Philippians
“Living in the Clouds”
Introduction: 1:1-8
Greetings: 1:1-2
Thanksgiving: 1:3-8
Statement of Purpose: 1:9-11
“Four attitudes of a Heavenly Mind”
- “That your love may abound still more”
- “That you may approve the things that are excellent”
- “That you may be sincere and without offense”
- “That you be filled with the fruits of righteousness”
Main Teaching: 1:12-4:19
1:12-30 Joy in spite of circumstances
1:12-26 Lemonade out of lemons
1:27-30 Blessings from buffetings
2:1-30 Joy in spite of people
- 2:1-11 Example of Jesus
- 2:12-18 Example of Paul
- 2:19-24 Example of Timothy
- 2:25-30 Example of Epaphroditus
3:1-21 Joy in spite of things
- 3:1-11 Past
- 3:12-16 Present
- 3:17-21 Future
4:1-19 Joy in spite of anxiety
- 4:1-9 God’s peace
- 4:10-13 God’s power
- 4:14-19 God’s provision
Closing: 4:20-23 Glory, Greeting and Grace
Vs. 1-2 Greetings
Vs. 3-8 Thanksgiving
Intro.
Christianity is to be a joy filled experience and this is what Paul points out in Philippians. In these four chapters the words joy and rejoicing appear 19 times. What makes this all the more remarkable is that while writing this letter Paul is in Rome chained between two guards awaiting trial not knowing if he will be put to death for his faith. This letter serves as a testimony not only of Paul but of what the Christian life can be as Paul points out 4 truths about Joy that serves as an outline to this book:
- 1:12-30 Joy in spite of circumstances
- 2:1-30 Joy in spite of people
- 3:1-21 Joy in spite of things
- 4:1-19 Joy in spite of anxiety
15 times Paul writes about thinking and 10 times about remembering and what this tells us is that joy that is not affected by circumstances, people, things or anxiety. It has more to do with the head than it does with the heart. Paul’s joy wasn’t based upon how he felt but rather on how he thought! The truth is your attitude does affect your altitude as what you think affects what you feel! Proverbs 23:7 reminds us of this truth as we read “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.”
Vs. 1-2 Greetings
Vs. 1 Ancient letter writing had an advantage over today in that the sender put their name at the beginning of the letter instead of the end. That way you could just look at the top of the letter to see if you wanted to read it or file it! Apparently Timothy was with Paul in Rome.
- In Christ was the source of the saint’s lives
- In Philippi was the place where they lived
What we will be as citizens in Ravalli County will be determined by who we are in Christ, as it is who we are in Christ that must influence who we are as citizens and never the other way around. There are for things that can govern a Christian’s life:
- What we were apart from Christ
- What we are in Christ
- What we are with Christ, as we live our lives under His power and influence
- What we shall be when we are face to face with Christ
It is a mistaken notion of some to think that “saints” refers to a class of people who have met a standard of the Church that can only be obtained after their exit from this life. Paul was not writing a letter to dead people but to saved sinners who he identifies as “set apart ones”. The church was established 11 years earlier upon Paul’s 2nd missionary journey, the first to be established on the continent of Europe. The letter is addressed to three groups:
- All the saints in Christ Jesus: All Christians are saints, but only in Christ Jesus
- The bishops: This is in a general sense and speaks of those with leadership positions
- The deacons: This speaks of those who have a recognized position of service
To these three groups Paul gives the familiar greeting of grace and peace that only comes to us from God the Father and God the Son. One of the interesting things to consider in studying New Testament letters is not only the occasion of the letter but a deeper question of, “Why did Paul establish a church in Philippi in the first place?” Was the establishment of Churches happenstance? Was it mystically led by the Spirit? Or was there a more thought out plan in planting a fellowship?
In most cases it appears that there was a divine strategy in which these fellowships sprung up. In every area where we have a letter written we see that these cities were hubs, their importance was not just in and of themselves but also for the region. In fact geographically many of these places are still centers of transportation and commerce. Philippi had three claims of distinction that made its choice to plant a church natural.
