NOTWITHSTANDING
Philippians 1:12-20
After a customary but heartfelt introduction to his letter, Paul addresses a major concern the Philippians had about him. They wondered how he was faring in prison. In this passage Paul begins to tell them.
Philippians 1:12-20
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As I was preparing this message I began thinking about a song.
It was one of Johnny Cash’s songs. I don’t recall hearing it before his death but the refrain has stayed with me. The song is about a love that went wrong. I know that’s rare for a country song. Anyway the refrain says, “I don’t like it but I guess things happen that way.” It portrays a reluctant, even bitter, surrender to circumstances beyond the singer’s control.
Over the years you’ve learned I like to study words, particularly their root meanings.
The word we’re looking at today comes from Latin roots. "Circumstances"—literally means what encircles the place where we stand. That's why some people feel hemmed in by their circumstances.
When troubled people say to you, “You just don’t know my circumstances,” they’re saying, “You’re not standing where I’m standing.” That’s why it’s usually a bad idea to tell someone facing a crisis that you understand just what they’re going through. Chances are you don’t.
Circumstances can refer to the place we're in, the people who surround us, the powerlessness we feel.
Take a look at Paul's circumstances as he wrote these words.
He was in prison. No longer under simple house arrest. He was in chains, possibly chained to a guard.
He was being watched by the Praetorian guard, the emperor’s elite bodyguard. Imagine the swearing and course jokes in that environment.
Some Christian leaders were out to harm him. Sad but sometimes it happens that way. Their identity isn't clear; those who might have been expected to support him were opposing him.
He faces a possible death sentence. With the unpredictable Nero on the throne he could have been executed on a whim.
We would understand if Paul had responded to his circumstances with gloominess and depression.
But, how did he respond?
1. He responded with joy. "I rejoice. And, I will continue to rejoice." [Paul uses "joy" or "rejoice" some 14 times in this brief letter.]
Here’s Lawrence Richard talking about the Biblical idea of joy:
"The New Testament sees joy as something that is independent of circumstances. The believer's joy is found in the inner work of the Holy Spirit, who, despite trials or suffering, is bringing us salvation. Thus joy, like peace, is rooted in trust in the Lord. As for externals, the greatest source of joy for the Christian is found in serving other believers and in seeing God work in their lives."
Paul demonstrated this quality so often he has sometimes been called, "the Joyful Christian."
2. He responded with a God-given confidence. Paul will return to the matter of his circumstances at the end of the letter.
I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have renewed
your concern for me. Indeed, you have been concerned, but you had no
opportunity to show it. I am not saying this because I am in need, for I
have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to
be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret
of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry,
whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who
gives me strength.
Contentment is another interesting word. We sometimes use it in an almost derogatory sense, as a synonym for complacency. The Greeks used the word to suggest self-sufficiency. That’s not how Paul is using the word. Linking the word with what he says about his reliance on Christ for strength, Paul is actually saying, “With Christ, I’m up to my circumstances whatever they may be.”
Out of Paul’s testimony we learn some important lessons: Circumstances notwithstanding we can have joy and confidence.
In the midst of tough circumstances…
I
We May Rely on Several Powerful Resources
1. In adverse circumstances we should seek the prayers of the saints. (19)
Paul knew he needed prayer.
He especially sought their prayers that he might continue to proclaim the gospel with courage and integrity (20). He knew the danger of compromise to make things just a little easier. He knew that he could break under the pressure--without their prayers.
If you’re facing a difficult circumstance, have you done something as simple as ask someone to pray for you?
2. In adverse circumstances we should rely on the power of the Spirit. (19)
The word translated “helps” means "abundant help."
For Paul, a man in prison for preaching the gospel, to mention the help given by the Spirit has a special significance. Remember, Jesus had promised that the Spirit would give help to Christians facing hostile judges. (Mark 13:11 "Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit.")
The Spirit gives help to those praying in times of difficulty and confusion. (Romans 8:26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.)
Sometimes, in the midst of adverse circumstances, we Christians seem to suffer from a kind of spiritual amnesia. We forget Christ has given us the gift of his Spirit, the One who can provide "abundant power" to enable us to face what we must face.
As we rely on the prayers of caring fellow believers and on the power of the Spirit…
II
How Should We Respond to Tough Circumstances?
How did Paul respond to his circumstances? His response forms a pattern for us. If we follow his pattern what will we do in the midst of adverse circumstances?
1. Respond to adverse circumstances by keeping your eyes open for God's surprises.
Could we have blamed Paul had he written said something like this?
“They’ve put me in this cell and I’m surrounded by all kinds of obstacles. You know, many times I stood on the deck of a ship, with the wind in my hair and the sea-spray on my face. I would stand there looking at the horizon, trying to see some new place to preach the good news about Jesus.
“Now all that’s gone. I’m stuck here in this cell and I can’t do anything. I might as well die.”
Did Paul say that? No, he said something like this.
“They’ve put me in this cell and I’m surrounded by all kinds of opportunities. I can pray, I can think, I can witness. And there’s one more thing I can do—get me some paper and pens.”
While he was in prison, Paul prayed. In each of the prison epistles he reports spending time in prayer for the churches.
While he was in prison Paul witnessed. In this passage he speaks of his witness to the guards, elsewhere we learn that he led the runaway slave Onesimus to Christ while he was in prison.
While he was in prison Paul had time to think. Consider what he wrote from his prison—Ephesians, Colossians, and Philippians—letters which contain some of his most profound thought. Later, when he is once again in prison, he will ask Timothy to bring him his “books and parchments.”
