|
"The Life Attitude and
Purpose that Brings Joy"
Philippians 1:1
Dr. Marc Graham, Director
Biblical Counseling Center of Southeast
Michigan
INTRODUCTION:
A. People are driven by a relentless pursuit of
happiness.
B. Self-help books, seminars, and gurus abound.
C. Even the professing Christian community is caught up in this
idea.
1. Happiness is positive thinking, according to Norman Vincent
Peale, Robert Schuller, Zig Ziglar and a host of others.
2. Happiness comes through prosperity and health according to
Word of Faith preachers Oral Roberts, Kenneth Copeland and Benny
Hinn.
3. Happiness comes through a spiritual blessing called "holy
laughter" according to the followers of the "Toronto Blessing" such
as Rodney Howard Browne, Paul and Jan Crouch and Vineyard Movement
founder John Wimber.
D. For others, happiness is found in their spouse catering to
their every need and always treating them the way they want to be
treated.
E. Still others believe that the key to happiness is security
and significance, and so they worship at the shrine of psychology
and its prophets such as Abraham Maslow, Clyde and Bruce Narramore,
Erich Fromm and Carl Rogers.
F. As I reflected on the prevailing thinking of our secular and
Christian cultures, it occurred to me that "According to today's
teachings and standards of how to have a happy life, the Apostle
Paul should have been one of the most miserable and depressed
people in history!"
G. As we approach the book of Philippians, however, we find
that the exact opposite is true.
H. Paul wrote Philippians (along with Colossians, Ephesians and
Philemon) while he was incarcerated in a Roman prison.
1. He speaks of the Praetorian (palace) Guard in Phil.
1:13.
2. He speaks of the "saints in Caesar's household," whom he had
led to the Lord, sending greetings in Phil. 4:22.
3. These things correspond well with the account in the book of
Acts of Paul's imprisonment in Rome (Acts 28:16-31).
I. In addition to the fact that he is imprisoned here, remember
the many other descriptions of Paul's life throughout the book of
Acts.
1. He had to flee Damascus in darkness in Acts 9:23-25 in order
to escape an assassination plot from the Jews.
2. His ministry in Paphos was opposed by a sorcerer in Acts
13:6.
3. He had to flee for his life from Iconium because angry Jews
wanted to stone him in Acts 14:5.
4. He was stoned almost to death and thrown on the garbage dump
outside the city of Lystra in Acts 14:19.
5. He was accused of preaching false doctrine and had to return
to Jerusalem to defend himself before the elders in Acts
15.
6. In Philippi, he was falsely accused of starting a riot,
beaten almost to death and thrown into prison when he had done
nothing wrong in Acts 16.
7. When the Jews caused a riot, he had to sneak out of
Thessalonica in the middle of the night in Acts 17:1-10.
8. He was forced to leave Berea when the Jews from Thessalonica
followed him there and caused trouble in Acts 17:13-14.
9. He spends the bulk of the rest of Acts in prison and on his
way to Rome.
10. Listen to how Paul summarizes his life challenges: 2 Cor.
11:23-28.
J. Yet he writes a letter from prison about having Christian
joy-----
K.14 times in the four chapters of this book, Paul will use the
word joy or rejoice. Let's look at them----
1. "I pray always with joy…."
(1:4)
2. "Christ is preached. And because of this I
rejoice, and I will continue to rejoice…"
(1:18).
3. He desires that they have joy in their
faith…(1:25)
4. and wants their joy in Christ Jesus to
overflow… (1:26).
5. He urges them to make his joy complete through
their unity. (2:2).
6. Even if he is sacrificed, he is glad and
rejoices with them and urges them to rejoice with him.
(2:17-18).
7. They are to welcome Timothy with great joy
(2:29).
8. Finally brother, rejoice in the Lord!
(3:1)
9. They are his joy and crown. (4:1).
10. Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it
again, Rejoice! (4:4).
11. He rejoices greatly in the Lord that they are
concerned about him. (4:10).
