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Philippians Chapter one. We're continuing in our series through the book of Philippians that we started last week. We're entitling it Reasons to Rejoice because remember, the book of Philippians is also called the Epistle of Joy. The reason because Paul will use the word joy or some form of that word, like rejoice 14 times in this letter of only four chapters. That is more proportionally more references to joy and rejoicing in the book of Philippians than any other book of the Bible. And so last week we looked at the first reason to rejoice from the first part of chapter one, and is we rejoice because God will finish what he started concerning us. That's from verse six. And today we're going to see another reason to rejoice. As we look here into Philippians 1. I'm going to begin reading at verse 12 down through verse so Philippians 1. Starting at verse 12, Paul writes, but I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the Gospel, so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard and to all the rest that my chains are in Christ. And most of the brethren in the Lord, having become confident by my chains, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. 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. 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. So there you have that word twice in verse 18. What is he so happy about? What is he rejoicing about? Well, before we talk about the actual reasons he's rejoicing, let's be reminded, for those of you who are new to our study of Philippians, Paul has so much joy. And the amazing thing is he's writing from prison. He's in a prison in Rome, Italy, awaiting trial. Not because he's committed a crime, but because he is. He's been charged with preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ, testifying to the truth of Jesus. And for that reason he's been arrested. He appeals to Caesar cause he is a Roman citizen and he sits now in a prison in Rome awaiting trial because of his faith in Jesus Christ. And he mentions the fact that he's in chains three times in this passage. We just read in verse 13, verse 14 and verse 16 he talks about my chains because he's in prison. And Philippians is one of four letters that Paul writes from this prison in Rome, again awaiting trial for simply preaching the Gospel of Jesus. How joyful would you be if you were in prison awaiting trial just because you were a Christian testifying to the truth of Jesus Christ? Now, I don't know if that might possibly happen in my lifetime in the United States of America, but you better give that some serious thought because it may not be too far off. And some of you think, well, that's ridiculous, that would never happen in America. Yeah, well, consider some of the things that are happening now that just say 15 years ago you thought would be ridiculous and wouldn't believe whatever happened. And so it could. There are things happening in our world and in America that threaten religious liberty. What if you were thrown in prison for your faith in Jesus, for testifying to the Gospel? And Paul is joyful, though he's in prison, in his difficult, dark circumstances. He is joyful because as we've been saying, his joy is in Jesus, not in his circumstances. But in addition, he looks at his circumstances as an opportunity for God to have his way, to accomplish his purpose, as so he's joyful because his joy is in Jesus and his focus is, well, God's up to something. Even in my dark circumstances, God is at work. And so I rejoice. Philippians is a letter that Paul writes from a prison in Rome, Italy, to believers in Philippi, Greece, who are part of a church that Paul had started. He had founded it about 10 years earlier. And so he's writing back to the saints here in the church of Philippi that he loves, and he loves them dearly. Again, in verse 8 it says, he says, I long for you all with the affection of Jesus Christ. He loves them and I'm sure they loved him too. And so how do you think they felt when they get this letter and realize he's in prison? The one who founded their church, their spiritual mentor, the one who discipled them, they were probably distraught, they were probably feeling sad and concerned for his well being. This is, after all, the first century in the Roman Empire. The year is about 62 AD and in 62 AD the reaction towards Christians in the Roman Empire was tepid at best. Tepid at best. And there were isolated pockets of persecution against Christians and Paul was among those who was being persecuted for his faith in 62 AD but the full onslaught of Christian persecution would happen about two years later. In 64 AD, when the great fire of Rome would break out and Nero the emperor blamed Christians for it. And he rounded up Christians and started persecuting them by the thousands, martyring them, having their bodies ripped apart by dogs, lighting Christians on fire. He would be arresting them and crucifying them and torturing them. That would be 64 A.D. so we're just a couple of years away from it, but we're seeing the beginnings of the persecution. Paul gets swept up in it. And by the way, Paul will survive this first imprisonment and he will be released, only to be imprisoned again later, about 67 AD, at which point he will be martyred for his faith. But in this first imprisonment here, he is filled with joy, writing four letters to the churches he loves. The first one here, to the church at Philippi. And he starts out this section we are reading by comforting the people that he loves at the church at Philippi. He's comforting them, and he's giving thanks to God for his circumstances. Let's just unpack these verses together. Look at verse 12 again. He says, but I want you to know, brethren, he's trying to comfort them. He says that the things which have happened to me and have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel. I mean, listen to this guy. He's like, don't cry for me. My chains have a purpose. I am in prison to further the good news of Jesus to a new audience here in Rome. That's what he's saying to them. And then further, verse 13, so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard and to all the rest, like all the others who serve in the king's court there of Emperor Nero, that my chains are in Christ? Would you underline that in your Bibles? My chains are in Christ? What