When Things Don’t Go As Planned

Well, it is really good to be back. I have had an amazing sabbatical and I cannot thank you enough for giving me and my family that time. I can honestly say that during our time away as we worshiped at other great churches, we really missed OGC. About the third week in July my kids told me, “You and mom can go wherever you want this Sunday, but we are going to OGC.” And that’s coming from three teenagers and a ten year old:) So that is not lost on me. This is a special place and our time away just solidified that in a number of sweet ways.

I also want to say thank you to the staff, deacons, and elders who worked extra hard in my absence. But, the lion share of the extra work did fall on the staff. I’m sure you all know this, but I get to serve with the best staff I could imagine. If you are on staff in this room, would you mind raising your hand? Thank you.

Ok, we are in Philippians chapter one. Paul is in prison in Rome. Paul planted the church in Philippi and its been about four years since they have seen him. They know he’s in prison and there is obviously no telephone or email so they are wondering what is going on with Paul! And not just about Paul. What does his imprisonment mean for them? For the progress of the gospel? For the churches? Paul was, humanly speaking, the architect for all the church planting that happened in the first century all over the Roman Empire. To lose Paul at this point would feel like losing William Tyndale who first translated the Bible into English, but was strangled to death and burned at the stake at the height of his influence at the age of 40. Or Dietrich Bonhoeffer whose writings shaped 20th century Christian theology in the areas of discipleship, community, and suffering. He was a German pastor who resisted Hitler and was executed at the age of 39 just weeks before Germany surrendered. The church wondered what happens when we don’t have Tyndale? What happens when we don’t have Bonhoeffer? Well, multiply that feeling by 1000 and that is how the church in Philippi is feeling.

The question at the heart of this passage is what do we do when things don’t go the way we plan for them to? And this is actually a harder question for Christians than non-Christians. Non-Christians can kind of throw up their hands and say, “Well, bad things happen” or “that’s the world we live in” or even “see, this is just proof that if there is a God, He’s not engaged with this world in a meaningful way.” But, for the Christian, when we do follow God and do give as much of our lives to Him as we can, then when things don’t go the way we planned…or if they actually go quite badly… then what do we do with that? And that is exactly the question that Paul is answering here for the Philippians.

This is a passage that speaks to all of us, but I also think it is incredibly timely because we are commissioning three new deacons today and ordaining Clark Bartholomew as a pastor and elder of this church. If you are going to serve and lead a church, you have to not just know, but deeply feel what Paul is saying here or Christian ministry will be confusing at best and depressing at worst. Paul’s ministry was not going how the church in Philippi thought it was supposed to. And Paul is responding to them, and us, by showing us the cause of his trials, the purpose of his trials, and the power through the trials.

1. The cause of his trials

When we talk about the cause, there is a human element and a divine element at play here. I’ll start with the human. All humans suffer trials. There is no escape to it. But, there are times when the sin of other people adds to our trials. Certainly we can talk about the sin of the Emperor Nero and his oppressive regime. But, Paul actually points the first finger at other Christians. And not just Christians, but pastors. Paul says in verse 15 that 15 bSome indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from goodwill. 16 The latter do it out of love, cknowing that I am put here for dthe defense of the gospel. 17 The former proclaim Christ eout of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. Phil 1:15-17

You can go back and read the first century writings of Clement and Suetonius and they very much point the finger at pastors in Rome as a cause for Paul’s suffering. The church in Rome existed well before Paul ever got there. There were some prominent pastors in Rome who were intimidated when the Apostle Paul came to town, even though he was a prisoner, and people began to defer to Paul over them. It seems like they were saying things like, “Sure, that’s Paul but he’s in jail. Can God really be blessing him? Come listen to us. We are the real leaders in this city.” And these were doctrinally sound pastors who preached the correct gospel. They weren’t anti-Christ, they were just anti-Paul.