L. Considering the amount of Christians who struggle with
depression, considering the extent to which Christians can't get
along, considering the number of Christians who seem to have a real
problem with anger and bitterness, considering the number of
Christians who are burdened down with anxiety and fear, this makes
the book of Philippians a pretty important body of eternal truth
that we need to master.
M. Let's begin to do that today by
looking at Chapter 1, verses 1-
I. JOY COMES WHEN WE UNDERSTAND OUR TRUE PURPOSE FOR
LIVING.
A. "Paul and Timothy, servants of Jesus Christ."
(1:1).
B. The Greek term here is douloi, which means "slaves." (either
voluntary or involuntary).
1. Kittel: "All the words in this group serve either to
describe the status of a slave or an attitude corresponding to that
of a slave." (2:261).
2. Kittel goes on: "For where there is douleuein human autonomy
is set aside and an alien (outside) will takes precedence of one's
own." (2:261).
3. Let me help you understand the importance of this with some
statements that are very, very common and that illustrate the error
of our thinking:
a. "It's MY life!"
b. "It's MY time!"
c. "It's MY money!"
d. "It's MY church!"
e. "I need MY needs to be fulfilled!"
f. "I am going to do this MY way!"
g. "I have MY rights!"
4. The more you study the life and ministry of the Apostle
Paul, the more you see that such thinking was absolutely foreign to
Paul as a Christian.
a. Phil. 1:12---"Now I want you to know brothers that what has
happened to me (prison) has served to advance the
gospel…"
b. Phil. 1:13---"…I am in chains for
Christ."
c. Phil. 1:14---"Because of my chains, most of the brothers in
the Lord have been encouraged to speak the Word of God more
courageously and fearlessly."
d. Phil. 1:20---"…so that now as always that
Christ may be magnified in my body, whether by life or by
death."
e. Phil. 1:21---"For me to live is
Christ…"
f. AND WE HAVEN'T EVEN LEFT CHAPTER ONE!!!
g. Consider this great summary by Paul of his purpose in life:
Galatians 2:20---"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer
live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live
by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for
me."
C. The fundamental reason that Christians don't have joy is
that we think that our reason for living is to get WHAT we want and
for things to go HOW we want! Ever since the Fall, every human
being is born into this world with a desire to live for themselves
in absolute autonomy from God. Eve fell for that deception and so
do we (Gen. 3:1-6).
1. The cry of our flesh is "NOT THY WILL, but MINE be
done!"
D. There are two problems with our desire to serve ourselves,
not Christ.
1. The things that bring happiness in the flesh are weak,
momentary, lack real substance, and are rooted in creation which
decays and cannot last.
a. Immediate gratification is always paid for at the expense of
the best things.
b. Genesis 25:27-34
c. Esau "despised" his birthright---baza in Hebrew. An attitude
which treats someone or something with irreverence---it rejects or
devalues the thing or person held in contempt.
d. John Jefferson Davis---"Esau impetuously forfeited important
rights, responsibilities and honors that were his by
birth….he considered the responsibilities and
honors unimportant, or he was totally uninterested in them."
(Paradise to Prison, p. 233).
e. God is disgusted with the one who holds his promises in
contempt.---Hebrews 12:15-17.
f. Every day I work with broken, angry, bitter, depressed
people who have lived lives that treat the great privileges and
honors of the New Birth with contempt, who ignore their birthright
and treat it as if it was unimportant. The have sold out their walk
with Christ for the life equivalent of a bowl of stew. They had one
momentarily satisfying meal. And then they are soon hungry again as
if they had never eaten at all. Again and again the cycle repeats
itself until they end up angry, cynical and
disillusioned.
g. What is your bowl of stew? What is your price? What will you
sell the honor and privileges of your birthright for? What is it
that you think you have to have so much to be happy that you are
willing to sell out your walk with Christ for it?
h. Contrast Esau's values with the values of Paul later on in
Philippians 3:4-8 (read)
2. It sets up an inner war that makes us miserable. Why?
Because we do not own ourselves. We belong to
someone else. And when we seek to live for ourselves, we spend
every day trying to steal that which is not ours.
a. 1 Cor. 6:19b-20: "…you are not your own.
