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Title: Living Above Circumstances It has been said, there is no greater indicator of Christian maturity than the ability to rejoice in our sufferings. It seems, however, that in our time we have become a people concerned so much with happiness and comfort, with such an aversion to discomfort and unhappiness that we go to extremes to escape any type of trial. It is no wonder the "health, wealth, and prosperity teaching has such a following. We would find it hard to agree with James who said, "Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials," James 1:2 (NAS) But, trials can be part of God's plan for our lives. James went on to say, "knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have {its} perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." James 1:3-4 (NAS) Much like the butterfly whose wings are made strong enough to fly by the struggle to escape the cocoon, life struggles strengthen us and enable us to depend on our faith. As Christians, we must learn to live victoriously in Christ, regardless of our circumstances and in spite of our circumstances. The truth is even under the most adverse circumstances Jesus Christ brings victory. Paul wanted the Philippian church and the church today to understand that even though he was imprisoned, the gospel of Jesus Christ brought victory which enable him to live above his circumstances. I read this illustration in an old sermon by Dr. Frank Pollard, Dr. Pollard didn't mention the original source: "Seeking a deliverer and Savior, the great God in His own purpose passed by the palace and its silken delights. He took a little babe in His arms and called to His side His favorite angel, the angel of sorrow. Stooping, He whispered. 'Oh sorrow, thou well beloved teacher, take thou this child of mine and make him great. Take him to yonder cabin in the wilderness. Make his home a poor man's home, plant his narrow path thick with thorns. Cut his little feet with sharp rocks as he climbs the hill of difficulty. Make each footprint red with his own life's blood. Load his little back with burdens. Give to him days of toil and nights of study and sleeplessness. Wrest from his arms whatever he loves, make his heart, through sorrow, as sensitive to the sigh of a slave as a thread of silk in a window is sensitive to the slightest wind that blows. When you have dug lines of pain in his cheeks and have marred his face more than any man of his time bring him back to me and, with him, I will free 4,000,000 slaves.' That's how God made Abraham Lincoln great." (Dr. Frank Pollard, "When Life Tumbles in," The Baptist Hour, 6/3/1983.) That's how God made the apostle Paul great as well. When God sent Ananias, in Acts 9, to restore Paul's sight after his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus, Ananias was fearful because of what he had heard about Paul's persecution of Christians. But the Lord reassured him and gave him this message: "Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name's sake." Acts 9:15-16 (NAS) And suffer he did, you've heard it before, but listen to his account in 2 Cor 11:23-28: Additionally it is most likely that he was completely forsaken by his family and his friends when he came to Christ. But through it all Paul remained steadfast in his commitment to Christ. In all of his trials he lived above circumstances. Through experience he knew first hand that faith in Christ, dependance and reliance upon Him was the key to being able to rise above any circumstance and hardship and difficulty and any trial a person might face in this life, and that's the message we find in this passage this morning. Paul says to us live above your circumstances, they can lead to the advancement of the gospel. Phil 1:12-13 "Now I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel, so that my imprisonment in {the cause of} Christ has become well known throughout the whole praetorian guard and to everyone else," (NAS). It wasn't the fact of his imprisonment, but the way he faced his imprisonment that lead to what he called "the greater progress of the gospel," it was the way he handled it that brought recognition. The Philippians could certainly understand that, after all it was his singing and rejoicing with Silas in the jail in Philippi that lead to a revival of sorts with the jailer and his family coming to know Jesus and his own release from prison. Discouragement is one of the greatest weapons Satan uses against believers. I'm sure we have all been discouraged at one time or another about our circumstances. I remember when I graduated from seminary in May of 1991 most of my friends already had churches by graduation and plans for moving to a place of ministry. May came and went, then June, July, Aug, and September arrived and I was beginning to wonder why? I was beginning to feel sorry for myself and wondering if God had really called me to preach and if so why didn't He have a place for me. Not to mention the fact I was living in seminary housing on borrowed time, because they only allow you a month after graduation to move out of seminary housing. But God was preparing a place a ministry and me. When we focus on circumstances rather than Christ we often become discouraged. When we are discouraged what do we usually do? We usually give-up, we quit, we give Satan the victory. Paul could have done that. He could have said nothing is working out like I wanted it to, or like I expected it to. Nobody appreciates me, I've been stoned and beaten and rejected and now I'm in jail so I'll just quit, let someone else do it. But, thank God, he didn't. Instead, the way Paul handled himself in his circumstances became well known, he said, to the praetorian guard and everyone else. It lead to the letters we have in our Bible known as the "prison epistles," Ephesians, Philippians and Colossians and Philemon to which Christians owe so much. It lead to open doors for sharing the gospel. People are often more