Facing Death With Confidence

Paul is up to his neck in hot water. He was under arrest awaiting sentencing - chained night and day to a Roman guard. He is still awaiting the verdict, and the verdict could well be death. Paul is facing the very real possibility of his execution at the hands of Rome, but that isn’t putting a damper on his joy. Not at all!

And Philippians 1:19-21 talks about that – about the very real and imminent possibility of his death. We can listen in on Paul’s thoughts on the whole affair because they are written down for us in the inspired text of this book. We can see his reasoning laid out before us. And the final conclusion he makes is this: whether he lives or dies, it doesn’t matter, because, as he says in Philippians 1:21, “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”

Every believer should be able to say that very same thing. As long as I live, I’m going to serve Christ. And when I die, Hallelujah, I’ll see my Beloved in heaven and that will be gain – so much better.

As we look inside Paul’s mind, the first thing we see him talking about is his expectations. He’s waiting for a verdict to be handed down. What does he expect the verdict to be? Vindication – that his name will be cleared of all these charges, and that he will be given his freedom again. Philippians 1:19 records that: “For I know that this (His trial and imprisonment) will turn out for my deliverance through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.” He says, I’m confident I’m going to be delivered.

Commentators have pointed out that what Paul does in this verse is quote from Job 13:16 where Job tells one of his tormentor friends, “He (God) also shall be my salvation.” Job is talking about his confidence that God would deliver him from all his troubles, and Paul is too, for the same reasons.

You see, Job knew that God was in control, and Job knew he wasn’t suffering his horrible maladies as a punishment because of any sin. Likewise, Paul knew the same thing. The word for “know” means to know with absolute assurance. Had God revealed this to him, like in a dream or a vision? Probably not. But Paul was totally confident in God’s sovereign control of the situation. And he was confident that God would carry him through this even if it meant rescuing him from execution.

But he wasn’t all that sure that he would escape death because in verse 20 he says, “Whether by life or by death.” God is going to get him through this one way or another, but maybe not alive. God may let Paul die. But if Paul dies, he will be in heaven with the Savior he loves. That’s a win.

The moral for us is this: We can have confidence in God, but not that He will always do things our way. He may not deliver us in the way we’d like, but He will always be there for us - getting us through in His way. Paul’s confidence is in the fact that God is in control. The decision isn’t in the hand of the Roman judge, the decision is in the hand of God.

But something else made him confident. Verse 19 says that the reason he knows “this will turn out for his deliverance” is “through your prayer.” The Philippians were praying. Amen! When you know people are praying for you, doesn’t that give you confidence? Nothing thrills my heart like knowing that someone is praying for me. James 5:16 says, “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.”

Do you believe that verse? Do you really believe that fervent prayer is effective to avail much? You better, because this is God’s Word, and His word is truth. And His Word declares loud and clear: “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” Prayer works - prayer moves God to act - prayer is effective.

Paul firmly believed that. Repeatedly Paul asked people to pray for him. Ephesians 6:18-19 says:

“Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints— 19 and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel.”

1st Thessalonians 5:25 says, “Brethren, Pray for us.”

2nd Thessalonians 3:1-2 says,

“Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may run swiftly and be glorified, just as it is with you, 2 and that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men; for not all have faith.”

And this one: 2nd Corinthians 1:8-10, a situation just like we are seeing in Philippians:

“For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of our trouble which came to us in Asia: that we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life. Yes, we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead, who delivered us from so great a death, and does deliver us; in whom we trust that He will still deliver us, you also helping together in prayer for us, (WHY?) that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the gift granted to us through many."

Paul repeatedly asked people for prayer because he fully believed that prayer works. He believed that God answers prayer. And when people pray, everyone who prayed can get in on giving thanks to God for the answers. God answered, not just Paul’s prayer, but all their prayers, since they all prayed.

Prayer works. Believe that with your whole heart. Believe it so much it causes you to pray and pray fervently. See how much it accomplishes. I beseech you to pray fervently for me. I beg you to pray fervently for this church. Will you do that? Will you commit to it? If you do, God will work in response to your prayers, and we will see amazing things happen here.

Praise God When the Gospel is Preached.

