Perseverance Through Difficulties

Transcript

GR 621
11/14/1982
Perseverance Through Difficulties
Philippians 1:12-20
Gil Rugh

The Book of Philippians and the First Chapter, as we move through the letter to the Philippians, there is somewhat of a logical progression. Paul has begun by expressing his love and concern for the Philippians. The interest he has in them, the burden that he has for them, the love that is expressed on their behalf for him and his love on their behalf. As they uphold one another in prayer as they share together in a mutual ministry in the proclamation of the Gospel. And that theme of shares together in the Gospel will continue now to where Paul picks up because he turns from emphasizing the Philippians to emphasizing himself.

He has talked in the opening verses about the Philippians, “and their personal situation,” now he is going to begin with verse 12 to talk about his own situation. A matter of great concern we can be sure to the Philippians, that the beloved Apostle Paul is living as a prisoner in Rome and there would be real concerns regarding what is his state of affairs, what is the outlook for his situation, how is he faring under his imprisonment there? And now Paul turns to address that subject, but he is going to build it around one central theme: how does my imprisonment affect the proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ?

He has said up in verse 7 that in the defense and confirmation of the Gospel you are partakers of grace with me. In this defense and proclamation of the Gospel, how does my imprisonment fit? Has my imprisonment been a detriment to the defense and confirmation of the Gospel? Has my being taken to Rome, my loss of liberty, my suffering, served to diminish the impact of the Gospel in such a crucial section? Because we are going to look at the Apostle Paul’s suffering as a prisoner and his overriding theme is this has all served the purpose of enabling the gospel to be proclaimed more effectively in more places.

Verse 12 begins, “Now I want you to know, brethren” that’s a way of drawing attention to something that is important and deserves close attention. “I want you to know, brethren,” the word “brethren” is a favorite word of Paul through the Book of Philippians. His identification with them, “You who are part of God’s family with me, here is information for you to know and understand that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel.” One of the most difficult things for us as believers, when we undergo suffering, when we go through trials and difficulties in our lives, is to keep our attention focused on that which really matters to measure what comes into our lives, to measure the circumstances of our lives in light of a more overriding an eternal matter of importance.

If you ask the question how does this affect the proclamation or furtherance of the gospel of Jesus Christ help you to evaluate your life, and the circumstance of your, perhaps more accurately and effectively in terms of God’s will and God’s plan, that’s how we are to probe before we look at the details of this section. Father we praise you this morning for the clarity and openness of your word for the heart of the Apostle Paul as it’s laid before us in this section in the Letter to the Philippians. Father, our desire is that we as a family of believers this morning, my take-home of these basic matters, we might be caused to see our lives, our sufferings, our heartaches and hardships in light of your eternal purposes for us in Christ Jesus. Father, may the result of our study this morning be that the character of Christ is more fully developed in each one of us and the glorious message concerning Him is more effectively proclaimed, we pray in His name, amen.

Verse 12 brings you to the contrast. Things are different than you might expect. I want you to know that my circumstances, the things surrounding, the things pertaining to me have turned out, or literally come have to be, and there’s a word here that you ought to have, “rather for the greater progress of the gospel.” Pick up that word in our New American Standard version very clearly. That I’m turned out “rather” is the word that should be in there, because it indicates that things are different than you might expect. The circumstances of my life have come to be different that you would ordinarily evaluate them; they have turned out rather for the greater progress of the gospel.

Now, that’s remarkable because the Apostle Paul has gone through a turn of events in his life and ministry which from all human perspective seems to be a tragedy. It has resulted with his being a prisoner in Rome: no freedom to travel and preach, no freedom to move to different towns and cities and establish new churches, no freedom to go and build up new believers in the churches in the faith confined to house arrest in the city of Rome. A prisoner, he says now, you might expect that that has been a dampener on the gospel, that has limited the impact of the gospel, it’s just the opposite; things have turned out rather for the greater progress.

Turn back to the Book of Acts. I encourage you to take time sometime soon if you haven’t done it lately, and read the whole Book of Acts but particularly for a study of Philippians, read from Chapters 21 through Chapter 28, the closing part of the Book of Acts because that picks up with the events of Paul’s arrest, trials, and being transported to Rome closing with his being imprisoned in Rome from where he writes the letter to the Philippians.

