Rejoicing in Trials, How is that possible?
Philippians • Sermon • Submitted
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· 81 viewsHow is it possible for the believer to actually rejoice in the trials of life?
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The Christian life is full of paradoxes!
- Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you.
- I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, for when I am weak, then I am strong.
- Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, (yet) it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
One of the major paradoxes in the Christian life is the idea that we are to rejoice in trials or sufferings! We find it repeatedly in the NT
11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.
12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
22 “Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man!
23 Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets.
13 But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.
2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,
41 Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name.
3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance,
24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church,
6 And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit,
And this leads us to our text this morning...
18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice,
How is this possible? How can we as believers rejoice in the midst of trials? It is one thing to read these verses and say these words from this pulpit, it is another thing to say when you’re broken and weeping and hurting in the trenches of life with people that you love.
Yet the Bible is true. God’s Word is right! Scripture is accurate down to the smallest detail of life and godliness, so how do we rejoice when we are in the mud spattered, blood soaked, fear penetrating trenches of life? That is my question! This is the stuff of real life- how is it possible to rejoice when your job is tanking, or when your loved one is dying in a hospice bed, or when you find out you have to go through another operation at the hospital for the third time ? Then how do you rejoice? That is a much harder question to answer.
Yet somehow, the Apostle Paul, writing to these Philippian believers, shared his own personal testimony that even in the midst of significant trial he was able to rejoice!
Believer, God’s Word teaches us that, no matter the trial you are going through, it is possible to have joy!
How do we do that?
We must cultivate a genuine trust in the providence of God
We must cultivate a genuine trust in the providence of God
Our ability to rejoice in trials is in direct proportion to the genuineness of our faith in the providence of God
The more genuine your faith in God’s providence the more ability you will have to rejoice in trials.
“The genuineness of our faith affects our attitude toward affliction, and our attitude toward affliction affects our behavior in the face of affliction. The key to our behavior is our attitude, and the key to our attitude is our faith.” —Layton Talbert
What I want you to see this morning from Philippians 1:15-18 is the genuineness of the faith of the Apostle Paul in God’s providence in the midst of suffering.
14 And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.
15 Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will.
15Τινὲς μὲν καὶ
Some, to be sure,
διὰ φθόνον καὶ ἔριν,
through envy[1] and strife[2]
τινὲς δὲ καὶ
but others
διʼ εὐδοκίαν τὸν
through good will
Χριστὸν κηρύσσουσιν·
preach Christ;
“From Envy”
[1] The phrase διὰ θφόνον, “because of envy,” describes the evil motives of those who delivered Jesus to Pontius Pilate (Matt 27:18 par. Mark 15:10; NIV, “out of self-interest”).
10 For he perceived that it was out of envy that the chief priests had delivered him up.
The same expression reappears in Phil 1:15 to expose the motivation of those who preached the gospel from a desire to undermine Paul’s evangelistic reputation.
“From Rivalry”
[2] Bitter conflict, heated dissension, conflict resulting from rivalry and discord, engagement in rivalry.
Rivalry in sports teams- the games are way more intense and rough! Because of the rivalry the conflict is amp-ed up!
So not only was Paul in chains, in a dungeon, suffering because of his obedience to the gospel. But now there were people in the church at Rome who were going around preaching Christ out of a motive of envy and rivalry with Paul.
Most often it is the betrayals from within that hurt more that the ones from without. When I talk with pastors the things that most grieve them is conflict from within the church. So Paul is saying that his trials are beginning to pile on top of each other. Have you ever felt that way?
16 The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel.
16οἱ μὲν ἐξ ἀγάπης,
The latter from love,
εἰδότες ὅτι εἰς ἀπολογίαν τοῦ εὐαγγελίου κεῖμαι,
knowing that unto the defense of the gospel I am appointed
Textual Variant- A few manuscripts reverse the order of verses 16 and 17 with “The former … The latter …” but most early manuscripts order the verses as “The latter … The former …” The change is largely rhetorical.
17 The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment.
17οἱ δὲ ἐξ ἐριθείας τὸν Χριστὸν καταγγέλλουσιν,
The former from selfish ambition[1]
οὐχ ἁγνῶς, οἰόμενοι θλῖψιν ἐγείρειν τοῖς δεσμοῖς μου.
Not sincerely, thinking/supposing to raise up distress/affliction/suffering in my imprisonment.
“Selfish Ambition”
[1] Rivalry, a strong drive for personal success without moral inhibitions.
16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.
8 but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury.
There are people in the church at Rome who are preaching the gospel from the envy and rivalry, their motives in preaching are self-seeking, selfish ambition. They only doing what they are doing for personal success. If fact they believe that the more they preach Christ the more they will add to the suffering of Paul while he is in prison.
The reason they are preaching the gospel is draw crowds, advance their own agenda, and to add to Paul’s suffering. No sincerity at all!
Wow- humanly speaking, Paul is in a dark place right now. Yet how does Paul respond?
18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice,
18τί γάρ;
What then? What does it matter?
πλὴν ὅτι παντὶ τρόπῳ, εἴτε προφάσει εἴτε ἀληθείᾳ,
Only that in every way/manner, whether in pretense (false motives) or in truth
Χριστὸς καταγγέλλεται,
Christ is being proclaimed,
καὶ ἐν τούτῳ χαίρω. ἀλλὰ καὶ χαρήσομαι,
and in this I rejoice. Yes and I will rejoice!
“Providence is the unceasing activity of the Creator whereby, in overflowing bounty and goodwill, He upholds His creatures in ordered existence, guides and governs all events, circumstances, and free acts of angels and men, and directs everything to its appointed goal, for his own glory.”
