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13. THE POWER OF JOY IN THE PRISON OF PAIN IN PHIL.  

        (part12) Phil.1:12-18 

THE PROVISION OF PROSPECT V.12-20

PROBLEMS ARE A POSITIVE  V.12-14 

    TRUTH IS ADVANCED v.12

      A PERCEPTION  But I would ye should understand, brethren,

A PROBLEM        that the things happened unto me

J.H. Jowett called this section of Philippians “the fortune of misfortune”.  Catastrophe and calamity are difficult to understand.  There are no accidents with God and He doesn’t make mistakes.  We may freak-out into a fatalistic mood swing in our emotions while we pay lip service to the fact that God is sovereign, but God is in control and what looks like a slip or what appears a drastic gaffe we need to release to His purpose.

Not till each loom is silent,

And the shuttles cease to fly,

Shall God reveal the pattern?

And explain the reason why

The dark threads were as needful

In the weaver’s skillful hand

As the threads of gold and silver

For the pattern which He planned

(Poem Author Unknown)

Getting tossed into prison is a far from positive note on any one’s resume but Paul is telling those in Philippi; and, the Spirit of God is speaking to us, saying “Relax, understand My purpose.”

A PROVIDENCE have fallen out rather

So how far do we stretch this stuff?  Is there really a sane line we need to maintain when we hammer negatives into positives?  There are hindrances, obstructions and interferences and there is nothing profitable about living in denial.  On the other hand, God’s Spirit challenges us that nothing is impossible with God so don’t be all devastated at each difficulty.  The gears don’t always mesh smoothly so we’re not to be stoic defeatists.

A PURSUIT       unto the furtherance of the gospel;

There is the Divine side of things and the human side of things and that is what prayer is all about.  Prayer is our vehicle of passage to find “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth”

This word furtherance is a nautical term meaning “to make headway,” “to forge ahead.”  When we are heading somewhere if we are going to experience “furtherance” we are making progress on the journey.  Furtherance is what is known as a reverse invasion.  What appears on the surface, as a ground loss in warfare is actually ground being increased.  Like all paradoxical absurdities this is truth standing on its head to get attention.

You and I may feel at times like we’re going backwards.  We may look at our Nation or our World today and it appears that everything is in a mess and on the decline.  But God is not stumped; nothing hinders Him.  He is moving ahead and asks us to be on board with His purpose of spreading the glory of Christ no matter what the circumstances.

We have a natural suspicion that all things don’t work together for good and a hunch that only the positive experiences in life are God’s blessing.  This is more then a subconscious feeling lurking in the shadows.

John Bunyan while imprisoned in Bedford Prisons where he wrote Pilgrims Progress stated in a sermon: The Advantages of Disadvantages:

“I never had in all my life so great an inlet into the Word of God as now. Those Scriptures that I saw nothing in before are made in this place and state to shine upon me. I have seen that here which I am persuaded I shall never in this world be able to express.”

TRIALS ARE ACKNOWLEDGED V.13

      THE RESTRICTIONS So that my bonds in Christ

THE RECOGNITION  are manifest in all the palace,

                                                  and in all other places; 

Paul’s imprisonment was not a criminal charge but a Christ charge.  It is impossible to confine Christ for no one can imprison an infinite message.  The Sovereign of the universes will not be stymied.  Is there a force trying to thwart truth and prevent the perfection of Jesus’s salvation message?  Yes, there is growing animosity spilling out everywhere.  We cannot live in denial to the oppression of those who reject Jesus.  But we are not to crumble in paranoia.

TREPIDATION IS AVERTED V.14

      The Challenge          And many of the brethren in the Lord, 

The threat of harassment or any kind of rejection can cause us to feel timid and discouraged about saying we’re believers in Jesus.

If there is an increasing risk of loss of individual comfort and freedom in our stand for Christ we could be tempted to defect into various degrees of betrayal.

The Confidence        waxing confident by my bonds, 

Paul was an outspoken leader in His love for Christ and He shared Jesus in every circumstance.  The negative effects of facing persecution to the point of imprisonment had a positive upshot instead.  Paul’s bold leadership in sharing the Gospel even in jail was powerfully effective.

To say that Paul was a fanatic about sharing his relationship with Jesus Christ with everyone is putting it mildly.  He was extreme, passionate and fervently dedicated to impacting everyone with his or her need of Jesus.