You are bought at a price. Therefore, honor God in your body and
spirit which are God's."
b. 1 Peter 1:18a,19a: "For you were not redeemed with
corruptible things such as silver and gold,…but
with the precious blood of Christ…"
c. You know, there is a lot of guilt and shame that goes with
stealing things that don't belong to you. It sets up a life of
inner conflict that is absolutely miserable.
d. Being a thief is not the path to inner peace. It is a life
that only results in severe consequences.
e. When you and I try to take over our lives and assert our
will, we are basically stealing that which does not belong to us.
Christ first created us, and then He has redeemed us.
CONCLUSION:
The story is told of a little boy who wanted to make a sail
boat. He looked and looked for just the right piece of wood. And
then he patiently and painstakingly carved until it was just the
right shape. He then worked meticulously on the rigging and the
sail. After several days, he had the sailboat he had dreamed
of.
He took his little boat down to the stream and he set it
sailing in the current. The boat floated beautifully and
majestically. The boy ran happily along the bank following his
boat, as it was carried along by the current.
Suddenly and without realizing it, he had approached a property
boundary. With horror he saw a chain link fence stretched across
the creek banks. He ran hard to try and catch up with his little
boat, but could not reach it in time. With a broken heart, he
watched his little boat sail under the chain link fence and off
into the distance until he could see it no more. With tears in his
eyes and sorrow in his heart, he walked slowly home.
A few days later, the little boy was walking home from school.
Passing a second-hand store, he looked into
the window, and to his amazement and joy, he saw his little boat in
the window. He rushed inside and told the owner, "The little boat
in the window is mine!" The owner replied, "I am sorry, son, but I
paid another boy two dollars for that boat. If you want it back, it
will cost you two dollars!"
The little boy was poor and did not have two dollars. But he
went door to door and did odd jobs and chores for as much as anyone
would pay him. Finally, he had the two dollars. He went back to the
store and paid the owner the price of his little boat.
As he grabbed his precious possession and clutched to his
chest, he exclaimed, "Little boat, little boat, now you are DOUBLY
MINE. FIRST I MADE YOU, AND NOW I HAVE BOUGHT YOU!
Paul passionately believed that he doubly belonged to Jesus.
And He loved His new Master for it. He had been miserable as long
as he was in control of his own life. Jesus knew this. The Lord
said to the proud Pharisee Saul on the road to Damascus, "it is
hard for you to kick against the Ox goads" (Acts 9:5---In passages
such as this, I believe the Textus Receptus and, thus, the King
James Bible to be the accurate rendering).
I saw an Ox kick against the goads of his cart one day when I
was in Haiti. As I watched, I understood the saying "that person is
stubborn as an Ox." When the Ox would kick against the sharp pricks
they would stab his legs and blood would run down them. Yet the Ox
would get mad and just kick all the harder, cutting up his legs all
the more.
Jesus was saying to Paul, "Aren't you tired of a life with no
real meaning. Aren't you tired of living for yourself? Aren't you
tired of the pain of failure that comes with prideful selfish
living?" I believe when Paul said on the Damascus road, "Lord, what
will Thou have me to do?", a sense of relief gushed over his soul.
He became a servant of Jesus Christ. He gained a great eternal
purpose and passion for His life that was so powerful that no
beating, stoning, shipwreck or imprisonment could shake his
joy.
The book of Philippians isn't just nice Christian sentiments.
The book of Philippians is not just "Biblical Prozac." The Apostle
Paul is not a New Testament version of Norman Vincent Peale,
Schuller, Copeland, or Benny Hinn?
I guarantee you this. There was one reader of this letter to
the church at Philippi who believed every word that Paul was
writing. He knew for a fact that Paul was no "spiritual snake oil
salesman." He knew this Apostle lived what he wrote. You see, the
night this Philippian first met Paul, the Apostle was in the
absolute worst circumstances anyone could imagine. Yet Paul still
displayed a vibrant faith in Christ that was incredible. In fact,
Paul's faith was so impressive that the night this Philippian man
met Paul was the same night he met Jesus Christ. You might remember
this man. He used to be the Town Jailer.
|
