2021-07-25 – Philippians 1:12-20 – When Life Gives You Lemons

2021-07-25 – Philippians 1:12-20 – When Life Gives You Lemons

Good morning everyone. It is so nice to be able to spend some time with you all in fellowship with the Lord. Thank you and God bless you for being with us today.

What a wonderful weekend it has been. I just love a mid-west summertime. One thing I look forward to each year about this time is getting outside and enjoying the parks and recreation this part of our world has to offer. There is nothing better than getting with family and friends and enjoying the great outdoors. And I look forward to the barbeques and picnics with all the food and fixings, yum yum. And on a sweltering hot mid-summer day, you just can’t beat a nice glass of ice-cold real lemonade. Are you with me on this?

Well many folks have their own best way to make their lemon aid, but whatever recipe you choose to use, if it isn’t real lemons, then it isn’t real lemon aid in my opinion. You can’t just go out and buy that at Walmart, you have to get the lemons, cut up the lemons, squeeze the lemons, add the sugar, and then get it as ice-cold as humanly possible. That is done right, brothers and sisters. I love a good lemon aid that is fur sure.

Well today’s title is “When Life Gives You Lemons”, and I hope you will be refreshed by the content of this here message.

Please turn now to Philippians 1:12, page 1040 in your pew Bibles, which we call God’s Inspired, Infallible and Living Word.   Prayer..

Last week, we first opened up this letter-book of Philippians where Paul gave the Christians in Philippi a real heartfelt and welcoming greeting. I believe that Paul conveyed very well in that greeting, that he thought of them as his true Partners in Grace. He very much appreciated their kind support and love for him over the years. And especially now since Paul finds himself again, as he writes this letter, locked-up in another prison cell. Paul’s ministry and missions spanned some thirty-five years, from the time of his conversion in 33 AD. to his death in 68 AD. And besides being physically punished, Paul also landed himself in prison at least three separate times that are recorded in scripture. But as Paul stated himself that he knew well both the times of plenty, living in the laps of luxury, and the times of adversity, like he finds himself in now. Paul was truly a resilient minister.

That was our opening for these verses Paul writes from prison. Verse 12 reads:

12 Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually advanced the gospel, 13 so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard, and to everyone else, that my imprisonment is because I am in Christ. 14 Most of the brothers have gained confidence in the Lord from my imprisonment and dare even more to speak the word fearlessly.

I will remind you that the reason Paul was in that prison in Rome in the first place, was because he requested to have an audience with Cesar. You see Paul was both a Jew and a Roman citizen, so he had that right if he chose to do so. Years prior, while being held in custody in Caesarea, Paul appealed to have his court case heard by Caesar himself (Acts 25:12). Then later, while Paul was on his way to Rome, an angel said to Paul “Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar (Acts 27:24). It was also prophesied that he would one day preach “before the Gentiles and kings” (Acts 9:15). And later in this letter (Phil 4:22), Paul wrote “All the saints greet you, especially those of Caesar’s household”. So, although Scripture doesn’t record Paul actually preaching to Cesar, it is my prayer that he eventually had that opportunity. At a bare minimum we know according to this letter that he converted some of the imperial guards and made friends with those in Caesar household while awaiting his case to be heard.

God’s Will, will certainly be done brothers and sisters, you can count on that. God will accomplish what He wants to accomplish, regardless of the circumstances we face. I love what is written in Romans 8:28 in this regard. [SLIDE] Paul wrote, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose”. God worked a lot of good through Paul and his situations, and God can use you and I, and our situations to accomplish His will and purpose as well.  Paul continues now at verse 15:

15 To be sure, some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of good will. 16 These preach out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel; 17 the others proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, thinking that they will cause me trouble in my imprisonment. 18 What does it matter? Only that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is proclaimed, and in this I rejoice.

Paul is conveying to them and us, that God is in control, and God is working in many different ways and through many different people. Some people with good intentions and some with not so good intentions, but if the end-result is that the Gospel is being shared, then that is a good thing. Today that same dynamic is happening all around us. For instance, there are many different kinds of churches in the Quad Cities, not as many as what is in the Bible-Belt maybe, but still many different churches. I would guess that not all of them are “churching” the same way that we do “churching”. They may be even using the same Holy Bible that we use, but I am here to tell you that if you walk into their church door, you might be surprised to see that they do things much different that we do. But as long as the Gospel is preached, and Jesus is worshipped, then we should consider it good.

Paul was happy that people were sharing the Gospel. Yes, he could have attempted to clamp down on them, and made his ministry one of ridicule and criticism, but he chose not to waist his time on such things. I would contend that we should choose to follow Paul’s example. Spend your energy and efforts on equipping believers and making believers, not taring down others that may not do things exactly the way you do, or worship the way you worship. That is what Paul was getting at here, and he set an example for the Philippians and us to emulate.

This teaching illustration also reminds me of another instance in scripture when Jesus was discipling His disciples. In Mark 9:38-39 John said to [Jesus], “Teacher, we saw someone else driving out demons in Your name, and we tried to stop him, because he does not accompany us.” “Do not stop him,” Jesus replied. “For no one who performs a miracle in My name can turn around and speak evil of Me. For whoever is not against us is for us.

