Everything is Awesome & Nobody Is Happy: Joy In Preaching

 Everything is Awesome

&

Nobody Is Happy

Joy In Preaching

Opening Illustration:

Not many of you know this but I have been experiencing severe pain in my right elbow for several months. It has been an on again and off again problem for about 3 years now. My elbow will get irritated, I will go to the doctor, get a shot of cortisone and be good for about 9 months to a year. I have repeated this process now about 4 different times. Not to long ago, my elbow flared up and I found myself to be in more pain than ever before. The pain radiated all the way from my elbow to my fingers. When I went to the doctor he told me that I could only have one more shot because the shots, as it turns out, were doing more harm than good. With each shot, the tendon that runs along my elbow deteriorates more and more. Sure the pain goes away, but I set myself up for a bigger problem down the road. The doctor said that I could have one more shot, but that was it. If the elbow hurt again, it was time for corrective surgery. 

Well, I was not one to sign up for surgery so I told the doctor that I would take the shot. He agreed, left the room, and came back with all the necessary medial devices and medicine for my small procedure. He decided to make some small talk while he treated me. He asked me, “what do you do for a living”. I replied, “well, I have been the pastor of Eastern Shore Baptist Church for almost 11 years.” My answer startled him. He told me that I was the only pastor that he had as a patient. The next thing that my doctor said to me got me thinking. He said, “well preacher, after this shot you can get back to pointing out everyone else’s sin in no time.”

Pointing out everyone’s sin? Is that what he really thinks that I do? Is that what the world thinks when it hears the word “preach” or “preacher”? Does the world think that Pharisee and preacher are equal in terms? When I tell people what I do for a living do they really think that I am some judgmental, high and mighty, hypocrite? I certainly hope not. Shouldn’t people see the grace of God in our lives? “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever.” (Ps. 103:8-9)

Oh friends, here is the simple truth, preaching is not my job. I suppose I should phrase it like this, preaching is not my job alone. We are all called to preach. We are called to verbally communicate the Gospel of Jesus Christ wherever we are, no matter where we go. 

Don’t you remember the last words of Christ captured in Matthew 28?

Matthew 28:18-21 NIV

18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Mark remembers Jesus’ last words slightly different but the call is the same?

Mark 16:15-18 NIV

15 He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”

Well preacher evangelism is not my spiritual gift. Im no good at preaching. Ive not read enough of the Bible. I need to memorize the Roman Road. I should go through Faith Training. Someone is better at that stuff than me. Everyone I know is already saved. Friends, Ive heard just about every excuse. Still, the call is clear, Jesus expects us all to be preachers, sharing the Good News, everywhere we go. Friends let me tell you plainly and publicly, to deny preaching the Gospel is to deny yourself a heavenly reward that is beyond human comprehension. In fact, preaching the Gospel should come as naturally to the Christian as breathing air to the human being. If you have been truly saved, sanctified by the blood of Jesus Christ, then you should be able to preach. I had a seminary professor once tell me in his class that if a Christian felt no compulsion to share the Gospel, to relay their testimony, then they were probably no Christian at all. 

So, answer this question this morning. When it comes to preaching, are you frightened? Do you feel unqualified or underprepared? Are you frozen, paralyzed, unable to speak for fear of persecution or retribution? What will others think of me if I speak about Jesus? How will I be judged? Are you faithful, joyful, excited to tell others what Christ has done for you. Fill that in this morning. 

When It Comes To Preaching, Are You Frightened, Frozen, or Faithful?

Background and Context:

Paul likely wrote Philippians last, near the end of his Roman imprisonment in AD 61 or 62. The apostle Paul did not write Philippians in response to a crisis, as he did with Galatians and Colossians. Instead, he wrote to express his appreciation and affection for the Philippian believers. More than any other church, the believers in Philippi offered Paul material support for his ministry. Paul’s affection for these people is clear throughout the letter as he encouraged them to live out their faith in joy and unity. Paul’s joy at the mere thought of the Philippian church is undeniable in the letter, and it’s that same joy that he wanted the recipients to possess as well.

Remember Paul’s life was not easy or pleasant. He had seen real hardship. He had been shipwrecked, beaten, falsely accused, imprisoned, beaten, whipped, and snakebite. Still through all these terrible experiences Paul finds joy, overflowing joy. This is in stark contrast to the world which promises joy through power, through getting ahead, through wealth and power. The world says that the only way that you can be happy is to step on the little guy. You should be happy, even it means hurting people along the way. Friends, that is not Paul’s prescription, nor is that the Jesus way. So, let read another excerpt from this passage and uncover what Paul is trying to communicate to us this morning. I am reading Philippians 1:12-19 from the New Living Translation. 

