Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ (Php 1:2). Amen.
Joseph is my go-to guy—the one who comes to mind right away to make something that is abstract clear. It would be like saying, “Practicing piano leads to playing it better.” That is the theory. Then the reality: “That is why Ludwig van Beethoven could tickle the ivories so well.”
For that reason, I always use Joseph to connect a person in the Bible with a promise from the Lord. I realize that there is some distance between the two—when it comes to the aspect of time (The person is in the Old Testament.) and the place in the Scripture (The promise is in the New Testament). But he helps to illustrate a certainty that spans the ages and speaks the truth—all the way to today. The guarantee becomes more than a general concept for us. We have God’s Word on it. But it is a comfort to us. We have a concrete example of it.
First the assurance. The apostle Paul reminded the Christians in Rome: “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” (Ro 8:28). (That is worth memorizing, if you haven’t already.) Notice that Paul didn’t remark: “We wish that or want that” or “we suppose that or suspect that” all things—not many or most things, some or several things, all things, including both our sufferings and our blessings—are under God’s guidance for one goal—our good. That is the case even when it doesn’t seem apparent or evident or when we are in the middle or midst of something. We might compare it to reading one sentence in a paragraph rather than every page of the entire book. You miss a lot if you don’t have the correct perspective of the whole novel.
Then the account. Someone asked me this week to give an elevator account of my life. That is when you condense things so they are short and sweet—as much as you can get out on the ride up before the doors open. That is not so easy with Joseph (Ge 37-50). He might need the trip to go to the 56th floor, stopping at each one to let people on and off (and maybe even get stuck for a while, waiting for the fire department). Here is an attempt:
Joseph’s brothers didn’t like him. (Maybe that is an understatement. But we will go with it.) So they decided to get rid of him without killing him.
They sold him to some Midianite merchants for 20 shekels of silver.
Those traders took him to Egypt where Potiphar bought him.
Joseph was successful, as successful as you can be as a slave, because the Lord was with him. That is until Mrs. Potiphar took a shining to him and propositioned him—repeatedly. When Joseph refused to sin against God, she lied that he had tried to harass her rather than the other way around.
Joseph found himself in prison. When Pharaoh had two disturbing dreams, the cupbearer recalled that his fellow inmate had interpreted one of his when he was doing time. After Joseph provided the meaning (7 years of plenty followed by 7 years of famine), Pharaoh elevated Joseph to second in command of Egypt.
When the lack of food reached Israel, Jacob sent his sons to Egypt to buy grain. After a while, Joseph revealed himself to his siblings. And later on, Joseph commented because he had the correct perspective: “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives” (Ge 50:20). The line of the Messiah stayed alive and intact. At the time, Joseph’s brothers didn’t assume that as they collected the cash. At the moment, Joseph didn’t anticipate that as he took the trip. No. God took an evil plan turned it into a proper end.
That is critical for us. “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” (Ro 8:28). We hang on to that firmly and hold on to that tightly. That correct perspective is for the greatest apostle to the humblest Christian.
But here is the thing: the one who shared that with a pen when writing to the Romans is the same one who showed that with an event when writing to the Philippians. The Christians in the city of Philippi had a close relationship with the apostle after his time among them. They had the same faith in God and were part of the same family of God. When Paul was transported to Rome and placed under house arrest in the capital city, they wondered things were going for him. So as Paul awaited his trial, he answered them in the form of an epistle.
Paul puts any of their concerns to rest: “Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel” (Php 1:12). It was his desire that they understand these things in this circumstance. What seemed to be a negative God had it serve a positive. The incarceration did not hurt the good news of Jesus, but helped it. The messenger might be bound; the message was not (2 Ti 2:9). Like a ship making headway across the ocean, the gospel was making progress through the region and the ranks.
The apostle points to two instances since he had the correct perspective:
“As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ” (Php 1:13). As the soldiers cycled through their rotation of watching Paul, they saw that the only grounds for why he was in their custody was because of his connection to Christ. Hardly a crime and definitely not a criminal. And Paul had the opportunity to speak to them about the One who was obedient to death—even death on a cross (Php 2:8). The One whom God also raised and exalted (Php 2:9). And that significance of a Savior spread through the city and became widely known. In today’s terms, it would have been a trending story on an internet news home page.
The Lord can use any of our situations to foster the growth of the gospel—from chronic pain (“I get my strength from God” [2 Co 12:9]) to a coming possibility (“I get my blessings from my heavenly Father” [Ja 1:17].) We have that correct perspective as we proclaim Christ.
“Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly” (Php 1:14). Those who labored for the Lord in Rome dared to do so with great boldness. This inspired them to be brave.
Others may do the same with us. They encourage us to look for moments to assert our confidence in Christ. If they can, so can I.
There is a sad side note. “It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry. … [They] preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains” (Php 1:15,17). Did the jealousy come because of Paul’s “hero status?” Along the lines of, “What about us? We have been here for more time and heralded with more trials.” Shouldn’t they get some admiration too? But that is looking out for one’s own glory than one’s God. There were some mixed intentions.
It is sad if professional resentment or personal reward get in the way. It is vital for a pastor to pray, “Lord, have them look past the servant to the Savior—not to applaud me, but to appreciate you.” It is valuable for a person to pray, “Lord, it is not about me, but about you—not to call attention to me, but to draw attention to you.” Proclaim Christ with the correct perspective.
And that is what the focus of many was. “But others out of goodwill. [They] do so out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel” (Php 1:15). Paul was a genuine role model for them as they preached Christ crucified.
We would do well to imitate that group—respect for the worker and reverence for the work.
Again it comes down to the correct perspective. Paul concludes: “But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice” (Php 1:18). He is not excusing false teaching—“as long as they mention Christ.” It is not a matter of who announces, but what is announced. That sounds similar to what Moses explained when Joshua got excited: “I wish that all the LORD’s people were prophets and that the LORD would put his Spirit on them!” (Nu 11:29). Jesus echoed the same idea: “for whoever is not against us is for us” (Mk 9:40).
We continue to tell with conviction what Christ has accomplished. He took on our guilt and took it away with his life and death and resurrection. God has done something exceptional and extraordinary in answer to our request: “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me” (Ps 51:10). And he does just that. Proclaim Christ with the correct perspective.
I will stick with Joseph and maybe give a shout out to Paul as my go-to guy that God makes a promise and he keeps it. “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” (Ro 8:28). In a sense, we have an individual in the Old and New Testaments. They both saw it—even in desperate or difficult times. The focus is not on me, but on Christ. Proclaim Christ with that correct perspective and the gospel goes forward. And because of that, we rejoice.
We read from Philippians 1:12-18:
12 Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel.
13 As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ.
14 Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly.
15 It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill.
16 The latter do so out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel.
17 The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains.
18 But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen (Php 4:23).
September 30, 2018
No comments:
Post a Comment