Philippians 1:12-26, Joy in our Circumstances
The Secret to Joy • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Greeting and Intro
Greeting and Intro
Pause 15 seconds
Pause 15 seconds
Good morning
if you are a visitor here with us today, we welcome you to Sycamore Hill Church
I am Tony Graffanino and I am in our churches training program
Pastor Jon is now on his Sabbatical,
But before he left, he kicked off a new Sermon Series in Philippians last week,
and we’ll be there again this week, and for the next 7 weeks after today I believe
So, if you’d like to go there now, we’ll be in Philippians chapter 1
Philippians is after the Gospels, after Acts and Romans and both letters to the Corinthians
Then comes Galatians, Ephesians, and Philippians
If you’ve gotten to Hebrews, you’ve gone too far, flip to your left some and you’ll find it
As you go there I want to remind, we’ve titled this sermon series The Secret to Joy
Not that there is one little secret or tip and then you’ve got it, you know nailed it
But there’s multiple secrets, and each week we’ll be pointing them out.
Most of you know, so may not, but I played professional baseball for a living for about 20 years
And I remember the first time I was around big leaguers
As a minor leaguer, when you saw a big leaguer you were some what awed
I mean these were the best in the world, playing on tv
Well I got invited as a minor leaguer to big league spring training
I was going to be in the locker room, in the dugout, on the field playing with and against guys I wanted so badly to be
And I remember going to the batting cages and just watching.
Watching them do their hitting drills, and watching them go through batting practice,
Even as a big leaguer I did that with each team I played for and the great hitters they had
just trying to figure what they did that made them so good
I think that’s smart, we should all try to learn from those who are ahead of us on the road we’re on, and that are doing it well
But I came to realize it wasn’t just one thing, not one little trick or secret that made them great, but a combination of things
the most important was talent,
can’t teach talent they’d say
Some of the tips and drills helped, it wasn’t just one little thing that made all the difference
No, there’s more to it than that, it was a combination of who they were and what they did
And that’s what we’ll be exploring as we work through Philippians
Each week we will be talking about an important ingredient, if you will, to having Joy
Last week Pastor Jon talked about Joy in Friendship
We experience Joy through our good relationships, our good friendships,
Through those people that are happy to be with us and they care for us,
You know when someone is happy to be with you, you can see it on their face
their face fills our joy tank
especially our friends who are also our partners in the gospel,
Pastor Jon also talked about Paul’s intro to the letter
Where he referred to himself as a servant
The word in Greek is Doulos and it literally means slave
Now this isn’t forced servitude, as we know slavery
The O.T. had a concept of slavery called a bondservant, you can find it in Leviticus
This typically was a person who sold themselves into slavery to an individual in order to work off a debt they couldn’t pay.
But at the time of their release, they chose to stay in the Master Slave relationship, because their Master was good,
He was kind and loving and treated them well and they loved their Master and loved serving Him.
This is a bondservant,
One who has willingly relinquished the rights to their own life and made their Master and His will central
In order to serve their Master in any way He saw fit
This is what Paul has done,
Jesus and His will are central
And this is important to remember as we work through this letter.
Paul also referred to the brothers and sisters in Philippi as Saints, and I’ll talk more on that in a minute
So, today, my title is The Secret to Joy in our Circumstances
Paul will give us 3 of his secrets in todays passages
Before we look at them, let me pray
Father in heaven, we love You, we thank You for providing a place and a space for us to come together and worship You in song and in the study of Your Word, may the time I spent in preparation and the words that will come forth from my mouth honor You.
Holy Spirit, we love You, guide this time we ask and give us eyes to see and ears to hear as You teach us, help us to receive what it is that You have to say to each of us.
Jesus, we love You. We thank You for Your love for us, for coming and living and dying for us. We thank You for being a good good Master who delights in His loyal servants, and help us to grow into proper bondservants for Your glory. It’s in Your name I pray
Ok, let’s look at Philippians chapter 1, verses 12-14,
and remember that Paul is writing this as he’s imprisoned in Rome
Body 1, What Has Happened To Me
Body 1, What Has Happened To Me
I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.