Today’s Scripture:

Philippians 1:12-19 NLT

12 And I want you to know, my dear brothers and sisters, that everything that has happened to me here has helped to spread the Good News. 13 For everyone here, including the whole palace guard, knows that I am in chains because of Christ. 14 And because of my imprisonment, most of the believers here have gained confidence and boldly speak God’s message without fear.

15 It’s true that some are preaching out of jealousy and rivalry. But others preach about Christ with pure motives. 16 They preach because they love me, for they know I have been appointed to defend the Good News. 17 Those 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. 18 But that doesn’t matter. Whether their motives are false or genuine, the message about Christ is being preached either way, so I rejoice. And I will continue to rejoice. 19 For I know that as you pray for me and the Spirit of Jesus Christ helps me, this will lead to my deliverance.

Paul’s Holy Perspective of Preaching

I. God’s Plan vs. 12

Philippians 1:12 NLT

12 And I want you to know, my dear brothers and sisters, that everything that has happened to me here has helped to spread the Good News. 

Point:

Have you ever wondered why God allows certain things to happen? When you look back on the script of you life, have you ever wondered by you didn’t get that promotion when you prayed for it over and over? Have you ever wondered why God didn’t heal your Father from the cancer that ultimately took his life. You asked God to heal him and he still died? Have you ever wondered why you didn’t get that job that you desperately wanted? You interview when great, at least you thought it did, but you got turned down. Have you ever wondered why she rejected you? You were sure that she liked you, your friends told you that she did. Still, she made the “L” on her forehead, that’s “L” for loser. She looked right at you when she did it and you remember that experience to this very day? Why do these things happen? In each case, there is hurt involved.

Think about Paul. Paul states that “everything that has happened to me here has helped to spread the Good News”. What is the “everything” that he is talking about? He gives us his resume of suffering in I Corinthians:23-33. He states that he was imprisoned, he was beaten more times that he can remember, many times these beatings brought him very near to death. Because of his boldness for Christ, he was given 39 lashes. Oh, my fault, he was given 39 lashes 5 times. Do the math, that’s a total of 195 lashes across his back. He was beaten with rods three times, and stoned once. He was shipwrecked not once, not twice, but three times. Imagine that luck. He spent a night and a day in the open sea not knowing if he would be rescued. He faced dangers from nature, dangers from being robbed on the roads, and dangers from being abused in the cities. He was lied about by the Gentiles and by fellow Jews who hated him openly for his desire to speak about Jesus. He had nights that he could not sleep because he was hungry, thirsty, without food, and exposed to the elements. 

Why? Why did God allow all of these things to happen to Paul? Why does God allow these terrible things happen to you? Paul spells it out for us in verse 12. All of these events, good and bad, have aided Paul in spreading the Good News of the Gospel. There is nothing that binds people together more than suffering. For some reason, people are fascinated by suffering and we are more willing to listen to people share their stories of overcoming when they have suffered mightily. Your suffering and hardship become the wall that God hangs His masterpiece. 

Illustration:

Back in 2012, I went on a mission trip to Paris, France where we were able to work with some IMB missionaries. It was a tremendous trip that I still have some fond memories. One day we were able to set out and see the city and Angela and I went to the Louvre Museum. While I was there I was able to see the famed Mona Lisa painting the great Leonardo DiVinci. There were literally hundreds of people pressing in the room to see this one, smaller than a movie poster, painting. What I noticed is that the painting hung on a wall in the middle of the room. There was nothing else hanging on that wall, just this one masterpiece. You see, everyone was awestruck by the Mona Lisa, but somewhere there is a guy who is proud because he built the very wall that the Mona Lisa hangs. He tells all his friends about his wall. Chances are his parents tell their friends that their son Pierre, built the wall that the Mona Lisa hangs on. It hit me that our lives, the good and the bad, the happy and the sad, are the wall that the Lord hangs His masterpiece. He allows us to go through difficulty and trial so that His masterpiece can hang more prominently. That is why James, the brother of Jesus says that we should “consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trails of many kinds, because you now that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish it’s work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” 

It is these hardships, trials and difficulties that add salt to our sermon and power to our preaching. God’s plan is for our preaching to carry a punch.   