John Phillips wrote: “God in Christ had invaded time, and only the truths that related to Him were important in this life. Salvation from sin, a home in Heaven, union with Christ, life in a new dimension, and life driven by a new dynamic were the glorious realities that everybody needed to know. Paul’s sole goal in life was to make Christ known

Paul wrote: “I suffer trouble, as an evildoer, even unto bonds; but the Word of God is not bound” 2 Tim. 2:9

The Courage             are much more bold

Word Studies in the Greek N.T. writes: “The words “waxing confident” come from a word which means, “to persuade.” These Christians had been persuaded by the brave and fearless example of Paul in prison, and had come to a state of settled confidence in the Lord.”

The Communication  to speak the word without fear 

“To speak” means to break silence.  It’s much more comfortable to be a closet Christian, to be an undercover secret agent.  Jesus can be an inconvenient, awkward admission and we are uncomfortable confessing our love of Him.  In the first century to believe in Jesus was more then just politically incorrect it might have meant for me imprisonment, torture and even a gruesome death to present my belief in Christ.

James Boice wrote in his Expositional Commentary that: “Some passages of the Bible have to be understood by the emotions as well as by the mind. To understand them fully you must put yourself into the shoes of the Bible characters and try to feel as they felt.”

Do we really feel that problems are a positive?  James says: “count it all joy with you fall into diverse trials” Jesus taught: “blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and say all manner of evil against you falsely for my name”

It should be are constant prayer, that we could speak the Word without fear.  Phillips renders Matthew 10:29-33 in this way:

“Two sparrows sell for a farthing, don’t they? Yet not a single sparrow falls to the ground without your Father’s knowledge. The very hairs of your head are all numbered. Never be afraid, then – you are far more valuable than sparrows….  Every man who publicly acknowledges me I shall acknowledge in the presence of my Father in Heaven, but the man who disowns me before men I shall disown before my Father in Heaven.’

In a book titled Rut, Rot or Revival, The Problem of Change and Breaking Out of The Status Quo by A.W. Tozer we read the other side of the coin: “Do not try to pray down something that the Lord is telling you to do.  We are to witness boldly about Jesus Christ, not just pray about witnessing.  We have His commandment and as John says if we have His commandment and keep it, or in other words do it, Jesus will manifest Himself to us in special ways. John 14:21

The thought I take from this is not that we should not pray, no, we should pray as much as we breathe.  But prayer is not a closet of inactivity in which we wait for the idealization of circumstances.  The Jordan river would not part until the Israelis put their foot into it’s raging full waters.  We have to take steps and step in.        

PHONINESS IS A POSITIVE V.15-18  

     DIVERSE PRESENTATIONS

         (METHODS OF COMMUNICATION)

CRUEL PREACHING V.15

                  Some indeed preach Christ even of envy

Envy is an attitude of spite.  This lack of kindness boils in resentment at seeing the success of another.  It is strange that there was a jealous begrudging over the influence Paul was having as a communicator.

CAUSTIC PREACHING      and strife;

Strife means factious rivalry, it is being divisive, contentious and controversial.  We see this in the competitive spirit of various denominations where there can be hair splitting and axe grinding about an assortment of non-essential positions.

There is no room in the ministry for being competitive.  We are to each just serve Christ,  not seeking credit or recognition.  We’re not trying to outdo, outshine or outdistance one another.

Kent Hughes writes: “These preachers were not heretics or apostates. They were not preaching another gospel or another Christ, if they had been, Paul would have said, as he did to the Galatians, “Let him be accursed” Galatians 1:8, 9. Paul’s detractors were preaching the Biblical Jesus. They were not anti-Christ but anti-Paul.” 

The Greek historian Xenophon said, “The envious are those annoyed only at their friends’ successes.” So envy is more set on depriving the other person of the desired thing than to gain it.

John of the Cross described its pathology in the church: “As far as envy is concerned, many experience displeasure when they see others in possession of spiritual goods. They feel sensibly hurt because others surpass them on this road, and they resent it when others are praised.”

CONSCIENTIOUS PREACHING and some also of good will: 

Good will is sometimes translated “good pleasure” and “desire” it implies a gracious purpose, a good object being in view, with the idea of a resolve to please another.

We see good will used in Eph. 1:5; Rom. 10:1 and 2 Thess. 1:11.

Eph. 1:5: “having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,

Rom. 10:1 my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved.”

2 Thess. 1:11: “we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power.”

Good will is the word used when the Angels announced the birth of Jesus saying glory to God in the highest and on the earth peace, good will to men.

John MacArthur refers to this as “the positive motive of desiring what is best for others.”

CONTENTIOUS PREACHING V.16

                The one preach Christ of contention, 

When preachers become territorial, possessive and illogically controlling, it produces a spirit of conflict and controversy.

It’s not “our church”, it’s not “our people” and it’s not “our truth”.  Christ is the head of the church and we are His people, He is the Lord of all truth.