I don’t know if you heard it or saw it if you read along, but there’s some paradoxical stuff going on here
Let’s start with paradox #1 by looking at what Paul is saying in verse 12?
Paul wants the Philippian church to know that his imprisonment hasn’t stopped the spread of the gospel
It has actually served to advance it.
He said “what has happened to me is for Christ”
Now, how does that make any sense?
The prison sentence was a punishment, it was supposed to shut him up
I’m confident that most would think that if we ended up in prison we did something wrong, and here in America you’d be right. OK
But really, what I mean is this...
We have a tendency to gauge whether or not we made the right decision, or if God is pleased with us or not, by the outcome of that decision and the circumstances we find ourselves in, am I right???
Like we made the right decision or did the right thing because the outcome is good, or vice versa.
But that’s not the case for Paul,
he’s actually in prison awaiting trial and he could get his head chopped off because of his service to Jesus, because of his obedience
He was doing the right thing
That confuses us all the more
We might be asking
“Why is this happening to me?” or
“What did I do to deserve this?”
“I don’t understand, I was serving you, what did I do wrong?”
I think we question God like that because we forget who we are.
Listen to the words of Jesus in John chapter 15 verses 12-15
“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.
but just a little further down Jesus says this in verse 20
Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.
So clearly, even though the disciples are His friends, it doesn’t mean they are no longer His servants and more importantly, that He is no longer their Master
And the same goes for us
Another reason we question God is our “pursuit of happiness”
The claim from the Declaration of Independence is that happiness is a human right
Therefore as a human, we think we deserve to be happy, that we’re entitled to it
but happiness is circumstantial and we will find ourselves in situations that aren’t making us happy
The pursuit of happiness is making people miserable, it’s killing them
As a Christian we now have the capacity to pursue holiness, not happiness
There’s such a difference there
My happiness is all about me, what makes me happy
but my holiness is all about God and others, it changes me so I’m a better person
It changes how I view my circumstances
Thankfully, we can question God, or better yet, ask God questions, there is a difference.
?Are we complaining or asking for understanding??
Consider the words of James,
New Living Translation Chapter 1
2 Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. 3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. 4 So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.
5 If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. 6 But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. 7 Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.
We are not entitled to happiness, but as Christians we can be joyful because we are expected to pursue holiness,
Ironically, a holy one is the same word in Greek, Hagios, that is used for Saint, which is what Paul calls the brothers and sisters in Philippi at the beginning of this letter.
Consider, in our pursuit of holiness, the gift of the Spirit to all believers,
The Fruit of the Spirit, Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, or better yet, Long Suffering, those are internal,
What we need AND
What we are able to be in the midst of our circumstances,
Then comes how we respond and act, w/ kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control
When those are in their full measure we are living holy, set apart unto God for His purposes, regardless of our circumstances
So, as Jesus’ willing and obedient slave,
Paul has been placed in a Roman prison, by Jesus and for Jesus
the powers that be didn’t do this to Paul,
The Power That Be did
And understanding that is a secret to Joy
Now, I have to pause and say, if you find yourself in an abusive and dangerous situation, especially within your home, you need to tell someone and you need to get help
God didn’t necessarily place you there, He can work good in you and through it, but you should seek wise counsel on how to handle that.
Allowing someone to sin against you is never ok
That being said
If we are in Christ, a saint, we will grow in our pursuit of holiness to realize and hopefully desire to be a willing and obedient servant of the Lord,
and Jesus will have us in a variety of circumstances for the advancement of the Gospel.
But God is good, He let’s Paul see what He’s doing
Look first at verse 13,
so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ.
Look at the genius of God
He has Paul arrested so that He can infiltrate a super hard to reach place for the gospel.
