What Is Chained to You?

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Last week, we started reading this weird book of the Bible called Philippians. Weird because it tells us we can have a life with no worries and constant joy. And we learned God’s first secret to a life of constant joy—to look around. To realize on those days when our life seems broken down that there is a superhighway of people learning about Jesus and believing in Jesus and living for Jesus. Life is not just about us. Millions of people share in God’s grace. That always gives us a reason to rejoice.
But there’s a flaw to that way of thinking. Here’s the flaw: How many people can actually do that? How many of us can actually rejoice about “out there” when what’s happening “right here” is so painful?
When I was in college, I collapsed a lung. At some dinky hospital in Iowa, they jammed a tube in between my ribs and waited for my lung to fix itself. It didn’t. The pain only got worse. My girlfriend, Kim, came to see me before lung surgery. Unfortunately, she arrived right after they gave me some powerful narcotics. Pointing to Kim, I asked, “Hey, doc, how many more doses could I get if I traded you this little filly right here?” We laughed but the pain soon intensified. Ripping migraines. Constant vomiting. Cruel squeezing-devices they strapped to my legs to keep the blood flowing…but they just woke me up when I finally fell asleep. It was a nightmare. If you would have come into my room and said, “Hey, Mike, I know the doctors aren’t sure if you’ll play sports again. And I know you’ve thrown up six times today. And I know you haven’t slept more than an hour straight, but did you know we had five new people in our Bible class?” I wish I would have rejoiced. But I probably would have said, “Great. Tell them to be Good Samaritans and bring me some morphine!”
Do you know what I mean? I love people studying the Bible. I love hearing about new Christians. I love it that God is up to things on this planet. But as great as that is, it’s still hard to rejoice when your life just crashed. I can tell you about all the new people at Eastside, but if you just found out a loved one has cancer, you might not have room in your heart to rejoice in that. I can share the miraculous growth of the church in Indonesia, but if your company or your spouse is about to let you go, your heart might not be in the jumping mood. So today we throw this question back at the Apostle Paul, “How can we really rejoice about them when our lives fall apart? How joyful does God expect us to be when everyone else is flying down the superhighway and we’re sweating next to a broken-down life and no one is stopping to help?”
Paul is the perfect guy to ask. Because he’s been through the pain. At the very start of our sermon text, he says, “Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel.” Well, what happened to him? About four years earlier, Paul was falsely accused and arrested in Jerusalem. A rabid mob tried to murder him. He survived, but was shackled under a screwed-up legal system. For two entire years, he rotted in a prison in Caesarea. Finally, they put him on a ship to Rome. The ship wrecked. He survived. On a nearby island, a poisonous viper bit him. He survived. Eventually, he got to Rome where he lived for two more years awaiting trial. Meanwhile, some men step up to preach in Paul’s absence. Their message was good—it was all about Jesus Christ. But their motives were not. They were jealous of Paul. They wanted the, “Wow, pastor, that was even better than Paul’s last sermon!” The only reason they were preaching was their selfish ambition. And Paul, locked up hundreds of miles away, couldn’t stop them.
You would think Paul’s joy would have evaporated. But listen to his reaction: “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. 14Because 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 in 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.”
“I rejoice”! How does a scarred, slandered, shackled man rejoice? Because “what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel”. Paul knew the point of Paul’s life was not Paul. The point of Paul’s life was Jesus. And as long as the gospel of Jesus was advanced, Paul could rejoice. No matter what happened. He gives us three examples to prove it:
Verse 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.” The Philippians were being persecuted. The threats were enough to silence them. “Is sharing the gospel supposed to be this painful? Maybe we should back off.” But then they saw Paul’s chains. “If Paul keeps preaching while persecuted, we can, too.” Paul’s pain served to advance the gospel.
Then verse 17: “The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached.” Do motives matter? Yes. But Paul saw the glass as half-full. “Hey, these guys are saying, ‘Jesus Christ died and rose again for us all! Repent and believe in Jesus!’ How can we not rejoice in that?!” Paul’s chains served to multiply the number of gospel preachers.
Then verse 13: “It has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ.” Paul was under house arrest. That means he lived in a house, but he was chained to a Roman guard. Every shift, a new guard would show up and chain himself to Paul. Sound terrible? For Paul, maybe. But not for the advance of the gospel. Picture it. “Hey, I’m Paul. What’s your name?” “Alexander.” “Alexander, what are you in for?” “Um…it’s my job. And you?” “Jesus.” “Who’s Jesus?” “Funny you asked…Got a minute to talk? Or an 8-hour shift?” And when Paul’s friends visited to talk about Jesus’ death and Jesus’ resurrection and Jesus’ words and Jesus’ works, who was guaranteed to be just a chain-length away? And when the Holy Spirit came on Paul to write the letter to the Philippians, who was close enough to look over his shoulder?