Envy and jealousy can rip a church apart. It is the opposite of love. Love is putting the needs of others ahead of ourselves. Envy and jealousy cause us to put our selfish needs above those of others. Many historians think that these pastors in Rome actually gave Nero the room he needed to have Paul executed. Had they loved Paul with a humble disposition and been united, things could have gone differently.

I have to confess here that there have been doctrinally sound pastors in every city I have lived in who I didn’t trust. I saw pride, I saw worldly ambition, I saw envy of larger churches, and platforms as their goal. And do you know what that stirred up in me? Pride and envy. Pride that I wasn’t arrogant (which is ironic) and envy that many of these arrogant men did pastor larger churches. I have been guilty of stooping to the same level of the Roman pastors and even gossiped about them and I shouldn’t have. I should have had the heart of Paul to love them, pray for them, and set a better Christian example. And my hope is that all of us here at OGC can be like that in this city.

That’s the human element, but there is a divine element too. God permitted it. He is allowing all this to happen. Not because Paul was in sin. Not because Paul needed discipline, but because He had purpose in it. That brings us to the purpose in Paul’s trials.

1. The purpose of his trials

Now, I can’t imagine that Paul would have chosen this. He could be planting churches, discipling believers, enjoying his friends, but he’s in prison. His plan was to take the gospel to Spain, but it doesn’t seem like that ever happened. But, Paul doesn’t seem to expect to see the whole picture. He’s not caught off guard when things don’t happen the way he expected them to. There was a famous pastor in the 1600’s named Matthew Henry who wrote some incredible commentaries on the Bible and, about this passage, he wrote that God is the only alchemist.

Do you know what alchemy was? It’s not just a Taylor Swift song. Back in the middle ages, people tried to figure out a way to turn lead into gold. To take something that had very little value and turn it into something that had great value. They never figured it out. And Matthew Henry’s point is that only God can turn something that seems like it has little value into gold. And he’s referring to our trials. Paul didn’t expect to understand all that God was doing, but he does, in a sense, walk into trials wondering and even expecting God to turn it into gold somehow. And because he had this perspective, he could see things others couldn’t. He couldn’t see the whole plan, but he could see at least three ways God was turning his trial into gold.

First, Paul can see the gospel going forward in unique ways. Paul was under constant guard by the Romans. He couldn’t sleep alone, he couldn’t eat alone, he couldn’t go to the bathroom alone. A member of the Roman praetorium was always there. And in my mind, they rolled their eyes at him in the beginning, but over time they heard him talking with visitors, they heard him praying, they heard him singing, and they heard him speaking directly to them. Paul was in chains, but it feels more like the guards were the ones in chains. Chained to the greatest evangelist the world has ever known. And one by one over time, they became convinced that Paul was not a criminal and that he was there because of his faith in Jesus. And, it seems like some of these guards came to faith. 12 I want you to know, brothers,5 that what has happened to me has really xserved to advance the gospel, 13 so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard6 and yto all the rest that zmy imprisonment is for Christ. - Phil 1:12,13

This makes me wonder, how do we feel chained from doing the things we want to do to influence the Kingdom? You might feel chained to a desk, you might feel chained to your car, you might feel chained to your home, you might feel chained to your couch or bed. What would it look like to be ok not knowing the full plan of God, but to instead simply ask, “God how might you turn this into gold?” Maybe it’s gospel opportunities at work, maybe it’s a renewed joy in being a young mother or the care giver for a parent, maybe it’s a renewed passion for prayer. I don’t presume to know how God is using your trial to bring about gold, but I know the Holy Spirit does.

The second way Paul can see God turning his trial into gold is through believers being strengthened. He says in verse 14 14 And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold ato speak the word7 without fear. - Phil 1:14 There are Christians who see Paul’s boldness in prison and these Christians who were hesitant for whatever reason to share their faith are now emboldened. When we can begin to see God turning our trial into gold, it gives us a passion to serve Him and when others see that, it’s contagious. Then we begin to see God using our trials and even new ways.