Each day and multiple times a day Paul is chained to a new guard,
A guard who is hearing Paul’s story, or him talk to other people, or dictate letters like this one.
The whole imperial guard now knows
Now, this wouldn’t be happening if Paul was depressed and confused,
or scared of what may happen to him and questioning God
He’s not doing that because he knows he was doing the will of God and Jesus is central
Paul trusts that he is God’s beloved and that God is pleased with him.
Not only that, but he knows Jesus is with him, he’s not alone
Emanuel, God with us, I will never leave you nor forsake you
Jesus wont necessarily change our circumstances, but He promises to be with us in them
There’s a lesson there, don’t isolate, withdraw, turn to Jesus, turn to your closest friends, we need them in our tough times
So, Paul doesn’t wallow in self-pity, he sees this as an opportunity from God to share the gospel with a new people group
Now this isn’t Paul’s first time in prison, the church at Philippi knows this all too well,
but even then he got it right.
It was in Philippi that Paul was thrown in prison, its in Acts 16, you can read it later
Do you remember what Paul and Silas were doing??
They were worshipping the Lord, by praying and singing hymns to Him
That’s what they were doing,
but others were listening to them.
Then their was an earthquake, all the doors were opened and everyones chains fell off, but nobody left.
Why? Because they were having Church y’all!!
A straight up worship service was going on and God shook that place
This had such an impact on the Philippian jailer,
he asked Paul, “what must I do to be saved.” He knew all this was an act of God
He and his whole family got saved and baptised.
With a story like that, you should stop and go What?!?! that is so crazy,
but look, ok
Just look at what God can do
with those that can see through their circumstances
and remember who they are in the midst of them.
The Philippian jailer was probably in Church that day as this letter from Paul was being read and going, “Yup, that sounds just like Paul”
But that’s not all, this also has an affect on the other believers in Rome
verse 14
And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.
paradox #2
This too is crazy, Paul’s imprisonment is not causing them to be fearful and to keep quiet and go into hiding,
it’s the opposite
they too are seeing what God can do in the midst of bad circumstances, even a fearful situation,
and now they are not afraid, but they are emboldened to speak the word.
So, Paul’s secret #1 today
What is Happening to Me , he literally wrote those words, is for Christ
That’s his perspective, What is happening to me is for Christ, why?
Because Paul has seen that God is always at work
Lord do we need to adopt that perspective if we are to be joyful and obedient servants in all our circumstances
Ok
Let’s move on to verses 15 through 18
Body 2, What Is Happening Around Me
Body 2, What Is Happening Around Me
English Standard Version Chapter 1
15 Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. 16 The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 17 The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. 18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.
So, first off, Paul doesn’t call what some of these people are preaching a false Gospel, they are preaching Christ
he just says their motives are bad, they do it out of envy, rivalry, and selfish ambition,
They’re possibly trying to taking advantage of Paul’s absence and usurp his position.
In this way they believe they can hurt Paul while he’s in imprison.
Now there are also some who are preaching Christ out of good will and love
But look at how Paul responds, in verse 18
“What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.”
Again, Christ is central
He’s not concerned at all with the ones who are trying to hurt him, why not?
Why doesn’t this bother him???
It’s because Paul doesn’t care about what people think of him or his so called position in this world,
he is a slave of Christ and he’s good with that
But what Paul does care about is the things of His Lord,
that Christ is preached, the gospel advances, people believe and enter the kingdom, and become partners in the gospel.
That’s what Paul cares about, so he can rejoice
And in that lies Paul’s secret #2
What is Happening Around Me is for Christ
This is Paul’s mentality
But this too is a struggle for us
We at times care too much about what people think of us, or what we have and what we do.
? Would we struggle if by serving the Lord we lost our position, or our reputation?
If others were doing what we were doing but they were getting the notoriety and credit??
I think we would, or at least I think I would.
“That’s not fair”, “why God”,
again, we would be asking, “what’s going on God???”
