Telling Through Tears

Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel.

Philippians 1:12

What exactly has happened to Paul? As Paul writes these words, he sits in a Roman prison. In fact, by this time, we believe that Paul has been imprisoned for more than two years. Now, you would think that taking the missionary off the road and putting him in prison would hinder the spread of the gospel. But Paul says that God has actually used it to advance the gospel!

The word Paul uses here for ‘advance’ means to blaze a trail.* It pictures scouts going ahead and cutting a trail for the army that follows behind them.** That’s how Paul viewed his imprisonment. In Paul’s eyes, his suffering, his imprisonment blazed a new trail for the gospel. One that otherwise would have been shut off to him.

In other words, God didn’t put Paul in prison on accident. God had a purpose for Paul’s pain! He had a plan to use Paul’s suffering to break new ground and make new inroads for the gospel.

Would you be willing to suffer if it meant that more people would get saved? Would you be willing to suffer pain, hardship or difficulty for a limited amount of time here on earth so that others might hear the gospel and escape unlimited suffering in Hell? That’s what God did through the Apostle Paul, and He might just want to do the same through you. God might choose to use your suffering to bring others to salvation.

If you doubt that God works in this way, I would encourage you to consider the life and ministry of Corrie ten Boom who not only suffered but also ministered in a Nazi concentration camp for women and girls. I would encourage you to consider the life and ministry of Richard Wurmbrand who was imprisoned and tortured for Christ by Communist Russia for 14 years. I would encourage you to consider the life and ministry of Joni Erickson Tada who’s incredible suffering as a paraplegic gave her a voice for Christ. I would point you to Elizabeth Elliot whose ministry was, in many ways, founded upon the tragic death of her missionary husband Jim Eliot. And if you don’t know who these people are, then I encourage you to read their stories and learn about them and how God used their suffering to spread the gospel.

Will you use your suffering to tell others about Jesus?

* Melick, Richard R., Jr. “Philippians.” In CSB Study Bible: Notes, edited by Edwin A. Blum and Trevin Wax, 1881–89. Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2017.

** Vincent, Marvin Richardson. Word Studies in the New Testament. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1887.

(W.o.W. Rewind) An Old Testament Pattern of Evangelism

 When the queen of Sheba saw the wisdom of Solomon...she was overwhelmed. She said to the king, “The report I heard in my own country about your achievements and your wisdom is true. But I did not believe what they said until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, not even half the greatness of your wisdom was told me; you have far exceeded the report I heard. How happy your people must be!... Praise be to the Lord your God, who has delighted in you and placed you on his throne as king...”

King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all she desired and asked for; he gave her more than she had brought to him. Then she left and returned with her retinue to her own country.

2 Chronicles 9:3-8

When the queen of Sheba heard of Solomon's fame, she came up to Jerusalem, half incredulously, with a great caravan of gifts for the king and with just as many questions to test him. She couldn't believe the stories she had heard were true. She was overwhelmed to find out that she hadn't heard the half of it! After Solomon had answered all her questions and after she had praised God for giving His people such a wise king, Solomon generously gave her all she asked him for. In fact, he ended up giving her more than she had brought to him in the first place. He blessed her more than she blessed him. 

May this be the pattern of our witness as well! Unbelievers should hear stories about the love and generosity and joy and reconciliation and unity within our churches. They should come to church out of curiosity, half incredulously, to see if the stories they heard could possibly be true. And when an unbeliever does investigate our church or our lives, let us be very careful to exceed their expectations in every way. So that they can rejoice in saying that they hadn't even heard the half of the amazing work God was doing in us. 

And as they go out from us, curiosity satisfied, let us take great care and even pride in making sure that we are more a blessing to them than they are to us. Be a blessing to lost people every chance you get! This is a sign of God's goodness and blessing in your life that you have enough extra love and kindness and peace and time and even money to allow some to spill out onto them. This should be true of us individually and of our churches as a whole. We don't need to take anything from this old world. It all belongs to our God, so we ought to be generous and even extravagant in seeking to be a blessing to those who come to us seeking to know about Jesus.

Think on this today. When people hear stories about you, stories about your church, what kind of stories do they hear? When they come to see if the stories are true, does the reality of your everyday life outshine the stories? And when these lost people leave you to go out on their way, do you seek to bless them in the name of Jesus every chance you get? I know I still don't measure up, but I am going to strive to follow Solomon's pattern in my life and in my church. 

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions

Blessed is the one

who does not walk in step with the wicked

or stand in the way that sinners take

or sit in the company of mockers,

but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,

and who meditates on his law day and night.

Psalm 1:1-2

You make thousands of decisions every day. But according to the very first words of the very first psalm, your blessedness in life is largely determined by what you choose NOT to do. Psalm 1:1 says that you will be blessed if you choose to steer clear of wicked, sinful, mockers.

Think of this decision as a guardrail of sorts for you life. When you drive down a road with a steep dropoff to one side; a nice, sturdy guardrail can be a real blessing. It can help you avoid disaster. So too, can deciding not to go the way of sinners! 

Scripture tells us plainly that those who rebel against God's rule - the wicked, the sinful, the mocker -  are headed for destruction. Their path leads to ruin. So, it's a blessing for anyone to set up a guardrail in their life by making the decision not to go that way. 

Instead, Psalm 1 advises you to delight in God's Word and meditate on it. Biblical meditation is about going over God's Word again and again to help you digest it better... not unlike a cow chewing its cud. In fact, in the original language, this word for meditate means to mumble or mutter. It pictures the believer muttering the words of Scripture to himself night and day gaining a greater understanding of it as he does.

So, here's two more decisions you can make today. First, choose whether or not you are going to go the way of the wicked, the sinner, and the mocker? If you want to be blessed, you won't. Second, choose whether or not you will make the time to meditate on God's Word? If you want to be blessed, you will.