Philippians 1:12-19 (New International Version)

12 Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters,that what has happened to me has actually 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. 14 And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear.

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.

I. The misdiagnosis of adversity (vv. 12-13)
• You know how close to the center of God’s will you are by the level of

you are presently facing.
• Some adversity is from God to strengthen our

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,

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, and

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. (Gen. 50:20)
•

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and

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are sanctifying agents from God like prayer, Bible-reading, fellowship, giving, or serving. (Phil. 1:29, 3:10)
• Some adversity is from the devil, but God allows it in your life to

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.
II. The strengthening effect of adversity (vv. 14-17)
• Our response to the intimidation of evangelism can

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or

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others to fulfill their mission. (Acts 4:29-30)
•

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and

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_ contribute to effectiveness of prayer and evangelism as they do to basic communication.
• “Sheep stealing” or talking down other churches over secondary issues is not evangelism, but rather is

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the enemy. (Mk. 9:38-41, Jas. 4:11-12, Jn. 3:17)
• Christians functioning either as “

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” or “

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” equally weakens the effectiveness of the Great Commission. (1Tim 6:4-5, Gal. 6:1, Jas. 1:26)
III. The way out of adversity (vv. 18-19)
• Locating God in circumstances empowers us to keep the main thing the main thing which is to be

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.
• Biblical truth without mercy makes

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and

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the main thing instead of

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.
• “Rejoice” means that joy can be

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placed back into any difficult circumstance. (Rom. 14:17)
• God will supply the Spiri and deliverance through

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not verbal castigation or fearmongering of our opponents.

TAKE OFF
Share about a time/season in your life when you faced adversity. How did you respond?

TEXT
Philippians 1:12-19

1. What thoughts or feelings did you have during this week’s sermon?
2. How did the apostle Paul’s imprisonment lead to advancing the gospel (vv. 13-14)? How do you think you would have responded if you were facing adversity like Paul? Do you typically view adversity as positive or negative? Explain your answer.
3. Why does Paul say he was “put” in prison (v. 16)? Where have you been “put” and why do you think you are there? How can you utilize this opportunity to strengthen your faith?
4. Why does Paul rejoice over people sharing Christ with the wrong motives (v. 18)? What does this say about his belief in the power of the gospel? How does your belief in the power of the gospel impact your actions with sharing the gospel?

TAKE AWAY
Are you facing difficulties that you have a hard time rejoicing over? Pray for each other and to supernaturally regain joy.