Sermon 04 Nov 2018
Don’t waste your struggle
Paul and the church at Philippi are in the midst of a struggle (Phil 1:30)
Paul writes this letter because he has learnt the secret of contentment (4:12)
He knows that struggles, trials and tests have a unique and important part to play in helping us take steps towards
contentment.
If we reduced to the book of Philippians down to a singular phrase it might be something like this: “Don’t waste your
struggle”
If you are going through a trial, test or struggle at the moment, there is something of incredible value in that.
• You can be closer to contentment if you navigate your struggle well.
Not all trials are when life goes bad, sometimes, the greatest trials in life are when things go well.
• Equally, we need to learn the lesson that poverty or prosperity has for us.
Prison has a purpose: Philippians 1:12-19
Purpose 1: Pauls imprisonment servers the advance of the Gospel. (verse 12-13)
Purpose 2: Pauls imprisonment servers to encourage fellow believers. (verse 14)
Purpose 3: Pauls imprisonment serves his own deliverance/salvation. (Verse 19)
Salvation includes: Justification > Sanctification > glorification
Prison is helping Paul become like Jesus.
God is at work in us, through the circumstances around us:
• In a trial, God hasn’t left us or abandoned us
• He’s not punishing you or chastising you.
• He’s with you and working in you.
• He’s building a character the can withstand any circumstance.
If we let God work in us through the struggle, we’ll be bigger on the other side.
• Paul can celebrate in prison, because he has been in prison before . . . and learnt the lesson.
Philippians 1:20-26
There is not short cut to a character like Paul demonstrates in this passage.
Philippians 1:27
Verse 27 is the difference between our character being developed in a Christ like way or our character remaining the
same. (it’s the difference between moving forward and going in circles)
In a struggle, when we chose to display Christ like conduct, God shapes our character.
Christ like conduct, shapes Christ like Character . . . over time.