My Chains Are in Christ: Joy Amid Suffering

``How tender is that? To all the Valaries to all the Valaries, may you know the forgiveness and the grace of our lord Jesus. To all the men who have been a part of the abortions, may you know the love and forgiveness of the lord Jesus to heal you. You may never forget as she doesn't. But as far as the East is from the West, so far will he remove our sins from us. When you turn to Jesus and allow him to heal your heart, God will do a restorative work in you that only he can do. [00:49:44] (43 seconds)  #ForgivenAndHealed

And there you have that word of joy again. Twice he uses the word rejoice in verse 18. And the most amazing thing about the number of references that Paul makes concerning joy and rejoicing, I mentioned this last week, the most amazing thing about the way he's so joyful is the fact that he's in prison when he's writing this letter. He's not in prison for any crime that he's committed but he's in prison because he's preached the gospel of Jesus Christ. [00:53:50] (26 seconds)  #JoyInAdversity

He was arrested in Jerusalem. He was transported then to Caesarea where he'll spend two years until finally he appeals to Caesar as a Roman citizen. So he's been transported now to Rome where he sits in a Roman prison awaiting trial before Emperor Nero. And yet Paul says, I rejoice. I rejoice. [00:54:17] (21 seconds)  #RejoiceInPrison

The idea that Christians could actually be put in jail for sharing the gospel. You say, that's ridiculous. That would never happen here in America. Yeah. Well, how many things are happening now that you would have thought say just fifteen years ago were ridiculous and would never happen? And so it's not out of the question. And we need to be asking ourselves, what kind of joy would I have if I were thrown in jail for preaching the gospel, for telling people about Jesus. [00:55:11] (26 seconds)  #BoldForTheGospel

And Paul is joyful in his difficult dark circumstances because as we've been saying, his joy is in Jesus not in his circumstances. His joy is in Jesus not in his circumstances. Although that being said, he sees his circumstances as opportunities for the gospel to advance and for God to be glorified. [00:55:37] (22 seconds)  #JoyBeyondCircumstances

So Philippians is a letter that he writes in prison in Rome, Italy to believers in Philippi, Greece who were part of a church that Paul planted about ten years earlier. And Paul loves these people. He says plainly in verse eight of chapter one, I long for you all with the affection of Jesus Christ. He loves them. And no doubt they love him too. So how do you think they felt when they get a letter from him in prison to learn that the one who started their church, their mentor, their spiritual leader is now in prison in Rome. [00:55:59] (41 seconds)  #LoveLikePaul

But two years later in sixty four AD when the great fire of Rome breaks out, Nero will blame Christians for setting Rome on fire and Nero will have Christians arrested. He will round them up and have them crucified. He will light them on fire. He will have shows where dogs rip them apart. He will be persecuting Christians. In sixty four AD, it star it starts state sanctioned persecution of Christians by the thousands. [00:56:58] (30 seconds)  #PersecutedForChrist

I mean, listen to this guy. Paul's like, don't cry for me. My chains have a purpose. I am imprisoned to further the good news of Jesus to a new audience here in Rome. And so three times he talks about my chains. He makes reference to my chains here in verse 13 and verse 14 and in verse 16. He talks about my chains. [00:58:38] (27 seconds)  #ChainsWithPurpose