This is why Paul could rejoice in his suffering. Because Paul’s greatest goal was not Paul or Paul’s name or Paul’s plans. Paul’s greatest goal was Jesus and Jesus’ name and Jesus’ plans. Paul realized—don’t miss this—that God didn’t chain him to a guard. God chained a guard to him.
A few years ago, a group of Bible teachers gave a seminar in Brazil. Before a long-afternoon of teaching, the group was dropped off at a local restaurant for lunch. But after lunch, their host was running late. The class was about to start and the teachers weren’t there! So they started to walk back to the school. On their way, they crossed a bridge that towered over a beautiful canyon. Before they reached the end of the bridge, however, they came across a distressed woman who was about jump and kill herself. The teachers pleaded with her and begged her not to jump. Eventually, she stepped back from the edge. Their words saved her life. So, did God chain those teachers to an inconvenient long walk? Or did he chain the long-walk to them?
So, what’s chained to you? You never looked at it that way, did you? You always thought, “God, why am I chained to this? Why am I stuck with this? Why am I walking when someone was supposed to pick me up? Why am I going back to school when I was supposed to start my career? Why am I going through chemo when I tried to take care of my body? Why are the kids so cruel when I’ve only treated them well? Why is this happening to me?” And that mindset robs us of constant joy. Instead, we get bitter. We wonder why he allows this. We doubt he answers prayer. We’re skeptical about his love. And we stop rejoicing.
But what if God gave us life for a completely different reason? What if the point of your life was not you? What if the point of your life was the gospel? You see, God cares your body, but he cares immensely more about your soul. That’s why Jesus came in the first place. What happened to Jesus’ body was for the sake of our souls. He went through pain so we could go to paradise. Jesus was chained and beaten and wrecked on the cross. Why? For us. He gave up his bodily comfort, so our souls could have eternal comfort. Jesus died for the advancement of the gospel—so we would hear the good news of our forgiveness and salvation
So how will God advance the gospel through you? That’s the question, isn’t it? Not how will God make life easier? Not how will God take this pain away? The question joyful believers ask more often is, “How will God advance the gospel through me?
You’ve come close to asking that question. Haven’t you said things like, “God works in…mysterious ways”? Or “I believe everything happens for a…reason”? You were right. You just never thought through it. What is God’s “reason”? A roundabout way of making life easier? No. The advancement of the gospel. What is God working towards with those mysterious ways? The life you always dreamed of? No. The advancement of the gospel.
Then let me ask the question again: What’s chained to you? What difficult circumstance is God sticking to you so that you, a forgiven and heaven-bound child of God, can advance the gospel? Like the Roman guards, who is in your life right now that wouldn’t have been if life had gone according to your plans? A nurse? A divorce lawyer? A therapist? A roommate? Your cousin you had to move in with? A collections’ agent? A mechanic? Who’s chained to you?
What if the so-called “accidents” in our lane of life aren’t really accidents? What if they are God’s detours? What if down those detour roads are broken-down souls that need more than AAA? Souls that we can save by “jumping” them with cross of Jesus Christ? Like the prophet Jonah learned, what if God is more concerned about those souls than he is our bodily comfort? Then couldn’t we learn to rejoice? Couldn’t we trust God works in the mysterious ways to reach people with his love and forgiveness?
There was once an old farmer whose donkey was even older. One day, the donkey went wandering off and fell into a pit. It was too deep for the donkey to climb out. When the farmer saw the situation, he grabbed a shovel, scooped up some dirt, and tossed it down in to the pit. The donkey looked up as dirt rained down and brayed for his life. But the farmer kept shoveling. Soil rained down as the animal shouted for the farmer to stop. But the farmer kept shoveling. As dirt piled up on the donkey’s back, he whipped it off and begged the farmer to stop. But the farmer kept shoveling. The donkey squeezed his eyes as he shook off the dirt, protecting himself from his cruel master. For hours they fought, the relentless old man throwing down dirt and the relentless old donkey shaking it off and shrieking for mercy. But finally the dirt stopped. The donkey’s chest heaved, waiting for the next shovel-full, but it didn’t come. He opened his eyes and staring him in the face was…the farmer. The confused donkey looked down into the pit, but the pit was gone. Just dirt, shaken off and stamped down. The farmer smiled. “Old friend, it was the only way to save you.”
What if the dirt raining down in your life isn’t God’s way of destroying, but God’s way of saving? What if the pain you’re facing is what God is using to raise you up to new places and put you in contact with new people? Don’t let the pains and chains of life bury you. See them like God does. As the way he connects his loved, forgiven, Spirit-filled people (you!) with the people and places where the gospel of Jesus Christ needs to be advanced. If you remember that, you can look at what you’re chained to and rejoice always. Amen!