in the world does he mean by that? What he means is Jesus has orchestrated events to get me here because there are people like the palace guards and other officials in Nero's court, who would never have otherwise heard the Gospel except that the Lord has sent me here. I'm on a mission. It wasn't my doing, it was God's doing. But nevertheless, my chains are in Christ because God's doing something through my imprisonment here. And in addition, in verse 14, he says that most of the brethren in the Lord, like other believers there in Rome, having become confident by my chains, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. This is amazing. Paul says, in addition to unbelievers in Nero's palace, hearing the Gospel, believers here in Rome have become Emboldened to share their faith about Jesus. Because they look at me and my chains and they think, well, if Paul can do it, I can do it. And so they became more impassioned, emboldened to share the gospel of Jesus Christ because of Paul's example. And Paul even goes on to add here in verse 15, he goes, now he says, grant it. He goes, you know, some. Some who are emboldened, some indeed preach Christ even from envy and strife, and some also from goodwill. He's like, I'm just being real with you. He goes, among those who have been emboldened, some guys have good motives in preaching the gospel, and some guys have wrong motives. But he goes on to say, I don't really care. He goes, you know what? As long as they're teaching the truth of Jesus Christ, if they have good motives, great. If they have ulterior motives, God will deal with them. But I'm just grateful that the gospel's going forth. I mean, Paul's just real chill about all this, isn't he? He's just like, I'm in prison, I'm chained, but God's got a purpose. I'm on a mission. It wasn't my idea, but it was God's. So I rejoice in this. Cause guess what? Unbelievers in the palace are hearing the gospel of Jesus Christ and. And believers here in Rome are getting emboldened because of my chains, and they're going out preaching the gospel. And so for all these reasons, I rejoice. And this is why Paul says there in verse 13, I asked you to underline it or highlight it in your Bibles. My chains are in Christ. My chains are in Christ. Who says that? I tell you who says that. Someone who sees the big kingdom picture realizes that God is going to accomplish his purposes in the world. And God's going to accomplish his purposes with or without me. And if he decides to accomplish his purposes with me, Paul is saying, sometimes that might involve chains. And that's okay because I just want to serve the Lord. And in this I rejoice. See, he saw his chains as God's divine appointment for good. And he rejoiced that the gospel of Jesus Christ was going forth and that God was being glorified. He was not concerned as much about his circumstance because his joy was in Jesus. So he saw his chains as an opportunity for God to do his good work, and he was giving God the glory for this. See, Paul didn't have this comfortable view of Christianity like Westerners do, like we do. Okay. Paul was just all in. He's like, my chains for the glory of God, or if I'm free, for the glory of God. We as Americans, as Westerners, we. Let's just be honest. We want comfortable Christianity. So we're like. So we're like, lord, Lord, I will serve you wherever you want me to go. And then the Lord says, how about Nicaragua? Ah, wasn't really thinking Nicaragua. How about someplace that begins with saint? Doesn't that sound godly? Like St. Thomas, Saint Kitts, Saint Martin? I could serve you there, Lord. And then the Lord says, okay, how about St. Paul? Ah, too close to Minneapolis, Lord, right now, not really wanting there. And so that's how we are. But not Paul. Paul's like, send me wherever to do whatever for your glory. Whenever, however, I'm at your service. And he sees this. His disposition was that Christ has a purpose in all my circumstances, whether good or whether difficult, whether wonderful or whether trying. No matter what my circumstance, he said, I just want to be content and I want to give God the glory and I want to rejoice because my joy is in Jesus. Look. Look further. Glance further in Philippians to chapter four. Just glance on over to chapter four for a minute. I want to read three verses to you from chapter four so you can see this, how he spells it out clearly. Verses 11, 12 and 13, Philippians 4, 11. He goes, not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content. I know how to be abased. In other words, I know what it is to be poor, to have nothing, and I know how to abound. There's times I've had plenty everywhere and in all things. I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. And then that's when he says, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. See, he says, like, no matter what my circumstance, good or bad, fun or hard, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me because I'm at his service and I'm going to rejoice no matter what my circumstance. See, the truth is, Rome was not on Paul's missionary list when he put together his different missionary journeys. Rome was not part of it. The letter Romans in your Bible, he wrote that to people he had never met. He had never been to Rome when he wrote Romans. And yet, even though it wasn't on Paul's destination for a missionary journey, it was on God's. And so God predetermined that Paul needed to go to Rome to share the Gospel with people who needed to hear it. Now how do we know it was predetermined? Because in the book of Acts, when you read about Paul's missionary journeys, there's an occasion two years before Paul ends up here in Rome. Two years before, Paul is in Jerusalem. This is in Acts 23. Paul's in Jerusalem and he's sharing the Gospel in Jerusalem, just like he does wherever he goes. And a Jewish mob gets irate and they try to kill Paul and the Roman soldiers. Cause it's part of the Roman Empire at this time. The Roman soldiers take Paul for his own safety. And they remove him from the mob and put him in the Roman barracks. And while he is there, listen to Acts 23:11. I'll read it to you. Acts 23:11. The following night, the Lord stood by him and said, be of good cheer, Paul, for as you have testified for me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome. He put it out there clearly two years before Paul ends up