How do you deal with your problems? We know that life is going to have problems. That is not the conclusion of someone with a negative attitude. It’s reality. The world is not perfect. People are not perfect. When you put imperfect people in an imperfect world, you will have problems. Many of you are in the midst of big problems right now. Some of you are not. But that’s ok. It will only be a matter of time before something happens that will change all of that. Maybe it will be something at work. Perhaps you will be given an opportunity to accomplish something significant. The only problem is that often in order for someone to advance, someone else doesn’t. And that ‘someone else” who doesn’t advance may often try to interfere with your efforts. It’s not fair. You are innocent. It’s not your fault. You are just doing your job. But none of that matters, because for better or worse you are now caught up in a lovely soap opera called office politics.

For others, our problems will emerge in our relationships. Maybe it’ll start with our family or a close friend. One of the most difficult realities in this world is that the more we care about someone, the more pain they can sometimes cause us. I would guess this makes a lot of sense. After all, if you don’t care about someone, then that person will really have no opportunity to cause you pain. Many of us walk through life with very big walls that protect us from other people. The problem is that a wall only works when the troublemaker is on the outside. So, we are very careful about who we let in. We have to let someone in, because otherwise life would be unbearably lonely. The problem is that there are no perfect people in this world to let in. Since we are not perfect, it will only be a matter of time before someone gets hurt.

Whatever the problem is in your life, the question still remains. How are you going to deal with your problems? That is what we want to talk about this morning. Our scripture is taken from Phillipians 1:12 – 26. This is written by the Apostle Paul while he is under arrest.

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 guarda and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. 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.

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.b 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 the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance.c 20 I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. 22 If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! 23 I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; 24 but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. 25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, 26 so that through my being with you again your joy in Christ Jesus will overflow on account of me.

When I first read this scripture, it seemed pretty straight forward. Paul’s got problems. He is in prison. Actually, there is a whole lot more to the story. We need to rewind the story back four years. In Acts 21, people are accusing Paul of perverting the truth. They accused him of teaching Jews to break the law of Moses. These were serious accusations that were completely false. Paul did nothing wrong, he didn’t deserve this. He is innocent. But it doesn’t matter, because when people spread rumors about you, the world rarely cares about the truth.

I have some first hand experience with this. When I was a teenager, this mother began spreading a rumor about me. It was kind of nasty. I’m not sure I ever fully heard what she was saying about me. I only got bits and pieces. It went something like this “Tim was first attracted to my oldest daughter. But she didn’t like him. So Tim then started chasing after my younger daughter.” For the record, I was never interested in the older daughter. For the record, I have no comment about the younger daughter. The rumor was silly. But worse, it became very inconvenient and embarrassing. My friends kept asking me what I was doing. What was I thinking? My parents heard about it from their friends and they started asking me what I was doing. How could I behave so inappropriately? Chinese Social circles have an amazing ability to propagate gossip far and fast It seemed like everywhere I was turning I had to explain to people I don’t even know that well that the rumor was not true. When I was a teenager, I didn’t talk about my relationships with anyone. When I had problems, my process for working out relationship issues involved a 60 lbs punching bag. The method is quite simple actually. You start punching the bag. You keep punching the bag until one of two things happens. Either A, you mind clears and you figure out what you need to do. Or B, you get so tired and hand starts to hurt that you are ready to stop thinking out it. I’m a private kind of guy. I like to keep things that way. But because of this rumor, I found myself explaining the details of my love life or lack there of to basically the whole world. The problem with a rumor is that you can’t do anything about it. There’s no point in confronting the mother. She started fire, she can’t stop it. All you can do is shut up and endure it. Wait for people to get bored and move on to the next interesting piece of gossip.