Even back in the early days of the church, not everyone preached Christ with the purest of motives. But as long as Christ was preached, it was OK with the Apostle Paul. He tells us this in Philippians 1:15-18:

15 Some indeed preach Christ even from envy and strife, and some also from goodwill: 16 The former preach Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my chains; 17 but the latter out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel. 18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached; and in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice.

I effect, he is saying, “So what if some preach from wrong motives just to make themselves look better. So what if they take cheap shots at me. All that really matters is that Christ is preached.”

The Word of God is powerful no matter whose lips it comes from or no matter what the motive, even if the motive was to stick it to Paul. And that really is why they preached – “supposing to add affliction to my chains.”

Not everybody preaches with the right motives. If you don’t believe that, just think of Jonah. God sent him to preach repentance at Nineveh, but that was the last thing he wanted to do. Yet, God brought repentance to Nineveh through Jonah’s preaching, much to Jonah’s dismay. It’s not the man, but the message that’s critical.

As Scottish preacher John Eadie commented: “The virtue lies in the Gospel, not the gospeller; in the exposition, not the expounder.” It is the Gospel, according to Romans 1:16, that is “the power of God unto salvation.”

But some of you might ask? Didn’t Paul get all upset in the book of Galatians at those who were preaching the Gospel there? NO! Because that’s not what they were preaching. They were preaching a perversion – a distorted message they called the Gospel. See the difference:
Galatians 1:6-9

6 I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, 7 which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.

What the false teachers were preaching in Galatia wasn’t the Gospel, but a works righteousness. It was a perversion of the Gospel leading people not to heaven, but to hell. What the people were doing in Philippi was preaching the legitimate Gospel, but with the wrong motives.

When people mess with the Gospel, they need to be rebuked and opposed. People’s eternal destiny is at stake. But the motives are up to God to judge. So if Paul could shrug it off and say, “So what?” So should we.

But, not everyone had the wrong motives, There were those motivated by their love for Paul. Philippians 1:17 also says, “But the latter out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel.”

God chose Paul to this ministry. Ananias was told this by God as he was sent to commission Paul in Acts 9:15-16:

15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. 16 For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake.”

Knowing that this was Paul’s call, they wanted to help him fulfill that call so they raised their voices in his stead.

Now, the passage concludes with Philippians 1:18, “What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached; and in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice.” Amen! As long as the Gospel is preached, Paul is filled with joy. We should be too.

Not Getting Petty When We Get Attacked

From the book of Philippians, we’ve been looking at how the tough times in Paul’s life were not an impediment, but a furtherance to his ministry. Another way that God worked through Paul’s imprisonment was this: Philippians 1:14, “. . . and most of the brethren in the Lord, having become confident by my chains, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

Amen! Even more people were out witnessing. And they are witnessing boldly. “If Paul can do it, so can I,” perhaps they thought. And God emboldened them. They saw Paul’s courage, and they saw Paul’s results. They wanted in on the action.

One person is sometimes all it takes to get the ball rolling. One bold person can get others excited and on board. Boldness is contagious, and you can be that kind of a person that gets others stirred up. Paul got on fire for Jesus, and lots of other people did too. We can get on fire for Jesus, and start that same kind of fire in others.

Enthusiasm is contagious, and so is bravery. One soldier brave enough to charge the enemy lines will usually cause the rest to follow screaming and charging with all they’ve got.

But someone has got to be the one out in front leading the charge. That person can be you. And if not, it can be you who joins in the charge following someone else’s lead.

Come on, folks, we can do this? We can get the Gospel out in our community, can’t we? We can get excited about reaching this community with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul led the charge then, and lots of people are joining the fray. They are witnessing boldly just like Paul did. And we can do that same thing here.

But, not everyone was positively inspired by Paul. Some were negatively inspired. Philippians 1:15-17 states:

“Some indeed preach Christ even from envy and strife, and some also from goodwill: The former preach Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my chains; but the latter out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel.”

Do you see? There were two kinds of responses to Paul’s imprisonment. There were those who loved Paul, and because of his example, they too preached Christ. But some did it to thumb their nose at Paul wanting to “add affliction” to him. Their motivation was to hurt him. They envied his success – they wanted his ministry. And they were overjoyed that Paul was now out of action, so they could rise to the top.

