TEXT: Philippians 1:12-26
I. INTRODUCTION
A. Illustration of a marriage that broke up between Yvonne and Raymond Bailey, both 22. They had met to discuss divorce arrangements. Raymond drove Yvonne to his mother's house on his motorcycle. On the way they crashed and were taken to a hospital. When the nurses heard about the impending divorce, they put the couple in adjoining beds, determined to patch up the marriage, as well as the patients. It worked. What seems bad can be good.
B. This isn't a popular message if you're looking to Christ for an escape from life's problems.
C. It is a revolutionizing insight into Christian living if you are willing to make it your own.
D. Take a look at apostle Paul's experience, then apply these three basic lessons to your life.
II. BODY
A. Lesson I: The way of Christ is the way of the cross.
1. Don't be surprised when you run into difficulty.
2. It is easy to be a Christian if you see Christ ushering you into a life of ease.
3. Paul is writing from a prison in Rome.
4. The life of a Christian involves the cross.
5. Paul writes of the beatings and the problems he had had in life.
6. Christian living is no escape from trouble.
7. We piously sing "Gladly the cross I bear" but we really don't want to have any difficulties.
8. When Paul describes sufferings he is not talking about the results of a sin.
9. Results of sin bring a different kind of suffering.
10. We are not talking about suffering for stupid mistakes.
11. Remember those pressures that we're under and our kids are under and some of the things that have happened to them as a result.
12. Suffering for Christ is when your family budget begins to feel the pinch of your sacrificial giving to His work, when you could spend your time on yourself finding relief from economic strain.
13. In the United States, we hardly know suffering at all.
14. Luke writes, "they called the apostles in and had them flogged." Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus and let them go. (Acts 5:40-42)
15. It is easy to live the Christian life until you confront the cross.
B. Lesson 2: What seems bad can be good.
1. Instead of complaining bout his circumstances, Paul shares with his brothers and sisters. Read Philippians 1:12-14.
2. Paul could have complained about the heavy weight of the cross but he expressed joy.
3. I think you see what I'm saying and many of you might be inwardly recoiling, feeling that I am describing some weird, narcoistic spiritual experience.
4. What seems bad can be good.
5. How can we do something about this?
a. First your sufferings for Christ stimulate public interest.
(1) Paul in prison
(2) Martin Luther King
b. Suffering for Christ authenticates your witness
c. Your suffering for Christ will encourage other believers to a new zeal.
C. Lesson 3: When you really love Christ, it's contagious.
1. Norman Vincent Peale wrote the book, Enthusiasm Makes the Difference.
2. Paul was enthusiastic and it was contagious.
3. Christian history is marked by men and women who refused to let anything else get in the way of their service for Christ.
4. Billy Graham told about young pastors who were willing to give themselves to Christ.
5. We allow ourselves to be ingrown, so protective of our territory.
6. Paul calls us not to fanaticism but to an inclusive love for Christ.
III. CLOSE
A. See life in the reality of the Christian commitment.
B. Recognize your vulnerability and how you expose yourself to the potential pain that will come from being a Christian.
C. Reevaluate your life in which you will put things first, going for broke with Jesus.
D. There is no limit to the impact we can have in our own lives in our society if, during this period of time as we celebrate Good Friday, if we dedicate ourselves afresh and anew to the message of the Gospel.
E. Good things can happen from bad events. Remember that Christ died, but because he died, he rose again.