Paul’s problem is much worse. People are not just entertaining themselves with these rumors, they have a deliberate agenda to destroy him. Why? Because Paul is teaching that Jesus is the Savior of the world. The problem here is that this Jesus is same teacher the Jew rejected and sought and succeeded in executing. The Jews were comfortable with their current way of life. The truth of Jesus forces them to make choice. For these Jews, they desperately want life to go back to the old ways. They can’t change. The only way to preserve the old teaching is to kill the source of the new teaching. So when Paul goes to the temple to offer a sacrifice, the Jews physically drag him out of the building. A riot starts and people start beating Paul with the intent to kill him. Roman soldiers have to intervene to prevent his death.

Life will get much worse of Paul. 40 men commit themselves to his assassination. To avoid a most certain death, the Governor of Caesarea will keep him in prison for 2 years. After that Paul will be shipped out to Rome. The ship is destroyed when a fierce storm crashes the ship into a remote island. When Paul finally makes it to Rome, he is still kept under house arrest for another two years.

When it is all said and done, Paul spends over 4 years in prison plus many miserable months at sea. There are some problems in life that we cause, because we make bad choices. In those situations it is clear that the problem is our fault and we will have to suffer the consequences. While we are suffering, there is a certain perspective that there is a sense of justice in the suffering. When you make a mistake, you pay the price. There are other problems in life, that aren’t cause by a bad choice. We are innocent. We weren’t looking for a problem. The problem came looking for us. In these situations, we claim innocence. “It’s not my fault. Why should I have to suffer?”

Paul spends over four years of his life in the “it’s-not-my-fault. Why-should-I have-to-suffer?” category. How is he able to not only tolerate this injustice, but actually able to rejoice in it? Today’s Scripture provides some insight.

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 guarda and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. 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.[1]

One of the most striking things about Paul is his ability to view his life from God’s perspective. In every situation that comes our way, we have choice at how we look at the situation. We can view it from a personal view. “What do I want out of this?” For Paul that would be easy, I want to get out of the jail. I want to be able to live my life. Or we can view it from God’s perspective. “What does God want?” I’m sure God wants the best for Paul. But God also has bigger desires for all of his children. He wants all of his children to be with him for all of eternity. This is a problem of priority. While there is nothing wrong with Paul wanting his Freedom, God’s thinking about all of his children who will lose their freedom for all of eternity. The only thing worse than 4 years of prison for one person is an eternity in hell for all of mankind. There is a real crisis here. Both in Paul’s time and in our time, if people don’t hear about Christ, they have no chance of Heaven.

John 14:6

6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

When Paul is able to set aside his personal desires and see things from God’s bigger purpose, he is convicted that his chains are a good thing. Joseph had a similar experience. Think about it. His brothers sold him into slavery. He was then falsely accused of raping his master’s wife and spent two years in prison for a crime he did not commit. Yet, look at how he considers his situation.

Genesis 45

4 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come close to me.” When they had done so, he said, “I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! 5 And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. 6 For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will not be plowing and reaping. 7 But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.a

8 “So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt.

I think Joseph may have had it tougher than Paul, because when he was experiencing his problems, he probably didn’t understand God’s greater purpose in his adversity. At each step of his trials, Paul could see tremendous things happening. In the course of his trials, he had the opportunity to share his personal story of how he came to know Christ to governors, kings, soldiers, and the Roman people. Joseph had no such encouragement. He just saw life fall apart on him. He went from a favorite son to a slave and then a prisoner. While God did give him a vision that someday he would do something great, I doubt he spent much time thinking about such things when he was caught in prison.

What Joseph did do was tremendous. As a slave, he became the best slave he could. His master had total trust in his ability to manage his household. As a prisoner, he became the best prisoner he could. The jailers had total trust in his ability to manage the other prisoners. Only much later does God’s sovereign plan become obvious, “Joseph I made you a slave so you would learn to manage a household. Once you master those skills, I made you a prisoner so that you would learn to manage a prison. With this training, I prepared you to manage one of the most powerful nations in the world.” Do you think a shepherd boy would be ready to rule Egypt if he had stayed in the security of his own home?

