I know people who get extremely excited – filled with joy, even – when the Chicago Bears win a football game. Sometimes, I confess, I am one of those people! Other people get extremely excited about a new car, a successful recital, or an "A" on a big test at school. On the more negative side of things, we often lose our joy in the midst of bad circumstances. Perhaps we suffer physically, or someone we love gets sick. Or someone close to us offends us – bruises our pride. And our joy suffers; we become despondent.
We base our JOY, often, on our circumstances, don't we? And sometimes, we are in danger of missing what should always be the first priority for our joy, according to the Apostle Paul: the advance of the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ. In other words, we see from the words of Paul in Philippians 1:12-18 that our ultimate priority for joy must be found in the proclamation of Jesus and the growth of the gospel in the world. It is the advance of the gospel that must drive our affections and lead our priorities. The growth of the gospel must rise above our personal comfort and above our egos.
Paul, remember, is writing this letter to the church at Philippi from a prison cell. He is undergoing intense suffering – emotional, spiritual, and probably physical. And yet, his JOY is not brought down by his lack of personal comfort. On the contrary, the priority of his heart for the advance of the gospel of Jesus in the world becomes evident by his words:
12I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, 13so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. 14And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.
Paul looks down at his chains, considers his imprisonment, and remembers the greatest priority for both his life and the existence of the world: the advance of the gospel. He reminds the Philippian church, first, that his imprisonment has served to be a great witness for Christ to the soldiers that are in charge of guarding him. His comfort is less important than the gospel witness his imprisonment has provided. Second, he points out that (somewhat ironically, perhaps), his imprisonment has actually made a lot of the brothers "more bold" to speak the Word of Jesus to people around them. Paul is a man who has his priorities – and his fountain of joy – in the right place! The advance of the gospel of Jesus Christ is far more important to him than his own comfort.
The second half of the passage is perhaps even more striking, as Paul reacts in a very surprising way to those who were trying to "kick a man while he's down." Evidently, there were some people who began preaching Christ out of "rivalry" with Paul – taking advantage of his imprisonment to launch themselves ahead of Paul in popularity, and perhaps even pointing to his incarceration as a sign of weakness or stupidity. Amazingly, Paul puts the advance of the gospel – even through the preaching of these evil-minded men – above his own ego:
15 Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. 16The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 17The former proclaim Christ out of rivalry, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. 18What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.
There is no defensiveness here. There is no protective jealousy about the ministry that Paul could think of as "belonging" to him. There is only Paul – holding the ministry of the gospel with open hands – happy even to share it with men who engage in it from completely wrong motives. In the midst of blatant personal affront, Paul refuses to let his ego get in the way of the fundamental priority of his life: the advance of the gospel, namely, the proclamation of Christ. He rejoices only in that.
It is so difficult to prioritize our lives – and ground our joy – in this way, isn't it? It is so incredibly easy to let personal comfort become the basis for both our priorities and our joy. It is perhaps even easier to let the preservation of our own ego get in the way of the fundamental priority of the gospel's advance. Does the spread of the gospel of Jesus Christ consume your life, so that even a lack of personal comfort could never get in the way of its spread? Does the advance of the proclamation of Christ so define your joy, that even vicious assaults on your reputation could never quench your pleasure in seeing people hear about Christ?
Friends, it will NEVER be possible to make the advance of the gospel our priority – above personal comfort and personal ego – if Christ has not taken the throne in our hearts. In other words, we can't prioritize Jesus and find in him our greatest joy…if we do not know him. We can't be fundamentally committed to advancing what has not powerfully gripped us. Do you believe the gospel? Do you know that Jesus, the Son of God, died in your place for your sin, and rose again to conquer death on your behalf? Have you repented of sin and put your faith in him as Savior and Lord? Do you know the power of the risen Christ in your life today, as he works in you by the Holy Spirit? Do you really see this message as the best news this world has ever heard? If you do, then you have a foundation for a joy that cannot be touched by circumstances – even destruction of your comfort and damage to your ego. And you have a priority – to see the advance of the gospel as of first importance in your own heart and in the world around you.
