Philippians #1: What is the Source of Your Joy?

It has been an interesting and yet painful past six months for all of us living around the world. It is not just in America that the economy has tanked in a manner unseen since the days of the 1930’s depression. Every person who is retired or considering a future retirement in the not too distant future has seen their future options become much more limited than they were previously. Some people are going to have to come out of retirement because their retirement funds were tied to the collapsed economy, and some people are considering whether they will ever be able to retire. All adults in America have found ourselves outside of our comfort zones and pinched in ways we hoped we would never experience.

I was talking with an NFL representative the other day and he was expressing how that NFL teams have already found themselves being significantly impacted by the failed economy. He brought up the fact that many other sports leagues long ago went bankrupt and ceased to exist, and that such a thing could happen to the NFL. I find that prospect very depressing. Hey, here’s an idea, what if Obama suggested a bail out for the rich professional athletes who find themselves overextended? I know I’m being sarcastic in bringing this up, but in my opinion that’s no more absurd a consideration as some of the ones that I have seen implemented… Yet, I ask myself what can I do about the situation I find myself and my family in? What can any of us do about the situation? Everything is going to play out according to God’s plan, and that is about all I can say...

I believe that part of the reason why these things have come upon the world, and America in specific, is because God wants to show to the church that was purchased by the blood of His Son, Jesus Christ, what the source of their joy really is? And so I ask you, what is the source of your joy?

I take you to the book of Philippians in the New Testament. Paul the apostle wrote this epistle to a church that he called "my crown of joy," a church that he himself felt closest to, one that he personally loved so much that he said that they were in his heart: Phil. 1:7, “…is only right for me to feel this way about you all, because I have you in my heart...” Paul goes on to say in this verse that the Philippians participated with him in all that he did: “since both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers of grace with me.” The Philippians were with Paul through thick and thin, good and bad. They were no fair weather friends to him.

At the city of Troas, early in Paul’s second missionary journey of the book of Acts, he had a vision of a man from Macedonia pleading with him, “Come over and help us.” So, Paul headed to Macedonia in the area of modern day Greece. This man is believed to be the Philippian jailer that Paul led to the faith after Paul was beaten and jailed when he got to the city of Philippi.

At the city of Philippi, chapter 16 of the book of Acts tells us how that church was formed. Paul met a group of women gathered for prayer at a river, and Lydia, a woman who sold purple, came to faith in Christ and became the first convert from Europe. She then started a church in her home. Paul later cast a demon out of a slave girl that was used by the people of the city for divination because she was going ahead of them telling everyone that they were servants of the most high God. This woman probably became the next convert into the church. Later, Paul and Silas were beaten and jailed for preaching the gospel, and as they were praising God and singing, an angel caused an earthquake and all of the jail cell doors opened. The Philippian jailer was about to fall on his sword knowing how he would be treated when the authorities discovered that the men in the jail had been freed from their cells, however Paul told the jailer that everything was OK and that they were all still in their cells. This man then asked Paul, “What must I do to be saved?” Paul’s reply was, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.” The Philippian jailer came to faith along with his household, and he most likely next became part of the church in Philippi.

Paul loved the Philippian church like they were his own sons and daughters because they were his children in the faith. Likewise, just like they were his own children, whenever they did well he rejoiced in what they had done. And when they sorrowed, he sorrowed. When they were increased and blessed, he was increased and blessed. Paul primarily wrote the epistle of Philippians to the Philippian church to thank them for their financial contributions and help and also to encourage them to unity and being of one mind since there were a couple of the leaders in the church who were disputing and at odds with each other (they were probably leaders of different house churches in Philippi).

But, the main word and theme in the epistle of Philippians is that of “joy.” Every remembrance of the Philippians brought “joy” to Paul, and he had “joy” in every prayer he prayed for them (Phil. 1:3-5). He even commands them in Phil. 4:4 to “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!”

People often have sought to have joy but sought in all of the wrong places, as illustrated by these quotes I found on a web page:

· Unbelief — Voltaire, the French philosopher, who was an avid unbeliever wrote, “I wish I had never been born.”
· Pleasure — Lord Byron (English poet known for his “life of pleasure”) wrote concerning his life, “The worm, the canker, and grief are mine alone.”
· Money — Jay Gould, the American millionaire, had plenty of that. When dying, he said: “I suppose I am the most miserable man on earth.”
· Position and Fame — Benjamin Disraeli, one time prime minister of Great Britain who enjoyed more than his share of both position and fame, wrote, “Youth is a mistake; manhood a struggle; old age a regret.”
· Military Glory — Alexander the Great conquered the known world in his day. Having done so, he wept in his tent, before he said, “There are no more worlds to conquer.”

Joy for the believer in Christ is inseparably linked to fellowship with Christ and is a fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:24) in his life and linked to obedience (John 15:9-11). The joy of the unbeliever is a giddy joy that is an emotion determined by circumstances. But, the joy of the believer involves a choice to have joy and essentially it is an attitude of faith and trusting in God, an attitude of counting and considering your blessings in life instead of constantly considering your setbacks and losses.

Michael Gunn has written the following on a web page on the internet: “Philippians has been a book about the “Fellowship of Joy” found in a relationship with Christ, and His mission in the world. Paul’s joy is not a fanciful joy separate from real world living. So many struggling people eschew help because those that want to help simply “Don’t understand!” Or, “No one feels my pain.” This can’t be said of Paul and the Philippians. Paul was in prison, facing imminent death. The Philippians faced relational division, heresy, ostracism, persecution, poverty and possibly even death. In spite of this Paul urged the church to find their way to God’s peace, “Which surpasses all understanding!””

