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Mud or Stars? - Philippians 1:12-18

By Mike Osborne | May 25, 2007

Introduction:
“Two men looked out from prison bars. One saw mud; the other - stars.”

Which one are you?

Are you a complainer?

To me, one of the great challenges of the Christian life is to not complain.

• We look out our prison and sometimes we see nothing but mud! And we love to tell everybody else about it. And everyone around us is complaining too!
• Either our job is not right, or there are too many bills to pay, or our spouse doesn’t do enough for us, or our kids are too disobedient, we’re too young or too old, or it’s too hot or too cold or we don’t feel well or we don’t like our boss, or our teacher is unfair, or…there’s always something that could be better.
• Take Orlando traffic, for instance!
• Just drive down Alafaya Trail any weekday at 5:30 p.m. … I dare you to be a happy Christian!
• Another tire store!!

Now, there are times when it’s OK to complain, if you want to call it that.
• When the restaurant overcooks your steak, you should complain.
• When the mechanic doesn’t fix your car right, you should complain.
• When you don’t like what’s going on in Washington or Tallahassee, you should complain.
• There is a righteous complaint…you might even say that prayer is righteous complaining to God.
• But I’m not talking about that kind of complaining.

I’m talking about your common, everyday variety of whining and belly-aching and finding fault with things.

Make no mistake about it…God hates to hear us complain.
• The first sin was essentially that of complaining.
o Satan to Eve: “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
o Eve: “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good & evil, and you must not touch it, or you will die.”
• The history of the people of Israel on their journey from Egypt to the Promised Land was a history of complaining.
o “We’re thirsty…we want to go back to Egypt.”
o “We’re hungry. We’re tired of this manna.”
o “We’re going to die out in this desert.”
o “We don’t want Moses for a leader any more.”
o “We can’t take the Promised Land. There are giants in the land. We’ll never make it!”
o One time God said to Moses, “How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the miraculous signs I have performed among them?”
o Parents – haven’t you felt that way sometimes on vacations…?
o God has done so very much for us, it grieves Him greatly when we murmur and gripe and whine.
• Later on in this very same book of Philippians (2:14), Paul is going to say, “Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation.”
• See, it hurts our witness when we Christians moan and groan about things. That’s the way they’re supposed to act, not us.

So I want to talk with you today about how not to complain.

For the last few weeks we’ve been studying the book of Philippians.
• It’s a book about joy.
• But the author, the apostle Paul, had plenty of things he could be unhappy about:
o First, of course, he was writing this letter from prison. He says in vs. 13, “I am in chains for Christ.” For two years Paul was under house arrest in the city of Rome while his case was lost in a sea of Roman red tape. (Acts 28.)
o More than likely, Paul was never alone. Members of the elite “palace guard” (vs. 13) rotated in and out of Paul’s rented quarters, making sure he didn’t try to escape. It’s quite possible that Paul was always chained (literally) to one of these guards.
o And he was there unjustly – he was a Roman citizen; he hadn’t done the things he was accused of doing. He was no insurrectionist.
o Plus he faced an uncertain future. Paul didn’t know if he was going to be brought to trial before Caesar, or set free, or be killed.
o And then, to add insult to injury, we’re told in vss. 15-17 that there were Christians stirring up trouble for Paul out on the streets of Rome…(more on this later).
• Suffice it to say that Paul could have been negative. He could have been bitter and angry and whiny.
• But instead, what do we find in these verses today but a spirit of gratitude, a spirit of joy. “I rejoice,” he says in vs. 18. “Yes, and I will continue to rejoice.”

How can Paul be so upbeat? What’s the source of his optimism?

Three things I see in this passage that gave Paul power to see stars instead of mud… to be positive instead of negative… to be grateful instead of a grumbler… and these 3 things can give you & me power to be the same.

Three truths that kill complaining…three truths to remember to avoid being a complainer:

1. God is always at work (vss. 12-14).
2. God appoints trials to sanctify us (vss. 15-17).
3. It’s not about you anyway (vs. 18).

Truth #1: God is always at work.
• There’s always a bigger picture than what you see (vs. 12) – NASB - “my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel.”
• The imprisonment…the lack of privacy…the injustice…the loss of friends…the uncertainty…the betrayal – all of that, says Paul, has really been part of a master plan.
• Now how’s that, Paul? How did those awful circumstances advance the gospel? Well, 2 ways:

o First, Paul was able to reach people as a prisoner that he would not otherwise meet (vs. 13) – He’s talking here about the conversion of some of those Roman guards!

o Second, Paul was able as a prisoner to encourage fellow ministers of the gospel (vs. 14) – these men received renewed boldness in preaching by being around Paul.

o And besides these 2 things, may I add that it was in this Roman prison that Paul wrote four of the letters that are now in our NT – Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, & Philemon!

