Sunday Sermon: No Such Thing as a Worthless Sermon

www.frankfortyotb.blogspot.com
Check out the church site too! www.frankfortpresbychurch.com

PRAYER OF ILLUMINATION
Please pray with me: Gracious Savior, you have the words of eternal life. As the Scripture is read and preached in this hour, empower us to hear it with humility and openness, so that hearing it, we may respond with courage and conviction. Amen.

SCRIPTURE READING: Philippians 1:12-18
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 guard 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. 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.

The grass withers and the flower fades but the Word of the Lord endures forever.

SERMON INTRODUCTION
What do Jim Bakker, Kent Hovind, Tony Alamo, Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Apostle Paul all have in common? Any guesses? Anybody?

Well, all are pastors or church leaders who, for one reason or another, have spent time in the slammer. Their crimes range from Paul’s speaking out against the government to financial crimes, like tax evasion and fraud, or even sexual assault . . . you name the crime, and it seems like you can find a pastor or church leader who has done the time for it.

Now, imagine being the member of a congregation whose pastor is in jail. Whether it is for doing something noble like the Apostle Paul—along the lines of Martin Luther King, Jr.—or for doing something selfish, sinful, and hurtful, the result is the same: breaking the law and serving time in jail.

Imagine what other people would say about your pastor, about your church, and even what they would say about you because you are a member of a church whose pastor is in jail.
That is exactly the situation the Philippians found themselves in.

#1
Now, there are a couple of big things the Philippians are concerned about. So concerned are they, they send Paul a letter in the jail in Rome. What we have in the letter to the Philippians is Paul’s response to their concerns.

The main things they were worried about are what other people are saying about Paul AND about the Philippians because of their relationship with him. They are worried about Paul’s reputation now that he is in jail. Even though Paul is “in chains for Christ,” it is still chains. It is still jail; it is still scandalous to the world around him.

People around the world are starting to talk about Paul; and they are starting to gossip about him. Some are even preaching AGAINST him! After all, what kind of apostle ends up in jail? Paul’s reputation is starting to fall to pieces. The reputations of all the churches he was involved with were starting to unravel too. Besides all those things, the Philippians are concerned for Paul’s health and well-being as well. Jail is not an easy place to be.

So the Philippians seems very concerned for Paul and for themselves. But those are very inward-turned concerns . . . they are very much concerned for themselves and someone they love, which is understandable in this situation. Paul has some concerns too, but they are a little different.

#2
So the Philippians were concerned for Paul and for themselves in a very inward-focused way. But Paul’s concern is for the gospel of Christ. In fact, while others were wondering about the damage being done to the gospel because he is in chains, Paul believes “that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel” (verse 12).

While the Philippians see the limits Paul being “in chains for Christ,” Paul can see only how his suffering is expanding the boundaries of his witness. This is the degree to which Paul is willing to go for his faith. This is how far Paul is willing to go in order to testify about God.

Contrary to what you might expect, instead of being discouraged from preaching the gospel, Paul writes “because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly” (verse 14).

Paul’s focus is not on himself and his focus is not on the reputations of all the churches he is associated with; his focus is on advancing the gospel. His primary concern is that God will use his current incarnation to pass the message of salvation in Jesus Christ to as many people as possible.

CONCLUSION
Paul doesn’t seem to mind that there are some who are preaching against him. He doesn’t even seem to mind that some people, as he says, “preach Christ out of envy and rivalry” (verse 14). You know, there are those who would seek to steal his top dog status as the Rock Star Apostle of their day. But Paul doesn’t care about any of that.

When they preach with evil in their hearts . . . and “when they preach out of selfish ambition” and when they do it “in order to stir up trouble” . . . “whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached.” It doesn’t matter what their motives are. It doesn’t matter why they are preaching; by the very act of proclaiming the gospel, the Holy Spirit is present in those words and Christ is preached.

And this means, in every boring sermon you’ve ever sat through (or slept through), in every sermon that sailed right over your head, and in every sermon that you didn’t agree with, according to the Apostle Paul, Christ is preached, as long as the gospel is presented. So, it turns out that you were wrong about all those sermons you’ve sat through over the years that you thought were worthless; they weren’t worthless. Paul says, “The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached.”

In the name of the Father and the son and the Holy Spirit, Amen.