What about you and me? Can we be like Paul? When life throws at problems at us, can we endure them with the same Godly perspective like Paul did? Yes, Lord, I am willing to put up with whatever trial you have prepared for me if this is the only way I can have a platform to speak the truth that will save your people. Do you know that people have a much easier time listening to you when they know that you have wrestled with the same problems they can relate to? Sometimes God will use our struggles in life to prepare us to make a difference in the lives of others. You know when I was single, I’d look at my friend who were struggling to keep up with their kids. I was thinking, “that’s pretty hard. They look pretty tired. I should offer to help them out sometime. Maybe I should baby sit or something.” I never did. I was too busy. Now, with three kids of my own, I have a very special sense of compassion for how harried new young parents are. Now, when I look at new parent, I don’t just think, “that’s pretty hard. They look pretty tired.” No, my experience has changed me. It’s moved me to action. I bring food over week after week. I’m happy to provide the support, because I know that’s a new parents needs. They can barely keep with the needs of the baby, much less their own. I make it a priority to spend time with them teaching them all the tricks I’ve learned about diaper changes and baths, because I know terrifying it can be to have huge responsibility in front you and have no idea what you are doing. God has a way of using our life challenges to sensitize our hearts to touch the lives of those around us.

It’s not enough to be like Paul. To endure our suffering when we can understand how it helps God’s kingdom. There will be times we need to be like Joseph. We need to endure when purpose of our problems is not clear to us. We need to still trust in Faith that our God is sovereign and he does have a purpose for everything that happens in our lives. And that someday later, perhaps in this life or in heaven, that purpose will be revealed.

A Godly perspective on our problems not only encourages us to endure, a godly perspective also provides a precious sense of freedom.

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.b 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. [2]

Imagine that. Have you ever been in a situation where your natural response is too human and too wrong? You know you should be happy for a friend when they are successful or proud of your brother or sister when they do something impressive. Yet part of you is jealous and part of you wishes that it was you who had been successful. Paul’s godly view of life frees him from that trap. He doesn’t care that people are taking advantage of his incarceration to advance their own positions. All he cares about is that people are hearing God’s word, whatever the motivation. Moses had a similar situation.

Numbers 11

27 A young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.” 28 Joshua son of Nun, who had been Moses’ aide since youth, spoke up and said, “Moses, my lord, stop them!” 29 But Moses replied, “Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!”

When we see godly people in the Scripture exhibit remarkably similar traits, we can be confident that God desires such traits to also mark our lives. As Christians, we profess that Christ is our Lord. That means that whatever he wants to do in our lives or not do in our lives is completely his prerogative. We have no rights to jealousy. There will be times God will choose to use us to do great things for his kingdom. There will be times when God will put us on the side lines. In the end, our personal glory doesn’t matter. It is his that Glory we seek. Look at what Paul writes in the next section.

Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, 19 for I know that through your prayers and the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance.c 20 I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. [3]

Sometimes when we are going through adversity, we can be consumed with the desire to see our adversity end. In addition to the pain and struggle of the situation, we can make things worse by adding anxiety and fear in the anticipation of when will the ordeal end. Paul doesn’t have that problem. He has a wonderful peace that comes from recognizing that God is in control. Daniel’s friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego demonstrated this same spirit when they were confronted with their execution. This is King Nebuchadnezzar speaking.

Daniel 3:15

“if you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good. But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?”

16 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. 18 But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”

God may choose to deliver us or may not. It doesn’t matter. As Christians we surrender our lives under the Lordship of Christ. That means our salvation is under His command. It is not up to us. This is a good thing. How many of us really have the power to save our selves. Isn’t it much better to let God rule our lives and let Him call the shots? How is it possible to maintain such a view of our lives? I believe the answer lies in being able to not only take a Godly perspective of the “problems” of your life, but to also take a Godly perspective of your life. Paul writes in verse 22.