Then, the third way Paul sees God turning his trial into gold is through his deliverance. Yes, and I will rejoice, 19 for I know that fthrough your prayers and gthe help ofhthe Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance,...- Phil 1:18b,19 This word ‘deliverance’ doesn’t mean that he knows he will get out of prison. Some have mistakenly used this verse to say things like, “Paul had faith and that faith delivered him from prison.” I don’t think that’s what he is saying. The word deliverance is actually the same word for salvation. I think he’s saying that all these trials will lead to his salvation. Not salvation in spite of the trials. Not salvation because his perseverance in the trials earns him salvation. But through these trials, God is working a great salvation in him. He’s calling Paul closer to Himself.

I have a good friend who often says, “If dependence is the goal, then weakness is a necessity.” Our trials aren’t a distraction to what we are called to be and do in this life, they are often the way God shows us His love for us even more. Our instinct is to fight against any weakness. We believe independence is a sign of maturity. We get discouraged or angry when we have to be dependent for too long. And that keeps us from realizing that in our relationship with God, dependence is the point. Independence from God is the very lie Satan brought into the Garden of Eden. Through our weakness, we grow in dependence on Him and see Him as our greatest win. Our greatest deliverance.

And I’m sure of this understanding because in verse 19 where Paul is talking about his deliverance, he is word for word quoting the Greek translation of Job 13 (the translation the Philippian church would have read) where Zophar is saying that Job’s suffering is because of his own sin. That God had abandoned him. The same things these other pastors are at least insinuating about Paul. Sometimes when we are in the height of our confusion and pain, we are also in the middle of God’s good will for us. It doesn’t make it easy, but it draws us close. It gives us purpose. Augustine wrote in City of God, “The peace of this life is merely a solace, not a state of blessedness. It is a shadow, not the reality of peace.” He’s saying that what lies on the other side of this life is so sweet, joyful, and satisfying that the best of lives here is but a shadow of the next and the worst of lives will seem like a bad night's sleep by comparison to what is to come.

But, there is still something deeper that gives Paul the ability to look for this gold. He isn’t just giving us a pep talk when things go a different way than we would want. He isn’t just showing us his gold. He’s showing us the key to look for ourselves.

1. The power in Paul’s trials

Paul’s power comes through these very famous words, “To live is Christ.” Think about it. What happens when our heart says “to live is work” and we don’t get promoted? What happens when our heart says “to live is family” and we don’t find a spouse or our spouse lets us down or our kids go astray? What happens when we say “to live is financial security” and the stock market goes bad or we make a bad investment? It throws us into a spiral. All of those things can let us down and none of them can produce fruit in trials.

Since this week was the 51st anniversary of Nixon's resignation, I remember a story I heard years ago, when a friend of President Nixon visited him at his beautiful California home overlooking the Pacific ocean after Nixon had resigned in the wake of the Watergate scandal. Nixon’s friend was trying to encourage him that he still had so much and pointed to the house and view and Nixon said something like, “But none of it matters if I’m not President.” Nixon’s heart was saying, “To live is power.” And when he lost that power, he had nothing left to live for. There was no gold anywhere.

We can even say, “to live is morality or even religious activity,” but that isn’t Christianity. Our big sabbatical trip was a week in the Bahamas on a relatively small island that I grew up going to with my parents. It was a dream to share it with my family and we got to bring my parents with us and make new memories. We booked our house relatively late and most of the homes that could accommodate us were booked, but this one home came open. It had been ravaged by hurricane Dorian in 2019 and was just enough restored to rent. We later found out that the home was built by a man named Chester Thompson who was the Bahama’s Earnest Hemingway who died in 2012 at the age of 90. Angela and I both read his book The Fledgeling last month and it’s his account of growing up on this small island in the 20’s and 30’s.

