Adopt a Positive Ministry Mindset!

19th Sunday after Pentecost, 10/7/12
Philippians 1:12-18a


Adopt a Positive Ministry Mindset!
I. Rejoice over the gospel’s success.
II. Realize Satan’s attacks.


I don’t know the answer to the following question because I haven’t asked it. But I’d like to know how you view your life as a member of this congregation. Maybe you’re wondering what I’m asking for. Let me make that a little clearer for you. Do you view your life as a member here at Resurrection as something you get out or something you put in? In economic terms, are you a consumer or a producer? Are you looking for what this congregation can do for you or what you can do for this congregation?

Well, I hope it’s both. Yes, you’re here this morning to consume something—the precious gospel of Jesus Christ by which our God creates and nourishes saving faith in Jesus. But you’re also here to participate in congregational life. Your very presence here in worship is one facet of it. Your prayers for others is another. Your offering in support of our kingdom work is still another. And there are many other ways that you, along with the other members of our congregation, serve your Lord and each other.

All three of our Scripture readings this morning mention God’s people participating in the work of God’s kingdom. That’s a wonderful blessing! But in each case, problems arose. There were feelings of envy and sinful pride. Tensions arose between fellow believers. Left unaddressed, those tensions had the potential of tearing God’s people apart.

In this morning’s sermon text from Philippians, Paul addressed that very situation in a very positive way. He remained above the fray and maintained a positive ministry mindset. In doing so, he promoted peace among God’s people.

May our God accomplish the same among us! He will as we adopt a positive ministry mindset. Let’s see what that involves as we ponder Paul’s words this morning.

Part I.

When disaster strikes, we often wonder what God’s plan is. We wonder why he permitted it to occur and how he’s going to make it turn out. What’s surprising is that he often turns disasters into tremendous blessings for us. Let me cite just one example. In Acts 7 we’re told that a tremendous persecution of Christians in the early church broke out. The Christians in and around Jerusalem were scattered. How terrible! They may have lost house and home! But God turned it into a tremendous blessing. The Bible tells us that these scattered Christians shared their faith in their new locations. Instead of damaging the church, these persecutions actually caused it to grow and become stronger.

We have another case of God turning a tragedy into a tremendous blessing before us this morning. Paul wrote these words to the Philippians while in prison in Rome. In fact, he was on trial for preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. Instead of being free to proclaim that gospel far and wide, Paul was under arrest and confined. It appeared to be a huge blow to the Christian church.

But the Lord turned it into a tremendous blessing. The heading to this section of Paul’s letter in our Bibles states, “Paul’s Chains Advance the Gospel.” These are the opening words of our text, “Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel.” From other portions of Paul’s letters, it’s apparent that Paul had an opportunity to proclaim the gospel in Caesar’s court—the most influential court in the world at that time. Jesus had made good on his promise to Paul that Paul would proclaim Jesus as the Savior before kings. And while we don’t know if anyone in that court came to faith in Jesus, Paul does say that the court seemed to be favorable towards him. He anticipated being set free soon.

But that’s not all. Listen to Paul describe more of God’s blessings. “As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ.” The palace guard was the ancient Roman equivalent of today’s Secret Service. They were elite Roman soldiers who guarded the king and his palace. They were highly respected, intelligent and well-paid. They must have had contact with Paul who shared the gospel with them, a group of men numbering thousands. What a blessing!

But there’s more! Paul also states, “Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly.” Paul’s trial and his defense which was the good news about Jesus were the talk of the town. This situation gave the Christians in Rome a golden opportunity to share the gospel with others. And that’s what they did. Paul states that they did so courageously and fearlessly. What a blessing! And all because of the arrest and detainment of Christianity’s greatest missionary!

Instead of bemoaning his situation, Paul rejoiced. That’s a positive ministry mindset. It rejoices over the gospel’s success.

There are times in our church life when we feel that we’re “chained,” not literally as Paul was, but hindered nonetheless. If only our church was located where that mega-church is, if only we had more property, if only we had the funds that another congregation has, if only we had several staff members, if only we operated a school and a pre-school, if only, if only, if only. And because we don’t enjoy those blessings, we just don’t feel like much is being accomplished. But just look at what the gospel has accomplished in you. Nothing short of a miracle, I certainly declare. Week in and week out your faith in Jesus as your Lord and Savior is nourished by word and sacrament. Week after week our children are taught the saving truths of Jesus. Children, and occasionally an adult, are baptized. God’s people gather here to study and discuss his word together. We sing his praises. We enjoy one another’s fellowship. What a blessing that we have joined together to focus on our Savior’s life, death and resurrection for our forgiveness and eternal life! Those are the gospel successes among us. Adopt a positive ministry mindset as you rejoice over them!

Part II.

But realize that, where the gospel has success, Satan works his hardest. If he can’t stop us from proclaiming the saving news about Jesus, then he will seek to divide and conquer us.

That’s exactly what Paul saw happening. When Paul arrived in Rome, there were already many Christians there. One commentator estimates that no less than eight Jewish synagogues converted to Christianity. The Christians in these congregations quietly went about their work of proclaiming Jesus to as many as possible, but it was slow work.

Along comes Paul, the prisoner, and within months he has the entire city of Rome talking about Jesus. I’m not saying that everyone in Rome converted to Christianity. But at least the vast majority of people living in Rome had heard about Jesus. And it was all because of Paul being on trial.

Now put yourself in the shoes of those Jewish Christians who had quietly, steadily, unceremoniously worked to share the same good news for years without much to show for it. How would you feel? What would you do?

In this case, there were two reactions. Paul informs us, “It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. The latter do so in love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains.” Let’s talk about the positive one first. Some Christians humbly used this spike of interest in Christianity to sincerely proclaim Jesus to as many as possible. They genuinely had love for their Lord and for other sinners at heart.

But not so with others. Satan succeeded in tempting them into the sins of jealousy and discord. They didn’t like it that Paul was stealing the show, so they tried to one-up him. They hoped to stir up trouble for Paul and knock him off his high horse.

And what was Paul’s reaction to all this? He writes, “What does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached.” Remember, these preachers were not guilty of preaching false doctrine, just preaching from false motives. If they had been guilty of preaching false doctrine, Paul would have taken them to task. But Paul realized that even if their hearts weren’t right, the gospel was being proclaimed. That’s all that mattered to him. He didn’t get all bent out of shape over it.

That’s part of a positive ministry mindset. It realizes Satan’s attacks.

Long ago when talking to an older-fellow pastor about the challenges I was facing in my ministry, I was told, “Welcome to church work.” He wasn’t being sarcastic, just realistic. Satan will work his hardest to bring our kingdom work to a screeching halt. Maybe he won’t tempt us with envy as he did these Roman Christians. But he will definitely tempt us in order to disrupt us. Maybe he’ll tempt us to judge the actions and words of others. Perhaps he’ll lure us into apathy or the mindset that someone else needs to do that, not me, not you. Maybe he’ll convince us that we have served enough and we’re done. Realize those for what they are. They are Satan’s attacks. And that’s always the way it will be here in the church militant. We’re fighting against Satan himself. But adopt a positive ministry mindset. With Christ on our side, we win. His death and resurrection assure us of victory. We are more than conquerors! So we’ll continue the battle here and enjoy the gospel’s successes—small though they may be—until Jesus calls us home to heaven. That’s a positive ministry mindset. It’s your mindset by faith in Jesus. Amen.