Look, Paul’s not fighting for his freedom, he’s not fighting for his reputation, he’s not fighting for his position,
he’s rejoicing that the gospel is advancing and others are preaching Christ, and he’s rejoicing in prison
Lord do we need that mentality,
to be more concerned with the advancement of the gospel than our own positions or reputations.
Ok, let’s move on to our final section, verses 19-26
Body 3, What Might Happen To Me
Body 3, What Might Happen To Me
Philippians chapter 1 the end of 18-26
English Standard Version Chapter 1
Yes, and I will rejoice, 19 for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, 20 as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. 23 I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. 24 But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. 25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, 26 so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.
As Paul continues rejoicing in this letter to his dear friends at the end of verse 18
He then says that he’s confident that through the prayers of the Philippians, and the help of the Spirit of Jesus,
That this will turn out for his deliverance,
But, by deliverance, he doesn’t only mean his freedom from prison
To see that we just need to read verse 20
as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death.
He says he is excitedly awaiting and expecting,
he has confident hope, that he will not be ashamed
Paul knows his Lord is real, he knows his message is true, and he knows that God loves him and is in control
Thats what he’s saying, none of this will be in vain
He’s not going to get to the end and realize none of it was true or real
No, he says with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death, that’s his deliverance
Paul knows he will never deny Jesus, because death has no power over him, he’s not afraid of it
Now, we can’t forget Paul’s experience with Jesus on the Damascus road in Acts 9, he encountered Christ, saw His light, heard His voice, was told the plan
This for sure is the bedrock of his faith,
but seeing God work in all the ways He has, like in Philippi and currently in this Roman prison has cemented that faith all the more
I’m willing to bet most of us in hear didn’t have a Damascus Rd experience, if you did I’d like to talk to you after the service
Maybe our coming to Jesus was miraculous, but to be blinded by His light and hear His voice,
or to walk with Him for 3 years and
then see Him resurrected, maybe touch his wounds, and then see Him ascend into Heaven
I feel like those guys have a slight advantage when it comes to this confident assurance thing
John in his gospel writes to that
Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
More pleased, more delighted is our Father in Heaven over us, because we have not seen and yet believe
Back to Paul, as he contemplates his life or death situation
This takes us to todays desk calendar or coffee mug verse
For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
That right there is the lead in to secret #3
Paul’s attitude, his mentality, For to me, to live is Christ and to die is Gain,
for him it’s win win, why because Christ is central
Secret #3, What might happen to me is for Christ
We had
What has happened to me is for Christ, that’s the past
Then, what is happening around me is for Christ, that’s the present
and now, What might happen to me is for Christ, that’s the future
He explains himself, verse 22a
English Standard Version Chapter 1
22 If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me
If I am not killed then I will continue to serve my Master and see what God does
But then he writes something weird, at least weird to me, in verse 22b through 23
English Standard Version Chapter 1
Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. 23 I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.
Now, for the record, Paul is not contemplating suicide,
he’s not hopeless, he’s not in despair, it’s the opposite
He’s full of joy, he’s rejoicing
His life is in Romes hands, well, sort of
But what he is saying, and I wonder if most of us could say the same, it gave me pause
This is a tough call for him, he’s hard pressed between the two, he says, he’s between a rock and a hard place
To him, these are both equally great options
We’ve all been there, having to choose between two really great options,
Knowing no matter what you choose, you gain something, but you lose something
But for Paul, he’s having trouble deciding between living and dying
I think most of us would choose living, we don’t really want to die, not yet, right?
Paul tells us that his true desire is to leave this world and go and be with Jesus,
And on the surface I get that, I’m like “Oh yeah!!”
But when life is good, kids are good, family is good, work is good, money is good,
When things are good am I saying Lord take me home, I just want to be with you???