- It was in an area where there had been established (as far back as the Phoenicians) gold and silver mines. Because of this, even at this time frame when mining had dwindled Philippi, it still remained a great commercial center of the ancient world.
- The city had been founded by the father of Alexander the Great and bore his name Philip. Philip in 386 B.C. took it over because it was the most strategic site in all of Europe. Geographically Philippi lies at a pass between hills that divide Europe from Asia (East from West). As such the city was the only road dividing these areas.
- Roman Colonies were Roman outposts of civilization and military significance. The Romans would send out parties of 300 veteran soldiers who had been granted citizenship with their families to establish a colony. They would establish a connection with the Roman road by which supplies and reinforcements could be quickly sent from one colony to another. The colony would with great pride be a place where language, culture and customs would be observed.
It is no surprise that the Holy Spirit led Paul to Philippi to plant a church on his 2nd missionary journey around the year of 52 A.D. In Acts 16 we have the story of how Paul was led to Phillip by a vision from a man from Macedonia and his appeal to come help them. So Paul sailed from Troas in Asia Minor and landed at Neapolis in Europe. Acts 16 is a fascinating account of the work of the Holy Spirit as we see that the church’s foundation centered around three very different and diverse people.
Lydia: Who by her name and occupation we know here to be Asiatic and wealthy as she was merchant in the purple one of the most costly substances in the entire ancient world.
Demon possessed slave girl: She was a Greek and as a slave would have represented the lowest class and in fact would legally not even been recognized as a person and instead would have simply been a “living tool”.
Philippian Jailer: He would have been a Roman Citizen and represented the middle class from which all civil services were drawn.
What this reveals is that the gospel was impacting all of society, regardless of class, ethnicity and culture.
Vs. 2 Grace and peace are the two elements that make up the atmosphere of the Christian. If we are to breathe His life in this hostile environment then we will need a steady supply of these two ingredients. Grace is all God’s wisdom and power—constantly available to someone who is utterly undeserving. All the richness, might and wisdom of the person of God continually available to us, even though we are constantly aware we don’t deserve Him at all. Peace is the inevitable result of the activity of grace. The Christian is unique in the world because of our ability to breathe the unending rich mixture of God’s grace and peace which enables us not to become discontented and dissatisfied with what this world brings us. We can if we choose to “breathe deeply” the breath of life and function in pure joy!
Vs. 3-8 Thanksgiving
Vs. 3-8 No Christian lives life alone, we are members of a family and are in great need of each other. There are those that profess faith in Christ but want nothing to do with their brothers and sisters but I’m a bit suspicious of their profession because the Bible says that one of the unmistakable signs that we are born again is that we love the brethren. Paul thanked God for them all of them even those in verses 15-16 who hoped to add more time to Paul’s sentence. He was thankful for their continued partnership with him in the gospel. Paul was able to see three dimensionally:
- Not just as a person was
- Not just as a person is
- But all the way to where a person will be when God is finished with them!
Oh how the body of Christ could use more folks that can see three dimensionally! Paul’s confidence was not placed in the person but in the person of Christ. You can take an unfinished portrait and try to see what it will look like and find that it’s hard to imagine it being finished. But your confidence in its completion is not in the portrait but rather in the artist who began the work and will see it today to its completion.God’s work in humanity it threefold:
- The work He does for us—salvation
- The work He does in us—sanctification
- The work He does through us—service
A woman came into the pastor’s office for marriage counseling and said, “There seems to be friction in our home and I really don’t know what the trouble is.” The pastor replied, “Well friction is caused by one of two things” and he picked up two blocks of wood from his desk to illustrate it. “If one block is moving and one is standing still, there’s friction. Or, if both are moving but in opposite directions, there’s friction. Now, which is it?”