CORRUPT PREACHING not sincerely, 

When the purity of the gospel is mixed with the dirt of contention, jealousy and insincerity, it’s perplexing and confusing.

CALLOUS PREACHING supposing to add affliction to my bonds:

The word “affliction” suggests the aggravating and the burning friction of a prisoner’s chains against his ankles and wrists.

These preachers were hoping their success would irritate Paul. They hoped that thoughts of their freedom (compared to his incarceration) would gall him. It is hard to imagine how anyone could be so mean-spirited, but there are people who take pleasure in other people’s reverses.

COMPASSIONATE PREACHING V.17 But the other of love,

Love is focused on sacrifice not self-enhancement.  Love reaches out to strengthen, encourage and promote another.  Self-enhancement is narcissistic egomania.

What a concept, to be energized and motivated by love for others in all that we say and do for others.  How tragic that we can share a message of love with base intent.

CONCERNED PREACHING

                knowing that I am set for the defense of the gospel.

Kent Hughes writes “Life will have its ups and downs for all of us. There will be times when we will feel metaphorically chained by the circumstances of life—misunderstood, maligned, ignored, spitefully used. But if the gospel is first in our life, we will be able to say with Paul, “What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice”

DETERMINED PROCEEDS V.18 What then? Notwithstanding,

          every way, whether in pretense, or in truth, Christ is preached;

          and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice.

THE PROVISION OF PROSPECT V.12-20

PROBLEMS ARE A POSITIVE  V.12-14 

    TRUTH IS ADVANCED v.12

      A PERCEPTION  But I would ye should understand, brethren,

A PROBLEM        that the things happened unto me

A PROVIDENCE have fallen out rather

A PURSUIT           unto the furtherance of the gospel;

TRIALS ARE ACKNOWLEDGED V.13

      THE RESTRICTIONS So that my bonds in Christ

THE RECOGNITION  are manifest in all the palace,

                                                  and in all other places;

TREPIDATION IS AVERTED V.14 And many of the brethren in

                                           the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are

                                     much more bold to speak the word without fear.     

PHONINESS IS A POSITIVE V.15-18  

    DIVERSE PRESENTATIONS

        (METHODS OF COMMUNICATION)

     CRUEL PREACHING V.15 Some indeed preach Christ even of envy

CAUSTIC PREACHING      and strife;

CONSCIENTIOUS PREACHING and some also of good will:

CONTENTIOUS PREACHING V.16

                                                        The one preach Christ of  contention,

CORRUPT PREACHING not sincerely,

CALLOUS PREACHING supposing to add affliction to my bonds:

COMPASSIONATE PREACHING V.17 But the other of love,

CONCERNED PREACHING knowing that I am set for

                                                              the defense of the gospel.

DETERMINED PROCEEDS V.18 What then? Notwithstanding,  

                      every way, whether in pretense, or in truth, Christ is

                      preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice

12. THE POWER OF JOY IN THE PRISON OF PAIN IN PHIL. (part11)

PRAYERS PETITIONS V.10-11  that ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ Being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by  Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.

INSIGHTFUL LIVING V.10

APPROVAL               That ye may approve

ADVISABILITY         things that are excellent;

Prayer for a deeper love of God leads us in a more intense love for others.  Our prayer is to see through His Word the design of insightful living where we have a growing intuitive perception in the best of things.  There are average things; there are good things but we want to approve the things that are excellent.

There a difference in things sold at Kmart and Wal-Mart in contrast to items purchased at Nordstrom’s or Bloomingdales.

The meat at Jack n the Box is a different quality then the steaks at the Metropolitan Grill and Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse.

Abounding love v.9 develops the cultivation in the approval of things of excellence.  The word “approve” translates to mean to examine and discern; in other words – refined discernment. It not only decides what is right and wrong; but, proves what is excellent, in contrast to that which is good.

We are to pray for ourselves. We are to pray for others.  Our petitions need to be specific. Our growth in love should refine in us an ability to test, verify, examine, judge and evaluate. We should be able to verify the authenticity of what has worth and value, in contrast to what is worthless and shoddy so we plea for the best.

Excellence literally means to carry through, to convey more worth, and to increase in superiority. We are to discriminate and distinguish to that which carries the greatest weight.

God’s investment in us proves our value to Him.  He gave us Jesus a life of perfect excellence.  Jesus sacrificed His all for His Father and thus for us.

What is our assessment of God’s expressions that demonstrate His love to us in His Word?  The Psalmist gives us his appraisal of God’s words of love in Psalms 19:10 – “more to be desired are they then gold, yes then much fine gold.”  His life carries through for us a life of excellence and His Word is a book of excellence.

