Philippians Overview Sermon
Notes
Transcript
Intro
Intro
Cultural Significance of Philippians…
This is one of the most favored books of the Bible. Likely because it is one of the most encouraging books in the Bible.
See all the favorite verses!
And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,
do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
Paul’s History With the Philippians
Paul’s History With the Philippians
Acts 16:6-40
Paul goes to Macedonia (The region of Philippi) as a result of a vision from the Holy Spirit. (Vv. 9-10)
Lydia was the first Philippian convert. (Vv. 14-15)
Paul and Silas were sent to prison for removing a spirit from a slave girl. People were exploiting her for money. (Vv. 16-24)
The prison miraculously opened, the jailer was saved, and Paul said that they wouldn’t leave until the city officials recognized their mistake. (Vv. 25-39)
Before leaving the town, they visited Lydia and the rest of the Philippian church. (V. 40)
Paul’s history with the Philippian church began with evangelizing them. Paul shared the Good News and people were converted. This naturally led to the establishment of the church there in Philippi.
A businesswoman, a slave girl, formerly possessed, a jailer and a smattering of other people. Quite the motley crew. God will form His Church anywhere and among whomever He pleases.
Encouragement while Suffering
Encouragement while Suffering
Philippians 1:3-11, 20, 22-24 - Encouragement
The whole tone of Philippians is one of joy. Paul knows that the Philippian church is undergoing immense pressure to give in and give up. It’s likely that tensions within the Philippian church are at a high due to Paul being thrown into prison and facing the prospects of being social outcasts for their faith.
Also in Philippians is the example of Paul suffering. This shared suffering between the Philippians and Paul creates grounds and camaraderie between them. Of course Paul is eager to help them through their suffering… he’s been there before!
It’s like the kid in class who knows the answer… Pick me, teacher! Hey! Over here! And you know the teacher knows he knows the answer, so she’s not going to pick him. Okay, maybe that example breaks down, but that’s the sense of eagerness I think Paul has here. He’s excited to help his Philippian brethren endure suffering. It’s not a grim thing… He knows what suffering produces: faithfulness. Endurance. A solid, Christian testimony. Suffering shows the goodness of Christ and His promises, because we show in our lives that He is better than anything this world has to offer. It shows He is worth the strife and suffering we endure on His account.
And that’s exactly what Paul says, look:
Philippians 1:12-18, 21 - Suffering
Because of Paul’s example here, we can do two major things: Encourage others in hard situations… And undergo suffering ourselves, knowing that there is an eternal reward.
So we, altogether, are able to join Paul in suffering. It’s not the most popular thing to talk about. And this is what he means in v. 21: “To live is Christ” points to Christ’s sufferings. It says that living here on this earth, here in this body is to be living sacrificially in the pursuit of Christ and His Kingdom. That doesn’t mean the Christian life is going to be easy. As a matter of fact, it means it will be difficult.
The Christian life is one of love and principle. Both of those are costly, COSTLY things. It costs us to love because no one is easy to love. Anyone who’s been married more than 2 years can tell you that. Love is difficult. That’s why friendships wax and wane unless you tend to them. Love is an intentional choice, not a passive reaction. And this is what Paul is encouraging them toward… To love one another.
Christian, are you considering your role in loving the people around you in this church body? Taking intentional steps to love those whom you share this body of believers with? Put down your barriers and guards. Let others in. Care for one another.
It costs us to live by principle. I think about this often, and the phrase I’ve come up with is: “Principles are inconvenient.” They just are! A principle says, “ I will choose to live this way even when everyone else goes that way.” Any less and it’s no longer a principle… It’s just a preference. Principles withstand the waves and winds of the pressure to fit in or the pressure to have comfort or the pressure to chase the frivolous things of the world. Having principles means making sacrifices.
Paul could have dropped his principles at any moment and stopped his suffering. But he didn’t. He wanted the Kingdom to go forth through him, he wanted to be God’s vessel of the Kingdom, and that’s what he sought to do.
Unity in the Body
Unity in the Body
Philippians 1:19-20, 25-30 - Joining with Paul in Suffering
Sacrificing for the Kingdom is not something Paul asks for the Philippians to do one-by-one. It’s something he asks of all of them. Reminding them that they are in this together and for a purpose.
So they join together with Paul in his sacrifices, each one considering what they can give for the Kingdom of God. For Paul, it was going to prison. For the Philippians, they had to endure some form of opposition from a group of opponents. (28) In v. 30, a little more light is shed on this. It could have something to do with the crowd of people back in Acts 16 who rose up against Paul. No doubt they want to squash the fledgling church, too.
Philippians 2:12-18 - Joining with Paul in Obedience
Skipping ahead a little bit, we see that Paul calls them to not only join with him in sacrifice and suffering but also to join with him in his active obedience to Christ. He calls this a “working out of their own salvation.” That very act of salvation enables them to be used by God, and that same God who was at work in them in drawing them to Himself is at work in bringing about the kingdom amidst His people.
This obedience is not to be a grumbling drudgery of obedience but a joyful act of worshipping the Lord (14) as they do so in a generation of people who have turned from the Lord. Paul describes it as a crooked generation. The people are to shine as lights in the world.
Christian, if you fear the encroaching darkness of society upon the church, all I can tell you is “fear not.” There is no amount of darkness that can drown out light. A light shines regardless of the darkness around it. Your security in Christ is not found in the circumstances in which you live or in the society that surrounds you. This is a trick of Satan, to cause us to stumble in our faith. Instead, when the darkness closes in on the Church, that is when it is able to shine brighter than ever before.
And when we, little lights, gather as a body, we form one larger, brighter, more massive light that shows more clearly and clearly the love of Christ.
Humility of Christ
Humility of Christ
And that’s whose love and character we emulate in humility. Jesus’ very life gives us the footprint for how we are to conduct ourselves in life and all things.
Philippians 2:1-11 - Joining with Christ in Humility
We’re gonna have fun when we get to this passage.
This is the example we are to follow. This is the way we are to relate to one another. This is how we build bonds in the Christian family. How do you do that? What’s a practical way to make that happen? One way, which I’m going to begin encouraging more and more is that you engage in discipling and encouraging one another. How do we do that? There in vv. 2-4 you see a call for unity. For us to have the mind of Christ as a church we must have unity. How do we do that? Invite one another to dinner. Like at your house. Not just the people you’ve known forever. Go get someone and break bread together.
Now look, I really believe that the unity of the body is the second most important thing we seek to attain. The first is the essence of the message we believe, teach, and share with the world. That’s the Good News of Jesus. Unity comes around that message through the blood of Christ, and it’s something we have to put action steps to. It’s not something we can just talk about and pretend it exists. It’s something we must aggressively seek to attain.
Even a passage about Christ starts with unity. Because it takes the humility of Christ to attain this unity. Look at the aspects of his humilty (vv. 6-11)
How else do you plan to know someone? And the beautiful thing about unity in the church is that it builds maturity among the disciples.
Conclusion
Conclusion
These are the highlights of Philippians:
Encouragement
Suffering
Unity in the Body
The Humility of Christ
But all of these are subpoints of the great narrative of the whole Bible which is the Good News of the Gospel. I’m not just talking about the plan of Salvation, though that is very important. No, I’m talking about the fact that we have a Good King who is coming back to rule and to reign! To make all things right. That couldn’t be made clearer in 2:9-11.
The invitation into the faith is not to get your ticket punched for Heaven. It’s to join in with God in establishing His Kingdom! To become part of something much bigger than yourself.