Philippians is called The Epistle of Joy. It is filled with verses many love to quote.
Phil 1:6 He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion... NIV
Phil 1:21 To live is Christ and to die is gain. NIV
Phil 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. NKJV
At the core of Paul’s teaching Jesus is revealed as the humble servant who meets our every need and this is the source of our joy!
Happiness is about a certain set of circumstances.
Joy is about a certain set of attitudes.
There are 4 Prison Epistles: Ephesians, Colossians, Philemon & Philippians. Paul wrote Philippians near the end of his imprisonment while awaiting potential execution.
Some believe they’ve found his jail cell in Rome. It’s a hole in the ground. It wasn’t unusual for the Romans to stack prisoners with a grate between them. The sewer system was basically the guy underneath you.
Here Paul is suffering in prison but the big theme is joy. Don't know how many broken bones he had at this time We do know that three times he’d been beaten with rods. Imagine Paul on his knees in a hole in the ground trying to scratch out a letter on whatever paper he had. If I were writing this letter the first thing I’d write would be, “HELP!!!” But this is not anything like what Paul expresses.
Phil 1:3-4 I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy. NIV
In these extreme circumstances he speaks of joy 16 times in 4 chapters.
Circumstances may explain you but they do not have to define you! I have no idea what kind of extreme situations you have faced but I do know the circumstances of your life do not have the power to take away your joy.
Interestingly selflessness is central to a life filled with joy.
Phil 2:3-5 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. 5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus. NIV
It is more blessed to give than to receive yet the majority of our efforts are spend trying to get more for ourselves rather than devoting ourselves to needs beyond our own.
Phil 3:12 I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. NIV
Paul knew what it was to be shipwrecked, homeless, beaten and left for dead, bearing marks of multiple lashes and whippings and now caged on his knees writing to us about of all things, joy! There is something we need to embrace in all of this. Jesus' mission cost him his life because his mission was not this life. Your mission is bigger than the pursuit of a great life on earth. If we can move beyond our own selfish agenda we can experience God’s eternal purposes that awaken something beyond our comprehension.
Phil 1:29 For it has been granted to u on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him. NIV
Don't waste your suffering in selfishness! Your struggle should not be in vain. Let your pain drive you deeper into the purposes of Christ.
A woman who had a miscarriage explained how she purposed in her pain to consider the loss of a child aligns with the heart of our heavenly Father when he gave his son to die for us. A man’s wife left him and he explained how the pain drove him to a deeper understanding of how many times he’d been unfaithful to God.
If one of our major goals is to be more like Christ then we must make the choice to grow through our suffering. We pay a great price for our suffering so we must learn to invest it well.
The mountaintop inspires us but it’s the valley that matures us when we allow it to do so.
GP4RL: Read Philippians this week reflecting on Paul’s circumstances as he wrote.
DISCUSSION GUIDE FOR COMMUNITY GROUP LEADERS
Click here for a downloadable pdf file of the discussion guide
ICE BREAKER: Who are three of the most joyful people that you know? What makes these people so joyful?
DISCUSSION QUESTION:
Pastor Lawrence started this message by asking us to rate on a scale of 1-10 how happy we were and then how joyful we were.
1. What is the difference between being happy and being joyful?
Happiness is about a certain set of circumstances while joy is about a certain set of attitudes.
DISCUSSION QUESTION:
We’ve all heard over and over in our lives how “attitude is everything.”
2. What are some obvious ways a person’s attitude helps or hurts them in life, in relationships, at work, etc?
Phil 4:4-8 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. NIV
Paul set an incredible example in prison writing this letter that is so filled with expressions of joy that theologians have come to reference it as the letter of joy. At the core of Paul’s teaching Jesus is revealed as the humble servant who meets our every need and this is the source of our joy!
Some of the greatest encouragement in Scripture that is very commonly quoted comes from this book.
Phil 1:6 He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion... NIV
Phil 1:21 To live is Christ and to die is gain. NIV
Phil 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. NKJV
Paul chose to identify with God’s purpose more than his pain in these difficult circumstances. Even in these extreme circumstances he speaks of joy 16 times in just 4 chapters. Paul is in prison, potentially facing the death penalty, yet he remains positive and hopeful.
The circumstances of your life may explain you but they do not have to define you!
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
3. Think about a time when you were faced with a difficult situation that was out of your control, yet you remained positive. How were you able to do this?
4. What does it take to continually choose to think about things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy as described in Phil 4?
If one of our major goals is to be more like Christ then we must make the choice to grow through our suffering. We pay a great price for our suffering so we must learn to invest it well.
The mountaintop inspires us but it’s the valley that matures us when we allow it to do so.
Conclude by asking people to share on a scale of 1-10 how they are doing personally. Pray for any needs and purpose to remember each other in prayer this week reaching out other letting each other know they are being prayed for throughout the week.
GOING DEEPER:
The Message Introduction to Philippians: This is Paul’s happiest letter. And the happiness is infectious. Before we’ve read a dozen lines, we begin to feel the joy ourselves—the dance of words and the exclamations of delight have a way of getting inside us.
But happiness is not a word we can understand by looking it up in the dictionary. In fact, none of the qualities of the Christian life can be learned out of a book.
Something more like apprenticeship is required, being around someone who out of years of devoted discipline shows us, by his or her entire behavior, what it is. Moments of verbal instruction will certainly occur, but mostly an apprentice acquires skill by daily and intimate association with a "master," picking up subtle but absolutely essential things, such as timing and rhythm and "touch."
When we read what Paul wrote to the Christian believers in the city of Philippi, we find ourselves in the company of just such a master. Paul doesn’t tell us that we can be happy, or how to be happy. He simply and unmistakably is happy. None of his circumstances contribute to his joy: He wrote from a jail cell, his work was under attack by competitors, and after twenty years or so of hard traveling in the service of Jesus, he was tired and would have welcomed some relief.
But circumstances are incidental compared to the life of Jesus, the Messiah, that Paul experiences from the inside. For it is a life that not only happened at a certain point in history, but continues to happen, spilling out into the lives of those who receive him, and then continues to spill out all over the place.
Christ is, among much else, the revelation that God cannot be contained or hoarded. It is this "spilling out" quality of Christ’s life that accounts for the happiness of Christians, for joy is life in excess, the overflow of what cannot be contained within any one person.
Continuing in Philippians:
We all have choices to make no matter what comes our way. The same sun that melts the ice hardens the clay. The same boiling water that softens the potato hardens the egg. It’s about what you’re made of, not the circumstances.
ZigZiglar said, “Life is a grindstone. Whether it wears you down or polishes you up depends on what YOU are made of.” Surrendering to Christ is what awakens this capacity to reverse any situation that the enemy tries to use to bring us down.
Phil 3:18-19 For, as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things. NIV
Believing in God is one thing. Surrendering to the cross of Christ is another. There is a difference between knowing what we ought to do and doing what we know to do.
Peace of mind is such a treasure for those who believe and let the mind of Christ shape their destiny.
Phil 4:4-8 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. NIV