Where are we in our evaluations?  We’re to pray that our love of God’s Word will be lifted to the highest of qualities, to develop the best character.  This approval is the attire that influences our inner life and clothes us on the outside to grow in love.  Are we surrounding our life in the wardrobe of Heavens best?

So much has been invested in us and this affirms our value. We are to live in the reality of our worth, in all of these investments of love.

INDISPUTABLE LEGITIMACY

SINCERE                  that ye may be sincere

The word sincere means without wax and uncontaminated.  Containers were often made of pottery in the first century.  If the vessel was flawed with cracks, wax was used to hide those cracks.

Royal Copenhagen Flora Danica is the world’s most expensive, commercially produced china. Flora Danica retails for $6, 975 per place setting.  Imagine, 7k for one place setting!  What if I dropped a plate like this and then glued it back together?  It would be insincere, damaged goods and marred with corruption.  God has picked us up from our brokenness and now commissions us to be renewed in His excellent Son and don’t paste ourselves together with the wax of this world.

We have a little 3-pound dog that we value as our baby.  I was walking her in Kirkland along the beach last summer and a lady offered me 4k for her.  I tend to be a little mercenary so I called my wife with the proposal.  She was not pleased with my avaricious implications.  I said but she only has four teeth left.  There was no sway in the situation as my wife’s sentimental attachments put greater value on our micro pooch.  What is best to my wife is her feelings about this little bundle of fur, me the $4000.

Our God values us and He wants us to approve His estimation. To be sincere to our genuine worth is to live according to the indisputable legitimacy of our authenticity.  Are we loyal to the sacrifice that has been given for us?  We were purchased at an infinite price and to live in a cheap cut rate way is shoddy and dishonoring.

SENSITIVE               and without offence till the day of Christ

What happens when we’re offensive, distasteful and repulsive?  We turn people off, drive them away and stumble those we want to have a positive influence on.  I’ve been taking medication for pain to keep me from getting painted into a corner with muscle, joint and nerve inflammation that limits my mobility. But what solves one issue of pain agitates another of internal tension.  My inner tolerance is sensitive, causing feelings of belligerence and confrontational vibrations.  I’m not claiming to be free of some natural tendencies to be a jerk, but these last few years with two surgeries and multiply steroidal spinal injections has really been exposing my tackiness.

We need to be sensitive to the drifts of situations for each day is an opportunity for Jesus.  He deserves to have a warm worshipping welcome when He returns.  When I stood in front of a room full of guests at my wedding it would have been a raw deal if my bride staggered down the aisle in rags all disheveled and intoxicated.

Wuest Word Studies defines “Without offence” as literally, “not cut against, not stumbled against.”

We, in living for the worth and honor of Christ, are to discern each step we take in our lives in respect for Jesus, in respect for others and in self respect so we are not a stumbling block to others.

IMBUED LIGHT V.11

CONTROLLED          Being filled with the fruits of righteousness

“Being filled” is a reference to what completes us or what controls us.  If I’m filled with fear or insecurity then that’s what will regulate my behavior.  If I’m filled with irritation and intolerance then offensive responses overflow out.

“The fruits” is a reference to the characteristics or flavor.  Fruit is the outer expressions and qualities of what we let control us.  What we all allow to sway our lives will produce a crop of fruits, flavors and characteristics.

Fruits of righteousness are the outcome of our lives when we are centering our life in God’s Spirit and allowing His Spirit to guide us and fill us.  The end result is the righteous fruit of love, joy, peace, longsuffering (selfless tolerance), gentleness, goodness, kindness, generosity, faith, meekness (non-demanding) temperance (self-discipline).  We hear these valuable characteristics and we should hunger and thirst for there excellence.

CHRIST-LIKE           which are by Jesus Christ,

God’s Spirit states in Romans that no one is righteous, not one. We arrive at this vital conclusion, to make us realize we constantly need our Savior, Jesus Christ who is righteous, perfect, and our only source of righteousness.  He took our unrighteousness and imputed His righteous character to our credits.  Our bankruptcy has been cleared by His love.

Jesus is very clear in John 15 where He says: “without me you can do nothing” We have to abide in Christ, draw our life from Him, depend on Him and relax in Him.

In John 15 we see connection, communion, continuity, and cleansing in Jesus, which results in degrees of Christ-like character, of fruit, more fruit and much fruit.

In this list of petitions we are seeing the simple need of asking for Jesus to live in and through us to thrive and proliferate in His love for us, His love in us and His love through us.  He is attached to us as our vine of connection and lives for us.  The flavor of His character is not something we can produce it’s the result of our attachment to His constant love.  Sitting and relaxing is not that difficult if you have a warm comfortable place to rest in.  We just need to grow in the attractiveness of leaning into the comfort of His love.

