1

Joy:

In advancing the gospel

Philippians 1:12-18

Introduction

Story of 4 different candidates in Zimbabwe

after much turmoil in the country formally

known as Rhodesia. 2 were Methodist

Pastors, and the church was sure God’s

favor was with the leader of the country.

Instead, what they got was Robert Mugabe,

one of the worst dictators of the last 30

years.

Main Point: While Mugabe’s leadership

plunged the country into historic ruin,

leaving a wake of poverty and human

suffering, one thing Mugabe could not stop

was the growth of the church. The church

and the gospel have exploded through the

years in Zimbabwe.

What if, suffering and difficulty was the

pathway to the success of the gospel of Jesus

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Christ? What if suffering and difficulty is

the pathway to joy?

Question: Would you, church, be willing to

give up the American dream for the success

of the gospel? Would we willing to suffer if

we knew the message of the gospel would

spread and save souls for all eternity?

Transition: I am not saying that this has to

be an either/or. I don’t think the Apostle

Paul has an attitude that suggests that being

in chains is good or what he or any of us

would/should wish for in some kind of

fatalistic acceptance. But, as he is in chains,

he willingly accepts the chains, joyfully,

because he has a world view that has an eye

on eternity. And because he has an eye for

eternity, he has an eye for the gospel

spreading and the souls of men and women

being saved for all eternity – even if it costs

him being in chains.

First thing I want you to see – Paul has

a…

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I. World view of Joy. (Gospel goes

forward)

Philippians 1:12

I want you to know, brothers, that what has

happened to me has really served to advance

the gospel, (ESV)

A. Advance of the gospel.

1. Hardships in life are unavoidable.

a. All of us are going to go

through and endure difficult

times.

b. All of us are going to face

challenges.

c. And all of us have to process

those challenges in our mind

and our World View.

d. I want to suggest to you that the

world view that bring joy is the

world view that lives with

eternity in view, and eternity as

the end goal.

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2 Timothy 2:8-10

Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead,

the offspring of David, as preached in my

gospel, 9 for which I am suffering, bound

with chains as a criminal. But the word of

God is not bound! 10 Therefore I endure

everything for the sake of the elect, that they

also may obtain the salvation that is in

Christ Jesus with eternal glory. (ESV)

2. God’s sovereign plan is working

all things together for His praise

and Glory.

a. Ultimately God is using

everything to bring praise and

glory to His name for all

eternity.

b. There is no higher good that

God could be about doing.

Illustration: Story of Joseph, suffering over

and over to deliver the people of Israel.

Genesis 50:20

5

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. (ESV)

Secondly Paul sees his imprisonment as a:

B. Strategic advance (Of the gospel).

Philippians 1:13

so that it has become known throughout the

whole imperial guard and to all the rest that

my imprisonment is for Christ. (ESV)

Illustration: The imperial guard were the

best of the best of Roman soldiers. It is

quite probable that the Apostle Paul was

chained to a member of the Imperial Guard

day and night. The soldiers had access to

all the movers and shakers in the Roman

government. And being chained to Paul led

to Paul being able to share the gospel with

the societies elite all while being in prison.

I would suspect he led some to Christ, and

others gained an affinity towards Christ

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because Paul was willing to suffer for the

cause.

Main Point: This is pure speculation, but

Christianity dominated Rome within 300

years of the birth of the early church. Could

it be that Paul’s strategic imprisonment is

what God was using to spread the gospel to

the poor as he planted churches, and to the

cultural elite through his imprisonment?

Why? Because God is working his strategic

plan to spread the fame of Jesus to all

nations.

Could it be we will look back in 300 years,

and look at 2020, and be “wowed” at what

God was doing through His church, and the

spread of the gospel in these difficult times.

There is joy in adopting a World View that

sees the spreading of the gospel as one of

the most important things we can do with

our lives here on earth.

Third (Letter C) Paul’s imprisonment:

C. Emboldened and empowered others.

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Philippians 1:14

And most of the brothers, having become

confident in the Lord by my imprisonment,

are much more bold to speak the word

without fear. (ESV)

1. Courage (Like Cowardice) is

contagious.

2. Your faith and your joy and

your positivity in difficult

circumstances will encourage

those around you.

Transition: Secondly, Paul recognizes that

God still uses:

II. An imperfect church to spread the

incredible message of Jesus Christ.

Philippians 1:15-17

Some indeed preach Christ from envy and

rivalry, but others from good will. 16 The

latter do it out of love, knowing that I am

put here for the defense of the gospel. 17 The

former proclaim Christ out of selfish

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ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict

me in my imprisonment. (ESV)

A. If you are looking for the perfect

church – you ready – you have not

found it at Coastal.

B. If you are looking for a church in

process to growing in Holiness you

have found that church.

C. If you are looking for a church that

takes God’s word serious, you have

found that church.

D. If you are looking for a church that

strongly desires to see the gospel of

Jesus Christ exalted – you have

found that church.

E. If you are looking for a church that

desires to see every tribe, tongue,

and nation know the gospel of Jesus

Christ, you have found that church.

F. Joy is not found in a perfect church.

G. Joy is found in a world view that gets

excited when the gospel goes

forward, even if God seems to be

using the church down the street.

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H. Paul is not concerned about

defending his name, Paul is

concerned about exalting the gospel

of Jesus Christ.

I. God uses imperfect people and

imperfect churches to exalt the

gospel of Jesus Christ.