In Chapter 21 you pick and we can just highlight some of what goes on. Down beginning with verse 27, there were some Jews from Asia who saw Paul in the temple and they began to stir up all the multitudes and they take hold of Paul and they’re ready to tear him to pieces. Verse 30: “All the city was aroused, the people rushed together taking hold of Paul, they dragged him out of the temple and the doors were shut.” While they were seeking to kill him, see what he is going through here. I find it hard as I study the letters of Paul and the life of Paul to keep before me what he was going through – the suffering. Here he is seized by a mob, dragged out of the temple as they are going to attempt to kill him Roman soldiers are alerted to the mob violence and come down to break it up. They take Paul away from the multitude, then Paul gives a speech and at the end of the speech, verse 22, not every sermon that Paul preached was one that people liked, he preached as many they didn’t like as that they did like.

After he concludes his tremendous proclamation of the truth, verse 22, they listened to him up to this statement, then they raised their voices and said, “Away with such a fellow from the earth for he should not be allowed to live.” And as they were crying out and throwing off their cloaks and tossing dust into the air, the commander takes Paul into the barracks and says, “I better get him out of here.” The people are going berserk, so what’s the commander’s solution? “I think this guy needs a good beating,” and so they prepare him to be scourged. Here Paul asserts his Roman citizenship that he is not allowed to be scourged as a Roman since he has not been tried. So what do they do? Verse 29, they put him in chains, they see things are deteriorating.

In the temple mob violence, arrested by the Romans, gives a defense and it makes no impact, so he is put in chain. Again in Chapter 23 look at verse 2, as he stands before the Jews, “The high priest Ananias commanded those standing beside him to strike him on the mouth.” So here is the attempts to present his defense, he is hit in the face by those who are opposed to him. Down in verse 12, “When it was day, the Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves under an oath saying they would neither eat nor drink until they had killed Paul.” Where do this gets to Paul, he tells the Romans, the Romans gather soldiers to take him to Caesarea and get him out of this mob environment.

So in verse 23, the soldiers take him to Caesarea, and at Caesarea what happens? They present a letter and he is imprisoned there. Chapter 24 he gives a defense before Felix, but keep in mind he’s a prisoner. Look at verse 27, Chapter 24: “After two years had passed,” Paul is a prisoner. At Caesarea for two years waiting to be delivered, no just charges against him, no reason for him to be imprisoned, but he remains a prisoner two years there. That’s going to begin to wear on a person, gone through all the suffering, “I’ve tried to be as true to the word as I could” after two years he’s still a prisoner, not even having been brought to trial.

Verse 25, the successor to Felix is going to hear now what Paul has to say. Paul could begin to think, “Well, there’s no point in this. For 2 years I witnessed to Felix and God didn’t use it. Now I’m supposed to talk to Festus,” gets the opportunity, so he talks to him, and then to Agrippa. They still can’t come up with any charges. So we go through Chapter 26, and after the presentation to Agrippa, he hasn’t done any wrong. Chapter 27 he is sent to Rome, so his problem still not yet over, what happens? The boat gets caught in a storm, and you know we read inside, well that sounds exciting. What I tried to picture and I don’t think it’s very exciting myself to be blown around on one of these kind of ships in danger of sinking, I’d probably be so sick, I’d really be dead. But anyway all said and done, the boat breaks up, Paul has the fluke to land, opportunity to witness there.

After several months he finally arrives at Rome. You think this hasn’t weighed on the Apostle Paul; we have take time to do it, just to refresh our minds what Paul has been through before he ever gets to Rome to be a prisoner. Look at verse 15, they finally land at Rome, they walk, they’re traveling into the city and some believers. Verse 15, “The brethren, when they heard about us came from there as far as the market of Appius and Three Inns to meet us. When Paul saw them he thanked God and took courage.” Paul is a human being, I take it that all of those experienced over those recent years had worn on him. And when he saw these fellow-believers he was encouraged, but it’s not over. He’s going to stay a prisoner in Rome now, going to be chained day and night to a Roman soldier. The soldiers were changed off in six hired ships, so there would be four of them. Paul had liberty, he was under house arrest, but with that he was chained by his wrist to a Roman soldier.

