Philippians 1: Your Problem Has a Problem Too

Introduction

"It is too soon to give up." Jonathan Rivera, pastor of the Elevation Church campus at Southeastern University, came with one single goal: to encourage someone who is about to let go. His message fits into one sentence that he has the whole congregation repeat: "A problem for my problem."

The text is Philippians 1:12-14, a letter the apostle Paul wrote from prison. Theologians nevertheless call it the letter of joy. How can anyone talk about joy in a cell? Following Paul, the preacher shows that pain produces something, that nothing can stop the Gospel, and that there is no more reason to fear what lies on the other side of the trial.

His conclusion is for the one who walked into church with a problem: "Your problem has a problem, and his name is Jesus."

Outline of the message

1. Do not give up too soon

The preacher loves documentaries and biographies, and he loves Apple: iPhone, iPad, iMac. Looking into how the company began, he discovered a name few people know: Ronald Wayne.
On April 1, 1976, Apple had three founders, not two: Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. Wayne contributed to the first user manual and drew the very first logo, which was not an apple. He was to receive 10% of the company.
Twelve days later, he resigned. He could not handle the pressure, the worry or the stress, and sold his share for $800. Fifty years later, in 2026, that 10% would be worth about $200 billion.
"Have you ever seen someone give up too soon?" Leaving a job, a friendship, a marriage, a dream, or even God, too soon. The saddest part is the possibilities: what could have been, and what God had put in reserve for us.
One day we will give an account before Jesus: "What did you do with the life I gave you, the gifts, the family, the resources I placed in your hands?" For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:10).
Some preachers used to speak of a giant screen in heaven where God would play the film of our failures. The Bible does not mention a screen, and even if it were true, Jonathan Rivera is not worried: he is covered by the blood of Christ, and there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1).
His youth pastor once told him that there would be something worse: the film of the life you could have lived. The people you could have reached, the lives you could have changed, the songs you could have written, if you had not given up too soon.
"The only thing harder than obedience is regret. The only thing harder than saying yes to God is regretting that you did not say yes to him."

2. Perseverance: going through the pain

God has a great deal in reserve for our marriages, our children, our families, our businesses, our Church and our callings. But all of it lies on the other side of what we call perseverance.
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines it as continued effort to do or achieve something despite difficulties, failure or opposition. In simple words: "You have to go through the pain."
Pain is part of the human experience: relational, emotional, physical and financial pain. In the congregation, many are going through things their neighbors in the same row know nothing about.
God cares about your pain. He does not cause all pain, and some of the things you have had to go through grieve his heart.
What the preacher loves about the Bible is that it does not run from pain. Read carefully, it is full of suffering and brokenness.

3. Joy and chains at the same time

Paul wrote Philippians in prison, and yet it is the letter of joy. That looks like a contradiction. The preacher admits he feels like asking him: "Paul, are you faking it? Is it worse than you are willing to admit?"
He asked himself the same question about his mother, a Pentecostal of Puerto Rican origin. She argued with him on Friday, corrected him on Saturday, and on Sunday she sang in church: "I've got joy like a river in my soul."
So, joy or chains? Praise or pain? The answer: both. "It is praising God in the middle of my pain, and not letting my pain stop my praise."
This is not the first time Paul is in prison. In Acts 16, Paul and Silas pray and sing, an earthquake shakes the foundations, the doors open and everyone's bonds come loose. The preacher believes that God does miracles and breaks chains.
But what do you do when you sing of joy and you are still in chains? You come to church, you serve, you give, and your children are still rebellious, you still cannot sleep, your spouse still does not come, that habit is still knocking at your door, you still cannot find work. Paul can understand that.

4. Pain produces

Paul writes: "Now I want you to know, brothers, that the things which happened to me have turned out rather to the progress of the Gospel" (Philippians 1:12). What happened to him was an unjust detention, for having preached the Gospel.
Have you ever done everything right and watched things go wrong? You try to lead your family, to honor God at work and in your relationships, and the wrong thing happens. Paul speaks of it almost with gratitude.
Paul does not like pain, he is not a masochist. It is like a diet: nobody likes the diet. Whoever says they like it is lying or trying to sell you something. We like the results.
James says it: count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance (James 1:2-3). "I don't know why, but pain produces."
The preacher is not thankful for the divorce, the loss of a job, the betrayal, the lies. It hurts. But the pain produced what success, money, a promotion, a relationship, fame or even an answered prayer could not produce.
"I don't thank him for the pain, I thank him for the way he used the pain." It made you stronger, wiser, more loving, more compassionate.