Paul trusted that God was guiding and governing all events, even these false brothers in the church who were preaching Christ through selfish ambition and envy and strife- God was directing those men and their actions to His own appointed goal and for His own glory.
Paul had a genuine faith that God would do exactly that- “Only in pretense of in truth, Christ is proclaimed.” And because of the quality of Paul’s faith in the providence of God, Paul could also have a quality of joy even in chains in a prison cell with discord going on in the church.
Side note- what does this passage teach us about giving the gospel?? You might say, “Pastor I can’t give the gospel what if I mess it up?” If God can use these men who had the worst motives in the world to advance the gospel, imagine what God can do with someone with the right motives! Even if you are not the most eloquent, or well versed- it doesn’t matter! If you will but commit to sharing the truth of the gospel, God is the one who does the hard part.
The actions that people meant for evil for Paul, Paul knew that God would instead intend those actions for good! Even the intended evil actions of men, God providentially intends them for the good of those who love Him and for His own glory.
Example: Joseph
20 As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.
Joseph’s story is the doctrine of providence fleshed out in real life. In Genesis 50 we are at the end of the story and Joseph is looking back over his life and all of the things that happened to him. And he makes this statement:
You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good!
The verb “meant” as in you “meant evil” has the idea of “plan against,” “plot,” “devise,” or “scheme.”
Joseph’s brothers on the one hand plotted evil against Joseph. They schemed against him, they planned against him, they devised evil on his behalf.
The glory of Genesis 50:20 is the exact same word is used of God. Joseph’s brother’s meant evil against him, but God meant it for good. God planned their evil for Joseph’s good. God used their evil plots and devises and schemes for Joseph’s good. In fact their evil for part of God’s plan all along. The idea is not that Joseph’s brothers plotted evil and God reacted and somehow turned that evil into good.
God was in control all along and even the scheme’s of evil that other people might put into effect against those who love God and are called according to His purpose, God in His providence, has already planned to use those same schemes for our good.
Just think about the details of Joseph’s downward steps to get to Egypt and to be 2nd in command under pharaoh.
1). Hated by his brothers
Why was Joseph hated by his brothers? Because of a dream- revelation that was given to Joseph by whom? God! Joseph’s brothers hated him because of God-given dreams that acted as both a bread-rock of Joseph’s faith and as a test of the family’s submission to God’s choice and purposes.
2). Nearly murdered but cast into a pit instead
15 And a man found him wandering in the fields. And the man asked him, “What are you seeking?”
16 “I am seeking my brothers,” he said. “Tell me, please, where they are pasturing the flock.”
17 And the man said, “They have gone away, for I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’ ” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan.
There just happened to be a man who found Joseph wandering in the field who had access to the knowledge of where Joseph’s brothers are at.
Joseph just happens to arrive at a time when Ruben would be there to safeguard his life.
3). Sold into slavery in a foreign land
And it just happened that a particular caravan was headed in a particular direction that would happen to pass by.
10 Surely the wrath of man shall praise you; the remnant of wrath you will put on like a belt.
4). Falsely accused and imprisoned
Just happened that Joseph is put into a position where he would be falsely accused and unjustly cast into prison. His trials are pilling up.
Joseph never lived a life a fatalism however, where he justified his circumstances by sinning. And God used Joseph’s positive obedience in his providential plans. God’s providence should never lull us into a laziness and sin- instead it should be a doctrine that energies our faith and obedience.
5). Forgotten two more years in prison
It just happened that the butler forgot about Joseph for two years. But we know that God needed to keep Joseph in Egypt another two years.
6). Only then, after 17 years, was Joseph vaulted to the throne of Egypt
When trials and hardships start to pile up in our lives we tend to think of each downward spiral as negative- a delay, a detour, a roadblock. But when we understand the providence of God we are forced to believe that each downward step, every seemingly negative thing that happens to us, is actually the most direct and necessary step toward the place of God’s purpose.
Monopoly Game Illustration:
Monopoly boards have “chance” squares; life’s board has “providence” squares. God is the one moving us. He sees all our downward steps as the necessary movements of his child in exactly the right direction all the way along. And He is not rolling dice!
When we reflect on the birds-eye-view of the story of Joseph we realize that there is no other route that leads Joseph, a seventeen-year-old boy in Canaan to a thirty-year-old man on the throne of Egypt in fulfillment of God’s promised revelation! No other path would prepare Joseph with the life experiences, and the knowledge, and the wisdom to do what God need him to do to save his family from a famine. And on a human level the eventual good that God caused to happened in Joseph’s life happened because of Joseph’s faithful obedience and resistance to sin.
This is the wonder of God’s providence! The range of God’s power and providence is a stunning thing to contemplate! This is why Joseph can say: “You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good.”
Illustration: Murphy’s law broken- it cannot exist in a universe under the jurisdiction of a providential God!
28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
This is why Paul can say:
18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice,
How do we rejoice when we are in the mud spattered, blood soaked, fear penetrating trenches of life?
How do we do that?
We must cultivate a genuine trust in the providence of God.
The Apostle Paul, writing to these Philippian believers, shared his own personal testimony that even in the midst of significant trial he was able to rejoice!
Believer, God’s Word teaches us that, no matter the trial you are going through, it is possible to have joy!
Learn to rest in God’s providence. Relish it, rely on it, relax in it!
Our ability to rejoice in trials is in direct proportion to the genuineness of our faith in the providence of God.
The more genuine your faith in God’s providence the more ability you will have to rejoice in trials.
11 Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.