You have these godless men, some of you have a hard time when you go to work and say, “I just can’t stand working with these unbelievers day in and day out.” How would you like to be in the Apostle Paul with a Roman soldier chained to your wrist, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, men not noted for their refinement or their good manners or their love for the Lord? Imagine Paul says, “Oh Lord if I could just get apart and have a quiet time with you, I just can’t stand these uncouth slobs cursing in my ear day in and day out.” When it’s all said and done there’s still a dividing close at the Book of Acts, some of them listen to Paul and says, “Oh no, no good,” some says, “Well, we’ll give you a hearing another time.”

Now come over to Philippians. You have all of that and Paul comes on. I want you to know that my circumstances have turned out for the progress of the Gospel. He does not launch in and say, “I want you to know about my circumstances,” and now you have 13 pages of hardships. He doesn’t begin to elaborate and unfold for them all the sufferings he has gone through or the inconvenience of being chained to a Roman soldier 24 hours a day, none of these things. I want to see you while you’re in attention, he is not looking for pity, he is not looking for those who will feel sorry for him. He is looking to focus attention on what really matters – the Gospel of Jesus Christ to my circumstances have served to move it forward, to blaze the trail so that my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the whole Praetorian Guard and to everyone else.

What has happened? It is become well known both among the soldiers guarding me and the others as well that I am imprisoned for one reason: for my testimony concerning Jesus Christ. I came to realize that Paul wasn’t a bad guy so to speak, that he wasn’t imprisoned for what he had done wrong; he was imprisoned because he believed and proclaimed Jesus Christ as a testimony. We try to put on a good behavior Sunday morning, most of us watch what we say, watch our demeanor, Paul had to do it 24 hours a day because the Roman soldiers never left. He could never let his hair down so to speak. He always had to be on his guard which is a good thing we expect. I am to be a manifestation of the character of Christ all the time and Paul had to be.

What has been the result? The Praetorian Guard, they were the elite soldiers of the emperor. There were around 9 or 10,000 of them with the position of honor that included double pay. They were the ones who were assigned the responsibility to guard the imperial prisoners, the prisoners of Rome who are to be tried before the emperor’s court. Among these soldiers, you see what happened; it depends on how you look at your circumstances. Here’s a new soldier every six hours come to be chained to Paul. Now what happened, Paul couldn’t get away from him, but you know the reverse is true also: the Roman soldiers couldn’t leave Paul until a 6-hour time was up.

So every 24-hour day Paul had the opportunity to expose 4 imperials guards to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Now you multiply that over a period of months and years, and I say what an opportunity. I wonder if I would have been seeing as an opportunity if I had been Paul. We get so absorbed in the difficulties of our life, in the difficulties of our circumstances, in the burdens upon us; we lose sight of the tremendous opportunities that’s there. Paul says, “How else would you get the Gospel through the whole Praetorian Guard?” It just spread, what do you think these men did when they went off-duty? They talked to the other soldiers and said, “You know we have this prisoner here creating trouble for the emperor, and he speaks a message about a person he calls Jesus the Christ, who supposedly died to pay the penalty for sin and now has been raised alive. It’s something about this man’s life you got to be impressed. He really believes it, he is a different kind of person. We know the whole Praetorian Guard is aware of Paul’s imprisonment and why he is there, and not only those but the others.

So his testimony for Christ had pervaded, so you see he is measuring his imprisonment in light of how it affects the Gospel of Christ, and he says, “You know I’ve got opportunities I never had before. There’s people who have heard the Gospel who never heard it before. That’s what is significant about my imprisonment.” He doesn’t say you know how tired I get, how sore my wrist is from that chain, none of that. Verse 14, it’s not done there, this has an impact on other believers as well. Ever been exposed to a Christian who is really alive, who is really vibrant in his Christian life, who is really aggressive in the good healthy biblical sense in sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ that does something to you, doesn’t it?

That sort of sets a fire in you and you begin to look for opportunities and have the desire to tell others about Christ as well. That’s what happened to fellow-believers who were exposed to Paul. Verse 14: “And that most of the brethren trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear,” because of Paul’s circumstances and his boldness in those circumstances, others were encouraged. Now wouldn’t that make an impact, here’s Paul a prisoner, and look at the Praetorian Guard are talking about Jesus Christ, others are talking about Christ, we need to be more bold and so the result is fellow-Christians took courage to remind you, often God put you under difficult circumstances. And as you are in effect shining for Jesus Christ in those circumstances in that trial after you being aware of it, other Christians are motivated and moved to be more effective in their Christian life and in the proclamation of the Gospel, and God uses us in those circumstances to speak the word of God without fear.