Philippians
“Living above the Clouds”
Statement of Purpose: 1:9-11
Main Teaching: 1:12-30 “Joy in spite of circumstances”
1:9-18 “A recipe for JOY: Chains, critics and crisis”
Vs. 9-11 Attitudes of a heavenly mind
Vs. 12-18 Secrets of joy in spite of circumstances
Intro.
Ever wonder the reason why Lion Tamer’s carry a stool when they go into a cage with lions? Lion tamers will tell you that it is the stool and not the whip or pistol that is the most important tool of the trainer. The trainer holds the stool by the back and thrusts the legs toward the face of the Lion. And the Lion can’t focus on all four legs at once so a kind of paralysis overwhelms the Lion, and it becomes weak, and disabled because its attention is fragmented. Nothing can rob us faster of our JOY, then circumstances.
We live In a day when so many things vie for our attention that we can experience a paralysis not unlike the lion staring at the four legs of the stool. That my friend is what circumstances can do in the life of the believer. For the next few weeks we will look at how we can combat the “stool of circumstances”. Throughout this letter it is apparent that the Philippian believers demonstrated their love for Paul as he acknowledges it, yet Paul didn’t hesitate to pray that their love would abound still more and more. In the words of Dionne Warwick, “What the world needs now is love, sweet love. It’s the only thing that there’s just too little of!”
Vs. 9-11 Attitudes of a heavenly mind
Vs. 9-11 Paul doesn’t mention our witness in terms of what we say to others but rather how we treat others. Paul says, “I pray that your LOVE may abound more and more”. One of the fall outs of living under our government is the misconception that LOVE is the government’s job, some branch of bureaucracy that will take care of love in action. The Old Testament High Priest wore a special garment called an “ephod”, over his heart. On the ephod were 12 stones with the names of the twelve tribes of Israel engraved one on each jewel.
Each “jewel” that the High Priest wore over his heart in love was to remind him how God saw each tribe as he prayed for them and served them in the temple. Paul had that same heart towards the Church as he carried God’s people in prayer before the throne of God. This prayer was specific as it is a prayer for their continual maturity in Christ. Everything began with love but Paul is careful to define love as “knowledgeable” and “discerning”.
Knowledge: Biblical love doesn’t check the head at the door and just follow the heart! There is nothing loving about “sanctified stupidity” even though a person may mean well! It is never enough that our heart is in it if our head can’t go along as well! There is a need to investigate, check out the situation, and think through how love can have a lasting impact on the situation. We have a saying here when it deals with our heart and that is “Not a hand out but a hand up!”
Discernment: Biblical love also utilizes discernment as there is a time to help folks and a time that we ought not help them. The church is always in need of discernment as helping a prodigal too early can assure that he spends too much time in the pig pin eating slop and there is nothing loving about that.
Love that is abounding more and more in knowledge and discernment will result in four things:
It will approve of things excellent: It will have the proper priority on things as it will approve the things that matter most not spending time on trivial pursuits. Life can get way out of focus real quick when we put the wrong emphasis on things. When love is not exercised in knowledge and discernment we will love the wrong things and lose perspective.
It will be sincere and without offense: The word “sincere” means without wax and comes from the marble sculpture trade as the Greeks abounded in stone statues’. Some artists attempting to hide the flaws applied a little bee’s wax mixed with ground stone. So when an artist wanted to prove that the statue was without flaw he would place it in the sun proving that it was “sincere” or without wax. That is what Paul says that love in knowledge and discernment is “SON tested”.
It will be continually filled with the fruits of righteousness: In Galatians 5:22 LOVE is described in 8 characteristics “joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control”. Love that is abounding more and more in knowledge and discernment will not be achieved by effort but rather by growth in character.
It will be to the glory and praise of God: Finally, Love that is abounding more and more in knowledge and discernment will be to the glory and praise of God. God isn’t looking at the activities you do He is looking for your character present when you do those activities! Are you doing them to get noticed? Is what’s behind the activity your reputation and glory or is your concern His reputation and glory?