The joy of which Paul writes about is not a joy that is based upon our circumstances, but rather one that comes from the Lord and exists in spite of our circumstances. I don’t normally quote Karl Barth, but I will here. Quoting again from the same web site, Karl Barth has written the following about this joy: “That Joy in Philippians is a defiant ‘Nevertheless!’” The idea of rejoicing (Which has been used to mark off sections in this book) has come in the context of personal turmoil (Philippians 2:18; 3:1, and here in 4:4). As one commentator says, “Rejoice certainly does defy the thankless, complaining nature of humanity and human custom throughout history.” Rejoicing in Christ is rooted in salvation, and not circumstantial blessing. This is not a trumped up, plastic smile rejoicing, but a real joy in the midst of human pain. The joy that comes from a hope that is outside of our control. It’s a joy in spite of… It’s a joy that allows you to work through human relational problems, because this kind of joy releases you from the need to be right. This rejoicing is done “Always,” not circumstantially. If you are trying to find joy outside of Jesus, you will always be joyless, and you will continually be chasing harmful relationships and lifestyles in order to fill your giant void in your life. We are created to find our happiness in the Lord. Nehemiah 8:10 reminds us that, “The joy of the Lord is your strength.” To this US Senate Chaplain Loyd Ogilvie adds, “Rejoicing in the Lord is not a luxury, it’s a necessity! In the midst of our pain, we cry out defiantly and embrace a “Nevertheless” mentality, “Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice!”"

The book of Philippians speaks of numerous occasions we as Christians have for experiencing joy, including:

· 1:1-3-11 Joy in fellowship – in the world, at best you have friendship
· 1:4 Joy in prayer
· 1:12-30 Joy in affliction/suffering – in the world, you endure without purpose or hope
· 1:25 Joy in the faith
· 2:1-30 Joy in submission – in the world, there is promotion of self
· 2:18 Joy in sacrifice
· 2:28 Joy in Christian relationship
· 2:29 Joy of Christian hospitality
· 3:1 Joy in rejoicing in the Lord
· 3:1-4:3 Joy in salvation by grace – in the world, the hopelessness of works
· 4:1 Joy with other believers
· 4:4-19 Joy in spiritual blessings – in the world, physical accumulation of things or experiences

When you get to chapter 4 and Paul tells you to worry about nothing, you can see that worrying is a signal that our joy is based upon our circumstances not in our relationship with Christ. Then, Paul will go on in chapter 4 to talk about how we need to control our minds and the things that we think about (whatever is pure, lovely, of good repute, etc.) in order to experience and know the joy and peace of God.

Paul had a proper perspective on life, and this enabled him to continually have joy. He knew that God is in control of all that happens in our lives. He knew that God is behind the scenes orchestrating what happens, fulfilling His plans. He knew that God raises up and brings men to power (Dan. 2:21; 4:17; John 19:11; Rom. 13:1), and that He is sovereign and self-determining and in spite of the wickedness of men and angels He brings about His will and plans upon the earth. This truth is seen, for instance, in what the scriptures tell us about Christ’s crucifixion being a wicked plan carried out by wicked men, but one that was also determined by God before all creation: Acts 2:23, “Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death”; 1 Peter 1:20, “He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you.” Paul knew that God is causing all things to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose (Rom. 8:28), and He knew that the Lord promises to meet our needs each day if we seek Him first (Matt. 6:33). He knew that we are not to worry about tomorrow but just concentrate upon today: Matt. 6:34, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”

Paul wrote in Phil. 1:6 that he was confident (or knew) that God was going to continue that work that He had begun in the lives of the Philippians when they had come to saving faith in Christ: “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” Paul knew that God never begins something that He does not complete, that is not the nature of God. Paul doesn’t negate the importance of our willful choices as people in saying this though, for in verse 12 of the very next chapter he states: “work out your salvation with fear and trembling.”

I you were in a horrible Roman prison of the first century, what would your perspective on life or your ministry be? Would having joy be dependent upon getting out of that hell hole? In Phil. 1:12-18, Paul reveals that he was content in his situation and that he knew his life was right on course with God's plans. He states that even his own current imprisonment for the preaching of the gospel wasn’t hindering his ministry and God using him, but rather expanding it, because the guards he was chained to were hearing the gospel, and because many in the church were now preaching the gospel because he was imprisoned, even though the motives of many were wrong (something that Paul didn’t concern himself with): “Now I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel, so that my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the whole praetorian guard and to everyone else, and that most of the brethren, trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment, have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear. Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ even from envy and strife, but some also from good will; the latter do it out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel; the former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition rather than from pure motives, thinking to cause me distress in my imprisonment. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice.”

What is the joy meter reading in your life, oh reader? What is the source of your joy? Are you experiencing the joy of the Lord as your strength? Or, is your joy tied to your circumstances like the rest of this world that is perishing and soon to incur God’s judgment? I tell you to rejoice in the Lord always, and why not, it’s a lot more fun to laugh than to cry…

If you are an athlete or coach and you are able to play your sport today, then rejoice. If you are a parent of an athlete who is able to play his/her sport today, then rejoice. If you are just a sports fan and you are able to watch your sport today, then rejoice. Rejoice in spite of any circumstance, any set back, any trial, because of what you know about God and His sovereign will and plans for your life and mankind! And do not worry in the slightest about tomorrow, live life for Jesus today and worry only about today…