Now, you think, of course, sure Paul then really rejoice, but even this is an all encouraging in one sense to Paul, because some are preaching Christ with a wrong motive. Verse 15, “Some to be sure without doubt are preaching Christ even from envy and strife,” they were that group, the other group preaching from goodwill. Now the latter, those who preach from goodwill, do it out of love knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the Gospel. The former, those who preach from envy and strife, proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition rather than from pure motives thinking to cause me distress in my imprisonment. That amazes me, I’d have to say. Now look at Apostle Paul, all the suffering he has gone through, that he is going through, and he still has that single focus in his life, “My life revolves around making Jesus Christ known, I become all things to all men that I might by some means save some,” as he wrote to the Corinthians. Now he hasn’t lost sight of that.

Now here Jesus Christ is being proclaimed but Paul says some are doing it because of envy. They envy the Apostle Paul, they are jealous of him that leads to strife, the word “strife” background of it meant for someone who is hired in a cause. We would think of it as someone who is paid to work in a political campaign today, so they are partisan, so they are given to a certain party and divided against others. Now Paul when he says envy and strife, and you are to note something: envy and strife are linked together here and in a number of passages in the New Testament because they go together. I think the word strife is evident, you’ll find envy be present. The envy of Paul led to strife because those who were jealous of him attempt to form their own following as over against the Apostle Paul. Well you imagine you’re in prison, a man suffering for the proclamation of the Gospel, and there are those who are preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ with a desire to place added burdens on the Apostle Paul. I think he knew they’re true believers, he does not condemn them for their message, and he speaks about those who preach a false message. When you get to Chapter 3 he just blat out says they’re dogs. So you know it when Paul is talking about false teachers.

But here they are proclaiming Christ, and he says “I am rejoicing in that, but they do it not out of pure motives, but rather to cause me,’ in verse 17 “distress in my imprisonment,” make it harder for him to bear his imprisonment that Paul came blaming about. Now how did this come, or maybe and you remember Paul did not found the church at Rome, it could have been when this man comes on the scene and makes such an impact that jealousy, envy is aroused in those who had been there and had been more prominent among believers in Rome, and they have a hard time coping with the popularity if you will, the renown of the Apostle Paul. So they are attempting to preach Christ for the purpose of making Paul’s imprisonment more burdensome to him, more distressful, bring affliction to him in his imprisonment because that is an added burden, amazing how subtle the flesh is that we should even take the Gospel of Jesus Christ and preach it with motivations of envy and strife, and it goes on today among believers.

We use the word of God to our own ends to try to get followers for ourselves. We preach Christ but with wrong motives, but Paul doesn’t play into that. He just says Christ is being preached I’m aware for different motives, those out of goodwill do it out of love; they love Paul. In verse 16, pick this up, “Knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the Gospel.” That word “appointed” is important, you are to mark it or underline it. Paul never lost sight of who he was. He was one who had been appointed, set for the defense of the Gospel. I take it he refers to the fact that he was appointed by God and he is here by divine plan. So all the tragedies, all the hardships, all the trials were not just an unfortunate set of circumstances but they were part of God’s appointment for the Apostle Paul so that the Gospel might be defended in that place. A reason defense of the Gospel might be presented in that place. Paul had to cut through all of his circumstances to see that.

Verse 18 what did he say, “Only that in every way whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in this I rejoice, yes and I will rejoice.” My overwhelming burden is that Jesus Christ be made known, and whether they are doing out of a desire to make my imprisonment more difficult or because they love me, that’s a secondary issue. The prime issue is Jesus Christ being proclaimed and I rejoice in that, why? I am one appointed for the defense of the Gospel. Back up one page, Ephesians Chapter 6. Ephesians is another one of Paul’s prison letters you remember. In Ephesians Chapter 6 verse 20, “For which I am an ambassador in chains.” He is asking them to pray that in proclaiming the Gospel, he may speak boldly as I ought to speak. He is an ambassador in chains.