While he was in prison Paul wrote. Paul couldn’t go to the churches he loved, but he could write to them. He could communicate his passion for Christ through the written word. He could advise and challenge them.
Centuries later Baptist John Bunyan went to prison repeatedly for his faith. In prison, he wrote fourteen books, including the classic Pilgrim’s Progress.
While he was in prison Paul had a positive impact on the larger Christian community. Somehow, in some way, Christians outside the prison had been encouraged to share the gospel. (14) With Paul in prison we might have expected them to be afraid; instead, they witnessed more vigorously.
In your tough circumstances have you let God surprise you?
Listen, the circumstances you’re facing may be beyond my capacity to understand, I won’t pretend to understand. But I know God understands.
Let the God who understands surprise you in th4e midst of your circumstances. I will he surprise you? I don’t know. If I did, it wouldn’t be a surprise.
He may surprise you with a song. Many of our most beloved hymns were written by ordinary people facing extraordinary circumstances with God. He may surprise you with a new friend. He may surprise you with a new sense of purpose. Let him choose the surprise.
2. Respond to adverse circumstances by maintaining a positive perspective.
There are two words here which are very instructive. "some-most".
Some opposed Paul, most supported him.
Some rejoiced at his imprisonment, most prayed for him to be released.
Some saw themselves as his rivals, most saw themselves as his coworkers.
Some were negative about the church and were ready to give up; most were positive about the church, believing its greatest days were ahead.
It’s been a long time since I worked in the “secular” world, but I suspect one discovery I made is still true: In most workplaces the decent, hardworking people outnumber the jerks.
If your circumstance takes you to the hospital, that’s a tough thing to face. You may meet doctors and nurses who are indifferent. Yet, I’ve been around hospitals enough to realize that the staff members who care outnumber the ones only going through the motions.
Don’t let your circumstances blind you to the good people around you. Don’t let your circumstances cause you to withdraw.
3. Respond to adverse circumstances by evaluating your circumstances in light of what is truly important.
What was important to Paul? Comfort? Freedom?
For Paul the most important thing was the proclamation of the gospel. He was pleased that his supporters were inspired to share the gospel. He was even pleased that those who opposed him were, nonetheless, sharing the gospel of Christ. (15-18)
The identity of those who opposed Paul is not certain. They would not have been any of the false teachers. Frank Theilman comments, "These rivals to Paul...seem to oppose the apostle for personal reasons and to have used Paul's imprisonment as an opportunity to advance their personal agendas."
Paul was not saying the motives of preachers was unimportant; he is saying that their personal opinion of him was unimportant.
This practice of evaluating what is happening around us in light of what is most important to us can give us a whole new perspective on our circumstances.
Almost inevitably, when storm survivors are interviewed, we hear two types of response. One person will be devastated and say, "We've lost everything!" Another, whose home may have also been destroyed will say, "Things can be replaced, our family got away safely."
What if what the circumstances do touch what is most important to you? At that point you must...
4. Respond to adverse circumstances by quietly submitting the God whose intent to accomplish our good cannot be twarted.
Paul could have raged against God but didn't. He hoped for freedom but submitted all to God. Whether his "deliverance" came in this life or the next, he would leave the matter to God.
By the way, there’s an important principle seen here. If you are in bad circumstances, there is nothing wrong about yearning to be in a better place.
Why did Paul submit? He saw the wisdom of going with God. Homer Kent once wrote, "By ways that could never have been foreseen by man alone, God had accomplished within the space of thirty short years the spreading of the gospel of Jesus Christ from its humble beginnings in obscure Judea to its defense before Caesar at the center of the Empire." In the midst of his tough circumstances, Paul remembered what we sometimes forget in the midst of our tough circumstances: No circumstance is tough for God.
This raises a critical question: In your difficult circumstances, is a rebel flag waving above your heart or have you surrendered to the sovereign God?
Conclusion
Let me tell you about a woman I met years ago.
She was a Christian but never really had much use for the church. I suspect she believed most preachers were frauds or, hopelessly, impractical in what they had to say. She spent most of her life with the “some-most” formula reversed.
She had had her share of sorrows, but really no more than many others have faced. While most people understood that some sorrow and loss is a tragic, but not unprecedented, part of life, she seemed to think that each tragedy was aimed especially at her.
While most of us have both good and bad memories, she seemed only able to remember the bad. She once told me that she had relived each day of her life by just thinking about it. I never met anyone better able to see the negative side of anything.
Her husband died and she never stopped blaming him for leaving her. During the twenty years following his death, her family encouraged her to make friends, travel, get involved with a church. To each suggestion, she responded, in effect, “You just don’t know my circumstances.”
If someone pointed out that her husband had left her financially comfortable, with a nice house, in a quiet, safe community where she had close family members, she would respond by saying, “I never wanted to move here.”
If someone got tough and pointed out she was in relatively good health, compared to many her age, and might want to “count her blessings,” she would say, “What blessings?”
She let her circumstances throw a shadow over her whole life. Because she refused to see beyond those circumstances, she lost her friends, failed to get to know her grandchildren, and never knew the joy of being part of a Christian fellowship. The circumstance won.
Are you facing some tough circumstances?
Do you feel surrounded by those cheering for your failure and defeat?
Have you peeked at the next page of the calendar
and
seen only a large question mark?
Isn't wonderful to know we can face our circumstances with confidence and joy