COMMENDABLE     unto the glory and praise of God.

The obvious result of what we are relying on for our life is by who is being magnified and enlarged.  John demonstrated his greatness by saying He has to increase and I need to decrease. This is why we plea to God that His love will abound in our life more and more.

PRAYERS PETITIONS V.9-11

INSIGHTFUL LIVING V.10

APPROVAL               That ye may approve

ADVISABILITY         things that are excellent;

INDISPUTABLE LEGITIMACY

SINCERE                    that ye may be sincere

SENSITIVE                and without offence till the day of Christ

IMBUED LIGHT V.11

CONTROLLED           Being filled with the fruits of righteousness

CHRIST-LIKE             which are by Jesus Christ,

COMMENDABLE       unto the glory and praise of God.

8. The Power of Joy In The Prison Of Pain in Philippians (part7) 

Prayers Pressure Philippians 1:7 

Pressure and impossibility instructs us to turn from the finite to the infinite.  The hopelessness of pain, the bleakness of things that appear to never change and the loneliness of isolation from our dreams, these are our teachers the chauffeur’s of faith.

Everything is temporary and fluctuating.  The only things that last are God’s purposes and will.  It is the Lord’s choices that are worth our time and effort.  The prison of pain is our trainer in faith.

God draws us into the working out of His purposes and choices by prayer and He provokes us to prayer by pain.   Prayer is not pleading for God to do what He’s hesitant to do.  Prayer is entering into what our Lord has revealed in His Word as His eternal plans.

The Spirit prompts us to ask through His Word and then by His nudges in the daily pressures of life.

Nothing transpires outside of God’s will along with our response through prayer to His purposes.  We are called into fellowship to be co-workers with God by prayer.  Has God placed limits on Himself by our response to pray out His plan by our participation?  This is the mystery of abiding in Christ.

God is sovereign and will never be defeated, as He will raise up someone somewhere to enter in, in prayer for His glory and will to be achieved.  We don’t want to miss out by shriveling individually from pain and by not responding to the pressures of life.  The impossibilities are prompts, too lead to His presence and power for each detail of inadequacy around us.

  Pray Concerned  Even as its right for me to think this of you all

There is a partnership and participation where prayer is concerned.  There’s a right way to think and sort through the diverse variations of our experience when things appear to polarize.  Daily occurrences can trip us up and land us into the opposite results.  We had hoped for a result but are bashed by opposing forces.  This can’t be allowed to drag us down but instead we need these harassing devices as a lift too pray on.

The Amplified renders this, it is right and appropriate for me to have this confidence and feel this way about you all, because you have me in your heart and I hold you in my heart as partakers and sharers one and all with me, of grace (God’s unmerited favor and spiritual blessing) This is true, both when I am shut up in prison and when I’m out in the defense and confirmation of the Good News of Christ.

  Pray Compassionately BecauseI have you in my heart

Our affections are touched for others and we enter in to the feelings of Christ as we share in His heart in prayer.

  Pray Committed         inasmuch as both in my bonds 

There is an obligation we feel for others as we participate in there inner needs for Jesus.

Prayer Participation

  Pray Convincingly

     Endorse                  and in the defense

    Encourage             and confirmation of the gospel,

     Embrace                 you all are partakers of my grace.

Prayer is an involvement of sharing where the reality of faith validates all that is ours in the Lord as the Spirit of God corroborates an inner encouragement.  We embrace God’s compelling empowering grace as He lifts us up to Himself and holds us close in His love.

Heb. 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today and forever.

We exist in fluctuating changeable circumstances inside and all around us.  Stuff is jumping at us within, without and times it appears to be everywhere.  We find our joy in meditating on Jesus and the calm of His changelessness.  He is constant, consistent and coherent as our reliable source.

In the puritan writing called the poor man’s portion we read:

“We come to Jesus, our Jesus, our Savior; He shall save His people from their sins.  He is Christ, God our Fathers Christ and our Christ.  He is the Anointed, the Sent, the Sealed of Jehovah, the same in His glorious person the same in His great salvation.  He is the same, looking back into everlasting, today, equally so through all the periods of time, forever the same looking forward to the eternity to come.  He is the same in His love, in the efficacy of His redemption, His blood to cleanse, His righteousness to justify.  He is the same in the fullness of supply of grace here and now and glory here after.”

In the middle of all our variableness and the frames of our unpredictability, in our fears, our doubts, faults, failings and faithlessness.  He is unchanging and stands faithful.  We can come to Jesus in our need.