Philippians chapter 1 verse 12 through 18 is where we will be our focus tonight as we look at this chapter 1. Let's read it together. It says, I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel so that it has become known throughout the whole Imperial Guard and to all the rest. that my imprisonment is for Christ. And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from goodwill. Says the latter, do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former proclaim Christ out of rivalry, not sincerely, but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. What then? only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice." You know, I thought what was most fitting for this was the gospel cannot be chained. It cannot be chained, okay? And we'll see more about that in just a moment. But as we back up and just kind of consider where we're at in this book, we several weeks ago began an understanding that Paul is the writer of this book, And Timothy, his companion, is with him, and as he introduces himself and Timothy, he describes himself as a slave of Christ, okay? And he entails Timothy in that same thing. that they're both slaves of Christ Jesus, and he's writing to the church in Philippi, and there's a little bit of a different twist to things as Paul generally would open his books. He mentions the overseers and the deacons as well in this, but he's not separating the two groups out, he's addressing everybody that's in Philippi. the church that's in Philippi. Okay? And he says, grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Okay? And so last week we kind of focused in on this whole reality of what's going on in this book, and it's something that even goes back to the first week when we began this study, is that this book introduces us to a Christian who exemplifies joy in the middle of horrible circumstances. This book reveals to us a Christian who exemplifies joy in the middle of horrible circumstances, and what are those horrible circumstances, and who is the Christian? Paul, and Paul is where? He's in prison. And yet, while he's in prison and facing dark days, he is still able to exude and exemplify joy. And we established last week, where does joy come from? Where does it come from? What is Paul's joy rooted in? It's rooted in Christ, okay? And Christ is the source of joy for the believer, okay? And Paul is rooted there, and he's finding his joy there in Christ. And that is not, as we talked about last week, that's not just a New Testament concept. It's an Old Testament concept as well, as we looked at last week, and so I want to just remind you and refresh you in that, that it's always been the case that the Lord, for His people, is the source of joy. My mind's flooding with all kinds of verses, but you think about the psalmist, it's everywhere in the psalms, and you think about It was in Psalm 16, 11 where, you know, in my right hand there's pleasures forever. Well, who's at the right hand of God? Christ. And there's pleasures there forever. And so there's great joy can be taken for the Christian as they focus and hone in on Christ. Now, however, if we put our joy in circumstances or in this world, it's always changing, isn't it? It always moves around. Okay? Because why? Because our circumstances are always changing, aren't they? Alright? But when our joy is rooted in Christ, regardless of our situation, our circumstances, it remains the same. It doesn't change. It doesn't fluctuate. It remains the same. And we see that with Paul. And I was listening to a sermon this week, and I thought it was a great reminder of this book. Because I tend to see, and it is, joy is just radiating off every verse and page of this book in Philippians. And this minister was teaching through Philippians, and he said, you know, joy really isn't the theme of this book. It's more, joy is kind of the backdrop music of this book. It's in the backdrop. It's what's driving everything, certainly. But the gospel is what the theme of this book is. Christ and the gospel. Okay? But joy is that backdrop music that's serenading the Apostle Paul. And I thought that was great, and I wanted to share that with you tonight. Last week we looked at this joy, this whole issue of joy in the Apostle's life, and we see in verses 1-11 this joy coming forth in his remembrance of the people. You remember us talking about this in verse 3? He says, I thank my God in all my remembrance of you. Certainly, as we looked back last week to Acts chapter 16, things that are flooding the Apostle Paul's mind. There's Lydia, that God opened her heart to believe the gospel. The slave girl that was delivered of the demon and started ruining the business of those owners because she was providing their income through her demon possession and being able to foretell things. And then you have the Philippian jailer. You remember that story of where Paul And Silas are in jail, and you remember what happens to the jails. They're praying and singing out. Do you remember what happens to the walls? There's an earthquake comes, and the walls are destroyed, and the jailers are afraid. They're all getting ready to leave, and he's soon to kill himself, and Paul screams out at him. to not