22 If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! 23 I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; 24 but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. 25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, 26 so that through my being with you again your joy in Christ Jesus will overflow on account of me. [4]

Paul has shifted his focus from his chains to heaven. He knows someday that he will leave this world to spend an eternity in perfect place, where there is no adversity. There is no pain. There is no suffering. Heaven is a place where life reflects the perfection that we all desperately desire but cannot find in this life. The tragedy of sin, of disobedience to God, eliminates any hope of a perfect life in this world. But in heaven, there will be perfection. There will be no disease, no pain, no dysfunctional relationships, and no suffering. Paul knows that an eternity in heaven will come. But for the short time that he will spend in this world, he is clear on the purpose of his life. He has a Godly view of his adversity and his life.

What about you and me? Can we also follow Paul’s example. This is an all or nothing kind of deal. There is only room for one leader of our lives. We will either rule our lives or we will let Christ rule our lives. If we choose to rule our lives, then we will bear the responsibility for resolving all the problems that we face and for defining the terms of how to live our lives. If choose to let Christ rule our lives, then we turn to him to bear the responsibility for dealing with adversity and we adopt his terms for how we will live our lives.

Matthew 11:30 reads:

“30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Imaging having a very expensive, very large, two ton boat that you need to move across town. You have small little passenger car. You could try to do it on your own and you experience the weight of every pound of that load. Or you go friend with massive truck with hundreds of horsepower. Let your friend use his vehicle carry your load. Yes you have to give up control of something that is very valuable to you. You have trust that your friend won’t be reckless and ruin your boat. But if the friend is trustworthy, your load will be easy to deal with.

I have no idea what you might be going through right now. If things are fine, well then I have no ideas what problems you may encounter in the future. This leads me to the most difficult part of today’s message.

Usually when you prepare a message, you are suppose conclude the teaching time with some kind of application. The idea is to address the question what difference is all this stuff suppose to make in my life? So this would the part of the message where I should say things like, “You need to be like Paul. Maintain a God view of your problems and your life.” Or “You need to be like Joseph, just follow God no matter what.” Or “Be like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego – be defiant, follow God even if he doesn’t save you from your problems.”

I have two problems. The first problem, I heard about a survey that indicated that most people forget a sermon within 72 hours. That’s means no matter what I come up with, by Wednesday it’ll be a distant memory. The second problem, I am aware of some the problem that people inside and outside this congregation are facing right now. The personal pain level of many in this congregation is unbelievably high. I wonder if this is something new or if it has always been this high and the difference is that people sharing their burdens and asking for prayer. Whatever the answer, I think what’s more important is that this church is becoming a place where people can share their problems and find support. There are two choices for a church. We can be a country club, where people gather and everybody pretends to be fine. We can be a hospital, where people bring all their problems and we use the full power of our Almighty God to bless them. I know that God desires the church to be hospital for healing.

In Matthew 9:12

Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.[5]

So to end today’s message I thought it would appropriate to share two versus that I think were key to Paul’s ability to endure. The first happened after the riots, the second happened during a storm that destroyed the ship.

Acts 23:11

11 The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, “Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.”

[6]

Acts 27:23

23 Last night an angel of the God whose I am and whom I serve stood beside me 24 and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.[7]

My belief is that as exciting as it must have been to share the gospel with governors and kings, what truly sustained Paul during his time trouble was the presence of God alone. When we hurt, our Father comes near. I really don’t have to tell you three things to do in your times trouble. Instead we can simply rest in the fact that when we are hurting, God comes near.

Would you please bow you heads and let’s pray.

I’d like to give you a few minutes to think about your life. To think about problems in the past or the ones you have now. How are you going to deal with them? Do you want to be the one in control or is it time to let God handle these situations. If you have never accepted Christ, but want to, in a few minutes I’ll lead you in prayer to do just that. This prayer will ask God for forgiveness for all of the wrong we have done. This prayer will claim the gift of salvation that he freely provides to everyone. This prayer invites Christ to be the leader of our lives.

Father in Heaven,

We come humbly before you and acknowledge our need for you. Please forgive us for all the wrong that we have done. You suffered and died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins. In your resurrection, we have hope. In faith, we want to turn away from our old self-centered life and turn to you as our Lord and Savior. Thank you Lord Jesus for saving us.

In Jesus Name,

Amen