Proverbs 19:21 ESV

Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.

Paul’s Holy Perspective of Preaching

I. God’s Plan vs. 12

II. Guard’s Persecution vs. 13

Philippians 1:13 NLT

For everyone here, including the whole palace guard, knows that I am in chains because of Christ. 

Point:

It is easy for us to forget that Paul wrote this letter to the church while wasting away in a prison in Rome. He was under lock and key 24 hours a day. Paul used this as an opportunity to share the Gospel. You see, it was not Paul trapped with this Roman guard, it was the Roman guard that was trapped with Paul. Still, preaching will always lead to persecution. Always. 

While imprisoned and awaiting execution, Paul wrote to Timothy, 

2 Timothy 3:12 NLT

Yes, and everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.

“All” is not a throwaway word in this verse. Paul means it. Everyone who publicly lives as a committed Christian will face some kind of resistance from the world.

This verse ought to recalibrate our expectations. We should be surprised when we don’t face persecution, not when we do, because God’s word promises us that at times we will. That doesn’t make experiencing opposition easier any more than knowing your due date makes giving birth less painful. But at least you can be prepared.

The Corinthians were looking down on Paul’s persecutions as a sign that God’s blessing was not upon his ministry, and that he was not an apostle to be followed. Paul corrected their thinking, telling them “For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong".

It is common for Christians to define success in life in material terms and to equate strength with accomplishment. But Paul turns the common thinking on its head. Experiencing health and wealth is not the sign that God’s power is with you, but rather that you are enduring persecution through the strength he provides.

Point:

Brothers and sisters, know that persecution walks hand in hand with preaching. We can let that truth frighten us from living out our faith or we can let it fuel us to see God do great things. Year after year, men and women are laying down their lives for Christ. In the last decade alone, some 900,000 Christians have given their lives for Christ. That equates to one Christian dying every 6 minutes because of Jesus. Know this, while we may face persecution here, there is a great reward in heaven if we remain steadfast. 

Matthew 5:10 ESV

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

2 Timothy 3:12 ESV

Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted…

Paul’s Holy Perspective of Preaching

I. God’s Plan vs. 12

II. Guard’s Persecution vs. 13

III. Given Power vs. 14

Philippians 1:14 NLT

14 And because of my imprisonment, most of the believers here have gained confidence and boldly speak God’s message without fear.

Point:

You could say a lot of things about Paul. One of those things is that he was bold. Boy was he bold. Paul regularly preached in the face of great opposition, who boldly confronted his adversaries, and who made a practice of telling his listeners exactly what they needed to hear rather than what they wanted to hear. Paul was not one to mince the truth, pull punches, or sugar coat a message. Is all of that true though? Was Paul really as bold as I remember? Of course the answer is “yes” but we often look at church leaders with rose colored glasses. When tend to deify them, not remembering they too were human. It is tempting to think “of course God did mighty things through Paul, it’s Paul we are talking about here”. 

But there are passages in the New Testament that suggest that Paul may not, in fact, have been a naturally bold person in and of himself. In I Corinthians 2:3, for instance, Paul admits that when he was with the church in Corinth, he was with them in “weakness and in fear and much trembling.” And in II Corinthians 10:10, Paul acknowledges that his reputation among the churches was such that his “letters are weighty and strong, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech of no account.” On at least one occasion, Paul directly asks the church to pray for him “at all times” that he might “declare [the gospel] boldly” as he ought to do. And on at least two occasions, the Lord encourages Paul not to be afraid in the midst of conflict and opposition.

All of these things suggest that Paul may well have had a naturally timid personality or at least that he may not have been as naturally bold as we might think when we look at him through our rose-colored glasses. And if that is true, it would definitely not be the only time in history that God worked through such a person. Many of the people whom God has used most profoundly over the centuries have been naturally timid people.

But if Paul had a naturally timid personality, where did his boldness come from? Quite simply, it came from the Lord and from His Word. When Paul preached the gospel boldly in Antioch and was driven out of town by the Jews and by many of the leading men and women of the city, we are again explicitly told the same thing. After moving on to Iconium, Paul began “speaking boldly for the Lord” again in the face of great opposition from both Jews and gentiles, and we are told that the reason was that the Lord granted him the power to do so. But, perhaps most helpful of all, we read in Acts 20:32 that Paul challenged the elders of the Ephesian church to follow his example of ministering in the face of opposition by relying upon God and “the word of his grace, which is able to build you up.”