here in Rome. So we know that this was on God's agenda. This was part of God's particular purpose. It wasn't on Paul's list, but it was on God's list. Now God tells Paul, you got to testify of me in Rome. But notice he does not tell Paul under what circumstances he's going to get there. And aren't you glad God doesn't always tell us all the information up front? He gives us just enough the need to know information. You ever talk that way to your kids? Your kids are like, well, what are we going to do? When is it going to happen? And you say, I'll tell you when you need to know. Because you don't want your kids to get too alarmed in advance. I'll tell you when you need to know. That's the way our Heavenly Father is sometimes with us. He tells us all we need to know. But then he gives us grace in the moment when we're facing it. So God never said to Paul, hey, I need you to testify of Rome. And by the way, you're going to end up in Rome as a prisoner in chains. Okay? Now, I don't know if that's because Paul would be nervous or fearful. He was a human being like we are, or whether it was just God's prerogative. But that seems to be the way God typically deals with us, you know? Can you imagine if God were to speak to you and say to you, I want you. Here's your assignment. I am Calling you to testify to all the doctors and nurses at Anova Loudon Hospital. You'd be like, great. I feel privileged for that opportunity, Lord. And then God adds, because you're going to end up there as a patient with food poisoning. Not great. I didn't need to know that part. Yeah, well, sometimes God moves in those kinds of ways that we wouldn't have otherwise signed up for. But God's purposes are going to be fulfilled, and that's what he's doing here with Paul. See, Paul always viewed his circumstances. All right, I pray we would get this. I pray I get this. Listen, Paul always viewed his circumstances in light of eternity and the kingdom of God. And in that he greatly rejoiced. So he had this eternal perspective. He had this eye on his assignment on earth, but he always constantly had his mind and his heart set on things above. He shows us this all through his different writings, all through the epistles. In Romans 8:18, Paul says, I consider my present sufferings not worth comparing to the glory that awaits me in Christ Jesus. You hear that? He's like, I know what I'm going through, but this is where my focus is. He says in Romans 8:28, the famous verse about how all things work together for good here to them that love God and are called according to his purpose, like, it's going to work out. I'm trusting God because this is not my home. I'm heading home. Eventually he would write, in Colossians 3, verse 1. Since then, you have been raised with Christ. Set your hearts on things above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. He says, you better get your gaze heavenward, because this earth is going to be messy and difficult at times. He would say in Second Corinthians 4:17, 18, he says, for our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. For we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For that which is seen is temporal, but that which is unseen is eternal. All through his Epistles he talks like this. And we must gain the same perspective. So my question for all of us is, if Paul can say as he does, my chains are in Christ because he sees his difficult circumstances in light of God's divine purposes, and that brings him joy. Can we. Can we say the same? What are your chains that God might be using for his good? How is God at work right now? Because when you trust that God will use your difficult circumstances for his divine purposes, it will bring you joy in the midst of whatever you're going through when you can get this perspective like Paul has. Okay? Lord, I didn't sign up for this, but. But your hand is at work. In the midst of my chains. You're at work, Lord. So in that, I greatly rejoice. It's the second reason. It's the takeaway for today, a reason to rejoice that God will use my chains for. For his divine purposes. God will use my chains for his divine purposes. What are the challenges that you are facing right now that God just might be using to accomplish his plans? Now, I want to show you something hopeful, and we'll close on this. Go to the last chapter of Philippians, chapter four again, and I want you to see the way Paul signs off, because this kind of puts a bow on everything he's saying here. This is chapter four. Look at verse 22. He's signing off. He's saying goodbye to the church at Philippi. And notice what he says in verse 22. All the saints greet you. Saints are Christians or believers. All the saints greet you here in Rome, but especially those who are of Caesar's household. You see that? Those plural folks, people in Nero's own palace, got saved because Paul was there in chains. And look, that's the way he signs off the last chapter. God maybe has not written the last chapter for you, but I guarantee you, because he's God and He's our Father and He loves us, he's working out his purposes in our chains. You need to rejoice in that. You may not be able to see it yet because the last chapter's not yet been written. But when I read the way Philippians closes, boy, it just reminds me his chains were not in vain. God was at work. Paul was on assignment. He didn't sign up for it, but God used him in that moment for his glory. And maybe he's doing the same for you. When we trust that God is working out his purposes, it brings me great joy. Not my circumstances themselves, but my joy is in Jesus. So I'm trusting him to do his good work. Amen. Father, we thank you for your word today. We pray that we would be able to say as Paul did, my chains are in Christ. Whatever we're going through, Lord, we rejoice not in our circumstances. Lord, we rejoice in you. Cause we're trusting that you're gonna use what we're going through for your divine purposes. We may not be able to see it right now, but, Lord, I trust, because we trust you as our Father. One day we'll be able to look back and say, as Paul did, my chains are in Christ because you did a good work through my difficult circumstances. And in that we rejoice. We give you all the glory, all the praise. Strengthen our hearts, Lord. We thank you in Jesus name. And everybody said amen. And amen. God bless you, everybody. Have a great day.