In our verses today, it is clear that Paul was spreading the Gospel as he was still locked up in prison. People saw that he was the real deal and it made a solid impact on many people’s lives. Even some of the imperial guards were being brought into the fold of Christ. Likewise, when people see us going through our tough times, and they see that we elect to maintain our Christian character and choose not to fold, it can make an eternal difference. Maybe you are struggling to pay your bills. Maybe you lost your job or your car gets broken into. Maybe you have a death in the family. It is in those tough times that people start watching how you “dear Christian” will respond. Pass the test brothers and sisters.

Like Paul, let them see that your peace and contentment “that surpasses all understanding” holds strong. And in that, you too can impact the world for Christ. Who knows what lasting impact Paul had made on those people in that prison. Who knows what lasting impact Paul had on that city of Rome. However, I think it no coincidence that Rome just happens to be but three miles from what is now called the Vatican City. [SLIDE]

A fourth-century image of St. Paul the Apostle on the walls of the Santa Thecla catacomb beneath Rome. Vatican archeologists say the image is the oldest in existence.
(CNS/Reuters/Pontifical Commission for Sacred Archeology)

Again, at verse 18 Paul wrote, “whether from false motives or true, Christ is proclaimed, and in this I rejoice”. [SLIDE] Paul continues, he wrote] Yes, and I will continue to rejoice 19 because I know this will lead to my salvation through your prayers and help from the Spirit of Jesus Christ. 20 My eager expectation and hope is that I will not be ashamed about anything, but that now as always, with all courage, Christ will be highly honored in my body, whether by life or by death.

Paul, although he was in prison, although he was probably in chains when he wrote this letter, he still found that he was able to rejoice. I got to tell you, I am not so confident that I would be rejoicing in those circumstances. Remember though, he is the same guy who wrote in 2 Corinthians 12:10 “So I take pleasure in weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and in difficulties, for the sake of Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” Paul wasn’t just one who talked the talk, but he was somebody who walked the talk. And that is most evident here. Paul rejoiced in the face of suffering and hardship, and he even encouraged others as well in the process.

I would guess that at this point Paul didn’t know if he was going to be released or be executed. However, he trusted in Christ to work it out for his deliverance. Whether he lived or died, Paul wanted to exalt Christ in everything. Only true faith in Jesus Christ could possibly sustain him in such challenging adversity.
I want that kind of faith, don’t you?

Sadly, for those who don’t believe in God, they might think this life here on earth is all that there really is. So, it is natural for them to strive to get all this world has to offer – money, popularity, power, pleasure and prestige, take no prisoners, full-speed ahead. They might just get their reward here on Earth, and with it an eventual eternity in hell as well. Jesus wept for those people, Paul suffered for those people, and we should too. Such a tragedy it is, and such a shame.

As we see demonstrated in our text today, Paul loved the Lord and he knew, that to really live, meant Christ. Therefore, Paul endeavored to tell as many as he could about Jesus, who alone could help them see life from an eternal perspective. Paul’s whole purpose in life was to speak out boldly for Christ and to become more like him day by day. Thus, Paul confidently said that for him, dying would be even better than living. Because you see in death he would be removed from all his worldly troubles, and he would then get to see Christ face to face. But for Paul, as long as he was still alive on Earth, he had work to do for Christ.

If Paul were here today, I bet he would proclaim that if you are not ready to die for Christ, then you’re really not ready to really live for Christ either. Make certain of your eternal destiny by putting your trust in Jesus today. Then, like Paul, you will be free to serve – free to devote your life to what really counts, without any fear of death, knowing that your home is prepared for you already in heaven. Your goal and your prize and your crowns are stored up for you, and your eternal hope is in hearing those precious words from Jesus one day, “Well done, good and faithful servant”.

“When Life Gives You Lemons – Make Some Lemonade”.
Dale Carnegie coined that phrase in his self-help book called How to Stop Worrying and Start Living. Carnegie said he wrote that book, because he “was one of the unhappiest lads in New York”. He said that he made himself sick with worry because he hated his position in life. Maybe you too can sympathize with Mr. Carnegie at times. He ended up selling more than 50 million copies of that book. As large a number as that is though, it pales in comparison to God’s Holy Bible. If you just ask Google, it will tell you that it is estimated that over 5 Billion copies of our Holy Bible have been printed. It has been the number one best seller of all time and for all time. And it is most worthy of your attention.

The words of Paul we read today have been read by people all over the world in most every language. And Paul is a great example for all of us to consider studying. The key to Paul’s faith life was that he truly believed that this life we have here is but temporary. That when we leave this life, because of Jesus, we get to go to paradise, we get to go to heaven and be with God for the rest of eternity. Therefore, nothing this world has to offer can compare with the joy that we will have when we are with him. I pray you have that strong of confidence. I pray you choose to live your life like Paul, and “count it all joy”.
Despite the hardships, despite the challenges, despite the pain, we can truly know that “in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose”.

Would you please stand as we prepare to close.

Have you been called into the purpose of Jesus Christ?
Have you chosen to give-up your agenda and taking on instead the purpose of the Gospel? Are you willing to stand up for Jesus Christ and call Him your personal Lord and Savior?

I hope you have. Would you now join me in prayer..

[Music].