do so and shares the gospel with him. And what does he do? He believes the gospel and his whole household believes and is baptized. So, I mean, there's so many things as Paul sits in prison in Rome, just thinking through what all God has done. through the people in Philippi. And it wasn't just them, it was many more that we don't even have record of that God done a great work in. And so Paul's got great joy as he remembers the people in Philippi. He has great joy as he prays for them. In verse 4 it says, And always in every prayer of mine for you, all making my prayer with what? Joy! So, when Paul thinks about the people in Philippi, what is flooding his heart? Joy! Joy! And we talked about this a little bit last week, and I don't want to spend all my time here, but I really wanted to come back and even preach it again, just redo the whole thing again. But, you know, it's just such a great reminder. I mean, what comes to your mind when you think about other Christians? You know, is your mind flooded with great joy, just overcome with joy, thinking about the gracious work of God in their life, and what He has done in the past, what He is doing now in the present, and what He is ultimately going to do with them? Or do you begin thinking about all the problems about this person, and maybe something they've said that's hurt you or wounded you, whatever it would be. Maybe those things flood you and not joy when you think of them. Certainly, Paul could have brought up the negative things. He does in chapter 4 with the two ladies. He mentions there that there are some issues about them, and we'll deal with that much later. But he did not let those negative things stop him from having great joy. And again, his joy was coming from Christ and not his circumstances. Verse 5, we're told he had great joy in the partnership that he shared with these people in Philippi in the gospel. And this is a beautiful verse. In verse 5, he says, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. And we talked about that a little bit last week. I really honestly wanted to come back and just preach this verse. I mean, you think about it. He says, from the first day. That they believed, okay? Up until now, what is he saying about them, this partnership in the gospel? They've come in and they've remained in fellowship with him and the advancement of the gospel. And he's celebrating this. They believed back then and they're still believing. How does he know they're still believing? Because they're still sharing in the gospel work. They haven't left. They didn't leave it. They stayed. Does that make sense? And so Paul is just overcome with this great joy because they believed back then. And you've got to remember the time he visited them was many years later that he wrote this to them. And so much time has elapsed and he's celebrating the fact that they're still persevering. They're still persevering in the faith. They're still associated with the faith. They're still sharing the gospel. They did it in the first day and they're still doing it. And that's to be celebrated. It really is. We don't do that enough in church anymore. We really don't. We just go through our routine and we go home and that's it. And we really don't just celebrate what God has done and what He's doing right now in and through our lives for His glory. And then it brings to verse 6 where he says, and I am sure of this. So he's confident of this, that what God started that first day and everything that's still going on now has made the Apostle Paul sure and confident that he who started that good work is going to do what? He's going to bring it to completion at the day of Christ Jesus. He will not leave it undone. This good work that He started in us, He will bring it to completion. And so we talked about last week that not only did Paul have joy in remembering them and praying for them and in the partnership with them, but he had great joy in the expectation for them. That there was coming a day in which Christ would return and call His church unto Himself and make it complete. And that is to be celebrated. As he's sitting in prison, thinking about his own possible death, he's thinking about this church and the glorious return of Christ to rescue his bride and make them complete. That's mind-blowing. It really is. Because I know what I would be doing. I could care less. I want out of here. You know, these are the things that would be rolling through my mind. I'm not worried about what's going on with these churches and other people. What about me? That's what I would be doing. And here we see Paul setting the example, setting the tone for the church in Philippi, because listen to me on this, because they were soon to suffer as well. And they were suffering. And so He's setting the stage for them that when suffering comes, here's how you should respond. He's modeling it for them. It's not about you. I hope you hear this tonight. It is about Christ. It always is. It always is. And then lastly, last week, and I'm sorry, we'll get through all this, I promise. Last week in verse 8 we looked at his affection for the church, his joy and affection for them. It says, for God is my witness. He summons on God