Isolated: The Gospel Can’t Be Confined | May 3, 2020 Sermon

May 3, 2020 is the third week of our Isolated sermon series. This week, we’re looking at Paul writing a letter of hope and joy from his prison cell. Today’s text is Philippians 1:1-14.

Isolated: Meeting God When We Think We’re Alone

April 19 – “Peace in a Locked Room”

April 26 – “A Lonely Journey”

May 3 – “The Gospel Can’t Be Confined”

May 10 – “God in the Silence”

Here’s the worship service video:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen

I often begin my sermons with that line, but did you know it comes from this first chapter of Philippians? This week, rather than read a story from the Gospel, we’re switching genres and reading from a different type of Biblical writing, a letter. And we’re starting at the beginning, with the greeting.

When I was first putting this service together, I was going to start with verse 3, the content, but I like including the greeting at the beginning. It may not seem like it has great theological meaning (he’s basically saying “Dear people of Philippi, this is Paul writing to you.”) but I like it because it helps me remember that this is a real letter, written by real, physical human beings, written to real flesh and blood people with fears and hopes and joys and concerns.

Paul begins his letter by saying he thanks God every time he remembers the people he’s writing too. He says he constantly prays for them. And he assures them of his confidence that God is not done with them. The one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion. 

Especially in this time where all of us are doing our best to stay isolated from other people, isn’t that a great message of encouragement? It’s a call to us that even though we can’t be together, we can still pray for each other. We can still give thanks. We can still encourage each other. You can even follow Paul’s example and write a letter to someone letting them know you’re thankful for them and encouraging them.

This whole opening is relevant to us today, but I picked this passage for today because of verse 12: “I want you to know, beloved, that what has happened to me has actually helped to spread the gospel.”

What’s happened to Paul is that he’s been thrown into prison. If you know Paul’s story—as the people receiving this letter certainly did—you know this happens to him a few times. In fact, as you can read in Acts 16, back when he was in Philippi starting the church to which he’s writing, he and his companion Silas had been arrested, beaten, and thrown in jail. 

We don’t know exactly which prison he’s in as he’s writing this letter, but most likely it’s his final imprisonment in Rome, where after about two years, he’ll eventually be executed.

And in midst of this terrible time in prison, not knowing what his future holds, stripped of his freedom, kept from traveling to plant churches as he’d planned, Paul writes that what’s happened to me has actually helped to spread the gospel, because the people guarding him have gotten to hear about Jesus. In fact, the whole imperial guard have seen his witness. And the believers around him have been inspired by his imprisonment, and they’re daring to boldly proclaim the gospel too.

Paul’s enemies thought that prison would defeat him. They thought he’d be intimidated, locked away, silenced. But the gospel cannot be contained. Even though he’s isolated in terrible circumstances, God is still using him. God is still working. 

Pay attention to what Paul is not saying. He’s not saying God caused him to be arrested. He’s not saying God is responsible for the bad things that have happened to him. What he’s saying is that out of the bad, out of his arrest and imprisonment, good is happening. God is bringing good out of evil.




I think Paul’s most powerful witnesses to the people around him and the people reading the letter is his joy and his gratitude. There has to be something going on to write from prison, “I thank my God every time I remember you, constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you.” 

Think about it: Is joy a more powerful witness when things are going well, or in the midst of tough circumstances? It’s easy to be joyful and happy when everything’s going right in the world. No one is surprised if you’re joyful when you get a promotion or a raise, or when your team wins, or you get good news about a family member. But people notice when joy endures in the tough times.

Now, joy is not the same as happiness. Paul is not happy to be in prison. Happiness is a reaction; it depends on what’s happening around us and to us. Eating ice cream makes me happy. I’m happy when I get to play games with friends. 

Joy is deeper. Joy is a state of being. Joy is a way of approaching life. Paul isn’t joyful because he’s in prison, in fact he longs to be free, to be able to visit with his friends, he longs to be with the church in Philippi, that’s why he’s writing this letter to them! I’d imagine he’s pretty unhappy to be in prison.

But he’s still joyful, because his joy isn’t dependent on his circumstances, but on something deeper. Paul’s joy and his confidence are based on Jesus, on the one who has defeated death and the grave. He can write that he constantly prays with joy because he knows his time in prison is temporary. Even if it lasts the rest of his life, which it will, it’s still temporary. 

Do you know the song “I’ve got the joy?” It’s a good one for Sunday School or VBS. It goes, “I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, down in my heart. Down in my heart. Down in my heart. I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, down in my heart to stay.”

That’s the kind of joy Paul has. That joy, that confidence, that trust in Jesus is what carries him through prison, through the toughest times in his life. Paul knows prison walls cannot confine the gospel. Prison walls cannot keep the Holy Spirit from working. The risen Lord Jesus Christ is present with him. And as a Christian, the Holy Spirit gives you that kind of joy too. 

As our Psalm says, “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted, and saves those whose spirits are crushed. Many are the troubles of the righteous, but the Lord delivers them from every one.”

Beloved of God, in this time of anxiety and uncertainty, when you’re worried about whether we’re opening up too quickly or not soon enough, when you’re concerned about your job, or you’re missing your family, when you’re feeling isolated, trust that God is still at work. Trust that God will bring good even out of this. What the enemy intends for evil, God can use for good. The one who began a good work in you will bring it to completion.

And may the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Amen