It’s amazing how many pastors are envious of the churches down the road. And how much strife? “Paul is too out of touch. People need a fresh voice,” They say. “And the fact that Paul is in prison proves that God wanted him out of the way.” And now they have their chance to move to the forefront.

Didn’t that bother him? I’m sure it did. He was human, after all. And this kind of response has got to hurt. Nearly every pastor has felt that pain and heartache from others at one time or another. It could come from people in the church who have not been allowed into leadership for one reason or another. Perhaps the pastor had good reason to restrict them. But now is there chance, and they take it. And they gloat over the pastor’s loss of power or prestige.

But, by the grace of God, Paul rises above that. So many people think that just because Paul was an apostle that this didn’t hurt. That somehow apostles, like pastors, are not quite human so they don’t have real human feelings that can be crushed. Let me tell you, I’ve never seen more broken people than some of the pastors I’ve met at retreats. Men who have given their lives to ministry only to be beaten down with criticism and attacks until they really have little left to give. Sometimes, Paul must have felt that way. I have at times.

Listen to what Stuart Briscoe writes about Paul:

“Whatever we may think of Paul, he was no alabaster saint on a pedestal. The statue and the pedestal are the products of our own lack of reality. The real Paul had a temper that got heated and feelings that got hurt. He was no computerized theological machine churning out inspired writings, but a very warm human individual who needed as much love as the next man, and then some.

You can’t hurt a computer’s feelings or grieve a theological concept, but you can destroy a man. Paul was destructible, but he wasn’t destroyed. And it wasn’t for lack of somebody trying. The perspective that he had discovered allowed him to say that he didn’t really mind what happened to him so long as nothing happened to stop the gospel, because in his understanding the message preached mattered more than the man preaching.”

That’s a mark of spiritual maturity - to be broad shouldered enough to bear the slights and the hurts that others would pile on you without taking it personally or letting it get you off track following God’s will. Spiritual maturity doesn’t make every issue an issue. And it allows room for differences between people. It does not grow angry or vindictive.

So while they were eager to slip the knife between Paul’s ribs. He praised God that at least they were preaching Christ, even if not from the purest of motives. Do you know, it takes a lot of grace to not be petty.

Troubles - Do They Hinder or Help?

In Philippians 1:13, Paul says, “It has become evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ.”

But how can Paul think that way? Most of us would be busy sitting around crying, “Woe is me” We’d be asking the question, “Why me Lord? What did I do to deserve this awful treatment?” But not Paul.

Rather, Paul took the positive approach and asked, “How is God, who is sovereign and in control of all this, using this for His glory?” God showed him -the Gospel is still going forth. He came to the same conclusion that Joseph did back in Egypt after having been sold into slavery by his brothers and falsely accused by Potiphor’s wife causing him to spend two years in prison. It had all been God’s doing to get him where God wanted him. Joseph concluded and confessed to his brothers in Genesis 50:20, “But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.”

Paul knew God was working out His plan to save people even through Paul’s imprisonment. He could trust God to work it out for that end. That’s like God. God can be trusted with our lives.

John Bunyan’s life is another example of this. His preaching was so popular and powerful that it was such an affront to the leadership of the Church of England in the 17th Century that they jailed him to silence him. Refusing to shut up, he preached in the jail’s courtyard. Not only did the prisoners hear, but hundreds of the citizens of Bedford. They would come every day to stand outside and listen as he expounded the Scriptures. The authorities threw him deep into the dungeons and forbade him to preach again so he worked on writing an allegory. That allegory was called, “Pilgrim’s Progress,” the most popular book in history after the Bible, which laid out the Gospel to literally tens of millions of people. Has God got a sense of humor, or what?

The apostate church wanted to silence him, and by their attempts, they only gave him a bigger audience. John Bunyan’s troubles actually were a furtherance to the spread of the Gospel just like Paul’s were.

That’s what Paul is saying here: God was working things out so the Gospel could go forth through his troubles. Now, he could preach to the palace guard, and every visitor who came to see him. And he wrote all these prison epistles that are still impacting us today - Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians – such precious books to us. Don’t think God wasn’t at work.