Vs. 12-18 Secrets of joy in spite of circumstances
Vs. 12-14 Paul wanted to go to Rome as a preacher but God sent him to Rome as a prisoner! The record of the things that “happened” to Paul are found in Acts chapters 21-28 and begin with an illegal arrest and end up with a shipwreck on the Island of Malta all before being chained between two guards. God has a different way in sending missionaries to reach the world doesn’t He? Perhaps you feel your circumstance is “unfair”, maybe you feel that your life has been destroyed as you’ve washed up on the beach in Montana.
Perhaps your circumstances feel a bit like being chained between to smelly guards. Take joy my friend it sounds like God has called you to be a missionary to liberate people. To most folks, your circumstances may look a lot like failure but if your goal is using those circumstances to set others free then you can count it all JOY as you fall into various trials! I’m not saying these circumstances are ideal for you but they are ideal for God and that is what will bring you joy!
The word “furtherance” in verse 12 in the Greek is a military term that refers to an army of engineers who go before the troops to open the way into new territory. Paul is saying that his circumstances weren’t holding him back; they were preparing a way of advancement! God uses strange tools to blaze new trails: Chains, critics and crisis! The chains that the enemies of the gospel thought would bind Paul were the very chains that God used to release Paul to preach the gospel! Four truths for JOY in spite of circumstances, two of which we will look at this morning:
Vs. 12-14 God is able to work even when it looks to us that He can’t: Here in this section Paul gives an example of what he was speaking about as the circumstances that Paul found himself in didn’t rip him off of joy even though others used it to advance their own reputations. Consider this truth with regards to Paul:
- God used a sling in the hand of David
- God used a pitcher in the hand of Gideon
- God used a shepherd’s staff in the hand of Moses
But with Paul, God used chains on his hands! It is never the instrument; it’s always in whose hands it is in! Have you ever considered the fact that your circumstances are custom made by God to be keys to unlock hearts that find themselves behind bars like yours? That illness, that tough marriage, the hard time you get at work; all of it designed by God to further enable you to set people free and lead them into the land of JOY!
Paul’s plan was to go to Rome; God’s plan was better, chain Rome to Paul! Our obstacles are only God’s opportunities! Even though our immediate hour doesn’t bring relief, we have confidence that even those things that seem to be against us and God, are in reality working out the purposes of God. Paul’s chains granted him three things according to verses 12-14:
- Contact to the lost (verse 13)
- Courage for the saved (verse 14)
- Communication to the world
Because of those chains Paul was led to write letters and those letters are the ones that have impacted enumerable people since the time he wrote them. The churches that Paul established have long ago been reunited with him in glory but the truths that he wrote about are still transforming lives. From this we learn that with God, “Adversity means advancement!”
Vs. 15-18 Competition causes rejoicing:
In the corporate world it is difficult to rejoice when your competitor is doing well but in the gospel we can have JOY in the midst of circumstances even when others’ success seems to be our failure. There were some that were jealous of Paul’s success and were glad that he was imprisoned so that they could be recognized as important. The word “selfish ambition” is a political term that means to canvass a precinct, knocking on doors, shaking hands and kissing babies in order to win votes.
Some preachers, Paul said, proclaimed Christ as a way of gaining a reputation, ensuring your vote to attend their Church and increase their own influence. But Paul said that this didn’t bother him as even this God could use. Friend, in spite of the tool God can still use it to fix hearts and rebuild lives!
The secret is this: When you have the single mind, you look on your circumstances as God-given opportunities for the furtherance of the Gospel; and you rejoice at what God is going to do instead of complaining about what God did not do. It is not “God giving me what I desire, but my attitude in accepting what God sends!”
Philippians
“Living above the Clouds”
Statement of Purpose: 1:9-11
Main Teaching: 1:12-30 “Joy in spite of circumstances”
1:19-30 “Winning while we lose”
Vs. 19-26 Further truths for JOY in spite of circumstances
Vs. 27-30 Writing your gospel a chapter a day
Intro.
