Sermon Tone Analysis
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Written while Paul was prisoner in Rome ()
Written to the Church at Philippi
Philippi was a city in Greece near Macedonia
The Church at Philippi was founded by Paul when he and Silas traveled there in
This is the place where Paul and Silas were imprisoned and beaten
Where they sang songs of praise at midnight and were freed by God
Where Paul was willing to stay in order to reach the one jailer
Where that Jailer and all his family were saved and baptised
So, they had some history
Only 4 short chapters packed full of power for Christian living
Now, he cannot travel there in person, so he writes them from prison
phili
and to them, in this setting, he writes these things:
Be Care-ful for Nothing
Not that people should be careless, but rather, at the time of translation, the word could be understood to mean full of cares - worried
Many translations use the word “anxious”
This may not convey as accurate a meaning since sometimes when we think of “anxious”, we think of fretting or panic,
Whereas to simply be Care-ful - full of cares, or worried, might seem like a very reasonable and prudent state of mind depending on one’s circumstances and responsibilities
Again, he is not suggesting that we should be careless, or slack in fulfilling our purpose and duties,
But, there is a state of mind and spirit from which we can go about facing this world’s woes
And Paul gives the folks here in Philippi some practical instruction on how to accomplish this
By Prayer and Supplication
The first step to living a life without worry, fretting, and undue stress, is Prayer - Make requests!
Through Prayer, we can, as Peter suggests, cast all our care on Him
IF we have real and genuine concerns, problems that we would become anxious over, we should make “supplication” to the Lord
By Faith - which is synonymous with Trust, I can release these cares to Him - to He that is Able
So Paul is not suggesting that we cast off worry by simply saying Que Sera Sera (whatever will be will be), and ignoring our problems
Instead, he is suggesting that through genuine, heartfelt, and faithful prayer, we are relieved of the need to worry
1john5.15-15
With Thanksgiving
It is not possible to emphasis too much the need to be thankful!
God is not pleased with thanklessness
lists being unthankful as one of the failures of mankind resulting in separation from God, and the bringing of wrath
If you are not Thankful for what you have already been given, why should you be given more?
Yet, there is something in our nature that always screams MORE!
When rather we should constantly be in remembrance that there are many who have it worse (light affliction)
If you are able to hear this message then you have something to be Thankful for!
Being Thankful brings God’s peace - this peace that keeps our hearts and minds
try being thankful for yourself - as a daily exercise.
psa107.1-1
This is a them that can be found throughout the bible and history of the church
When Paul wrote these things he was not writing as one from an ivory tower
Before we lay out our excuses for why this advice doe not apply to use, we should consider the context of Paul’s letter
First, he was writing to the Church that he had founded, while himself was in prison
His imprisonment at the time was also very serious, as his fate was not yet certain
phil1.
Paul also had set this example for them himself when he first met them (acts 16)
When he had been imprisoned in Philippi, he and Silas displayed thanksgiving and praise
Although he understood that we live in a world filled with troubles, and troublesome people, he gave us the script for victory
If we can “be blameless and harmless” - we can live for God even if nobody else does
He didn’t deny that there were crooked and perverse people,
But You can shine as lights “among” them
“without rebuke” - we don’t have to act like the world does - even if they do
He understood, and acknowledged that there were deceitful people, even false preachers
He understood, and acknowledged that there were deceitful people, even false preachers
But he also said that the things that happened to him would work out for the furtherance of the gospel
phil1.12-14
12-14
When people see your faith under pressure, it glorifies God
This sets the stage for your miracle and their salvation
Although Paul understood the negative condition of the World, he instructed us to adopt the positive condition of Christianity:
So, before telling us not to worry, he tells us that we should be “rejoicing”
Do you have anything to rejoice about?
The question isn’t do you have anything to be sad about, who could argue that Paul didn’t
But while that is true, what can you rejoice over
Paul said he was thankful upon every remembrance of them (more on that later)
What are you “remembering”.
Are you Counting your blessings or counting your losses?
Rejoice in The Lord - Be Anxious for nothing - How?
He goes on to give a little more - Practical advice on that
“Think” on these things
It matters how you think.
Yes, even if you don’t say it or do it, it matters how you think
Negative thinking will only multiply your pain, your weakness, your failure
It would be hard to “rejoice in the Lord” while meditating on the things that make me sad
Of course God knows that we have problems
Of course there are times when we need to acknowledge the issues at hand - avoid extremism
Even in this letter Paul pointed out some of the negative facts:
that we are in a crooked and perverse world
that there are some who preach Christ for the wrong reasons
that He himself had suffered loss
Of course we may need to acknowledge some concerns that we face-
But are we rehearsing them over and over, or is there a purpose in bringing them up?
Paul had purpose - leading back to Christ
Yes, he recalled that there were some preaching for envy and gain, but only for the purpose of reminding us that either way, Christ is preached, and he would rejoice!
In fact, consider this passage from his opening salutatuion
Paul said “I thank my God upon every remembrance of you”
What must those memories have been like?
He said “from the first day until now”
Does anyone remember what that “first day” was like for Paul?
Luke recounts it in the book of Acts chapter 16
There was a slave girls who was possessed with a demon, which Paul cast out
For that good deed, he and Silas were arrested and dragged into court
they were beaten severely, having many stripes (woulds) laid on them
They were taken into the inner prison where they were chained up and left in darkness
“I Thank my GOD upon “every” remembrance of you!
Yes You Can! Yes You Can!
How could Paul say something like this?
I think it was because that every time Paul remembered that time, he thought about the joy of Christ saving those people and setting them free, not the pain of the stripes and the cold of the prison
He had a choice as to where he focused his thoughts, even when thinking about perilous events
In every trial, he could recount the pain of the trial or the joy of the triumph
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