A. I heard about a waitress who couldn’t get a smile out of her customer no matter how hard she tried.
1. The sad old woman sat there looking miserable, depressed and dejected all through dinner.
2. As the lady paid her bill and was leaving, the waitress warmly said, “Have a nice day!”
3. The woman responded coldly, “I’m sorry, but I’ve made other plans!”
B. My brothers and sisters, if any of us have made other plans than to be happy and to rejoice in the salvation that God has given us in Christ, may the Word of God today release us from the bondage of sadness and misery and fill us with everlasting joy.
1. Today’s message is about joy - the kind that is not dependent on external circumstances, but the kind that comes from knowing the God of Joy.
2. Today’s message begins a sermon series on Paul’s letter to the Philippians that I am calling “Joy for the Journey.”
3. If there’s one thing we need, it is joy for the journey and Paul’s letter to the Philippians shows how Paul experienced joy in his journey and how we can experience joy for our journey.
4. Paul opens this little letter with joy, and that mood of joy continues throughout the letter, so it is a subject that we will come back to time and time again in this series.
C. As we begin this study of the book of Philippians, I want to remind us of the importance of studying the Bible in its historical context.
1. If we are going to understand and apply God’s Word in our lives and times, we must first understand what was going on in the life of the inspired writer and the life of the people to whom he wrote.
2. Once we have understood those things, then we can move to application for us in our times.
3. So, as we study Paul’s letter to the Philippians, we will try to first understand it in its historical context, and then we can apply it to ourselves.
D. As we try to understand the letter to the Philippians in its historical context, let’s begin with the city.
1. The city of Philippi was a Roman Colony and the leading city in the province of Macedonia.
2. Philippi was located on the Roman Road called the Via Egnatia and had a population of between 10 and 15 thousand people.
3. We will have more to say about Philippi as we continue in the sermon series.
E. The letter to the Philippians is one of the so-called, “prison epistles.”
1. That means it is one of the letters to the churches that Paul wrote while in chains.
2. The letter to the Philippians was written around 63 A.D. from Rome, where Paul had been taken as a prisoner.
3. Acts chapters 21 through 28 tell the story of how Paul came to be there in Rome.
4. Following his third missionary journey, Paul returned to Jerusalem where it wasn’t long before he was falsely accused by the Jews of teaching things contrary to the Law.
a. In the course of a ruckus that might have ended up in Paul’s death by a mob, he was rescued by Roman soldiers who kept him in custody for his protection.
b. No one really knew what to do with Paul.
c. He wasn’t really guilty of any wrongdoing, either against the Jews or the Romans, but the Romans didn’t want to let him go and the Jews didn’t want to let him live.
5. So Paul eventually was given hearings before the Roman Governors Festus and Felix, and finally before the Jewish king called Agrippa.
a. During this time, Paul was in custody in Caesarea for two years until he finally appealed to Caesar and was sent to Rome.
6. On the way there, Paul was shipwrecked, washed up with the other passengers and crew onto the isle of Malta where he is bitten by a deadly poisonous viper, yet he was not affected, which amazed the inhabitants of the island.
a. Do you get the feeling there was a spiritual battle going on here for the life of the one who would, in the next couple of years, write these important portions of the New Testament and lead large numbers to Christ by his preaching of the gospel?
7. At the end of Acts 28, we’re told that Paul was placed in a rented house where he was chained to a Roman guard but allowed to have visitors.
a. And so we are left to imagine what happened during Paul’s house arrest.
b. We can imagine how people came regularly to hear what Paul would teach them.
c. And when the house was free of visitors, we can picture him turning to his papyrus and writing the prison epistles.
d. Additionally, in the meantime, these Roman soldiers were watching and listening to everything.
e. These Roman soldiers were likely chained to him for 6 hour shifts, meaning they came and went at the rate of 4 per day.
F. The Romans thought Paul was the prisoner in chains, but in truth God had the Romans held captive and forced to hear the gospel over and over again, with the result that many even of Caesar’s household were saved.
1. In Philippians 1:12-13, Paul wrote: Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ.
2. Paul didn’t see himself as the prisoner of Rome.
3. Rather, he saw himself as a prisoner of Christ for the cause of Christ, and the palace guard were held prisoner to him for the gospel’s sake!
G Let’s pause here for a moment to make some application.
1. How many of us, if we were arrested, held without the proper exercise of jurisprudence for over two years, placed aboard a ship that foundered at sea during a great storm, were bitten by a viper, taken to a major city and not only held prisoner but chained 24 hours a day to a soldier, would say, “This must all be for the greater progress of the gospel”?
2. Wouldn’t most of us more likely be yelling at the ceiling, ‘Why me?!? Why this?!?”
3. Aren’t we often tempted to react badly to circumstances much less imposing and uncomfortable than these described here?
4. What is the difference, do you think, between Paul’s reaction and ours?
a. The difference was Paul’s spiritual focus and his spiritual attitude.