When he was young, his mother had five kids and couldn’t afford to care for them all so she sent him to live with his great aunt. She was the church lady of the island. She was also the morality police. And one day the new town preacher was in her home and he said, “My job is to help sinners like you.” And this flew all over her. She was out of sorts because she didn’t see herself as a sinner. For her, to live wasn’t Christ, it was morality and religion. And it caused her to look down on other people, not to love them. Her husband told Chester when he was young, “Auntie has had more than her share of bad things. Her way of coping is to be strict on herself and others.” When things got hard, it was hard for her to understand because she felt more moral than everyone else. Her coping was not the grace of God, but more moral effort. Morality is good, but it doesn’t save. It doesn’t produce fruit in trials. If we live for morality or good religious works, we will end up a very self-righteous, lonely, and bitter person.

It’s not bad to love family, friends, or security, it’s bad to live for them. Tim Keller once said, If your life collapses when your love collapses, it means that your loves were your life, and your problem is not your circumstances, it’s your definition of life.  Paul had lost his work, he had lost his security, he had lost his friends, but he was ok because he didn’t live for any of those things. He loved them, but he didn’t live for them.

We have talked some this year about Paul Miller’s J-Curve. It is a life that repeatedly reenacts the dying and rising of Jesus. Like the letter J, it demonstrates how Jesus’ life went down into death and then rose up even higher in resurrection. It is not only the pattern of Jesus’ life, but our lives in our everyday moments.

The normal Christian life is a life given over to many deaths. We die to comfort, convenience, worldly success, approval, ease, expectations, resentment, cynicism, and despair only to be ‘resurrected’ even higher over and over again to repentance, love, humility, vulnerability, trust, and hope. Just as Jesus substitutes himself for us, we substitute the pieces of our lives for others. So, when life doesn’t go the way we want, when trials come, we can know that this is the design. We can endure it and flourish knowing that this is a way we substitute a piece of our lives, in some small way, and there is a promised resurrection in our hearts that will come. This is the essence of what Paul wrote in over chapter 3. hthat I may know him and ithe power of his resurrection, and jmay share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may kattain the resurrection from the dead. - Phil 3:10,11

When things get hard in life now, we get to share in the sufferings of Jesus knowing that they will lead to resurrections in our hearts in this life and an eternal resurrection when He comes back. When we see Jesus in our minds and hearts on the cross enduring the mocking and the excruciating pain, we can see that He did that for us. And if He did that for us, what hardship in this life can we possibly blame him for? If we know that all our hardships are under his control, that they will be used in this life for our good and his glory, and that they will one day, when this life is done, be taken from us completely, we will have the power to look for the gold in our trials. We won’t presume to know all that God is doing, but we will have the power to trust that He is making God in our hearts.

Justin Hamil, Amanda Walton, Karen Person. This church has seen you walk with Jesus. We have seen you embrace ‘to live is Christ.’ And this church has nominated you and today will install you as deacons here at OGC. To live is Christ means serving others ahead of yourself which is the very heart of a deacon. To serve when others don’t see it and even when they see it and don’t appreciate it. But if your life is Christ, He will give you more joy than all of our affirmation possibly could. And that resurrection in your hearts through every trial will fuel your service.

Clark Bartholomew. This church has hired you as a pastoral resident and today you will be ordained as a pastor and elder at OGC. I’ve known you since you were in eighth grade and had the privilege of baptizing you in college. It’s been such a joy to watch you grow in the Lord. Your intellectual gifts are clear to all of us, but that isn’t going to sustain you when ministry doesn’t go as planned…and it won’t. The reason this church is choosing to make you one of our pastors isn’t because you are smart, it isn’t because you excelled in school, it isn’t because of your wit. And you have all those things in spades. It’s because we see a man who sees life as Christ. Who wants to serve Jesus wherever that takes you. Who wants to build up His church. Who sees that dependence is the goal and weakness is a necessity. Don’t ever lose your first love and you will always be able to look for the gold no matter what turns your ministry takes.

Church, we have a definition of life that can never be taken from us. Jesus, who was, and is, and is to come... who is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow…who is unstoppable… who is all loving and all powerful…who has saved us from our sin and is saving us through our trials…He will never let us down, He will never let us go. And that is why we can say with our mouths and hearts, that He is our life. He is our love. And if we can do that together, I believe that He will do more in us and through us than we could ever ask or imagine.

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