Finally: Paul says, in regards to motives

(Which our culture is spending tons of

energy right now judging the motives of

people) – Paul says in regards to motives…

III. So What?

Philippians 1:18

What then? Only that in every way, whether

in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed,

and in that I rejoice. (ESV)

A. God judges motives.

BTW: Notice that Paul does not concern

himself with motives. He leaves the motives

of a person to be judged by God. He knows

he is in no position to judge the motives of

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another man’s heart. This is a huge problem

in our culture surrounding social media.

Motives are so quickly judged, and the

cancel culture is about judging motives

rather than actions and behaviors (You will

know them by their fruits – Matthew 7:16).

We as Christians should think the best of

people first, until their actions prove

otherwise. And if it is a brother or sister in

Christ, in our local church or when possible,

sit down and discuss an offense in case we

have misperceived a motive or action.

Kindness – our culture is not Kind.

B. Rejoice – Christ is proclaimed.

1. Paul finds his joy in the idea that

the gospel is going forward.

2. Paul’s identity is in His view of

eternity.

Conclusion

I want to finish by asking you some

questions:

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1. You go to the doctor you find out you

have cancer – It’s a scary and difficult

diagnoses – Is there a way through this

circumstance that the gospel can go

forward through your life?

2. Your marriage is struggling: Is it time

to find happiness, or find a way to exalt

Christ and share the gospel – Or better

yet – live the gospel in your marriage.

3. Your finances are tight. Can you still

give, trust God and be generous as the

Lord is generous with us and exalt the

gospel?

Joy is found in the furthering to the

gospel of Jesus Christ for the Glory of

God the Father. Joy is found when the

focus of our heart is on eternal things.

Read Philippians 1:12-18 and discuss the following questions together. I. What is the theme of this passage?

a. Paul is talking about the importance of the gospel being preached even though he is not free to move about and talk to many people about it.

b. A second theme is the importance of our heart motivation. It is possible to do the work of God with wrong motives. We need to check our heart as we offer our service to the Lord.

c. A more underlying theme is the importance of a right attitude toward those who are not being sincere in their heart. Paul doesn’t water down their sinful motivation (selfishness) but rejoices that God can even use people with impure motives.

II. What challenged you in this Scripture? a. Let a little silence happen as people mull over the message and their response to

it. Don’t be too quick to jump in with an answer; some may need a little time to reflect.

b. At the same time; don’t be afraid to let folks know the areas that hit you hardest…it will allow your group members to see your growth as a believer.

III. In what ways does this passage help you savor Christ more? a. As Paul talks about the importance of the gospel being preached, it is obvious

that we should give our same heart affection to the reality of it. Christ lived, died and rose again in our place. Our affections should soar as we remember that this is the most important thing. And…he did it for us!

IV. How is this passage calling you to further obedience in your walk with God? a. This passage should make me evaluate the issue of heart motives. b. It would be a valuable discussion for your group members to talk about how it is

possible to serve the Lord with wrong motives. Some ideas might be… i. For financial gain

ii. For the popularity in church iii. So that others will be impressed with our skills (pride) iv. With a condescending attitude toward those who do it differently than us

V. How can this passage of Scripture shape your prayer life?

a. Repentance may be appropriate if I have let some impure motivations slip in. b. Perhaps prayer for those who we can identify as having wrong motives, that

their heart will be changed so that the gospel can continue in power. c. It should help me return to the gospel repeatedly in my prayer life. Part of the

focus is on the gospel in this passage, it is a good opportunity to be reminded of the facts of it and to express gratitude for it.

VI. What are three practical takeaways from the sermon you listened on this passage?

Small Group Questions Joy In Advancing The Gospel

Phil 1:12-18 September 20, 2020

*You do NOT have to answer or discuss every question. Feel free to just pick a few. These are meant to guide you in truth. If you are having trouble answering a question, ask your small group leader to help you. They are committed to helping you develop as an authentic follower of Christ.

The COMMUNITY QUESTION:

1. Name some of your favorite places you’ve visited in the states and in the world.

Into the WORD/APPLICATION:

Here are some suggested sites in order to dive deeper into God's Word: blueletterbible.org, desiringgod.org/articles/all, biblos.com, ccel.org, logos.com, connect.ligonier.org, thegospelcoalition.org/channel/bible-and-theology. 1. Read the scripture verses listed above and discuss the following

questions together. What is the theme of this passage?

2. What challenged you in this Scripture?

3. In what ways does this passage help you savor Christ more?

4. How is this passage calling you to further obedience in your walk with God?

5. How can this passage of Scripture shape your prayer life?

6. What are three practical takeaways from the sermon you listened on this passage?

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Coastal Yorktown | September 20th 2020

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PRAYER & QUESTIONS:

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IN RESPONSE TOTODAY ’ S SERVICE . . .

I’d like to know more about accepting a relationship with Jesus.

I. W O R L D V I E W of Joy.

A. A D V A N C E of the gospel.

B. S T R A T E G I C A D V A N C E (Of the gospel).

C. E M B O L D E N E D and E M P O W E R E D others.

II. An I M P E R F E C T church to spread the incredible

M E S S A G E of Jesus Christ.

III. So What?

A. God judges M O T I V E S .

B. R E J O I C E –Christ is proclaimed.

I’M INTERESTED IN:I would like to register for We Are Coastal.

I would like more info for Women of Coastal’s Game with Minutes.

09.20.20 | PASTOR SHAUN BROWN

Philippians 1 : 12–18

I N A D V A N C I N G T H E

G O S P E L