Understanding the Power of Purpose, Part 2

I played the point guard in college, and I am a basketball junkie.  I mean, I just like it.  I mean, I love it.  I was that little kid that played eight, nine, ten, eleven hours a day, and my mom would say, “I think you’re exaggerating on the low side.”  When I was awake, I was playing.  And so, I coached for a while, and I traveled overseas and played, and then I kept playing.  As a pastor, I’d play.

And so, it was kind of misty in 1994, and I was 40, but I was still in good shape and still playing with college guys.  And so, I didn’t want to play outdoors, because I thought I’d slip, and I’m getting kind of old, didn’t want to get hurt.  So, I went up to Bethany College, and we did a full-court run with some college guys.

And I came down on the point, and I was feeling pretty good.  And I saw a guy, out of the corner of my eye, who was open, and I was going to throw to him – John Stockton’s my hero.  You’ll just have to bear with me. So, I’m like this.  You know how he throws those passes off the dribble, like that?  And I get ready to do it, and then, out of the corner of my eye, I realize someone catches me, and he’s going to get the pass, so I decide I’m going to really crank it.  So, I’ve got all my weight out, like this, and I crank it, and when I do, my knee goes zip, zip! And everything inside a knee that can go out, went out – ACL, MCL.

I mean, and man, I heard it, it sounded like a gun went off.  And I thought, Man, what in the world was that?  I tried to put weight on it, and I just fell down, and . . .  ACL surgery, all the rest.  It was devastating.

And I read a book on prayer.  God used it to slow down my life.  I had a major breakthrough in my marriage during that time.

And one of the greatest things was, there was a gal whose father was an atheist, who had filled her with bitterness and poison, who was my physical therapist.  And three times a week, we got together, and after I got out on this machine, and we worked at it, worked at it, worked at it, and after about a month or six weeks, she said, “Okay, I give up.  What’s different about you?”  I said, “What do you mean?”

She said, “How you do your therapy, how you relate to these people – you know everybody and all these patients now.  What’s different about you?”  And I said, “Well, do you really want to know?”  because she had already shared her anger and her bitterness.  And I said, “I think your dad missed the boat.  I think there is a God, and I think He loves you.  And I came here to let you know that I’m just a regular guy, who I think He wants to let how much He loves you get through, somehow, the conduit of my life.”

And she had a little girl and a broken marriage and a life that was tragic and messed up.  And you know something?  My circumstances turned out for the greater progress of the Gospel.  And I’ll never forget, by the time when she came, and I just said, “Come and visit church for six weeks,” and I was sharing with her, and this and that.  And I remember when she came to Christ, and I remember when she was baptized, and I remember when she and my wife became friends, and how she would come – and her daughter was only about five years old, but she got so fired up.  She goes, “I want my daughter in here to hear this music, because we sing it all week long.”  And God changed her life.

Is that worth a knee?  I think so.  I mean, at 40, I’m not going to…you know what?  My first step was going; now I got an excuse.  You know?  I can’t jump anymore, I don’t have a first step.  But, “Man, ACL, baby.  I mean, what do you expect?”  Now, I can wear a brace when I play, and the guys in the park feel sorry for the old man, you know?

What is it in your life, that God might be using, that’s a hard circumstance, that if you said, “Lord, how could You use this so others might hear?  Is there a platform, maybe, I’m missing, where people could hear and understand the Gospel through me?”  Paul says, Exhibit A: The Gospel goes forth.

Second, Exhibit B: The Church grows strong.  Notice, he says, “[Because of my chains, not only are lost people hearing about Christ, not only do I have a platform like never before, but] because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly.”

A literal rendering is, “To a much greater degree, they dare to speak the Word of God without fear.”  I mean, it’s a new message.  And talk about political correctness in our day, imagine in that day, going against hundreds of years of history and saying, “God came.  His name is Jesus.  He loves you.  He has forgiven your sins.  He has risen from the dead.”

And the apostle Paul is in this unbelievable situation, and he’s waiting, trying to figure out, I wonder when they’re going to execute me?  And instead of trying to soften the message a little bit, he’s using it as a platform.  And when people hear what’s happening in prison, and Paul, and the notoriety, and these Praetorian guards, and – guess what happens?  They’re thinking, I mean, if Paul can do this in prison, I ought to be able to do it at the job.  If Paul can do this in prison, I ought to share with my brother-in-law.  I mean, if Paul can do this in prison, as a church, don’t you think we ought to step up here in Rome and make a difference?

He says, often, the adversity that God brings in your life, when you respond in a Christ-like way, will empower and will encourage other Christians to live the way they know they need to live.  We think that we’re going to live this great life and have these wonderful marriages and all our kids turn out right, and our finances right in order and never have a bad day, and people are going to look at our lives and go, “Oh!  You are such an awesome Christian.  I would like to be like you.”  It doesn’t happen that way.

