When you talk to ten people, seven of them will have a broken heart.

Steve Brown:
When you talk to ten people, seven of them will have a broken heart. Let’s talk about it, on Key Life.

Matthew Porter:
That was Steve Brown, he doesn’t want to be your guru, and he’s not trying to be your mother. He just opens the Bible and gives you the simple truth that will make you free. Steve’s a lifelong broadcaster, author, seminary professor, and our teacher on Key Life.

Steve Brown:
Thank you Matthew. We’re looking at the first chapter of the Book of Philippians in our study in Philippians in verses 12 through 18a. And we’re talking about when bad things happen to good people and bad things do happen to good people. If you were listening yesterday, we went down a side road that is an important side road. And it is that you, as a Christian, are called not to be silent, not to be nice all the time, to sometimes defend the gospel. Paul twice, in these short verses talks about defending the gospel. And he says the fact that he was in jail had encouraged other Christians to be bold. And so, be bold. I wrote a book one time that was titled No More Mr. Nice Guy. And it was a book on boldness, on what the Bible teaches about being bold, what church history teaches about being bold. We were not created to be nice and silent. Now, I recognize the saying, and there’s some truth in it, that who you are speaks louder than the words you speak. And there’s something to that. One time, St. Francis was visiting a village with some of his monks. And he found out that they had built a church in this village and called it the Church of St. Francis. And he and his monks, he demanded that they do it, tore the church down, rock by rock. And as they were walking away from the village, one of his monks said to St. Francis, I thought we came here to preach. And Francis said, we did preach. Words are important, but what you do is important too. But words really are important. We’re supposed to defend the gospel and that is clear within the teachings of Scripture. Kind, merciful, understanding, going to others with the gospel, being quite aware that we’re worse than they are, that our sins are probably worse than theirs. In fact, the difference is that we know it and they don’t. But not remaining silent, enough about that. I suspect that if I could get to you, and you can’t do it, I’m sitting in a studio, and go around and ask you, I would find that most of you are going through some difficult times in your lives. There’s marriage problems and drugs, financial difficulty. You have a particular sin you can’t get rid of. You’re having trouble with your kids or your parents, you’re making moral choices and you don’t know where to go with it. You’re dealing with angry people who don’t like you and I could go on and on. Bad things happen to good people. I think I told you when I was a young pastor, I was speaking at a group of churches in Tennessee. And I’d never had anybody who was close to me, a family member, die. And I got the message that my father was dying. And it got to me, bad. And while I was crying, one of the pastors at these churches hugged me and said, Steve, use this, don’t waste it. Every time you talk to ten people, seven of them will have a broken heart. There’s an unfortunate tendency among Christians to think that those things, the bad things, don’t happen to us. In fact, just a cursory glance at the shelves of Christian bookstores will show you that a whole lot of people will agree that bad things shouldn’t happen to Christians, but they do. And we have to deal with it. I have a friend who said the other day if the pessimists aren’t happy now, they never will be. And he’s right. So, what we’re going to do is we’re going to look at the apostle Paul. He’s in jail when he writes this letter to the Philippians. And this is kind of a bad thing, and he wasn’t there for a parking ticket either. I mean, this was life and death stuff that he was facing. Christians, we have to get beyond the cliches if we’re going to really understand some of the bad things that happen to us. I want you to think of the horrible things that are happening to you right now, or used to happen, or will happen, and remember that’s a part of being a Christian. So, this text, there are a number of things, and I think there are five or six about God’s creative use of what we sometimes perceive as evil. Okay, enough chit chat. Let’s look at it. First, I want you to notice the principle of commonality, to wit, and I’ve said it, bad things do happen to good people, Philippians 1:7b.

Whether I am in chains, in jail.

Philippians 1:13b.

I am in chains for Christ.

Philippians 1:14a.

Because of my chains.

Philippians 1:17b.

While I’m in chains.