to bear witness how he yearns for them all with affection of who? Christ Jesus. This is not just some good feeling Paul had for the church in Philippi. Do you understand what I'm saying? You know, when we talk about love today, man, we don't really understand what love really is. We really don't. It's always based on some kind of feeling or emotion or whatever, and much is true to be the case. But Paul says his affection for them, his love for them in Philippi was all rooted in Jesus Christ. His love for them was based on his relationship with Jesus Christ. That's how he was able to love them. And folks, we didn't get to talk about it a lot last week, but the same is true of us as well. To be able to truly love one another, it has to be rooted and grounded in Jesus Christ. It has to be a love for Him. And as we love Him, what immediately begins happening? We love those who are of Him. Does that make sense? And so those are some of the things that we looked at last week. And a quick summary. Now tonight we turn to Philippians chapter 1, 12 through 18, and it is here that we meet the Apostle Paul in a dark place. It's a season of real trial for his life. As we have already established, he is in chains. In fact, he's in chains for what? For the sake, defense, confirmation of the gospel, is what we're told in verse 7. And as we'll see in latter parts of this chapter, Paul is unsure whether he will survive this imprisonment. He's not sure. whether he'll ever come out again. It's certainly his prayer. It's certainly what he's beckoning on the churches to do for him is to pray that he would be able to come out and join again in the ministry of the gospel out there. But he's not sure whether or not he will truly come back out. And it's here that we gain insight into how Paul dealt with these hardships, the suffering that he went through. It's here, and I want you to hear this tonight, it's here where we see the pastoral heart of Paul. It really is. We get a glimpse into his shepherding heart for the churches. Don't you love this? I mean, isn't it awesome that God has granted this, that we can see this Here in the text, this pastoral heart Paul had for the church in Philippi, and not just them, but many other churches. Because the church in Philippi, and we need to understand this as we work through our text tonight, the church in Philippi was concerned for Paul's well-being. They were concerned about him. They were concerned about him, and rightly so, because where does he find himself? He finds himself in Rome, in prison. And they're concerned what might happen to him while he's there. I'm sure there's all sorts of thoughts that are mulling through their minds as they wait to hear back from him, as they've sent word to him. I'm sure thoughts like this ran through their mind. If Paul dies, if he's martyred, what do we do then? How do we move forward? You know, this great apostle, this great minister of the gospel, if he's not around, what do we do? How do we move? How do we move forward? What happens to our church? What will the Roman Empire do from here? I mean, there's all kinds of things you're certain that are running through their minds, and Paul writes these words to them. To calm them. To remove any anxiety. that they might have. Because I'm sure they were also thinking, man, how can the gospel go forward? How can it advance if Paul's in prison? You know, here's a church that's teamed up with him and partnered up with him. What do we do if he's no longer around? Does that kind of make sense to kind of get in the minds of what they're probably going through in Philippi, waiting to hear back from him on what's going on with his imprisonment? And so, we know in verse 8 that they cared for him deeply, and he cared for them. They shared a mutual affection for one another, and it's out of this concern for him that he now interprets for them his current situation. In many ways, these words are meant to be words of comfort to them, and they are also comfort to us today. So, point number one. You probably thought we'd never get here. Where's the point one? You know, move on now. Point one. It's a great point to be made. In verse 12 and 13, we see the providential advancement of the gospel. Remember, this church, they're concerned about him in Philippi. They're worried about what's going on. How can the gospel go forward? Is the gospel going forward? Stop, because Paul's now in prison. These are the things that are going through their minds, and now Paul writes to them and says, I want you to know. I want you to know, here is where we get a glimpse into this pastoral heart of Paul, where he comes alongside of them through his writing and says, please hear me. Please know this. And notice how he addresses them. Brothers. Brothers. Those who are connected in Christ. I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel. This is where I came up with the title, The Gospel Cannot Be Chained. He says, "...has really served to advance the gospel so that it has begun..." Oh, this is unreal. It really is. And I'll bring out something in just a moment that's even more unreal, what was taking place through Paul's imprisonment. He