Developing a Purpose (Philippians 1:12-30)
Last week we started looking at Philippians.? It’s a personal letter written by somebody in very difficult circumstances.? Surprisingly, it’s a letter that’s full of joy.? One of the reasons I want to look at this letter is to try to discover how we – no matter what circumstances we’re living through – can live beyond the mundane to live lives of joy.? If you have your Bibles with you today, I invite you to open them to Philippians 1.
As I think back through history, most of the people who were able to accomplish great things did so in the context of very difficult circumstances.
Dr. Martin Luther King
Nelson Mandela
Corrie Ten Boom
Some people are able to accomplish great things in very difficult circumstances.? What’s more, they’re able to maintain a sense of calm and purpose.? This matters to us because we spend a lot of time looking for reasonably good circumstances before we make our mark.? How is it possible to rise above the circumstances of life?? How is it possible to make a mark and live a life that’s not only joyful but significant?? Today, I’d like to look at a passage of Scripture that tells us how.
Paul’s Circumstances
I want to begin by giving you my theory about how it’s possible to rise above our circumstances.
Key: To live for something that is bigger than our circumstances
Kouzes and Posner in The Leadership Challenge put it this way:
What gets you going in the morning, eager to embrace whatever might be in store?? What motivates you to do your best, day in and day out?? Why do people push their own limits to get extraordinary things done?
A lot of us have tried to answer this question in a lot of different ways:
Our jobs
Our families
Possessions
Pleasures
The problem with all of these is that they’re not big enough or permanent enough to overcome the obstacles we face in life.? The problem is – most of us have nothing bigger to sustain us, give us purpose and joy even in incredibly difficult circumstances.
Paul’s circumstances:
12And I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters, that everything that has happened to me here has helped to spread the Good News.
“Everything that happened to me”:
This is about more than just prison.? There were likely some other more recent circumstances that Paul was writing about.? Perhaps Paul had been moved from house arrest, or his trial date was approaching.? It was something that was considered bad news.? Paul’s problems included:
1. PRISON
Paul’s prison was a literal one.? We may be facing circumstances we didn’t choose, which don’t into our plans, from which we can’t escape.
2. OPPOSITION
15Some are preaching out of jealousy and rivalry. But others preach about Christ with pure motives. 16They preach because they love me, for they know the Lord brought me here to defend the Good News. 17Those others do not have pure motives as they preach about Christ. They preach with selfish ambition, not sincerely, intending to make my chains more painful to me. 18But whether or not their motives are pure, the fact remains that the message about Christ is being preached, so I rejoice. And I will continue to rejoice.
Some preachers in Rome weren’t responding to Paul’s imprisonment with the highest of motives.? They were doctrinally sound…yet mean and selfish.? They were using his imprisonment for their own benefit.? It would be a little like an associate pastor pulling a coup while the senior pastor was away.
- POSSIBLE DEATH
20For I live in eager expectation and hope that I will never do anything that causes me shame, but that I will always be bold for Christ, as I have been in the past, and that my life will always honor Christ, whether I live or I die. 21For to me, living is for Christ, and dying is even better. 22Yet if I live, that means fruitful service for Christ. I really don’t know which is better. 23I’m torn between two desires: Sometimes I want to live, and sometimes I long to go and be with Christ. That would be far better for me, 24but it is better for you that I live.
We do know that Paul was released from this imprisonment, and even anticipated this release.? When Paul wrote, the outcome of the trial was still uncertain.? His thoughts turned to the possibility of death.
What would give someone in jail, betrayed by his friends, with his own life in danger, be filled with joy?? What would cause him to see himself as part of a pioneer advance (“helped to spread” in verse 12) of the Gospel?? To see the good that was coming from people who were promoting themselves at his expense?? To view even the possibility of death without alarm?
Paul had a purpose that was bigger than his circumstances.
If we live as if earth is all there is, and we live for only what lasts here – money, popularity, pleasure, prestige – we won’t have enough to live for.
We don’t have something worth living for until we have something worth dying for.
There’s freedom in coming to the place at which our purpose is so huge we’ve got nothing to lose.
“But my life is worth nothing unless I use it for doing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus-the work of telling others the Good News about God’s wonderful kindness and love.” (Acts 20:24)
How to Rise Above Circumstances
This begins with a relationship with Jesus Christ.? Paul’s priorities changed when he met Jesus on a road to somewhere else.? Meeting Jesus changes everything, and it elevates your life from one of temporary impact to one of eternal impact.? (You probably know very little about your great-grandparents; our impact isn’t as big as we think.)
Three attitudes that Paul had that helped him rise above his circumstances:
1. BELIEF – God is in control of every circumstance
19For I know that as you pray for me and as the Spirit of Jesus Christ helps me, this will all turn out for my deliverance.
Only have two options: to believe that this is all a series of co-incidences and mistakes, or to believe that God is at work in our lives, even in and through (not despite) our difficult circumstances.
Key: Look at the past to see how God has been at work in difficulties.
2. PRIORITY – I’m part of something bigger than my life
Paul didn’t measure what was happening in his life according to how it affected his comfort or his plans, or even his life.? He measured everything according to how it accomplished his life mission.
12And I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters, that everything that has happened to me here has helped to spread the Good News.
18But whether or not their motives are pure, the fact remains that the message about Christ is being preached, so I rejoice. And I will continue to rejoice.
20For I live in eager expectation and hope that I will never do anything that causes me shame, but that I will always be bold for Christ, as I have been in the past, and that my life will always honor Christ, whether I live or I die.
3. PERSPECTIVE – The wider, longer view
Often we live as if this is all that there is.? If this is true, then it does make sense to live like everyone else.? But if you believe in eternity, that changes everything.
Our perspective: right now
A smart perso n’s perspective: life
God’s perspective: eternity
Our jobs, possessions, hang-ups become pretty insignificant compared to the realization that we’re members of and contributors to heaven.
27But whatever happens to me, you must live in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ, as citizens of heaven.
Roman citizenship made you one of the elite with freedom and greater privileges.? It was rare and highly valued.? Citizenship of heaven leads to freedom and a complete change of perspective.
Evaluation (Scale of 1-10)
How would I rate the level of joy in my life? _____
How regularly do I remind myself that God is in control of every circumstance? _____
Do I see the bigger purpose of my life – to join Jesus in what he is doing? _____
How often do I think from a longer (eternal) perspective? _____
Prayer:
That we would rise above our circumstances; realize the power of a life well lived for an eternal purpose
Remind ourselves that God is in control; that we’re part of something bigger; that eternity is much bigger than our lives.
Pray that our meeting with Jesus Christ would change our priorities forever.