• Jer. 29:11 – “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you, not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
• See, Paul knew something that we often forget – our circumstances, no matter how bad, always have meaning & purpose. God is ALWAYS up to something.
• So we don’t have to complain.

Truth #2: (God is always at work) God appoints trials to sanctify us, to make us better.
• Earlier I mentioned that there were people on the outside who were creating trouble for Paul.
• Vss. 15-17
• You see, there were two groups of preachers in Rome. One group loved & respected Paul, but the other group was jealous of Paul & sought to ruin his reputation.
• Now both groups were Christians. Both of them were spreading the gospel. But the attitude of the anti-Paul group was different from that of the pro-Paul group.
o They’d been here before Paul showed up. Now all of a sudden everybody in Rome is talking about Paul, and what a great man he is, and all the things he’s done for Christ.
o They’re thinking, “What about us? We’re preachers too. We have churches. We’ve suffered for Jesus. Why’s this guy Paul getting all the attention?”
o Haven’t you felt that way before?
o Illus.: A new kid moves to town and suddenly she’s popular and you’re not… your company hires a new man and gives him all sorts of perks you didn’t get… your daughter tries out for the cheerleading squad and gets rejected, while your best friend’s daughter makes the team. Don’t tell me you don’t struggle with jealousy in those situations!
o Anyway, here is Paul in prison – knowing that there are people talking bad about him out there in the streets, knowing that they are spreading rumors about him. I’d be pretty ticked off about that, wouldn’t you?
• But Paul says in vs. 16b – “I am put here for the defense of the gospel.”
 “Put here” = military term: appointed
 “These trials are part of my calling. They are for my good. God is allowing this to happen to refine me…to break me of pride…to keep me humble…to make me better.”
 Hymn by John Newton (“Prayer Answered by Crosses”)

I asked the Lord that I might grow
In faith, and love, and every grace;
Might more of His salvation know,
And seek more earnestly His face.

I hoped that in some favored hour
At once He’d answer my request;
And by His love’s constraining pow’r,
Subdue my sins, and give me rest.

Instead of this, He made me feel
The hidden evils of my heart;
And let the angry pow’rs of hell
Assault my soul in every part.

Yea more, with His own hand He seemed
Intent to aggravate my woe;
Crossed all the fair designs I schemed,
Blasted my gourds, and laid me low.

Lord, why is this, I trembling cried,
Wilt thou pursue thy worm to death?
”’Tis in this way,” the Lord replied,
”I answer prayer for grace and faith.

”These inward trials I employ,
From self, and pride, to set thee free;
And break thy schemes of earthly joy,
That thou may’st seek thy all in Me.”

• You know what our problem is? We don’t want to accept where God “put us.” We want a different house, a different set of parents, a different body, a different personality, a different job. We think, “If I were like that, I’d be happy. I could really serve God.”
• Illus.: Greener grass
• God says, “No, this is where I’ve appointed you.”
• When you know that you are who you are, where you are, and with whom you are, by the good and loving design of God, you don’t have to complain.

Truth #3: It’s not about you anyway.

• vs. 18 – “Christ is preached,” that’s what matters.
• “What does it matter, if Christ is exalted.”
• “What does it matter, if Christ gets the glory.”

• See, this is what sets Biblical optimism apart from “positive thinking” – Jesus Christ is in the center.

• In just a few verses, Paul is going to say, “To me, to live is Christ.”

• Can you say that? Can you say that to you, what life is all about is Jesus Christ – knowing Him and making Him known?

o If so, you know true contentment.
o If not, you will never be happy. Life will always be about YOU. You’ll always be searching for something new, something more, something better – because that God-shaped vacuum in the center of your heart can only be filled with a relationship with Jesus Christ.

• Illus.: Matthew Henry (English pastor d. 1714, best known for his Bible commentary) – once beaten and robbed by a group of thieves, and wrote in his diary …

“Let me be thankful first because I was never robbed before, second, although they took my wallet, they did not take my life; third, because, although they took my all, it was not much; and fourth, because it was I who was robbed, not I who robbed.”

• A person who knows life is not about them does not have to complain when things don’t go their way.

***********************

We’ve learned 3 truths that kill complaining:
• God is always at work. Even when things look dark & dreary, He is building His kingdom through us.
• God puts us in places where we will grow and get better; the greener grass is here & now.
• It’s not about us, it’s always about Christ.

So I end with the question I began with: When you look out of your prison bars, do you see mud or stars?

Let me talk to the mud-gazers…the chronic complainers.

There are two possible reasons you complain all the time:
• You are not trusting God.
o Illus.: Jack Bauer (“24”) – “You’ve just got to trust me!”

• You are not a Christian.
o You have tried this and that, and found them wanting.
o Jesus said, “Come to me, all who are weary & burdened, and I will give you rest.”

Topics: Philippians |

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