Philippians 1:1-11

Scripture Reading: Philippians 1:1-11

I have a confession to make

For the past few weeks…

I've had a private-investigator friend of mine…

Follow each of you around

He has analyzed your behavior

He has monitored your interactions

The reason I had him secretly follow each of you…

Was to find the answer to one simple question:

“Are you a joyful person?”

Obviously, I’m joking

I don’t have access to any private investigators…

And even if I did, I wouldn’t use them for this purpose

So, don’t worry

You haven’t had anyone secretly following you around

(I mean, as far as I know)

But what if you did?

What would they find?

How would they describe you?

Would they describe you as a joyful person?

Or anything but?

“They look at the glass half-full”

Or, “They see the glass half-empty even when it’s completely full”

“They often see the good in others & frequently encourage”

Or, “They see the worst in everyone & always criticize”

“They seem to be at peace & content…”

“Even when things aren’t going the way they would like”

Or, “They can find anything to complain about”

“They’re able to smile, even in their trials”

Or, “Even in their blessings, you’ll never see them smile”

Would you consider yourself a joyful person?

As disciples of Jesus, we’re called to be joyful people

And thanks to God, we’ve been given every reason to be

But, from my experience…

Christians are often some of the most miserable people on the planet

But it doesn’t have to be that way

We’re starting a new series this morning

I’ve titled this series:

Joy That Overflows

In this series, we’re going to study Paul’s letter…

To a community of Christians in a city called Philippi

On my weeks to preach…

We will be studying from the text of Philippians

And every other week, when David is preaching…

He will take a theme or idea from our text from the previous week…

And present a lesson that expounds upon that theme/idea

The reason I’ve titled this series: Joy That Overflows…

Is because Paul’s letter to the Philippians…

Is famous for being a joyful letter

The words “joy” & “rejoice”…

Are found over a dozen times in this short letter

And my hope with this series…

Is that we will learn from Paul…

How to have joy that overflows

Joy that doesn’t just fill us all the way up

But joy that flows over into the lives of those around us

Because if Paul shows us anything in his letter to the Philippians…

It’s this:

Joy doesn’t depend on personality

Some people are naturally more upbeat & cheerful…

But joy is more than being happy & chipper

Joy is not affected by personality

Joy doesn’t depend on circumstance

Circumstances change

Money comes & goes

Health fails

People disappoint

Plans fall apart

But joy is not something that comes & goes

Joy is not affected by circumstances

Joy is all about perspective

A Christian can grieve after losing a loved one…

While still experiencing the joy…

Of knowing that they will be with them again some day

A Christian can suffer with chronic pain or terminal illness…

While still experiencing the joy…

Of knowing that they will have eternal life without either

A Christian can work a difficult & stressful job…

While still experiencing the joy…

Of knowing their efforts are bringing glory to God

Paul can write this letter of gratitude & joy…

While wrapped in chains as a prisoner

Joy is all about perspective

We’ll see that more & more as we go along

Let’s go ahead & begin Paul’s letter to the Philippians

Philippians 1:1–2 NET

1 From Paul and Timothy, slaves of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the overseers and deacons. 2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!

This was a pretty standard opening of a letter in the Greco-Roman world

We learn that:

Paul & Timothy are writing this letter together

They refer to themselves as slaves of Jesus

They are writing to the saints/holy ones of Philippi

They single out 2 groups of people:

Overseers & Deacons

Since Philippians was likely one of the earlier books of the NT…

This is very likely the first time (Chronologically Speaking)…

That we see these 2 offices

Philippi may have even been one of the first churches…

To have established overseers & deacons

What else do we know about Philippi & the Christians that live there?

We actually know quite a bit:

Philippi was Named After King Philip II, Alexander the Great’s Father

It was a Very Prosperous Roman Colony

This Means the Citizens of Philippi…

Were Considered Citizens of the City of Rome Itself

One Major Contributor to the Prosperity of the City was the Fact that…

The Via Egnatia Ran Straight Through the Center of the City

This was One of the Most Important Roads in the Roman Empire

This Meant Lots of Traders & Commerce Would Travel Right Through the City

Many of the Residents Were Retired Military Men and Their Households

They Would Be Given Land in the Vicinity…

And in Return They Would Serve as a Military Presence in the City

They Were Very Proud to Be a Roman Colony

There was Lots of Patriotic Nationalism in Philippi

They Dressed, Spoke, and Acted Like Romans

As for the Philippian Church…

We find a lot about them in Acts 16:

On Paul’s 2nd Missionary Journey…

He Received a Vision of a Macedonian Man Calling for Help

So Paul and His Companions Traveled to Philippi…

To Preach the Gospel

Paul Would Usually Go Straight to the Synagogue in a New City

This Would Be the Most Natural Way to Talk About Jesus to the Locals:

Start with the Jews (Same religious background & Scriptures)