says, "...so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard, and all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ." His chains are for Christ. And so first of all, I want you to see how Paul teaches us about gospel providence itself and how to interpret our trials correctly. Look at verse 12. He says, I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has served to advance the gospel. And he tells us back in verse 7, as I said a moment ago, that we learn that Paul is in prison for what? He's in prison for The Gospel, going forward, preaching the Gospel, the confirmation and defense of the Gospel. And so those in Philippi would have certainly been thinking, man, he was out there preaching the Gospel, he's in jail now for the Gospel, he's in prison for the Gospel. Certainly the Gospel stopped. It's over. The Gospel's not going forward because the Apostle Paul, this great Apostle, is in prison. How now could it go forward when the very opposite thing is taking place? and what they're thinking. The gospel never stopped. It never stopped going forward. And I want to back up and just say this real quickly. As Paul says, I want you to know Brothers that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel way, you know It's almost like he leads him over the ledge like he's going to start giving them some information about his imprisonment and then he stops And I want you to see this tonight because it's very important Look what he pointed them to He didn't go on to describe fully what he was going through in prison I He instead pointed them to who? Christ. That's important. It's very important. It's very important, and I don't think that would just happen to be that way. As you look into the pastoral heart of Paul, as we see it here, his whole concern for them is not whether or not they're concerned for him. He's concerned about them and the advancement of the gospel in their own lives. it going forward in them, pointing them to Christ, not him, to Christ. I mean, you remember John, how he said, I must do what? Decrease that he may increase. The same concept is going on here. Paul is getting out of the way. It's not about me. It's not about my imprisonment. It's about Christ and Christ's gospel. It's important to grab there. And so the very thing that the church in Philippi thought was taking place, the very opposite is happening. The very opposite. You know, this apostle, he's chained, he's in prison now. Surely the gospel has been hindered. And Paul writes to them to assure them, It's not been hindered. It's spreading. It's advancing. There is no chains that can hold back the gospel of God. None, no government, no chains, no prison. His gospel goes forward regardless. And so the gospel's not hindered. In fact, what Paul's writing to us is the gospel explodes. It goes forth even more. This is what's almost somewhat It's a little sick to say this, but it's almost comical. You know, here he is in prison. You know, they're trying to wipe him out because he's been preaching this gospel. It's got to stop. And this gospel keeps on going while he's in prison. You know, they just never got it, did they? They just never got it that it wasn't Paul's God. It's God's fault, not his, that the gospel's going forward. You understand what I mean by that. And so the word that Paul uses here for the advance of the gospel, it contains somewhat of a metaphor. It gives the idea of military scouts who move ahead of the main force of an invading army, clearing the path, scouting out the most favorable terrain so that their march might be hastened onward. And that's what Paul is saying here. His chains have done that for the gospel. They have cleared the path, as it were, so that instead of hindering, the gospel has made advances. It's made advances. There's been an invasion of gospel progress as the good news has captured more and more hearts through faith in Jesus Christ. The very thing they're trying to stop, it's only increasing. It's amazing. I think, you know, for us to kind of grab this, what is Paul saying? We've got to look to Romans 8, 28. We have to look there. I mean, you think about this verse, and again, this is another one of those verses. If you haven't memorized it, you need to memorize it and return to it always, every day. It says, and we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose. We love to quote that verse, but I'm not too sure we like what that verse really is about. For God is at work for those who love God, and He's working in all things. But we need to understand that this isn't a promise that everything's going to be okay. Do you hear me? It's not a promise. It's not a guarantee that all things are going to be okay. All it's telling us is that in everything, good things, bad things, sinful things, righteous things, all things, God's working through them for what? For His purpose. For His will. Do you hear me? It's not always easy, is it? I mean, you think back, and I was reading through it today, John chapter 11, with the death of Lazarus. And you think about just how Mary and Mark, they're all just stirred up, oh my gosh, how could he have died? Where's Jesus? You know, when you need Him. You know, how could He have not been here? How could He