Tell you what, what people watch is how you respond when your wife’s biopsy report comes back positive, how you respond when one of your kids go absolutely off the deep end, and you totally disagree with everything that he’s doing, or she’s doing, but you choose to figure out what it looks like to love them and not condone their behavior.  They watch you when everyone knows that you should have gotten the promotion, or you got a raw deal, and how you respond.  Do you do this typical office backstabbing, criticism . . . or do you act differently?  See, it’s in adversity, it’s in the most difficult circumstances that you have the greatest opportunity to empower others to see Christ, and man, that empowers Christians to live the way they know they’re supposed to live.  And he says, Exhibit B: The Church grows stronger.

I was thinking of, in my own life, 2002, 2003 were, like, let’s not repeat those years.  I came here to Walk Thru, and we had just a number of situations, but my wife went through a tough time.  Her mom died, then her dad, and then, we moved here, and she had two oral surgeries within the first three or four months.  And my wife was in the tank.  And then, the economy dropped out, and the giving dropped about 38 percent at Walk Thru, so Walk Thru is in the tank.  And that sort of slid over.

That meant that there wasn’t going to be some money, so Living on the Edge was in the tank, and so Chip was in the tank. Except, I couldn’t afford to be in the tank, because I had to come here every day with a group of people that are saying, “Okay, God chose you.  You’re supposed to be the next point guard on this team. Are we going to score or not?”

And so, I got up early in the morning and got out of the tank, and got enough perspective to say, “You know what?  Here’s what God wants to do, and He’s given me just enough faith for today, and here’s where we go.”

But you do that week, and then month after month after month, and my rope is getting shorter and shorter and shorter and shorter, and I end up hitting John 11 in my private time.  And I couldn’t get out of John 11. I read it every day for long, long time.  And then, pretty soon, I remember I was in the living room with a group of people, and they were hurt, and I was feeling down, and I didn’t have a message, and I thought, I’ll just share John 11.  I’ve read it about a zillion times.  So, I shared John 11.  And it’s a picture of how Jesus responds to the people He loves the most – Martha, Mary, and Lazarus – and how, sometimes, God will allow your bad situation to go to impossible, because He wants to give you something better than simply bail you out of your difficult circumstances.

And out of that came a message called “Trusting God when Trusting God Doesn’t Make Sense.”  And I’ve probably preached that a dozen times, now, in the last two years.  I’ve done it to a number of groups of pastors, people that are really hurting.  I did it over at a major church across the street.  I don’t know of any one message that has built up the body of Christ, that I’ve done in the last two or three years, more than “Trusting God When Trusting God Doesn’t Make Sense.”

Do you know why?  Because my circumstances were so unbearable for me.  And I just hung on to, “You know, Lord?  I don’t know how this is going to play out, but You loved Lazarus, You loved Mary, You loved Martha, and when they came with their need, instead of responding, You went the other way for two more days, and You wanted to give them something better.  But You allowed their circumstances to go from bad to impossible, so You could do a miracle.”

And you know something?  What if God is about that in your life? What if there’s something more than just getting out of the fix or writing things?  What if there’s really something deeper He wants to do in you, so that He can do something through you to build up the body of Christ?  See, that’s what the apostle Paul is saying: “I’m looking at life through the lens of purpose.”

Final exhibit is Exhibit C, and he says, because of these circumstances, one, the Gospel goes forth – so that’s good – two, the Church grows strong, and three – this is very personal.  He says, “The man grows deep,” in verses 15 through 18.  He’s going to say, “Something happened in me.” Isn’t that God’s purpose all the time?  According to Romans 8:28, doesn’t He work all things together for the good, for those of you that love Him, that are called according to His purpose?  And then, verse 29, that He might conform you, or make you, like the image of His Son, make you like Jesus?  How does God make you like Jesus?  How does He change your character and your heart?  He does it by taking you through things you don’t want to be in, and then, meeting you there in ways like you’ve never known.

So now the apostle Paul, he’s getting back to the report.  “Epaphroditus has come.  We’re concerned about you.  You’re in prison, and I want to give a word back, and we do have a gift for you.  And Paul, not only are you in prison, but we hear that, while you’re in prison, there’s some stuff happening in the Church. You’re the head honcho of the church; you’re the man.  And we hear that there are people moving into the leadership vacuum, and while you’re in prison, they’re saying stuff like, ‘You know what?  If you had more faith, you’d be out of prison, and if you were such a hotshot and God’s man, why would He leave you in prison?’  And they’re starting to really puff themselves up.  And they’re teaching the right doctrine.  They’re preaching the Gospel.

But I’ll tell you what, they are trying to make a real name for themselves based on you being in prison.  Are you okay with that, Paul?  I mean, this a raw deal.  I mean, you didn’t have to go this route, and look what’s happening to your [quote] ‘career.’  Look what’s happening to your reputation. People may not think you’re as spiritual as they used to think.”