Now, I’ve said those words, “take me Lord, I’m done here, I don’t want to do this anymore, I wanna come home”
but that’s when life is hard, when my circumstances are difficult,
when I’m tired and scared, and helpless, and confused and all the other words that describe how we feel in the midst of our really tough times
But again, that’s not Paul
His circumstances don’t dictate how he feels, they don’t determine whether or not he’s joyful
No, it’s his joy that determines how he feels in the midst of his circumstances,
That’s why these secrets are so essential,
why joy is so essential for us to remain faithful as we endure the highs and lows that life throws at us.
So we can keep on keeping on and serve the Lord along the way
Well, here’s how Paul resolves his quandary
But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.
It ain’t about me,
This whole chapter Paul has been saying it isn’t about him until this wrestling match right here
He started to contemplate what he would want
And I get it, He loves Jesus and wants to go and be with Him
Plus, his life in service has been tough, beatings, stonings, floggings, being shipwrecked, without food and water,
It hasn’t been an easy road for him.
We might be waving the white flag too
But then Paul comes to his senses,
it ain’t about me, it’s all about Jesus
I’m a doulos, I don’t get to make that call, none of us do
What Paul gets to do, and notice I said gets to do and not has to do
What Paul gets to do is what Jesus wants him to do
It’s also all about you, not me
He says I’m pretty convinced that me going on living is more important for you all
For your progress, your maturity, to help you grow and fill your joy in the faith
And man, when they let me out of this prison
And I come to visit you, your faith and joy are gonna go through the roof
It’s like steps on a staircase,
each experience in faith when we see the Lord show up, takes us to the next level
And the glory will all be Jesus’,
In this way Paul was just like Jesus
Surrendering his own interests for the interests of others
And don’t we need that reminder
?So, was it Paul’s attitude and mentality that allowed him to have joy?
?Or was it Paul’s joy that gave him the right attitude and mentality??
I think the answer is both, they need each other, and play off of each other
but I do think it’s the joy that comes first and shapes our attitude and mentality
Listen, and this is the last thing I’ll talk about
We are all at different stages in the journey, we are all works in progress
And I know we’re not supposed to elevate someone as like a “super follower” of Jesus
But there is a reason why Paul was who he was and then wrote like 3/4 of the N.T.
He’s doing what Jesus said in Mark chapter 10
And Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
As he has continuously relinquished the rights to his life, and served Jesus
As Paul was faithful with a little, then Jesus gave him more, and more, and more
And that’s why we know who Paul is and are reading his letter
As Paul considered himself a slave and was busy making Jesus’ name great,
Jesus made Paul’s name great so he could continue making Jesus’ name great to more and more people
Now that shouldn’t be our motivation, to have our name be made great, that messes up the whole equation
But when we are faithful with what God has given us, circumstances included, he gives us more, and then more people take notice and are drawn closer To God
And Jesus name is magnified and glorified
And there’s no telling what He can do from there, because salvation is of the Lord. Amen??
Ok. Paul has let us in on some more of his “secrets” to having joy in this life, regardless of circumstances
I pray as you, dearly beloved saints, you holy ones, as you leave here you ponder them, and adopt them as your own
What has happened to me is for Christ
What is happening around me is for Christ
What might happen to me is for Christ
Let me Pray
Father, God of Creation, we are Your image bearers whom you delight in. Your Word says that when we display faith in You, faith in Jesus, when we believe in His name, that pleases You. Help us to see You smiling at us, so pleased with us, for that is the beginning of our joy.
Holy Spirit, help us to grow and increase that joy, constantly bring to remembrance who we are and whose we are. Help us to be mindful that it’s all about Jesus and to adopt the joy secrets of Paul.
And Jesus, may You be central in all our lives, whether we live or die, it’s win win, we either get to continue to serve you, or we get to go and be with You in glory, and may our hearts long for that day.
For it is Your name I pray, Amen
Please stand for a benediction
The Lord bless you and keep you
The Lord make His face to shine upon you and and be gracious to you
The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace and Joy
Go in peace and Joy