receptive to our witness when they see the way we handle life, especially when life throws us a curve as it often does. It is important for us to learn that rather than being discouraged we should be encouraged even when things don't go the way we want or the way we expect because the Lord is still in control, we are still in His care, the victory is still his. The way we respond to circumstances may also give others confidence as well. In verse 14 Paul wrote, " most of the brethren, trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment, have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear." (NAS) Most of those who responded to the gospel because of Paul's imprisonment found courage because of Paul's faith to share the gospel without fear. Here there was freedom to witness because there was no longer a fear of being imprisoned. Not that there was a desire to go to jail, but when they looked at how Paul handled it they gained a greater confidence in God's ability to see them through any circumstance. The point is when others see how we respond positively to our circumstances because of our faith it gives them courage to rely on faith to respond positively to their circumstances as well. The same is true in our lives. When others see how our faith keeps us through various trial they gain a sense of confidence not in us, but in God's provision. Sometimes when I'm discouraged that things haven't turned out like I anticipated or wanted I think about my friend from seminary Billy Graham. Billy is an evangelist, you might have guessed. I met Billy in my second year of seminary I think. Billy had already been in the ministry a while by that time. He had wanted to attend seminary for years, but was unable to. You see the buildings at Southwestern were old with lots of steps, Billy was in a wheel chair he had to wait until the buildings were accessible. He was also blind, he depended on his wife to be his eyes she was also his driver. When I met him Kathy had just had a brain tumor removed and could no longer drive. But he was so strong in his faith, always praising God for something good that had happened, for an opportunity he had been given. We had a number of classes together and I often pushed him to class he was always joking even about his disabilities. I remember when I would introduce him to someone or he would introduce himself as Billy Graham. He always joked about how he looked different when he was on camera. He even joked about his blindness. He wore dark glasses but we had been friends for several weeks before I realized he was blind. I think He asked one day about what the professor looked like and I guess he could tell by the way I answered I was confused by the question and he said didn't you know I was blind? I said no, and he said something like I can't see either and just laughed. I drew strength and confidence from Billy because he lived above his circumstances by faith. That's what the church is about; we draw strength from others, others draw strength from us. We encourage and strengthen one another mutually deepening and strengthening our faith. The mature encourage the less mature who become more mature. The mature are encouraged when they see the less mature depending on faith and realize they have forgotten the truth of living by faith. Paul encouraged others and they in turn encouraged him. Another thing we learn from Paul in this passage is that we can and should use our circumstances both good and bad to magnify Christ. By that we mean that in every circumstance good or bad we seek the fulfillment of God's will. Phil 1:19-20 "For I know that this shall turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my earnest expectation and 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." (NAS) Paul was confident that his imprisonment, the circumstances of his present troubles and the personal antagonisms of his adversaries would result in his spiritual development and in the best interest of his welfare. Whether that was continuing to live or whether it was death, Paul's desire was the glory of God. This doesn't mean Paul was happy about adverse circumstances, or about pain or suffering. As a matter of fact he prayed three times for his thorn in the flesh to be removed, but he learned the truth of God's answer - that the grace of God was sufficient to see him through any and all situations. He learned as he wrote to the Romans, ". . .that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us." Rom 8:18 (NAS) Paul was confident of God's saving grace and God's sustaining grace, He knew that others seeing how he faced various trials and hardships would be encouraged, and strengthened knowing that the Lord did not forsake Paul even in adverse conditions and would not forsake them either. He also shares with us one other important thing about living above circumstances. "For I know," he wrote in verse 19, " that this shall turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ," (NAS) Paul was not "Super Christian," with faith and ability far beyond mortal men. He was able to live above circumstances because of the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit which is God's gift to all believers and because of the prayers of his fellow believers. To live above circumstances we need each others continual prayers. That is such an important part of the ministry of the body of Christ and often the most neglected. We need to be in prayer for one another constantly, not just when we know of a particular need but even before any need arises. We rise above our circumstance relying not only on our faith but the prayers of others. Are you living above circumstances? Is God being glorified, are others being encourage by how you handle life's situations good and bad? Are you praying for your brothers and sisters in Christ that they may rise above their circumstances? What a challenge for us, one that can only be met by completely trusting Jesus. Are you trusting Him? [back] |