not have come? And there's this delay, and Jesus is coming. And when He finally shows up, you remember how the story goes? Or if you had been here, you know, he's the fault of all this that's going on. Our brother would be fine. You remember his response to this whole situation? This is for the glory of God. This is for the purpose of God. And you remember how it ended. Lazarus came forth. I would have loved to have seen that day of him coming forth. But all things, and Paul, listen, I want to say this too, he's not making light or being cavalier about his current situation. It's a bad situation. He's not making light of that. But he's pointing to something greater than that. He's not making light of this circumstance and this dark period of his life he's in. He's just pointing to something that's much greater, much brighter, Christ. So Romans 8.28 is a promise that God is going to work in every circumstance and in every detail of our lives, in our trials, in our triumphs, all for His glory. He's going to do that. Another one that came to my mind in thinking about this very thing here, was Joseph. You remember in Genesis chapter 50, we all are very familiar with Joseph and what he did, what he endured through his brothers and how they sold him into slavery and how the whole story unfolds. And at the very end, once their father passes, the brothers get a little anxious of what might happen to them now that the father is no longer alive. And you remember these words, I want you to hear these words. It says, His brothers also came and fell down before Him and said, Behold, we are your servants. But Joseph said to them, Do not fear for I, for am I in the place of God. As for you, you men evil. He didn't make light of the situation. He wasn't cavalier about the situation. There was a situation. They were the true circumstance. They were the true trial. And he says, what they meant for evil, what did God do? God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive as they are today. So do not fear. I will provide for you and your little ones. Thus He comforted them and spoke kindly to them. So here we see God working all things together for His purpose. His purpose. Not that it's going to be easy. Not that it's going to be comfortable. But listen, for the believer, we understand that God through this is working this all out to His good pleasure. His glory. And we take comfort in that. And that's what Paul's writing to this church in Philippi. They needed to realize that certainly he was in a troubling circumstance, but God was at work and he's working all things out for his glory and his purpose. And he shares with them how he was doing that, that the gospel was going forth. And so those in Philippi thought this was the end since Paul was now in prison, but he comforts them by showing that the gospel cannot be contained by chains. It continues to go forth, no matter what circumstances we find ourselves in. That's amazing. Not only do we see the advancement of the gospel, we see secondly that there's a faithful gospel witness. In verse 13, notice that not only does he share about the gospel and pointing them to Christ, but he says, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. So it's here that we see the impact of living out the gospel and trusting God's sovereign goodness to work all things out for the good of those who love Him. We see the impact. We see the results of that. And what are they? What are the results? That this Gospel has become what? Known. The Gospel has become known throughout the whole empire of God. This is what happens when you cling to Christ in the midst of great darkness. Unbelievers begin to take notice. And I think we need to kind of back up a little bit just to get to Rome. What did Paul go through to get to Rome? You remember his journey? You remember beginning in Acts 25 where he summons that he would go to Rome and that's where he would have his trial? You remember what began taking place after that on his voyage there? He goes through a great storm and what happens? He's shipwrecked, okay? And there's all types of things that begin unraveling in Paul's life just to get to Rome. And now that he's in Rome and in prison, he didn't stop faithfully sharing the Gospel. His focus during this trial, this dark period of his life, was on Christ and remaining faithful to Christ. And what began happening because of that, as a result of that, those unbelievers, those imperial guards that were guarding him and going along this journey with him, they began seeing something different in this man. Something's unique about this man. And it opened up the opportunities for the advancement, as Paul calls it, of the gospel. And so, listen to me tonight, when we face dark times, when we face great trials in our lives, listen, our faithfulness to God must not end. It must remain. It must remain. Our focus must remain on Christ. That's hard. I totally understand. I'm not one speaking as one who has accomplished this. I'm speaking as one who has failed greatly and need Christ even greater. I really do. Because I understand, and we all in this room have went through things that are very trying and very pressing in our lives. And