The fact that Paul encouraged the elders to take up their charge of shepherding the flock of God, come what may, by relying upon God and His Word certainly implies that he himself was drawing his boldness and strength for ministry in precisely the same way.

Point:

I say all of this because one of the main reasons that we do not share the Gospel or preach the Good News is fear. We are just flat afraid of what will happen.We are afraid of rejection. We are afraid of persecution. We are afraid that we won’t have all the answers and that we might play the part of the fool. As great as Paul was, Paul was great because he completely relied on God to give him the power, the boldness required to stand for Him, to tell others about Christ. Friend, you and I have access to the same power. We just have to trust His Word, pray for His presence, and depend on Him to do what He will do. 

Quote:

Courage is not the absence of fear; it is living by faith in the midst of fear.

Romans 1:16 ESV

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

Paul’s Holy Perspective of Preaching

I. God’s Plan vs. 12

II. Guard’s Persecution vs. 13

III. Given Power vs. 14

IV. Granted Partnership vs. 15, 18

Philippians 1:15, 18 NLT

15 It’s true that some are preaching out of jealousy and rivalry. But others preach about Christ with pure motives.

18 But that doesn’t matter. Whether their motives are false or genuine, the message about Christ is being preached either way, so I rejoice. And I will continue to rejoice.

Point:

If you remember, last week I said that Philippians was a book about joy. Some pastors would say that the entire book is about discovering joy. That is not an incorrect view but when I read the book, I believe that you have to add to that definition. I believe that Philippians is a book about discovering joy in partnership. We discover true joy, real joy, not apart from one another but with one another. 

Clearly Paul has a great partnership with the Philippian church. Still, there is another group that Paul has inadvertently partnered with and it’s not someone that you would think. You see there were those who saw the influence he wielded and wanted to join in. So, they started preaching the same message about Jesus. People were being saved and lives were being changed. Paul, with the right perspective doesn’t care why they are preaching, he only cares that they are preaching. These men are not Paul’s enemy, no matter their motivation, they are his friends because God is using them to save lives. 

Brothers and sisters, that is why our church is not above partnering with churches outside our denomination. We partner with entities that are not strictly baptist because they too are seeing lives won to Christ. Women’s Care Medical Center. Fellowship of Christian Athletes. These are just a couple of examples. We have partnered with church of different denominations. We have partnered with churches that are ethnically different than the majority of our congregation. Why? Because we want to see people won to Christ and snatched from the flames of hell. 

Point:

It is good to have a partner. Good to have someone praying for you. Good to have someone holding your hand and lifting you up. Partners help us stay accountable and encourage us when we are struggling. 

If you want to practically start sharing a word for Christ, find a partner. 

I Corinthians 3:9 NLT

For we are God's fellow workers. You are God's field, God's building.

Paul’s Holy Perspective of Preaching

I. God’s Plan vs. 12

II. Guard’s Persecution vs. 13

III. Given Power vs. 14

IV. Granted Partnership vs. 15, 18

V. Gifted Prayer vs. 19

Philippians 1:19 NLT

19 For I know that as you pray for me and the Spirit of Jesus Christ helps me, this will lead to my deliverance.

Point:

Paul didn’t just pray for people in his life; he prayed for them with joy!

There are probably things in other people’s lives that you’d like to change. You don’t want to change yourself; you want them to change. We always want to change other people. But you can’t!

You can, however, pray and let God do his work in other people.

Positive praying is more effective than positive thinking. All the positive thinking in the world isn’t going to change your spouse, child, friend, or situation. Positive thinking can change you, but it won’t change somebody else. But positive prayer can make a difference in someone else.

What’s the quickest way to change a bad relationship to a good one? Start praying for the other person! It will change you, and it can change the other person too.

Paul even told us how to pray for others: “I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return. May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation—the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ—for this will bring much glory and praise to God.” Philippians 1:9-11 NLT

From these verses, we can learn to pray for the people in our lives in four ways:

Pray that they will grow in love: “And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight.”

Pray that they will make wise choices: “So that you may be able to discern what is best.”

Pray that they will live with integrity: “And may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ.”

Pray that they will become like Jesus: “Filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.”

Pray this for yourself and anyone else in your life, and watch how God turns around the relationship that seemed hopeless or needed to be revived.

James 5:16 ESV

Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.

“It is no use walking anywhere to preach unless our walking is our preaching.” 

~ Francis of Assisi