Likewise if we look close enough through our own troubles, we would see the same thing happening. God doesn’t waste our troubles either. He uses them for His glory and our benefit. We don’t need to be fretting when things seem to go wrong in our lives, worrying as though God has checked out. We trust that He is as good as His word, working everything out just the way He wants it. And so we look for opportunities to serve Him. We look for ways that we can become even more effective for God, even through our troubles.

John's Christmas Story (John 1:1 and 1:14)

In this article, we are taking a break from our study of Philippians to post a manuscript of pastor's Christmas sermon from this Sunday.

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As people read through the Gospels, one thing about John’s that they notice, is that John doesn’t start in Bethlehem. He doesn’t seem to make any mention of the Christmas story. Perhaps he didn’t think we’d grow spiritually by singing, “O, Little Town of Bethlehem” umpteen times. Besides, Matthew and Luke cover the manger scenes quite well. They tell the action surrounding the birth of Christ. And maybe John, not writing till much later, thought the story was told well enough.

So, if you want to read about angels, shepherds, and wise men, go to those books. But if you want to know the significance of those events, you can go to John’s Gospel. So instead of starting in Bethlehem, John takes us back through the silent corridors of eternity - Back to a time before time in eternity past. And John presents really interesting information: John travels back through the vast emptiness of space to a beginning that’s not a beginning at all and tells us about a person who is like no other person - A person we learn who is separate from God the Father, yet with God the Father - Yet totally God

Let’s look at it: It says, "In the beginning was the Word."
The Holy Spirit moved John to begin telling us about the Word who existed in the beginning, but is it a word put together of letters, and that you use to form a sentence? No, from the way John expresses it, It is obvious that the Word is a person. And if a person, the Word must have a name. But John seems incredibly reluctant to put a name on this person who is the Word. If you have never read this book of the Bible before, you would probably be asking, “Who is this? He must have a name?” But you have to wait, verse after verse you wait, as John describes the Word in detail. But He never tells us the name of the Word - Not until all the way down in verse 17.

Quoting Daniel Partner:
“As you read John’s Gospel, the apostle leads you from the beginning before all beginnings, tracking the Word – through whom all things were made, who is the life and the light of men – all the way through His rejection and acceptance. Yet, he gives the Word no other name. You read on and see that the Word became flesh with the glory of the only begotten of the Father. Ah, He is now flesh. You’re getting close! Without doubt He was given a name. ‘Who is this who is full of grace and truth?’ you ask, ‘whose fullness we have all received, even grace upon grace.’”

Amazing! John makes us wait all the way until verse 17: Then, he finally tells us, "For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ."

The "Word" is Jesus Christ – that is significant. Jesus means Savior, and Christ is the anointed one, Therefore, we now know the Word is that one baby born to young virgin named Mary 2,000 years ago. He was born in a remote village in Israel called Bethlehem, born a descendent of that great King David.

The "Word" is that baby whose birth we celebrate on Christmas Day. The Word is Jesus, the one the Bible tells us so much about. But, John wants to make sure we understand. This was no mere baby like the billions of others that have been born on planet earth. This one was the Word who was "with God" and who "was God." He was "in the beginning."

What beginning? It doesn’t matter. Go back as far as your mind can go into eternity past and the Word was there. The Word was always there. Go back to Creation? That’s not far enough back, because Jesus was the one Who created everything.

John 1:3 says: "All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made."

Colossians 1:16-17 concurs:

16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.

If you want to go back to Genesis, Jesus was already there as Creator. Everything in the physical universe owes its existence to Jesus. So Genesis isn’t back far enough into time. So go back further - back, back into eternity. Go back billions and trillions of years, sixteen quadrazillion, squillion years. Go back as far as your mind can comprehend, and put down your peg, and Jesus will be there to meet you. Jesus is eternal, with no beginning and no end.

He is the one who claims in Revelation 1:8: - “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

Jesus is God who has always existed and always will exist. He lives forever as the Second Person of the Trinity – fully God and coequal with the Father. This is the one who gave up heaven to come and be born a baby in a manger. John doesn’t want you to miss that fact.

As verse 1 says: "And the Word was with God" - literally, face to face with God - a separate person, yet still God. "And the Word was God" – How profound! This is the concept of the Trinity. John is explaining truths so deep our minds can’t take them in. And we can only stand in awe and worship this baby who was God.