man, there's times where it's very, very difficult to remain faithful. Have you ever felt that? If you haven't, there's something wrong with you. I mean, it's that simple. You know, I think about, I shared in our study school class a few weeks ago about the great hymn writer, Robert Robinson, who wrote, Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing. And you remember that stanza and that hymn, that great hymn, it is my favorite hymn, where he says, what, we are prone to wander from who? From the God we love. We are. We're prone to wander. We're prone to be unfaithful, aren't we? It's an amazing story of that man. Because he was very much ministering the gospel during the time when he wrote that hymn and then later in his life abandoned the faith and walked away. And he's on a carriage ride into the streets of London and there's this young lady that's in the carriage with him and she begins referencing this hymn and she keeps talking about it over and over and over again to the point where it makes him mad. And he reveals to her, ma'am, I was the writer of that hymn. And he talked about how he would give 10,000 times over to go back to that place. And I love the response that she said unto him, that the mercies are still available. Mercy is still flowing. There's still hope. You can still return. And folks, listen, when we're going through difficult, dark days, what must we do? What is Paul challenging the church in Philippi to do? What is he today challenging us to do as we read and reflect upon it? Stay faithful. Stay faithful in the darkness. Stay focused on Christ. He says, "...so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for..." Who? Christ! And so in our darkest times, we don't make much of our darkness. We make much of Christ. Do you hear me? We don't make much of our darkness. We make much of Jesus Christ. It was estimated while the apostles in prison that this imperial guard, this Praetorian guardsman, there were some 9,000, some estimate of them. And what does Paul say the gospel is doing? It's reaching them all. It's reaching them all. The very thing they're trying to quench out is spreading. It's advancing. And I want you to notice this, if you will. Turn over to chapter 4, verse 22. Not only was it messing with the soldiers, but this message, this gospel, had reached Caesar's household as well. Notice he says in verse 21, "...Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. The brothers who are with me greet you." And he says, "...All the saints, the holy ones, greet you, especially those in whose household." Wow! Had the Gospel advanced? There is nothing that can hold back God's Gospel. Nothing. Listen to me, and this is important, God's gospel can penetrate the hardest areas. And hear me tonight, who would have thought that the gospel would have made it into Caesar's household? Who would have thought that? I mean, we all have read and studied the Romans. We know how they were. They were the pagans of pagans. They really seen no need of God. They were God. And the gospel penetrated there. It's an amazing thing. It's an amazing thing. So that gives us great courage in this gospel. And in the hardest areas, that hardness cannot stop the gospel. It can't. It can't. You know, I remember years ago, traveling to Syria to share the gospel there. This was before 9-11. And I remember church members in the church we were attending, they asked me, and they had many other comments, but, why would you go there? Why bother? They're not going to listen. They don't care. They're Muslims. I was convinced then and I'm convinced now. There's no area too hard for the gospel to penetrate. There's just not. There's not such darkness that God's light can't shine forth and change lives. There's just not. And I think it's a challenge for us in the times in which we live that it's easy for us to slip in and think, ah, the heck with them. Let them all go to hell. Who cares? That should not be our mentality. It should not. We should be praying, God, send forth your gospel. Use people all over this world, God, to bring your gospel forward to ISIS, to Al-Qaeda, to them all. Let your gospel go forward. So no matter what circumstance we find ourselves in, we must remain faithful. Not only do we see this providential advancement of the gospel and the faithful gospel witness, but we see thirdly this boldness of the gospel. Notice what began happening. Paul tells about what's going on on his side of the fence and how the gospel is going forward, and now he begins revealing what's going on out there because of it. And verse 14 through 17 says, And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. So what's taking place? Paul's in prison, and they know he's there because he's chained there. It's become known to everyone around that he's there for his chains because of the gospel. And what has it done to those on the outside? It's strengthened them. It's confirmed for them. And so now what are they doing? Not only is the gospel spreading among the soldiers and has even invaded Caesar's household, but what's going on on the outside? The gospel is advancing through God's people on the outside as well because of what's going on the inside of that