What a joy it is to be able to break the Bread of Life with you this week. The last time I wrote on Philippians I had said that I would talk about some marks of a “Mature Believer.” In the past 26 years of ministry I have come across many “believers.” There have been some who have been very mature, given great wisdom, and helped me along my path and walk with the Lord. Now to be honest there have been times when I was able to show that character as well. However, there have been too many times when I have encountered those “immature believers.” Do you know the ones that I mean? They are almost like little children who need a good spanking. Well, if I’m totally honest, there have been times when I have acted that way as well. You know I didn’t get my way so I’m going to take my marbles and go home. I want to share with you some of the marks of a “Mature Believer” that we find in the book of Philippians. So if you have your Bible sitting next to your computer, or if you are one of those computer savvy people and you have an app you might want to open to Philippians 1:12.
The maturity of a person can be seen by how well they handle the things that happen to them–the things that affect a person with mood changes ranging from mild to severe. In every situation that you face there is one thing that you must always keep in mind, one thing that you must learn, one thing that is more important than anything else, that one thing is to live above the circumstance–to keep your witness for Christ strong and mature. So here is the first mark of a mature believer:
A Mature Believer WITNESSES! A mature believer shares the Gospel regardless of the circumstances. Paul faced dark circumstances: he was a prisoner of Rome. There are no circumstances that could ever be any more severe. Paul was waiting to appear before the Supreme Court of Rome: he was facing a trial before Nero, the Roman Emperor, and he was innocent. He did nothing that should cause his arrest and imprisonment. And yet there he was, and he was having to wait on the arrival of his Jewish prosecutors with their “trumped-up” and malicious charges. Now he was not in a prison like we would think, he did have some privileges: rented house, could receive friends, but these are minor when considering that he was still in prison. Remember that this trial would determine whether he would live or he would die, not a pretty thought. You can tell that he is still suffering by the what he writes in Ephesians 3:13.
Even though he was going through all of this, there is something that Paul did NOT do: grumble and complain; did not questions God and wonder why; did not whine and murmur; did not fall to pieces; did not curse God nor give up his faith. Instead Paul used his dark circumstances to spread the gospel. He did not see himself as a prisoner of Rome or Nero. Instead he saw himself as a prisoner for Jesus Christ. He did not see himself as a victim; he saw himself as a conqueror for Jesus. In Acts 28:20 Paul says he was “bound with this chain,” and in Ephesians 6:20 he calls himself an “ambassador in bonds.” If you look up the Greek term in these verses for bonds, or bound, you will learn that what they used was a small piece of chain that bound the prisoner to a guard to keep them from escaping. Just imagine! Paul was bound to a Roman guard every day and night for over two years. What do you think Paul and guard talked about? Well, Paul seized the opportunity to spread the gospel.
Now these were just any guards, they were the elite guards of Rome. They were hand-picked men and were given the task of guarding the emperor and carry out the major armed functions of the state. How many of them Paul led to the Lord we don’t know, but we do know that Christ was shared so much that the gospel spread throughout the whole Praetorian guard, the palace of the emperor, and other places. Paul–his imprisonment and stand for Christ and the Gospel which he preached–became the conversation throughout Rome. It was the conversation of all the social circles including the upper strata of society, the very palace of the emperor himself.
So what do we learn from this? We must NEVER let our circumstances get us down–never let them defeat our testimony and witness for Christ, no matter what they are. If we are living for Christ, we must know that God is in control of our lives. He will strengthen us to bear whatever circumstances come our way. We must use the circumstances to witness to the saving power of Christ, which is our eternal hope. Now if we sin, we must repent and get back to the task of witnessing, overcoming the circumstance of having failed and sinned. We must do all we can to conquer the circumstances for Christ and continue to witness, sharing all the good we can in order to reach all we can. Lastly, all of this must be done for Christ, for He is worthy. He has died for us, bearing our sin and punishment and freeing us to live perfectly before God for all eternity. The world doesn’t know this. The world doesn’t know that the cure for cancer of sin is now available. They can’t know it unless we tell them. We must share the good news and share it regardless of our circumstances.
Next time I will share more about this mark of maturity. Take some time today and thank the Lord for the trials that you are facing and going through. God is in control and don’t ever lose your witness. Love to all and see you next time.
Pastor Rob