Now let’s think about this: What does it mean that Jesus was the "Word?" We could spend months talking about that, exploring all the theological nuances, and never get reach the depths of the meaning, never getting to the bottom of it. We could point out that in Greek this "word" is logos, from which we get logic in English. But for our purpose with our limited time, let’s just look at the purpose of the "Word." Why would John call Jesus the "Word?" We use words to express ideas, and to share concepts. We communicate using words. Our lives revolve around the use of words. God’s purpose was that the "Word" was to reveal the one who sent it – God.

Plato, the Great Philosopher during the Greek Golden Age, said:
“It may be that some day there will come forth from God a Word, a Logos, who will reveal all mysteries and make everything plain.”

To that John would respond, “Yes! The Word has come. Now God is revealed to us perfectly.!” It would be through Jesus, who is fully God, yet now became fully man. Through Him would all mysteries be revealed especially the mysteries surrounding God. John writes: John 1:18 - "No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him."

Jesus Himself declared: John 14:9 – "He who has seen me has seen the Father." This is the simplest definition of the "Word." Jesus is the one who reveals God to us. So, to that end, we find John writing verse 14: John 1:14 -

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

The Greek language actually is better translated more specifically, "The Word was born flesh." Ah, so we are back to Bethlehem. There is the traditional Christmas story. This one verse wraps up the essence of the manger, the swaddling clothes, the shepherds and livestock, the wise men. It contains all of the Christmas story in this one verse because it crystalizes the incarnation. The eternal "Word," God from eternity past, became the baby who was wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in the manger. God became a man – deity wrapped up in humanity. The one who was 100% God became 100% man without ever losing any of His Godhead.

The angels announced the birth crying: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men," and the shepherds came to worship the baby, and then went out to spread the word, and the wise men traveled all the way from the East to bring their gifts. Yes, it was to God they came to worship, but God now wrapped in the flesh of a baby and wrapped in strips of cloths as a diaper.

Yes, Jesus became a real human - that is the message of Christmas. God came to live among us in human flesh to reveal to us His heart - To live and walk among us so we could know God. And in the end, to die for us, in our place, on the Cross of Calvary all in His human body. Yes, He had a real human body, one just like ours.

It was one the Apostles handled: 1st John 1:1-2

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life—2 the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us—

Jesus grew weary, thirsty, hungry. He wept, he felt emotions, His tears fell like great drops of blood. He was totally, completely human, without ever ceasing to be God all because He was born flesh.

The Bible tells us a lot about flesh - Most of it isn’t good. Daniel Partner writes this about flesh:

“Flesh is humanity at its weakest, so Christ was crucified through weakness. Flesh is mortal and dying humanity, ‘a wind that passeth away and cometh not again.’ Thus Christ was put to death in the flesh. Flesh is humanity tainted with sin, so the perfectly holy Jesus Christ appeared in the likeness of sinful flesh, and was made sin for us. The man we celebrate this Christmas season was, by His birth, perfectly enabled to condemn sin in the flesh, and the wonder of Christmas is that He chose to become flesh in order to submit to death and save us from our sin.”

Yes, Jesus became a man, just like us, with all the frailties and mortality we all possess. He lived and walked on this earth just like us facing the same challenges and temptations, emotions and trials we all do, but without ever yielding to the temptations.
As Hebrews 4:15 tells us that’s why He makes such a great High Priest for us: It says,

“For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.”

But, that brings us again back to the revelation of the Word by John:
John 1:14 -

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

The Word that was with God, and that was God has now taken on flesh, as unexplainable as that may be. God became a man. God wrapped Himself in human flesh and became one of us. He came to live among us, and ultimately to die for us. This is the glorious truth of the incarnation. This is the miracle of Christmas. This is why we stand in awe of a baby born in a remote village of Israel to an unmarried girl living in poverty. "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us."

The words, "dwelt among us," literally mean that Jesus tabernacled with us. A tabernacle is a tent, a moveable shelter usually made of fabric and it provided shelter from the elements, It wasn’t meant to be a permanent dwelling. But then, Jesus was on a temporary mission. He had come to seek and to save the lost, Then, following His death, burial, and resurrection, He would return to heaven to be given again His rightful and well earned place at the right hand of God.