prison cell. It's amazing. Hasn't it always been that way? You look back in history and you see some of the greatest growths in God's church is under persecution. It's under suffering. I remember reading an article years ago when the Soviet Union was in full operation, the church was flourishing. And then when the Soviet Union dissipated, And things went somewhat to normal for them and had somewhat freedom there. Guess what happened to the church? It began decreasing. And I remember reading this article of this pastor, and you know what he was praying? And I found it odd then, but not now. He was praying that God would put them back under persecution again. Because it was under this persecution that they were growing the most. It's really twisted, isn't it? I mean, when we think about that, oh Lord, please don't do that to us. Don't let us be persecuted. Paul reveals that while he's sitting in prison, the church on the outside gained confidence and they were bold, he says, to speak the word and they did not care without fear. Without fear they were doing this. They knew what happened to Paul. They knew what the consequences could be. If we preach this gospel, we may too go to prison. And they did it without fear. And then you have those other ones that Paul lumps in here. Not everyone out there was preaching for the right reason. You see that in our text. It says, some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from goodwill. The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel, as we just discussed. And he says, the former proclaim Christ out of a selfish ambition. It's about them, not sincerely, but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. It's not that they're teaching a false gospel. He talks about those later on in this book. They're not teaching a false gospel. They just have the wrong motive behind preaching the gospel. There's some hidden agenda that they have that they want to inflict Paul while he's in prison. To bring harm while he's in prison. And I want you to hear this tonight and see this. The very opposite took place. They wanted to afflict him. They wanted to drive him insane of what they were doing. And guess what he does in response? He says, The former proclaimed Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, but thinking to inflict me in my imprisonment. And then what does he say in verse 18? He says, What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is what? Proclaimed. Are you starting to see kind of a theme here with Paul and his life and what it's about? It's about Christ. He could care less about the motives of those people on the outside, what they were doing it for. What he cared most about was that the name of Christ was advancing. It was advancing. He had joy in the fact that the name of Christ was advancing. And then lastly, we see this as we finish here. In verse 18, there's this great joy of the Gospel. So we've seen the providential advancement, the faithful witness, the boldness, and we see, lastly, the joy of the Gospel. In verse 18, He says, What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed. And in that, I rejoice. Yes! And I will rejoice. Again, He brings us back to that fountain of joy. Who? Christ. While in prison, while facing what possibly was going to be his own martyrdom for the gospel, his joy is unshaken. It's unshaken. His faithfulness remain true. There's boldness that's spurring on in the other believers lives. And the gospel is making great advancement throughout the world. So how did Paul endure during his trials? How did he endure? He was fully committed to entrusting himself to Christ. and hear me on this, and making much of him instead of his circumstances. That's what I want us to get tonight. That when we face dark days, and listen, we will, we will. If you don't believe me, read James chapter 1, you will. Because James says, when you encounter various trials, not if you will, When you do, okay? When we face dark days, how do we endure? How do we make it? It only comes through entrusting ourselves to Christ. Fully. Wholly. Making much of Him not our circumstances. That's what Paul gives us a glimpse into here in these few verses. That it's about Christ. It's about His gospel. It's about His purposes. And to Him be all the glory now and forevermore. Let's pray. Father, we thank You for this night. We thank You, Lord, for Your Word. God, use Your Word to change us. Use your word, Lord, to conform us. As we looked at Romans 8, 28, Lord, we failed to read verse 29, that the whole purpose of all the things you're working out is to conform us into the image of your Son. And so, Lord, we pray, make us like Him. Lord, make us people who When we endure great darkness, when we face dark times and trials in our lives, Lord, make us people who remain faithful to you. Lord, may we be those people who our joy is rooted and grounded in Christ and not our circumstances. Lord, let us realize and know what it is that there's pleasures at your right hand forever. Help us, Lord, to understand that, Lord, to drink of you is to be satisfied. Lord, there's no other place for us to turn but to you. Have your way, Lord. to your glory. We pray these things. Amen.