And so, four times in this short text, the apostle Paul talks about being in jail. If one believed much of the nonsense that’s being written today, one would think that the last place Paul should be is in prison. Bad things shouldn’t happen to good people, but dear friend, they do. And any philosophy or theology or religion that doesn’t see that simply is engaging in nothing more than wishful thinking. I’ve said it a thousand times, and I’ll say it another thousand times, the Christian faith is not power without pressure, it’s power under pressure. Now, I don’t want you to get the wrong idea, you can follow what I just said and begin to think that whatever’s bad, it’s yours. Whatever’s hurtful, it’s yours. Wherever God sends you, you won’t like it, it’s yours. Whenever something bad happens, you deserved it. And I’m not, because good things happen to good people, too. I mean, really good things happen to good people. And really good things happen to God’s people, and He is pleased when they happen. But don’t ignore the dark side. Paul wanted to go to Rome as a preacher. And instead he went to Rome as a prisoner. And the amazing thing is that you don’t see Paul whining about it. We need to develop the same perspective. Bad things happening to you, welcome to the human club. Having a difficult time? Duh. Peter said.

Brothers, don’t be surprised when you go through the fiery ordeal. The same thing is happening to your brothers and sisters all over the world.

If you’ve been listening to Pete and I answer questions, and we’ve been doing that on Fridays for years, we sometimes get a question on the rapture. Now, I have a lot of strong, beloved friends who are big on the rapture, and that is before the tribulation, Christians will be raptured out of the world to join Christ, and then some really bad stuff is going to happen on Earth. I one time interviewed on a television program a guy who had written a book on the late, great planet Earth. And I said to him, tell me about this rapture thing. And he said. I said, if I’m driving my car down the road and the rapture occurs, is my car going to be without a driver? And he laughed and said, yeah, that’s exactly what it means. And I turned to the camera and said, aim it at an unbeliever. And my friend began to laugh and that was okay. But I have a lot of friends who believe in the rapture and they may be right. I don’t believe we’re going to get out of anything. And you’ve got to believe in the rapture because the Bible teaches it, not because you’re going to get out of tribulation. I one time met Corrie Ten Boom, and had lunch with her, as a matter of fact, before she died. And she wrote The Hiding Place. She was a Dutch evangelist and the sweetest lady I’ve ever met. And I said to her, Was it really as bad in the concentration camp as you described? And she said, Oh, Steve, it was worse. In fact, right now, all over the world, I know Christians who are right now going through stuff as bad as what is described as The Great Tribulation in Scripture. And so, it’s a commonality. Bad stuff happens to good people. So does good stuff. You think about that. Amen.

Matthew Porter:
Thank you Steve. We are currently in a very special series, a guided tour through the Book of Philippians. We’re still only in chapter one. So would it be a great time to invite a friend to join us? Yes, it would. Just direct them to keylife.org. Tomorrow we’ll continue from here, delving into the idea that we are not in control. Hope you’ll join us for that. So by now, you’ve probably heard about the latest edition of Key Life Magazine. It features articles from Steve, Chad West, Alex Early, and Kendra Fletcher. But listen, we now have our annual summer digital issue of Key Life Magazine. Whole different thing, this one has pieces from Steve, Kendra Fletcher, Barry Smith, and even me. That digital magazine is available now at keylife.org/magazines and again, if you haven’t claimed your free copy of our print magazine, then just call us at 1-800-KEY-LIFE that’s 1-800-539-5433. You can also e-mail [email protected] to ask for that magazine. To mail your request, go to keylife.org/contact to find our mailing addresses. Just ask for your free copy of Key Life Magazine. And before you go, if you value the work of Key Life, would you join us in that work through your financial support? You can charge a gift on your credit card or include a gift in your envelope, or just pick up your phone and text Key Life to 28950 that’s Key Life, one word or two. It doesn’t matter. Text that to 28950. Key Life is a member of ECFA in the States and CCCC in Canada. And we are a listener supported production of Key Life Network.