Paul found the secret of a life of joy that cannot be ripped off from adverse circumstances: He had resolved the single issue that precludes us from having JOY in spite of circumstances: “Whose life was he living for”? The famed missionary and 1924 Olympic runner Eric Liddell (of the movie Chariots of Fire) faced a crisis of faith when his 100 yard race was scheduled on Sunday and he was slated to give the Sunday message in Parris (the site of the 24 Olympics) his message that Sunday was from Isaiah 40 to mount up wings as Eagles.
Liddell had prepared for this race for years but chose the gospel and forfeited the race to fellow Brit the Jewish Harold Abrahms who had never beat Liddell. Abrahms won the gold medal. Liddell was graciously given the opportunity to compete for the 400 yard dash after fellow countrymen and college friend of Abrahams gave up his spot in the race. Eric Liddell was not favored in this race yet miraculously won the gold. Because of his actions Liddell won the race twice, once by forfeiture and other by running.
Vs. 19-26 Further truths for JOY in spite of circumstances
Vs. 19-20 Having stated in verses 12-13 that his imprisonment was in the Lord’s hand Paul makes a statement similar to Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego to King Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 3:17-18 where they told the king that the Lord was able to deliver them out of the fiery furnace and that either way God would be delivering them out of the King’s hands.
The Philippians in Acts 16 had witnessed Paul’s Houdini-like escapes from death yet were being told that even if the circumstances don’t allow for Paul’s escape it doesn’t mean that God has let him down. God’s glory isn’t limited upon our winning; it rests completely upon His winning. Last week we began looking at four truths for our JOY in spite of circumstances. The first two were:
- Vs. 12-14 Our obstacles in God’s hands are His opportunities: God is able to work even when it looks to us as though He can’t.
- Vs. 15-18 Our competitions are cause for God’s completions: It doesn’t matter who scores the points as long as your team wins!
The third mark is found right here in verses 19-20;
- Vs. 19-20 Our testing produces God’s triumphs: One of the amazing things about these two verses in light of Paul’s present circumstances is the extreme confidence he expresses. Look at the words he uses: This “WILL turn out, my EARNEST EXPECTATION, in NOTHING, AS ALWAYS, SO NOW.” Paul is 100% certain even though he has been under house arrest or prison for over 2 years there is no indication of impatience instead only optimistic confidence. Paul says, “I know this will turn out for my deliverance.” These testing circumstances didn’t hold the key to his joy, as all of these things weren’t in Nero’s hands they were in the Lord’s hands and as such victory was certain. Paul’s confidence was not focused upon the outcome turning out according to his plan, as he says “whether in this life or by death”. Paul’s confidence was because of two things he mentions in verse 19:
Intercessory prayer: The words “through your” as it relates to the Philippians prayer is a word where we get our English word chorus. When a Greek city was going to put on a festival there was a need for a large sum of money to pay for the singers and dancers and that donation was usually a lavish gift; that is the word here.
Paul’s confidence was not based upon his dwindling supply but rather upon the generous and lavish gift of prayer that was placed upon him. He knew the power of prayer and knew that he was not left fighting this battle alone. Prayer is the weapon that can bring down every stronghold and every thought into captivity.
Supply of the Holy Spirit: Paul had the inexhaustible resources of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will never say, “Hum, never saw that one coming and I have no idea how to deal with this!” There can be no uncertain circumstance when the Holy Spirit has unlimited power and resources. That means that even though we may assess the situation as a loss, the Holy Spirit will cause it to be a win.
Vs. 21-26 Our passing ensures our profit: There is no greater verse that capsulizes the Christian hope than these words in verse 21 “To live is Christ, and to die is gain.” These words of Paul are not the words of a man so depressed with living here on earth that his only hope is heaven. Paul says in verse 23 that life held such a pleasure in his heart that even with the prospect of being in the presence of Jesus in eternity, it was hard for him if he had the choice to choose where he would go. As Christian we do not long for heaven to escape and avoid life, no we love life and only long for the exit when we have finished our race! If you are a runner you won’t win many races if your only motivation is the finish line, you must love running as well as the finish line!