In Second Corinthians Chapter 5, Paul talked about the fact, “We are ambassadors for Christ and we beseech in you Christ’s stead, be reconciled to God.” Now the fact that he is a prisoner has not changed anything, he is still an ambassador of Jesus Christ, he is still appointed for the same task, the defense, the reason to presentation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Now what happens to us so often is we, under pressure, get our eyes off of what the purpose is under the circumstances, and we get absorbed with the tragedy of our circumstances. Am I still appointed by God as an ambassador of Jesus Christ? Has the central issue in my life changed? Then what’s the problem? Oh you don’t know how burdensome it is to have to bear this burden? No, I don’t because if God hasn’t called me to bear your burden, I obviously don’t know, and you don’t know my burden, and we together don’t have a real understanding and appreciation of Paul’s burden, but that doesn’t matter, you know it really matters? How are you circumstances affecting the proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ?

Are you asking yourself how is this making me more effective in my service for Jesus Christ that I can’t see any good to come out of this, I certainly can’t see. Well, now you need to backup and say, Lord give me your perspective on this, take my eyes off of these things, help me to see now how will the Gospel of Jesus Christ be proclaimed because it is who might know of it that hasn’t known of it before. In what ways is it being made known that hasn’t before? It’s spreading through the Praetorian Guard, that never happened before. Those kinds of things I need to ask myself.

Back up the Philippians 1 again verse 19, “For I know,” note this confidence here, “That this shall turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the provision of the spirit of Jesus Christ,” a remarkable statement here. This shall turn out for my deliverance, my salvation. I take it he is talking about generally here, where deliverance gives the idea that he is going to be spared, and you’ll get into this in coming verses that we’ll look at in our next study. No my deliverance? How? Two fold through your prayers and the provision of the spirit of Jesus Christ, and that’s remarkable. You know what Paul says? There are two things that is going to be effective in my deliverance: your prayers and the Spirit of Jesus Christ.

I say, well, why do you think that puts a little too much weight on the human side of it? I mean the Spirit of God is the one who does everything, right. And if he does it I really don’t need you folks. And once I got the provision of the Spirit who needs anybody else? Not a biblical picture or a pattern at all. Paul said two things are key in my deliverance, part of his deliverance is involved in the proclamation of the message we have been talking about and he is being effective in that, the prayers of all the Philippian believers. God is going to use those, and the way this is constructed that is joined very closely together, there is a provision of the Spirit as a result of their prayers in effect, the provision will be made in the Spirit and the Spirit of God is both the provision himself, and he makes the provision. God provides the Spirit and the Spirit indwells Paul but he has provided in a special way to meet a special need. Remember he is the Helper who comes to give us aid, that’s why it’s so important.

I pray for fellow-believers, fellow-believer pray for me, and God uses their prayer and answers it by the provision of the Spirit to meet the need. What a tragedy that we pray so little for one another? Tragedy we don’t have more emphasis on prayer, if we’re not praying for one another there’s a great breakdown. Paul says crucial here, “The prayers of believers,” we have been exhorted to pray for one another. Recently have you been doing that? One of the things I like to see changed in this body, there’s a lot of things some of you would like to see changed in this body. All of us would like to see more progress in the things of the Lord, are we really praying for another? We spend half as much time praying as we do complaining, I have no doubt that the provision of the Spirit would be adequate to accomplish everything God wants us to do in this place.

Verse 20, “According to my earnest expectation in hope that I shall not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness Christ shall even now as always be exalted in my body whether by life or by death.” You see how Paul has narrowed things down to just the basics: life and death. Those are two alternatives, there are degrees along the way, dying is the process. What is the basic issue, it is either life or death; either you’re going to live or you’re going to die, okay. Life or death: that’s the alternative here in Rome. Either he will be declared innocent and freed or he’ll be executed. Life or death, those are the two choices.

Now what is the concern in both that Christ shall be exalted in my body, that’s the overwhelming concern. No he doesn’t say the overwhelming concern is that I have life, that my life be spared. The overwhelming concern is that Christ be exalted, that’s what drives him up. And if death is the vehicle to accomplish that, fine; if it’s life, fine. The issue is the exaltation of Jesus Christ. See how Paul could be such a dynamo. Everything just boiled down, his basic issues, to the simplest basic issue: the exaltation of Jesus Christ. He wasn’t absorbed in the other things that drag us down and divert our attention. The exaltation of Jesus Christ and I think if I die who’s going to run my business? If I die who’s going to preach in this church? Now don’t speak up. If I die what? Now the question is if I die. The exaltation of Jesus Christ is the only issue; if I live that’s the only issue.