5. Paul wasn’t thinking about anything but the furtherance of the gospel
a. He wasn’t thinking about himself at all.
b. He was thinking about Christ, and was thinking about the people around him who needed to know Christ – even these rough and rugged Roman soldiers to whom he was chained.
6. Ultimately, Paul trusted God and entrusted his life to God.
a. That attitude of faith and purpose caused Paul to write these words to Timothy, his apprentice: And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher. That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day. (2 Tim. 1:11-12)
7. And don’t you know people must have been watching Paul, like they watch us when we face hardship and suffering, to see if his faith would remain strong and true.
H. Commentator F.B. Meyer wrote this about Paul, “At times the hired room would be thronged with people, to whom the Apostle spoke words of life; and after they withdrew the sentry would sit beside him, filled with many questionings as to the meaning of the words which this strange prisoner spoke. At other times, when all had gone, and especially at night ... soldier and Apostle would be left to talk, and in those dark, lonely hours the Apostle would tell soldier after soldier the story of his own proud career in early life, of his opposition to Christ, and his ultimate conversion, and would make it clear that he was there as a prisoner, not for any crime, not because he had raised rebellion or revolt, but because he believed that He whom the Roman soldiers had crucified, under Pilate, was the Son of God and the Savior of men. As these tidings spread, and the soldiers talked them over with one another, the whole guard would become influenced in sympathy with the meek and gentle Apostle, who always showed himself so kindly to the men as they shared, however involuntarily, his imprisonment....
“If there had been the least divergence, day or night, from the high standard which he upheld, his soldier-companion would have caught at it and passed it on to others. The fact that so many became earnest Christians, and that the Word of Jesus was known far and wide throughout the praetorian guard, indicates how absolutely consistent the Apostle’s life was” (The Epistle to the Philippians F.B. Meyer,[Grand Rapids: Baker, 1952], pp. 36-37).
I. Brothers and sisters, this is a lesson that I would encourage us to meditate on: If we are a child of God, then we must understand that whatever is going on in our lives right now, is God-ordained.
1. If God has not made it happen, then God has knowingly allowed it to happen.
2. Therefore, that means that where we are is the very place where we can minister in His name.
3. And we will be more blessed and victorious if we can focus more on how to further the gospel and bring glory to God in our circumstances, than focusing on how difficult our circumstances are and how we wish they were different.
4. Doing so will help us experience the joy that Paul experienced.
J. Let’s turn to the opening verses of Philippians 1: Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. (Phil. 1:1-6)
1. So here Paul was, chained to soldiers, under house arrest, uncertain of his immediate future, yet he was filled with joy.
2. When he prayed for the Philippians, he always prayed with joy.
3. Why was he filled with joy when he prayed for the Philippians? Because of their partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, and because of the fact that he trusted that the God began a good work in them would bring it to completion.
K. When Paul wrote this letter to the Philippians, it had been about ten years since the Apostle first ministered among them.
1. It must have been a great encouragement for those especially who were with him from the very first, to have Paul write these words from jail after so long a time and to realize that they were still so precious to his heart that it would give him joy to think about them.
2. When Paul and Silas and Timothy first came to Philippi the beginnings of ministry there were quiet and unknown to the general public, but that didn’t last long.
3. On the Sabbath, because there was no synagogue, they went outside the city to a quiet place by the river to pray, and there they found Lydia and some other women.
a. Luke tells us in Acts 16 that the Lord opened her heart to understand and believe Paul’s message, and she was baptized and became their first convert there.
4. They were apparently there and ministering for a while, when Paul cast a demon out of a girl who had been following them around and troubling them, and all of a sudden they were very much in the public eye.
5. You will recall that Paul and Silas were beaten and imprisoned, but they were praying and singing hymns at midnight when God shook the prison doors open, and then after saving the jailers life and teaching him, the jailer and his family were baptized into Christ before the night was over.
6. This is a good time to be reminded of the fact that people will either accept us or ignore us while our worship and ministry is private and it doesn’t seem to concern them.
a. But as soon as it becomes clear that the Spirit in us is going to challenge their world view – call for some decision to be made – shed light on their darkness – then things are going to liven up quickly.
b. And it likely won’t be a pleasant sort of enlivening for us – we may face opposition, intimidation, and misrepresentation.
c. And as hard as that may be for us, it may be the very way God furthers the gospel.
L. It was through those difficult experiences in Philippi that the church took root and began to grow.
1. And here Paul was, 10 years later, writing to them and letting them know the joy he feels when he thinks about those days of ministry among them, watching the gospel take root, watching them grow and begin to plant and water in their own areas of ministry.
2. As Paul wrote those words, the joy he felt brought a smile to his face, which probably made the soldier next to him scratch his head in wonder.
