Has My Suffering Made God Known To All?

so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ.

Philippians 1:13

John Bunyan was a preacher in England. He was a fiery preacher and he saw great results. Bunyan's rise as a popular preacher coincided with the restoration of Charles II. The freedom of worship Separatists had enjoyed for 20 years was quickly ended and those not conforming with the Church of England would be arrested. Due to this they arrested him and put him in Bedford jail in January 1661. Bunyan could have freed himself by promising not to preach but refused. Instead he started preaching in the prison. He shouted so loud that his voice could be heard over the walls. And people would gather outside the walls to listen to him. Because of this they put him in solitary confinement deep below in the dungeon. It is here that he decided to write. And he wrote Pilgrim's Progress there.

Last two days we saw that Paul was passionate about the gospel and at the same time confident also. He is sure that the gospel will move on. The word advance or furtherance the original Greek means something very unique. It means a forward movement in spite of obstacles. The word was used of pioneers cutting their way through brushwood, cutting the undergrowth away, so one could go on it. It was also used for soldiers advancing through obstacles. It was also sometimes used as a nautical term for ships making headway while there was a headwind.In simple terms this word means that there's always an obstacle involved. It's going forward and forward but in the midst of obstacle.

Paul wants them to know that all that has happened to him - the incarcerations, the beatings, the mistrials - none of that has stopped the advance of the gospel. In fact, it cleared the way. It actually furthered it. It made progress in it.

How did the gospel make furtherance or progress?

It is advanced or furthered for Roman soldiers. God's plan has been furthered for Roman soldiers. Verse 13, we see the mentioning of the whole palace guard. The word is praetorian. We get the word praetoriam from that. The Praetorian Guard was the elite personal soldiers for the emperor. There were about 10,000 of them in the Roman empire. They were the bodyguards of the emperor.

Now Paul is incarcerated in Rome. So, he is somehow attached to the palace. Now he's not in the palace. He's in a rented home and we are told about this in the Book of Acts of the Apostles. Paul is chained to a guard 24 hours a day in a rented house. But the people chained to him are Praetorian Guard.

In the 24 hours a day, 4 soldiers were chained six hours at a time to Paul. So Paul couldn't eat without being chained. He couldn't sleep without being chained. Everything he did 24 hours was chained to a guard. Now we often think, Paul was in chains. But I think of it the other way - along with Paul the soldier too was chained.

What is the result of Paul being chained to a Roman guard mean. It means some of them got saved. Why am I so sure about it? Because in Philippians 4:22, Paul says, all the Saints send you greetings, especially those who belong to Caesar's household. Isn't that great? Some of those soldiers who were unreachable got reached. And there's only one way they could and that was by being chained to a Christian. So the incarceration, the suffering that Paul experienced, it furthered God's plan for Roman soldiers.

Not only the palace guard had the opportunity for listening to God's word but even for the Roman citizens. Verse 13 - so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. What does this mean?

In Acts 28 we are told that Paul was under house arrest. House arrest meant that there were certain freedoms the prisoner had. He lived in a house but chained to a soldier 24/7. He could not leave the house. But people could come and visit him. Acts 28 tells us that Jewish leaders came to visit him. Christian leaders came to visit him. Citizens of Rome came to visit him. Acts 28 we further read that for two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him.

Just as I am without one plea,
But that thy blood was shed for me,
And that thou bidst me come to Thee
Oh Lamb of God I come, I come.

This beautiful hymn was written by Charlotte Elliot. At the age of 32, she suffered from a serious illness that left her disabled for the rest of her life. The above mentioned hymn was the most famous hymn and it was sung at all the Billy Graham crusades. Suffering with serious illness she wrote 150 hymns and some have become very famous.

Dear Friends there might be some who are experiencing little prison experiences due to health or due to employment/unemployment, to relationship/lack of relationship. Different circumstances may restrict us, sickness may restrict us, failure may restrict us. Instead of being scrappy about it let us be joyful and happy.

God Bless you.