I like the way Paul puts it, you ought to underline at one person I read, I had worded this, I should have brought it to you to read it to you. “Christ shall even now,” “even now” a line that’s underlined in my bible. Even now as always be exalted. And this one person I was reading was stressing the now. And what you have is now and you’ll never have the same set of circumstances, the same opportunity to have Jesus Christ exalted in your body as you do now because time passes and cannot be regained. I cannot exalt Jesus Christ in the circumstances of yesterday but I can exalt Him in the circumstances of my life now. So often we live in tomorrow. “I would be this for Christ if,” or “I’m going to be this for Christ when,” how many people, how many men have said, “Oh my life is going to count for Christ when I retire, then I’m going to have time to give him full.” They are no more effective for Jesus Christ when they have got time on their hands is when they didn’t because he wants me to live now. How in the moments of this day is Jesus Christ being exalted in my body. The now that he gives you, “Even now,” that’s why Paul wasn’t burdened about yesterday or worried about tomorrow. My concern is that Christ be exalted in my body now.

Did Paul think of what you’d be able to do when you’re free. The word he was thinking of how He’ll be exalted now, in prison under this burden, even now. How is Christ being exalted in your even now. I don’t know of all your circumstances, I don’t know what’s going on in your life, how is he being exalted now. If you look back over this day when it’s passed how will he had been exalted in our lives, the day is passing, the now is passing, our life has become a collection of now. Paul had that tremendous ability to simplify and say that Christ shall even now as always. This is my pattern up to now and this is the way I function now: be exalted in my body by life or by death, that’s a secondary issue, that’s a means to an end. I want to focus on the end, the exaltation of Christ. So what is he focused in on here? His circumstances; I want you to know about my circumstance, that things are different than you might expect. What would you expect? A depressed, discouraged Paul who has very limited opportunities. He says, “Let me tell you how Jesus Christ has known and made known in these circumstances.”

Turn to one passage, Second Corinthians Chapter 11, here Paul talks about his thorn in the flesh was not the issue, I take it at Philipi and writing to the Philippians from Rome, but the principle is established that enabled Paul to grapple with his thorn in the flesh by the principle that are overriding in all our situations. Verse 9 of Second Corinthians 12, “And he has said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness,’ most gladly therefore I would rather boast about my weaknesses that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content.” Note that “I am well content,” with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties for Christ sake, for when am I weak then I am strong paradox seemingly. But why is that so? Well, in verse 9, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.”

So the power of Christ is most fully displayed and revealed in me in my weakest condition, then when I’m weak I’m really strong, because what’s my life all about: the power of Christ working in through me. If that is happening most effectively when I’m in weakness, then when I’m in weakness I’m really in strength. So easy for me, oh Lord if you take this burden away then I could really be effective for you. Oh Lord if you take this difficulty away, Lord if you do this then I could be, if you are to realize His power at work, right now in the situation I’m in, how can God use me and work in and through me. All of us are in different situations and different circumstance, but if we are focused on the exaltation of Christ in making Him known in our situation, think about it, it’s going to ripple and spread through every place.

One man, the Apostle Paul and he said Praetorian Guard, 9 to 10,000 people, the message of Christ is rippled through them, now you multiply us, couple of thousand of us on a Sunday morning, if each one of us are making Christ known in and through our circumstances of life, and that’s rippling through hundreds and thousands of others, the City of Lincoln won’t be able to contain the message of Jesus Christ, what people will be talking about. We’re not doing this so people will talk about us, but so that they might be made aware of Jesus Christ. Praise God that believers can go through the most trialsome times, most difficult circumstances and say I am appointed for the defense of the Gospel.

Let’s pray together: Father we thank you this morning for the fullness of revelation in Jesus Christ. Lord, for the great work that you’re doing in and through us that the one who has begun a good work continues to bring it to completion. Lord, keep that ever before us in our present circumstances, in our present situation, we are appointed for the defense of the Gospel. Lord, these particular burdens, these particular trials, these particular hardships and heartaches are part of your perfect plan for us to exalt Jesus Christ and make Him known. We praise you for it in His name, Amen.