Interestingly, shepherds dwelt in tents as they watched over their sheep out in the fields. And of course, Jesus is our “Good Shepherd.” He is the “Great Shepherd.” And soldiers lived in tents on the battlefields. Of course, when Jesus came to earth, it was to take on the forces of evil. And it was in the tent of his human flesh that He vanquished death and Satan.

But of even greater significance, the Tabernacle was the moveable tent the Israelites carried around the desert. And it was in this tent that God met with man. It was at this place the cloud of God’s Shikinah glory dwelt on earth. Jesus functions as that Tabernacle - The place where we meet God. As He said in John 14:6 - “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” Only through Jesus can we have a relationship with God.

So now, in our time, it is through Christ that we encounter God. As Hebrews 1:1-2 says:

God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, 2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds.

This is all the meaning of Christmas. God became flesh and dwelt among us. Now we can add in all the traditional images of Christmas – the stable and the manger, the shepherds, the angel chorus, the wise men - but it is all because of the incarnation – "the Word was born flesh."

This is what Christmas is all about Arthur Pink wrote:

“In this book, we are shown that the one who was heralded by the angels to the Bethlehem shepherds, who walked this earth for thirty-three years, who was crucified at Calvary, who rose from the grave, and who forty days later departed from these scenes, was none other than the Lord of Glory. The evidence for this was overwhelming. The proofs almost without number, and the effect of contemplating them must be to bow our hearts in worship before ‘the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ (Titus 2:13).’”

Yes, our response must be to worship - To worship the babe who was, “the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ.” That is the meaning of Christmas. God came to live among us so He could die for us. When the angel came to Joseph to convince him to continue with his wedding to Mary. He told him this:
Matthew 1:22-23 –

22 So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”

What is the significance of this name, Immanuel? It tells us that, although He was God, Jesus did not cling to the rights of God but humbled Himself to be born a man. But it was all with a purpose.
Jesus came to die for our sins. God couldn’t die, so Jesus became a man. He had to take upon Himself a mortal human body.

Philippians 2:6-8 describe this phenomena:

6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.

But because Jesus humbled Himself, even to the point of death, the Father raised Him and exalted Him to sit at the right hand of the Father in heaven. Philippians 2:9-11 explains His exaltation:

9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Christmas has to be linked with Calvary. The Christ who came as a baby to be born in Bethlehem was the same Christ who carried a cross up Mount Calvary. This we know: God came to earth to die and in dying, to provide a way of salvation for men. Jesus, the babe in the manger, would grow up to become the Savior of all who believe.

William Young Fullerton wrote a hymn that shows the wonder of Christ becoming a man to save us. It is sung to the melody of Danny Boy:

“I cannot tell why He whom angels worship,
Should set His love upon the sons of men,
Or, why, as Shepherd, He should seek the wanderers,
To bring them back, they know not how or when,
But this I know, that He was born of Mary,
When Bethlehem manger was His only home,
And that He lived at Nazareth and labored,
and as the Savior, Savior of the World is come.

I cannot tell how silently He suffered,
As with His peace He graced this place of tears,
Or how His heart upon the cross was broken,
The crown of pain to three and thirty years,
But this I know, He heals the broken hearted,
And stays our sin, and calms our lurking fear,
And lifts the burden from the heavy laden,
For yet, the Savior, Savior of the world is here.”

That is the meaning of Christmas: Why did Jesus give up heaven where He was God in all His glory to be born in a manger in a stable? Jesus came to be the Savior of the World. He came that all who believe should be saved. He purchased us with His own life blood on the cross of Calvary. Christmas inevitably leads to Calvary as we should all be led, to the foot of the cross.

The Gospel Cannot Be Bound

If there is one thing Paul had, it was his share of troubles. But he doesn’t want you to get the wrong idea. They did not hinder the spread of the Gospel. In Philippians 1:12 he writes, “But I want you to know.” Know what? That his troubles have “actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel.”

Do you see this? It’s not just that his troubles haven’t hurt all that much, actually they did. But they actually helped his ministry. Wow! What an attitude. “You don’t need to feel sorry for me,” he says. “Things may look bad, but the result isn’t bad. I may be in jail, but the Gospel isn’t in jail. So don’t feel sorry for me.”

