Philippians 1: When Christ Reigns, Your Suffering Has a Purpose

Introduction

"Are you going through hard times? Are you facing trials in your life right now?" That is how Michael Yoo, who leads the Honeywood campus of Mount Pleasant Baptist Church, opens his message on Philippians 1:12-26, titled "Suffering Has a Purpose."

He is not speaking from a distance. In recent months he was diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disease that attacks his eyes, ears and brain, and then, two weeks later, with thyroid cancer. He has had surgery and is on the road to recovery. He thanks the church for its prayers, support and words of encouragement.

His conviction fits in one sentence: when Christ becomes our greatest treasure, we begin to see suffering differently. Yes, there will be wounds and scars. But our life and our supreme love for Jesus speak to suffering and death and tell them: "You have not defeated me, and you will not defeat me." That is what Jesus says in the middle of our pain.

Message Outline

1. What Are You Living For?

Michael begins with a question: "What are you living for? What drives your life?" The answer reveals the love that rules your heart.
We have many legitimate loves: family, children, work. But whatever comes first becomes the force that pushes you and the lens through which you see everything: your joys, your sorrows, your pains and even your sufferings.
Jesus says it in Matthew 6:21: "for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." What we cherish shapes our hopes, but also what we fear and what makes us weep. Two people can go through the same situation and react very differently.
With humor, he uses the example of Australian football. Fremantle Dockers fans have lived through thirty years of "pain and suffering" since the club's first season in 1995. Those who do not follow the sport wonder why anyone would chase a ball that is not even round. What you place in your heart shapes how you look at every situation.
When Christ is that treasure, suffering is no longer without purpose or hope. Jesus said: "Because I live, you will live also" (John 14:19). For those who are in Christ, what we go through on this side of eternity is only temporary.

2. In Trials, a Gospel-Centered Life Advances the Gospel

Paul's imprisonment seemed to hinder his ministry. Yet God used it to make Christ known to the whole Praetorian guard and to give the brothers more confidence to proclaim the Word without fear (Philippians 1:12-14).
"Prison did not stop the spread of the good news. It became the very means by which the gospel advanced."
Joseph is another example: false accusations, prison, slavery. His testimony to his brothers: "you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good" (Genesis 50:20).
Michael tells about the night he was hospitalized. An emergency room nurse, visibly in a bad mood, came to place an IV in his arm. He could no longer see, his hearing was dropping, his headaches were unbearable. He asked her why she worked nights. She has three young children, the youngest about three years old. He thanked her for being there when she would probably rather be with them, and asked her to be gentle with the needle.
Half an hour later, she was still in his room. They talked about raising children and the difficulties she was having with her teenage daughter. He suggested a place where her daughter might do better. "Just a simple conversation, a small opportunity."
He had thought he needed to be at church on Sunday to preach, teach, be with the youth or at Honeywood. But God made him understand: "No, I need you at the hospital. I need to send someone to you so that you can have a conversation."
His conclusion: do not only ask God to remove the situation or get you out of it. Ask him: "Lord, how can I see you in this situation? Who have you placed next to me? How can Christ be made known through this?" Our circumstances can limit our movements, but they cannot limit God's mission.

3. In Trials, a Gospel-Centered Life Lifts Up Jesus

Some preached Christ out of love, others out of envy and rivalry, thinking they would add suffering to Paul's chains. Paul did not approve of their motives, but he refused to let rivalry or quarrels take first place.
He rejoiced that Christ was being proclaimed: "What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed. I rejoice in this, yes, and will rejoice" (Philippians 1:18). He cared little what people thought of his situation.
John the Baptist lived the same thing. When his disciples worried about seeing the crowds go to Jesus, he answered: "He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3:30). He had come for a specific role. A gospel-centered life is not about protecting our position, our image or our status, but about directing people to Christ.
In trials, you have a choice: look inward, at yourself and what you are going through, or look to Jesus. When you look to him, he is lifted up, and that brings him glory.
Michael suggests some self-examination: will I keep rejoicing if someone else receives the credit or recognition for what I have done? Will I reject the spirit of competition, comparison and self-promotion? Do I talk about myself and my sufferings, or about his goodness, his love, his mercy, his grace and his sacrifice? "What is deep in our hearts will eventually come out."
He testifies: if Jesus asked him to go through another health trial, he would answer "Yes, Lord, take me," and it would not be a lie. He would not wish this pain on his worst enemy, but the place where God has brought him far surpasses this suffering. "I know my place with you and I know our destination."