Saints, what constitutes real living for you? What circumstances have to happen before you say, “Now that’s living!” Here is a test you can take to determine what real living means to you. Put what you think constitutes real living in this phrase: “For me, to live is _________”! Can you fill in the blank with?
“For me to live is money and to die is to leave it all behind.”
“For me to live is popularity and to die is to be forgotten.”
“For me to live is power and to die is to lose it all.”
The truth about our Christian faith is that heaven begins here on earth! Looking at the first chapter of this letter it is no wonder Paul had JOY in spite of his circumstances as he says:
- Vs. 13 Because of his chains Jesus was known
- Vs. 18 Because of his critics Jesus was preached
- Vs. 20 Because of his crisis Jesus was magnified
Saints, when our goal is Jesus and not ourselves then success will always happen ill regardless of chains, critics and crisis! Paul had resolved the single issue that precludes us from having JOY in spite of circumstances, whose life was he living for? How can a mere person ever magnify Jesus? The stars are much larger than the telescope yet it is the job of the telescope to magnify the stars by bringing them closer. To the world Jesus is small and unimportant but that’s because they are at such a distance from Him. It is the believer’s responsibility to allow their life to be the lens by which they can look through and see that Jesus is much closer and larger than the unbeliever realized.
The word “depart” in verse 23 was used in a variety of ways in the Greek:
- It was used for soldiers who took down their tent and moved on.
- It was used by sailors who loosed a ship from its moorings to set sail.
- It was used in the slave trade of setting a prisoner free.
- It was used by farmers to unyoke the oxen so they could be loosed from their burdens.
When we combine all four of those uses of the Greek work we get a glimpse of what it means for the believer to depart from this life to go to heaven. We will take down our temporary tent and move to our permanent home. We will finally set sail and no longer be tied to this earth. We will finally be set free from the bars of this life. We will no longer be harnessed to the burdens of this life able to graze and wonder upon endless hills. Dear ones, nothing can steal your joy if you possess the single mind that is verse 21 “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”
Vs. 27-30 Writing your gospel a chapter a day
Vs. 27 The Christian life is not a playground; it’s a battleground! “What you believe determines how you behave.” Each and every local church is but one generation away from extinction! How can we ensure that this won’t be our case? “Let your conduct be worthy of the gospel”, Paul says. The greatest weapon the Church has daily against its enemies is not the powerful preacher, or the popular pastor. No, it is the consistent changed lives of believers! The Church is God’s colony of heaven here on earth so our conduct ought to represent that in two ways:
- Stand fast in one Spirit: As a colony of heaven we must always see our connection to and dependence upon the Holy Spirit. Whenever we have something driving us apart we have One greater pulling together. We are not separate, we are united in the Holy Spirit and God cannot and is not divided.
- With one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel: Second there can only be one thing that can divide the body and that is when someone departs from the essentials of the faith. If it is not essential to faith in Christ work together only if the issue is fundamental to a relationship with God through Jesus are we not to work with our brothers and sisters.
Vs. 28-30 Paul gives a clue of the weapon that Satan will use against the believer to disrupt unity and that is fear! Fear of man, fear of ridicule or scorn, fear of ostracism from the group, fear of losing popularity, or even of physical torture or punishment. The way to handle this fear is to face it at its worst and when what the worst fear can do to you only ushers in the best of what God had for you “death loses its sting”! Someone has well said when we appear before the Lord he doesn’t look us over for medals, but for scars.
Oswald Chambers said, “God never makes us wine if we object to the fingers he uses to crush us with. God does not only use his fingers, he uses someone whom we dislike, or some set of circumstances of which we have said we would never submit. If we are going to make wine to drink, we will have to be crushed. You cannot drink grapes and grapes become wine only when they have been squeezed.”