And Paul answers that question in verse 15.  He says, “‘It is true’ – you’re right. That rumor you heard?  It’s true.  ‘Some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry.’” But he reminds them, “But some preach Christ ‘out of goodwill.’  It’s not all bad.  ‘The latter do so in love, knowing . . . [I’m] put here for the defense of the gospel.’ The people that are preaching the Lord, they know what’s happening.  They do it out of love.  They know God’s got His hand on my life.  ‘The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not [sincerity], [they suppose] that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains.’”  So, he says, “Yeah.  There are some people doing exactly what you said.” The former do it because they really love God.  The others are – even in the church – selfish ambition, whether it’s prestige or power or position, or even using it for financial gain may be implied here.

And then, I love the apostle Paul’s summary: “But what does it matter?” – question mark.  Put a little line under that.  “But what does it matter?”  Literally – literal translation: “What’s it to me?”  Isn’t that great?  “Hey, God’s church is moving forward, people preaching the right doctrine with the right motives, people teaching the right doctrine with the wrong motives thinking to get at me.  What’s it to me?  ‘The important thing is’” – do you get the idea of purpose?  The important thing.  Purpose always has to do with what matters.  Why are you here?  “The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.”

You know what I think happened here?  I think Paul dealt with some major ego issues.  God used his adversity to deal with major ego issues. Number one, no spirit of competition.  “You know what? I’m not doing this because of what people think. I’m not hung up about who gets credit. I’ve gotten beyond whether this is fair or not.  You know something?  My purpose was evangelism of the Gospel Message, the Good News of God coming to the planet and saving people from their sin, would go forward.  Okay, I’m in chains.  Is it going forward?  Yes.  Is it going forward in the way I’d like it to, personally?  No.  My goal and dream in life is to be a man of God that would help build the church, where other people, because of rubbing up next to my life, would become more and more like Christ.  Is that happening because I’m in chains – chained to Praetorian guards and the whole Roman Church getting fired up?  Yes.  Do I like how God’s choosing to do it, my own personal life, with the chains and the rats and the guards?  No.”

Finally, “My ultimate purpose is, I am to be a man who loves God and allows Him to change me, to make me more and more like Christ.  Is that happening because ego issues are being dealt with?  I’m not pleasing people.  I gotta get where I don’t care whose credit it is.  Is God’s mission being accomplished?  Yeah.  Is it happening in the way where I get the just credit and the reputation and all that I – as a human being –”  He’s human. Let’s not get Paul in a toga, with an “S” under his chest, where he’s got right motives every day and is some super star.  He’s a regular guy, like you and me.  He’s got bad days.

But he came to the point where he said, you know, “What’s the purpose of it all?  The purpose is, is that God’s mission gets accomplished.  And if it does, I think I’m just not going to sweat who gets the credit.  I think I’m not going to sweat whether it’s fair.  I think I’m not going to sweat what other people think.  I think I’m just going to rejoice in the fact that what God said He would do, He’s doing.  And you know what?  I’m going to choose to take great joy in it.”

I’m reading a book called The Heavenly Man.  It’s the story of a house church pastor.  And it’s such an interesting perspective, that I want to close with this and then ask you some questions as we leave. This guy has been in prison a zillion times, been beat, electric batons.  You name the most gruesome torture anyone could ever experience – legs broken, head bashed in, starved – this guy went through it.  And here’s his perspective at the end of the book.   “The first time I went to prison, I struggled, wondering why God had allowed it.  Slowly, I began to understand He had a deeper purpose for me than just working for Him.  He wanted me to know Him, and I wanted to know Him.  But He wanted to know me more deeply and more intimately.  He knew the best way to get my attention for a while was to give me a rest behind bars.”

Anybody here ever see your adversity as, “Maybe God wants to give me a rest, so He put me in a financial prison or a relational prison?”

“Whenever I hear of a house church Christian that has been in prison for Christ in China, I do not advise people to pray for his or her release, unless the Lord clearly reveals that we should pray this way.  Before a chicken is hatched, it’s vital that it’s kept in warm protection in the shell for 21 days.  If you take the chick out of that environment one day too early, it will die.  Similarly, ducks need to maintain a confinement in their shell for 28 days before they’re hatched.  If you take a duck out on the twenty-seventh day, it will die.

There’s always a purpose, a purpose behind why God allows His children to go to prison.  Perhaps it’s so they can witness to other prisoners.  Or perhaps God wants to develop more character in their lives.  But if we use our own efforts to get them out of prison earlier than God intended, we can thwart God’s plan, and the believers may come out not as fully formed as God wants them to be.”

Any of you had a struggle thinking that way about your life?  God, don’t let this prison of adversity end too soon, because I want to really be formed.  I mean, I really want to get everything You have out of this.  Isn’t that refreshing?

There are three purposes for all of us.  You are an ambassador of the Gospel, and the purpose? Reach the lost.  Question, put simply, is, how could God use your present circumstance to do that?

Second purpose for every believer is, I’m called to encourage God’s people, to help them grow to full maturity.  That’s, “Build the found.”  Those that are already found in Christ, you want to build them up.

And the final purpose is that I’m a servant of the living God, and His purpose is that you become like our Master.