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Warren Wiersbe - Chains, Critics and Crisis, Part 1 - 3 of 15
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[Music]
welcome to back to the Bible radio
featuring best-selling author and
internationally known Bible teacher
Warren where's be 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 were looking at
the joy of ministry and in chapter one
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 verses 3
through 11 the fellowship in the gospel
verse 5 he gives thanks with joy for
your fellowship in the gospel from the
first day until now
then verse 12 down through verse 26 he
talks about the furtherance of the
gospel but I would you 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 chapter
1 verses 12 through 26 then in verse 27
down through verse 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 Saviour 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
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 chapter 1 verse 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 chapter 27 you have
that awful shipwreck described and Paul
finally it 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 that's why he wrote
this letter that we call Philippians
well I should have you understand he
wrote to them to 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 where's be 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 the 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 gonna
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 verses
12 through 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 verses 12
through 14 then verses 15 through 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 verses 15 through
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 verses 20 through
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 a hold of these three tools
his chains Christ is known verses 12
through 14 his critics Christ is
preached verses 15 through 19
his crisis he might be killed Christ
is magnified verses 20 through 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 verses 12 through 14 he taught
about his chains but I would you should
understand brethren that the things
which happened unto me have fallen out
rather under 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 becoming 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
Oh 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 constrains 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 slang he used the little
boys 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 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
saved
contact with the lost here were these
Romans soldiers and he's talking here
about the elite Praetorian Guard he's
talking about those 9,000 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
surgery
and as the nurses and doctors came in
and out of his room he witnessed to them
and before he left that hospital II 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 24 hours a day for
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 where's me 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 fella was
released that ever didn't know what was
wrong with him
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 verses 15 through 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 all
that malicious divisive criticism that
really hurts Paul talks about that in
verses 15 through 19 some indeed preach
Christ even of envy and strife and some
also of good will the one preach Christ
of contention rivalry a 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 at words 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 in every way whether in
pretence or in truth Christ is preached
and in that I do rejoice yay and I 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'd 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 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 helped me today not to add to
anybody's burdens 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 verse
19 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 preach
your 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
remember 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 gonna let God take
care of them we're gonna 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 verses 20 through 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 were 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 of 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
an empire and so this is his crisis
verses 20 through 26 of Philippians 1
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 know not for I
am in a strait between 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 yea Jesus well he
he
is a character in history some 2000
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
the 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 [Music]
[Music]
we're glad you joined us today if you
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