ever need to deter or discourage you. They should never rob you of your joy. You should never let trouble rob you of that most precious possession.

James 1:2-4 is a familiar passage, but it is so appropriate here:

“My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing."

How can we count our trials as joy? How can we do such a difficult and unnatural thing? We know something. There’s a purpose in our troubles – God has a plan. God’s plan is for us to become spiritually mature. He is always at work on that, using trials and troubles to accomplish it. So, mission accomplished through our own troubles too. We ought to also keep our joy when they overtake us.

What things happened to Paul? The most obvious would be his arrest and imprisonment. He’d been trying to preach the Gospel, and he’d been traveling around founding churches. But, that has now come to a screeching halt. You don’t hold many revival meetings from a jail cell, or get to talk with many people. So it sounds like a real discouraging turn of events.

But it didn’t happen that way with Paul. He was under house arrest, yes. He was chained around the clock by an 18” piece of chain to a Roman Centurion. There’s not much privacy that way - not even when you have to use the potty. Yet, it gave him a captive audience to witness to.

In Acts 28:16 and 30, you can see this:

16 Now when we came to Rome, the centurion delivered the prisoners to the captain of the guard; but Paul was permitted to dwell by himself with the soldier who guarded him.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
30 Then Paul dwelt two whole years in his own rented house, and received all who came to him, 31 preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, no one forbidding him.

His arrest and imprisonment would naturally be considered a major setback by most people. But not to Paul. To him, it actually seems to have been a help. It gave him an audience he never could have had otherwise in the rotating palace guards. Plus, he had an open door to visitors.

We too must use our situation, whether bad or good, to further the Gospel knowing that God can use either situation. We aren’t stymied by our situation, but only by our attitude in that situation.