Philippians 1:15-19 New International Version
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.
Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, 19 for I know that through your prayers and God’s provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance.[a]
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
MERRY CHRISTMAS … well, almost … Just a few more days till the celebration.
What if you heard that your former pastor is in prison, do you get concerned?
What happened?
Did he do something terrible or was he there to bring or take the Gospel to the prisoners that Christ may be preached even behind the foreboding prison walls?
The Philippians had heard that Paul was in a Roman prison, so Paul reassured them he was there because of his mission to share the good news about Jesus.
Does that mean I need to commit a crime that I may be a prisoner like Paul?
Once behind prison walls serving the length of my sentence to preach Jesus?
Even if it is this close to the celebration of Christmas and since I am not going anywhere any time soon and the guards are not just going to unlock the doors?
No, certainly not … because I certainly value my freedom and you should also.
And to that Paul added an encouragement: there is a higher purpose; the gospel was now being preached much as a result of his being a prisoner for Christ!
That was good news, but there was a flipside (isn’t there always a flipside?): some of those preachers had some very wrong, selfish motivations.
For some reason known but to God, they preached against Paul even as they preached the gospel. Maybe envy or personal gain drove them to try to turn the spotlight onto themselves. That wasn’t honest or minimally Christlike at all.
But how did Paul respond to that? “What does it matter?” he wrote. Really?!
Didn’t it bother him that some folks were preaching out of selfish ambition?
Apparently not.
Why?
Paul was head over heels in love with Jesus and the good news of salvation.
So if Christ was being preached and the message rang true, Hallelujah!
That jaw-dropping truth is a challenge for us all.
Do we love Jesus so much that we can let other concerns drop?
Even if we don’t like a certain preacher, are we excited enough about the gospel to rejoice that it is being shared anyway?
That’s a tough one. But by grace alone Paul achieved that mindset.
We can too.
Can’t we?!?
Philippians 1:18-19 Amplified Bible
18 What then [does it matter]? So long as in every way, whether in pretense [for self-promotion] or in all honesty [to spread the truth], Christ is being preached; and in this I rejoice.
Yes, and I will rejoice [later as well], 19 for I know [with confidence] that this will turn out for my deliverance and spiritual well-being, through your prayers and the [superabundant] supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ [which upholds me].
We may not like or approve of certain ways some Christian leaders, groups, organizations, and churches are proclaiming the Christmas story this year, yet we may want to take a step back and look at the whole picture.
Although it’s difficult to observe, as often we can see how some seem to have ulterior motives rather than being motivated by the beauty of God’s message.
Yet, still, they may be reaching out to those who may not have heard it before.
Even if we don’t like their tactics and methods, we want to recognize that God is able to save those who hear His truth despite how it is being presented to them.
It’s hard, too, for those of us who seek to handle God’s word with reverent fear and trembling and who understand the call and utmost importance of handling it correctly to see others seeming to deal carelessly with it.
2 Timothy 2:15 instructs, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.”
Understanding God holds us accountable for the words we speak, write, and present to the world; we know He will also hold those responsible who are not so concerned in how they handle it.
Like Jesus warned in Matthew 12:36, we are to be cautious. “But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken.”
Praising God in the Midst of People’s Carelessness
Still, despite their careless handling of His word, God is able to save through it, and for this we want to be thankful and praise God—not for the people who are doing so with little regard for how they present His truth, but for how He is able to reach out in remarkable ways through the most haphazardly ways His truth is presented.
We want to keep in mind the most important thing is that Christ is preached at Christmas, and that involves a broad spectrum of how it is accomplished.
Like the Apostle Paul explained in Romans 10:14, “How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?”
In the grand scheme of life, isn’t it better for those to hear Christ than not to hear Christ at all, even if it’s not done in a way or method we would present it?
God Has His Ways
Because God has His exclusive ways of speaking to individuals’ hearts, we don’t know how He might move a person’s heart in the most unexpected time and unlikely places when it seems like nothing good could come from the situation.
I have heard several people saying why they don’t, wont celebrate Christmas.
Still, in their argument, they quoted Scripture and actually told the Christmas story to those who were nearby listening while trying to make a point against it.
Thankfully, instead of attempting to shut the discussion down, God gave him insight and wisdom to recognize in their attempt to discredit the story of God’s Christmas gift, they were actually spreading the truth of it to those in the group who may never have heard it before – I doubt that was their original intentions.
Although the disgruntled shoppers didn’t realize it that afternoon, they were preaching Christ and possibly unknowingly through it, God was stirring hearts, warming, quickening spirits with the Gospel of His Christmas gift of Salvation.
Isaiah 55:8 describes how “‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,’ declares the Lord.”
Intersecting Faith & Life:
If troubled by how the Christmas story is being presented and represented in your community of churches and in the world at large, pray for God to reach through all of the carelessness and move individuals’ hearts to receive Him.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray …
Psalm 84 English Standard Version
My Soul Longs for the Courts of the Lord
To the choirmaster: according to The Gittith.[a] A Psalm of the Sons of Korah.
84 How lovely is your dwelling place,
O Lord of hosts!
2 My soul longs, yes, faints
for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and flesh sing for joy
to the living God.
3 Even the sparrow finds a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may lay her young,
at your altars, O Lord of hosts,
my King and my God.
4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house,
ever singing your praise! Selah
5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
in whose heart are the highways to Zion.[b]
6 As they go through the Valley of Baca
they make it a place of springs;
the early rain also covers it with pools.
7 They go from strength to strength;
each one appears before God in Zion.
8 O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer;
give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah
9 Behold our shield, O God;
look on the face of your anointed!
10 For a day in your courts is better
than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
the Lord bestows favor and honor.
No good thing does he withhold
from those who walk uprightly.
12 O Lord of hosts,
blessed is the one who trusts in you!
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 