3. Additionally, Paul was filled with joy because of his confidence in God.
a. Paul didn’t say: “I am confident that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion, unless He is thwarted by Rome”
b. Or “I am confident that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion, unless hard times come to Philippi and the church has to go underground.”
c. And Paul didn’t even say, “I am confident that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion, unless you mess it up and He has to scrap the whole thing and start with another core group.”
4. Paul’s confidence was not in the people, and his confidence was not dependent on the continuance of freedom to minister, rather Paul’s confidence was in the One who began a good work in them; indeed, the One who would continue to perfect His work until the great day of Christ Jesus, when the Lord will call His people to meet Him in the air.
M. Shouldn’t all of us also have confidence that God will do the same for us and our ministry?
1. What does it look like for God to bring His good work to completion in us?
2. Here’s a simple outline that Warren Wiersbe gave for explaining God’s work of completion:
a. First, God works in us for salvation – we are saved by grace.
b. Second, God works in us for sanctification – we are being transformed into His likeness.
c. Third, God works in and through us for service – we are His voice, His hands and His feet.
3. And why does God work in us for salvation, sanctification and service? For His own glory and to accomplish His purposes.
4. Paul was rejoicing for the ongoing evidence he was aware of in all three of these areas in the Philippians, and his confidence in Christ gave him assurance it would continue until that time.
N. I want to encourage each of us to rejoice in our relationship with the Lord.
1. We can rejoice that God has saved us - All of us who have received the grace of God through Christ have been saved by God for Himself and for His glory.
a. Our salvation is a gift to be received and rejoiced in.
2. We can rejoice that God is sanctifying us - We have been set apart as God’s own special possession and God has begun to conform us into the image of His Son.
3. We can rejoice that God is employing us in His service – we are privileged to do the good works that God has prepared for us in advance to do.
a. The ways God employs us in His service are as varied as each of us are unique.
b. God employs us to serve in our homes, workplaces and schools.
c. God employs us to serve in the church and in the world.
d. Some of the service is physical in nature and other service is relational and intangible, but it is all spiritual in its effect.
e. And what greater joy and satisfaction is there than when we clearly see God using us to accomplish His purposes!
4. Rejoice in the Lord always, and I will say it again, rejoice! (Phil. 4:4)
a. Let’s rejoice in our salvation, sanctification and service.
O. You know how much I enjoy Charles Schultz’s Peanuts cartoons and characters.
1. In one of those cartoons, Schultz showed Snoopy sliding along the frozen pond on his little bare paws.
2. Snoopy’s having a great time - he’s smiling and his long-tail stocking hat flying behind him.
3. Then Lucy walks up and slides out onto the pond with her skates on, and Snoopy doing a little twirl, slides up right in front of her.
4. Lucy says to him, “That’s not skating, that’s sliding.”
5. Snoopy just stands there and looks up at her as she goes on with her lecture, “You don’t have any skates on. Skating is when you have skates on. You’re not skating at all. YOU’RE JUST SLIDING!”
6. The cartoon ends with Snoopy walking off dejected, saying, “How could I have been so stupid. And I thought I was having fun.”
P. We must not let anyone or anything steal our joy!
1. But if we are not careful, Satan will rob us of the joy God has given us.
2. Satan will try to rob the joy of our salvation, by causing us to doubt our salvation.
3. Satan will try to rob the joy of our sanctification by pointing out how far short we still fall from being transformed into the image of Christ.
a. Perhaps you’ve seen those buttons that read P.B.P.G.I.N.F.W.M.Y.
b. Those cryptic letters stand for a most important truth: “Please be patient. God is not finished with me yet.”
c. Thank God, it’s true. I may not look like much—but God isn’t finished with me yet.
d. And when you look in the mirror—and even deeper into your own soul, you may not like what you see, but no matter. God isn’t finished with you yet.
4. Satan will try to rob the joy of our service by making us feel unworthy, or getting us to focus on how unappreciated we are, or on how little difference our service seems to be making.
P. Let’s not allow Satan to rob us of our joy.
1. God has given us this joy for the journey, because joy is what is needed for the journey.
2. I rejoice in the fact that the joy God gives us is based on who God is and what God has done, and not on us and what we do.
3. This is the kind of joy that Paul experienced and that Paul wants us to have.
4. It is not a joy based on outward circumstances, but a joy based on our relationship with our loving and graceful God.
5. It is not a joy that denies the difficult realities we face, but a joy that helps us get through them and rise above them, and minister because of them.
6. Let me end with this quote: “Joy is when you are in your deepest valley and you can still believe for the mountaintop. Joy is when you are at your darkest point and you can still believe in light. Joy is when you are confused beyond the point of recognition but you still know that God is in control and that the Holy Spirit has a special plan for your life.” (Mike Warnke)
7. I’m looking forward to our study of the book of Philippians and our opportunity to understand and experience the joy for the journey that God supplies.
Resources:
Joy and Confidence in Gospel Ministry, Sermon by Clark Tanner, SermonCentral.com