5. Nothing can stop the Gospel

Nothing can stop the Gospel, the kingdom of God or the Word of God. No matter what TikTok, Instagram, the news or the street say: the Gospel is on the move. "It is at work. Let it keep going."
God advances the Gospel in ways we would never have imagined. Humanly speaking, Paul's situation looks like a defeat: how can you preach from behind bars, how can you plant Churches in chains?
Paul goes on: throughout the whole palace guard and everywhere else, it is known that he is in chains for Christ (Philippians 1:13). The context matters: the palace guard, the Praetorian Guard, was a small army, and all those soldiers knew about Paul's case.
In Roman prisons, the prisoner was not left alone: a soldier was chained to his right, another to his left, and the guard changed every four hours.
The preacher imagines Paul, an evangelist at heart, introducing himself to each new guard: "Do you see these chains? I am chained, but I am free. You may be free, but you are still chained. Have you heard of Jesus? If you have not heard of Jesus, know that Jesus has heard of you."
Shift after shift, the whole guard heard about Paul. "He turned his jailers into his congregation."
Ephesians is also a prison letter. At the end, Paul describes the armor of God: the helmet of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness, the belt of truth, the sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:13-17). It recalls the Roman soldier next to him. He did not let his circumstances stop his message: he made a message out of this mess.

6. Knowing what is on the other side of the pain

Verse 14: most of the brothers, encouraged by his chains, are more confident to proclaim the word without fear. It is astonishing: they see that preaching led Paul to prison, and it makes them want to preach.
"Could it be that Paul's chains lifted the mystery of what is on the other side of the pain?" They no longer have to guess what happens when you go through your worst moments.
The preacher tells about his first tattoo, done with friends in memory of a young relative who had died. He had never had one and said to a friend: "You go first." He wanted to see what that pain looked like. If he could see it, he could bear it.
The believers saw Paul preach, get arrested, and go through his worst moments. And on the other side, he was fine. He was still in prison, in chains, surrounded by soldiers (the preacher does not minimize his pain), but he was fine.
"That means I no longer have to be afraid." Like Kevin in Home Alone: "I'm not afraid anymore." Walk out of church and tell the enemy: I know who my God is, I know who is with me, I have seen how others came through, and I will come through too.

7. Your problem has a problem

The Bible is full of examples. Moses facing the sea, with millions of people behind him and Pharaoh's army on his heels: in the end, he was fine. David, a mere boy who had come to bring provisions to his brothers, faces a giant: in the end, he was fine.
Daniel in the lions' den: in the end, he was fine. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, thrown into the furnace because they refuse to bow down: the king sees a fourth man in the fire, and they come out unharmed (Daniel 3:25).
Mary, young and not yet married, receives the angel's announcement and answers: "Be it done to me according to your word" (Luke 1:38). Paul, ready to leave this body to be at home with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:8): he was fine.
Jesus on the cross, under the sign "king of the Jews", hears the crowd shout: "If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross!" (Matthew 27:40). He dies, he is laid in the tomb, but on the third day he rises again. He is seated at the right hand of the Father and intercedes for us. If he came out of the tomb, we will come out too.
Jonathan Rivera shares his own story: a broken Puerto Rican boy who rode the city bus, raised by a single mother, going from one trauma to the next, called to preach while he stuttered. If God did it for him, he can do it for you.
That is why testimonies matter: they overcame by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony (Revelation 12:11). He remembers the testimony nights of his childhood: an elderly woman whose doctor could no longer explain why her cancer had disappeared, a couple who tore up their divorce papers after a message they heard at church.
"I don't know what problem you brought today, but your problem has a problem, and his name is Jesus. You may be afraid of your problem, but your problem is afraid of your God." Whatever your prison, you can still lift your hands and say thank you, because you know what awaits you on the other side: you will come out with a testimony of God's goodness and faithfulness.

Key takeaways

It is too soon to give up. Harder than obedience is the regret of not having said yes to God.
Joy and chains do not exclude each other: you can praise God in the middle of pain without letting the pain stop the praise.
Pain produces in you what success, money or even an answered prayer cannot produce.
Nothing stops the Gospel: Paul makes his guards his audience and his prison a place where the message advances.
Those who went before you show what is on the other side of the trial. Your problem has a problem: Jesus.

Personal application

In what area are you tempted to give up too soon: your marriage, a friendship, your job, a dream, your relationship with God?
Is there a "yes" to God that you keep putting off and might regret?
What has the pain you went through produced in you that nothing else could have produced?
Who are the "guards" placed next to you right now, at work or in your daily life, to whom you could speak about Jesus despite your chains?
What testimony of God's faithfulness can you share this week to encourage someone who is afraid of the other side?

Verses cited

Frequently asked questions

How can Paul talk about joy when he is in prison?

For Jonathan Rivera, you do not have to choose between joy and chains, between praise and pain: it is both. Paul praises God in the middle of his pain and does not let his pain stop his praise. He does not love suffering, but he sees what it produces and how it advances the Gospel.

What does "what happened to me has turned out to the progress of the Gospel" mean?

In Philippians 1:12-13, Paul explains that his detention made Christ known throughout the whole palace guard. Chained to soldiers who took turns, he spoke to them about Jesus. His guards became his audience, and his prison advanced the message instead of stopping it.

Why did Paul's chains encourage the other believers?

According to Philippians 1:14, most of the brothers, encouraged by his chains, proclaim the word without fear. Jonathan Rivera sees it this way: seeing Paul in prison and yet doing well, they know what is on the other side of the pain. They no longer have to guess, so they no longer have to be afraid.