The Gospel is still getting out. Things are still going as planned. Not Paul’s plan, mind you, but according to God’s plan. His imprisonment is a “furtherance” to the Gospel. The word he used in the Greek language, the word for “furtherance,” is really colorful. It describes a group of combat engineers going out in front of an army to prepare the way. The woodcutters clear a road through an impenetrable forest or thicket so the army could march through unimpeded.

Do you get the flavor of this? Here’s this group of people moving out ahead of the army clearing obstacles - an advance troop, machetes in hand, hacking their way through the jungle, sweating and panting, but making the way easier for the army that follows. That’s what Paul was – the advance party.

And sure, they’ll meet resistance. Resistance is inherent in progress. Resistance is a given in God’s work. Of course, Satan will resist us. But it is a small cost compared to the ultimate goal, the ultimate victory.

And that’s how Paul felt about his imprisonment. This is what he had done. He had gone ahead to pave the way for other evangelists to follow so that they could have greater success because of his efforts. Therefore, his efforts are certainly not wasted. He doesn’t need to feel like he has failed. His troubles weren’t in vain.

Even his own ministry is advancing still because of his troubles. He has been given a whole new group of people to witness to. He has a whole new bunch of people he could never have reached otherwise.

Paul can now preach to his guards. Philippians 1:13 says, “So that it has become evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ.” That soldier chained to him became a captive audience. What an opportunity to witness to someone who normally wouldn’t have given Paul the time of day. And when one of them got saved, they would take the Gospel back to their families and to their fellow soldiers in the barracks so the gospel would be spreading out like a spider web to all kinds of new people.

Tertullian wrote that the Roman government was upset that Christians were holding positions of high power. The reason they were Christians was because of Paul’s witness. The palace guard, really the Praetorian Guard, was composed of some ten thousand hand-picked guards. They were all highly compensated commanders who served twelve years then were given early retirement. They were so powerful that they not only protected the emperor, but often chose the emperor. And Paul was chained round the clock to one of these powerful men,

So rather than being a disaster, his imprisonment was an opportunity. The shifts changed every six hours so there were four different ones chained to him each day giving him opportunities to witness. These guards came to know Paul intimately, and they all could see his stellar character and Christ-like conduct. They knew he wasn’t a criminal. They knew his chains were the result of his preaching Christ, not because of any evil crime.

Paul is an illustration of 1st Peter 4:12-16, which says:
12 Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; 13 but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. 14 If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified.
15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people’s matters. 16 Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter.

What happened to Paul wasn’t unexpected. It was part of God’s plan. Therefore, Paul could rejoice. That needs to be our attitude. Paul tells us, everyone knew he was suffering for Christ so he was greatly blessed because of it. That had an impact on the guards who watched him day and night.

Listen to how F.B. Meyer describes the scene:

“At times the hired room would be thronged with people, to whom the Apostle spoke words of life; and after they withdrew, the sentry would sit beside him, filled with many questionings as to the meaning of the words which this strange prisoner spoke. At other times, when all had gone, and especially at night, when the moonlight shone on the distant slopes of Soracte, soldier and apostle would be left to talk, and in those dark and lonely hours the apostle would tell soldier after soldier the story of his own proud career in early life of his opposition to Christ, and his ultimate conversion, and would make it clear that he was there as a prisoner, not for any crime, not because he had raised rebellion or revolt, but because he believed that Him whom the Roman soldiers had crucified, under Pilate, was the son of God and the Savior of men. As these tiding spread, and the soldiers talked them over with one another, the whole guard would be influenced in sympathy with the meek and gentle Apostle, who always showed himself so kindly to the men as they shared, however involuntarily, his imprisonment.
How absolutely consistent the Apostle must have been! If there had been the least divergence, day or night, from the high standard which he upheld, his soldier-companion would have caught it, and passed it on to others. The fact that so many became earnest Christians , and that the Word of Jesus was known far and wide throughout the Praetorian Guard, indicates how absolutely consistent was the Apostles life.”

Truly, our lives must back up our message. When the world sees our stellar character, they will believe our message. So no matter what you are going through, rejoice. God is at work. The Gospel is not bound.

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.
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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.