4. In Trials, a Gospel-Centered Life Opens New Life

"Suffering brings new life. It is a catalyst for new life." Paul declares: "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain" (Philippians 1:21). He could face life or death with confidence, because Christ defined both.
Hence his attitude: "Whatever happens." In 2 Corinthians 11, Paul lists his trials: beatings, shipwrecks, hunger. And for the sake of the gospel, he says: whatever happens.
For him, to live meant fruitful labor in proclaiming the good news. To die meant being with Christ, which was far better for him. Yet he was ready to stay in prison to keep serving the imperial guards and to give believers the courage to speak about Jesus with confidence.
When trials come, the question to ask is therefore: who am I living for? For myself or for Christ? Am I only trying to survive my day, or do I believe that my suffering has a purpose, that God can use it to spread the gospel, lift up Christ and bring life and hope to those around me?
This takes a heart turned toward others: "Let nothing be done through rivalry or through conceit, but in humility, each counting others better than himself" (Philippians 2:3), and "in honor preferring one another" (Romans 12:10).

5. Jesus Chose the Way of the Cross for Us

Jesus lived a life whose heart was not turned toward himself, but toward the Father and toward us. He left us the example, even when it meant pain, all the way to his death on the cross.
Right after his baptism and the Father's voice ("This is my beloved Son"), he is led into the wilderness, fasts forty days and forty nights and is tempted by the devil (Matthew 3:13 to 4:11).
Michael points out three temptations: satisfying his hunger and taking care of himself, putting his power on display, and finally using that power to establish the kingdom while bypassing the cross: "I will give you all of these things, if you will fall down and worship me." The final goal would have been the same, without the cross.
Jesus refuses: "I will not take the easy way. I know the path my Father has laid out for me. It goes through suffering, it goes through the cross." In Gethsemane, he wrestled with that suffering, but he submitted to the Father's will. For whom? For us.
"Church, we are never alone, because Christ was alone on the cross for us." In our pain, it is enough to look to Christ on the cross and receive what he has for us. Because of the joy set before him, he chose the cross to give us new life (Hebrews 12:2).
The greatest expression of love toward someone who is suffering is to tell them: "I am praying for you, I am walking with you." That is what the church lived with Michael. And Jesus says the same to us: "I am with you, because I went up on the cross. I know what you are going through."

6. Suffering Does Not Have the Last Word

Michael gives a challenge for the week: take time to look at your life, in the middle of what you are going through, and ask yourself the question from the beginning: what are you living for? What takes first place? Christ, the gospel, or something else?
Whatever your answer, start with gratitude: thank God for the gospel, for the path of suffering Jesus chose for us, for his sacrifice, for the defeat of sin and death, and for the Spirit who lives in us so that we are never alone.
Then come the questions: how do I make Christ the purpose and meaning of my life? How do I make eternity with him my hope? How do I make proclaiming the good news my priority, in life as in death?
Philippians 1:12-26 shows that suffering does not have the last word. "Christ has the last word, and he has already spoken it on the cross."
Paul's peace and joy did not come from the verdict of his trial or from the gift received from the church in Philippi, but from the certainty that, whether he lived or died, what he was facing was not the end of the story.
Christ will return. Revelation announces that there will be no more tears or death (Revelation 21:4). "Live with a living and absolute hope. In the end, we will be with Christ, and that is the end of the story."
The message concludes with communion: the bread and the cup remind us that Jesus chose the path of suffering to the cross for us (1 Corinthians 11:23-26), so that we would choose a gospel-centered life.

Key Takeaways

Whatever takes first place in your heart becomes the lens through which you see everything, including your suffering.
God can use your limits to advance the gospel, as he did with Paul's chains or a hospital bed.
In trials, you can look to yourself or look to Jesus. When you look to him, he is lifted up.
"For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain": when Christ defines life and death, you can say "whatever happens."
You are never alone in suffering, because Christ was alone on the cross for you. Suffering does not have the last word.

Personal Application

If you are honest, what are you living for today? What really takes first place in your heart?
In the trial you are going through, instead of only asking to get out of it, can you ask: "Who have you placed next to me, Lord?"
When you talk about your situation, do you mostly talk about yourself, or about God's goodness and faithfulness?
Could you rejoice if someone else received the recognition for what you have done?
Who around you needs to hear this week: "I am praying for you, I am walking with you"?

Verses Cited

Frequently Asked Questions

What does "suffering has a purpose" mean in Philippians 1?

For Michael, when Christ takes first place in the heart, suffering is no longer empty of meaning. In a gospel-centered life, it advances the gospel, lifts up Jesus and becomes the starting point of new life. Paul in prison shows this: his chains made Christ known even in the imperial guard.

What does "to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain" mean?

In Philippians 1:21, Paul can look at life and death with confidence, because Christ defines both. To live is to serve the gospel fruitfully. To die is to be with Christ, which is far better. Michael sums up this attitude with an expression: "whatever happens," for the sake of the gospel.

What should you ask God for when going through a trial?

Michael invites us not to only ask God to remove the situation or get us out of it. He suggests asking: "Lord, how can I see you in this situation? Who have you placed next to me? How can Christ be made known through this?" God can use the trial to advance his work.