Sermon Tone Analysis

Philippians 1:12-18 is where we find ourselves this evening.

As we noted the last time that we were together, the book of Philippians is a remarkable book and one of the reasons that it is remarkable is the joyous tones that are implemented throughout its chapters.

We talked briefly about the circumstances that the Apostle Paul found himself in as he composed this letter to a church that he loved very dearly.

It is worth noting that Paul loved all the churches that he wrote to and all the churches that he started but there is something particularly noteworthy about the love that he has for the church in Philippi.

At the time of writing this, Paul is currently imprisoned in Rome and this is likely the same imprisonment that he finds himself in at the end of the book of Acts.

What is astonishing to many is that during this time in prison, Paul is experiencing what very well may be the most productive years of his ministry.

Despite being confined in prison, Paul is astonished at the advancement of the Gospel and that is what we are going to talk about tonight: Nothing, nothing on earth or hell below, nothing can stop the advancement of the Gospel.

Let’s open up in prayer and then we will dive into Philippians 1:12-18.

The Far Reaches of the Gospel (V.

12-14)

Let’s focus on those first three verses, 12-14.

If you were to leave at this very second, what I am about to say to you is probably the most important thing that you will hear tonight but don’t tune out from everything else after this: God is able to take any circumstance, good, bad, and everything in between and use it for His glory and for the greater proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

There is nothing in all creation that will stop the Lord from making sure that the Word of God is proclaimed.

Now let’s understand one thing: Paul likely did not see this coming.

While he may have known that some success would come from his imprisonment, he likely did not realize this much success would come from his imprisonment.

Paul is writing to the church in Philippi because he has heard that they were worried about him.

Typically those in a 1st century Roman prison would not be coming out anytime soon, or at all.

Paul is gracious for their concern for him but he immediately turns around and says, “Guys, you don’t understand, this has turned out for the greatest good of the Gospel!”

How so?

Because the Gospel is reaching out into places that it likely would not have reached had it not been for Paul’s imprisonment.

The church of Philippi, a city that was 600 miles away from Rome has heard of Paul’s imprisonment on behalf of the Gospel.

Notice three areas that Paul says the Gospel has reached as a result of his imprisonment:

The Whole Imperial Guard (Acts 28:16)

The first group that Paul mentions is the whole imperial guard.

Acts 28:16 says,

Paul at this time is under house arrest and like we saw, he has a Roman guard watching his every move.

Now even if Paul is not under the same exact circumstances by the time he is writing Philippians 1, even if by this point he is taken from house arrest and thrown into a dungeon somewhere, he is still having his every move watched.

Paul has appealed to Caesar and Paul will get that appointment and because Paul has called upon the Roman emperor to hear Paul’s testimony, Paul is an important court case.

As Paul is imprisoned, there is no doubt that he is sharing the Gospel with those that are watching him.

Paul explicitly mentions that the whole imperial guard knows that he is imprisoned because of the Gospel.

Paul is not imprisoned for war crimes, he isn’t there because he is plotting a rebellion, the entire purpose for Paul’s imprisonment lies on his allegiance to Christ and Christ alone.

For these imperial guards to hear the Gospel is incredible.

Who else would be able to get so close to these intimidating men?

Talk about having a captive audience too!

These guards were not allowed to abandon or leave alone the prisoner that they were guarding.

If something happened to the prisoner while they were under the watch of these guards, the guards would face the same punishment that the prisoner would face, maybe even worse.

A Roman soldier who failed in his duty would be executed and not only would he be put to death, his entire family would be put to death as well.

How perfect of a moment is this for Paul?

The Rest (Philippians 4:22)

Paul then mentions a second group of people and you may not have noticed it at first but right after Paul mentions the imperial guard, he says in verse 13, “and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ.”

Who are the rest?

When you get to the end of Acts 28, there are a number of people that come to Paul.

Acts 28:30-31 says,

But is this the rest that Paul has in mind?

Maybe but I think an important clue is how he connects the rest to the imperial guard.

I think in Paul’s mind, he is referring to someone that would have a clear connection to these soldiers.

So, who would that be?

Read Philippians 4:21-22

“Especially those of Caesar’s household.”

The Gospel hasn’t just reached the guards, its reached Caesar’s house.

It’s in the ears of those that live in the emperors home.

How did it get there?

Paul’s imprisonment on behalf of the Gospel.

The Boldness of the Brothers

Let’s look at one last group of people.

The Gospel isn’t just reaching in where Paul is at, it’s reaching out.

Philippians 1:14 says,

One man on fire for the Gospel has put countless others on fire for the very same cause.

Paul’s imprisonment doesn’t deter people from spreading the Gospel, it kick starts it.

These brothers that Paul speaks of have seen the success of Paul’s imprisonment and go out boldly to proclaim the truths of the Gospel without fear!

We’ll speak about this more when we come to verses 15-17.

Successful Suffering

Paul is an example of successful suffering.

What we see happening in the life of Paul is that God is using the bad for the greater good.

In the eyes of the world, the imprisonment of the greatest missionary to ever walk the earth looks like a grand defeat but in the eyes of the sovereign God of all creation, it is that which is needed the most.

B.B. Warfield once said,

“In the infinite wisdom of the Lord of all the earth, each event falls with exact precision into its proper place in this unfolding of his eternal plan.”

The things that seem to hurt us the most, the circumstances that we find ourselves in, can ultimately be used to bring many before the cross of Christ.

Our suffering may ultimately be the tool that brings others to Christ and I pray that we would all learn to suffer well.

May we all see our circumstances in life through the same lens as the Apostle Paul!

Josef Tson Example: Tson was a pastor in Romania while the country was under Communist control and it was illegal for him to preach the Gospel.

Tson retold the story of how at one point he was being interrogated by six officers.

Tson said, “What is taking place here is not an encounter between you and me.

This is an encounter between my God and me. . . .

My God is teaching me a lesson [through you].

I do not know what it is.

Maybe he wants to teach me several lessons.

I only know, sirs, that you will do to me only what God wants you to do—and you will not go one inch further—because you are only an instrument of my God.

Every day I saw those six pompous men as nothing more than my Father’s puppets!” Tson would later say, “During an early interrogation I had told an officer who was threatening to kill me, “Sir, let me explain how I see this issue.

Your supreme weapon is killing.

My supreme weapon is dying.

Here is how it works.

You know that my sermons on tape have spread all over the country.

If you kill me, those sermons will be sprinkled with my blood.

Everyone will know I died for my preaching.

And everyone who has a tape will pick it up and say, ‘I’d better listen again to what this man preached, because he really meant it; he sealed it with his life.’

So, sir, my sermons will speak ten times louder than before.

I will actually rejoice in this supreme victory if you kill me.”

After I said this, the interrogator sent me home.

Another officer who was interrogating a pastor friend of mine told him, “We know that Mr. Tson would love to be a martyr, but we are not that foolish to fulfill his wish.”

I stopped to consider the meaning of that statement.

I remembered how for many years, I had been afraid of dying.

I had kept a low profile.

Because I wanted badly to live, I had wasted my life in inactivity.

But now that I had placed my life on the altar and decided I was ready to die for the Gospel, they were telling me they would not kill me!

I could go wherever I wanted in the country and preach whatever I wanted, knowing I was safe.

As long as I tried to save my life, I was losing it.

Now that I was willing to lose it, I found it.”

I love reading that.

The supreme weapon of Christianity is found in our spilt blood.

Our faithfulness unto death is one of the greatest testimonies of a life changed by the Gospel.