But There Wasn’t a Synagogue in Philippi

It was a very Gentile city with very few Jews

So Instead of Going to a Synagogue, Paul Went to a Local River

There He Found a Group of Women Who Gathered Together to Pray

There He Met & Baptized a Woman Named Lydia

She became Paul’s 1st convert on the Continent of Europe

This also means that the Church in Philippi Began with Women

Lydia Then Generously Offered Her House to Them

Then Paul & Silas Get Thrown in Prison for Casting a Demon Out of a Slave Girl

While in Prison They Sang Praises to God…

Expressing Their Joy Even While Suffering

(It’s all about perspective)

This leads to the Philippian jailer becoming a disciple

There’s a lot to learn about the Philippian Christians from the NT

But probably their most important & most mentioned characteristic…

Is their extreme generosity

In fact, one of Paul’s main reasons for writing this letter…

Was to thank them for their constant generosity toward him

Let’s continue in the text:

Philippians 1:3–6 NET

3 I thank my God every time I remember you.4 I always pray with joy in my every prayer for all of you 5 because of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now.6 For I am sure of this very thing, that the one who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.

In Paul’s regular prayers, he remembers the Philippians

When he prays for them, he prays with joy

Why?

Because of their participation/sharing with Paul in the Gospel

He’s referring primarily to their financial support

He repeats himself a little more clearly at the end of the letter:

Philippians 4:15–16 NET

15 And as you Philippians know, at the beginning of my gospel ministry, when I left Macedonia, no church shared with me in this matter of giving and receiving except you alone. 16 For even in Thessalonica on more than one occasion you sent something for my need.

Since the moment that the Philippian church began…

They have been extremely generous givers

Paul believed this was the work of God in their lives

And God will bring that good work to its completion…

On the day that Jesus returns

What does that mean?

Paul is persuaded that God will continue to work in them…

And continue to bless others through their generosity

And when Jesus returns, they will be rewarded for it

Philippians 1:7–8 NET

7 For it is right for me to think this about all of you, because I have you in my heart, since both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel all of you became partners in God’s grace together with me. 8 For God is my witness that I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.

Paul has an abundance of joy in & affection for this church…

Because they partnered/shared with him…

Even when he was at his lowest…

And needed them the most

They were willing to help him…

And see to his needs when no one else was

It’s no wonder why Philippians is such a happy letter

These people were willing to sacrifice the little they had…

And believe me, they had little (2 Cor. tells us that)…

In order to make Paul’s missionary journeys a little easier

When he thought of the Philippians…

He thought of love, joy, & partnership

Philippians 1:9–11 NET

9 And I pray this, that your love may abound even more and more in knowledge and every kind of insight 10 so that you can decide what is best, and thus be sincere and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God.

Paul ends this beginning section of his letter by praying for them

He prayed that their love would continue to grow…

In knowledge & discernment…

So they can know what is best

According to Paul’s letter to the Corinthians…

Knowledge without love is useless

It seems that opposite is also true

Love without knowledge can do no good either

Loving our neighbor isn’t just about loving them much

It’s also about loving them well

Having knowledge & discernment…

Of how to love them in the ways that they need most

Love is a motivation/desire to give of one’s self to serve another

Knowledge & discernment inform us…

On how to best give of ourselves to serve others

Paul doesn’t just pray for Philippians to continue loving much

He prays that they will continue loving well

And when love is built up with knowledge & discernment…

It will lead to them making the best decisions…

When dealing with one another

And when a community of people love & serve each other…

In the best possible ways…

This leads to a community that is pure & blameless…

And filled with the fruit of righteousness…

(Filled with good works)

Paul is praying that when Jesus returns to resurrect his people…

He will examine the Philippian church’s fruit…

And will find a community of people who:

Loved one another with pure motives

Served one another blamelessly

He prays that Jesus will find the fruit of a righteous community

Application

This 1st section of Paul’s letter is all about partnership

Being a Christian means partnering together

When Paul thought of the Philippians…

He felt joy that overflowed

Do you feel that type of joy…

When you think of the people in this room?

That type of joy doesn’t come from simply attending church together

It only comes from a community of people…

Who have chosen to partner together in love:

To serve one another with knowledge & discernment…

In ways that will most benefit one another

To pray for one another’s growth

The application from this lesson is simple, but incredibly practical

Everyone here can do this…

And I want to challenge all of us to do this:

Everyday this week:

Let’s pray for one another

I want to challenge all of us to partner together…

And pray for this church/each other…

The way that Paul prayed for the Philippian church

Focus on praying these 3 things for this church:

Start by thanking God joyfully for this church community

Get specific with why you’re thankful

Pray for our love for each other to grow

Pray for us to be filled with the fruit of righteousness (good works)…

So that God will be glorified & exalted through us

Make this your mission this week

And believe that God will answer these prayers…

And I believe He will do just that

But another thing I think will happen is this:

I believe that when we devote time each day…

To intentionally praying for each other…

I believe we will begin to experience a joy that overflows…

Just as Paul did