Divine Joy for our Earthly Journey

Introduction

There has been bit of news and coverage of the Royal Family over the last few years. I confess to you that I could not carry on an intelligent conversation about any of it, as none of it has held my interest longer than about 15 seconds.

However, there are some interesting traditions surrounding the Royal Family that I do find interesting. For instance, there is the Royal Standard, which is the official Flag of the Queen. This is a separate flag than the Union Jack flag that we associate with the UK. According to the official website for the Royal Family,

“The Royal Standard represents the Sovereign and the United Kingdom.

The Royal Standard is flown when The Queen is in residence in one of the Royal Palaces, on The Queen's car on official journeys and on aircraft (when on the ground).

It may also be flown on any building, official or private (but not ecclesiastical buildings), during a visit by The Queen, if the owner or proprietor so requests.

The Royal Standard also used to be flown on board the Royal Yacht, when it was in service and The Queen was on board.

The Royal Standard is flown only when the Sovereign is present. If the Union Jack is flying above Buckingham Palace instead of the Standard, The Queen is not in residence.

When The Queen goes to Parliament, the Royal Standard flies from Victoria Tower.

Unlike the Union flag, the Royal Standard is never flown at half mast, even after the death of a monarch, as there is always a Sovereign on the throne.”

The flag never flies at half mast, because there is always a Sovereign on the throne.

Principal Rainey was a Scottish minister who later served as principal of one of the most well-known seminaries in the world. He once said that “Joy is the flag which is flown from the castle of the heart when the King is in residence there.”

Just as the flag flies wherever the Queen goes is the symbol that her presence is there, so too Joy is the sign of a believer. When we repent of our sins and believe in Jesus Christ, we are given a new heart with new desires, the Holy Spirit comes and indwells us, and our eternal home is forever settled in glory. How can we not help but be people of Joy!

I read a story about a man who traveled from Louisville, Ky to St Louis, MO. He was out walking the street on a Sunday, but didn’t know where to go. He found a policeman who was out patrolling and asked him “Sir, I’m looking for a church to attend. Can you recommend a place?” Immediately the officer gave him directions to a particular church. The man asked him, why should that be the place I go? The officer replied and said “I’m not a religious man, but I see several churches on my route. That church is the only one around here where people come out with joy on their faces instead of scowls.”

Sometimes we lose our joy. Sometimes even our church might rob the joy right out of our hearts. Sometimes we might face circumstances and situations that make maintaining joy a difficult thing. But when we come face-to-face with God’s Word and what it says about Him and what it says about us, it ought to lead us to a place of joy, no matter the circumstances.

Of course, we know that there is a difference between happiness and joy. Happiness is an emotion that we feel in response to what we experience. Joy is a choice that comes from within and exists entirely independently from our experiences.

Today we are beginning a journey through the book of Philippians. When I start a new book, I like to begin with a survey of the entire book as a whole, and then we being to work through the book verse by verse over the course of the following months.

What we are going to see is Paul, despite being a man in great suffering, is a man of great Joy. We are going to find the source of His joy, and we are going to learn how we can walk in the same joy and peace in which he walked.

Philippians shows us how to have divine joy for our earthly journey.

Background Information

Before we move into Philippians, let’s turn over to Acts chapter 16.

In acts chapter 16 we have the story of how Paul arrived in Philippi and the events that took there. Though he was only there for a few days, the events were remarkable.

Paul came to Philippi after having a dream of a Macedonian man calling out to Paul to come to their region. He took that to be a sign from God and made that his primary destination. This was during his second missionary journey.

1) The beginning of the Philippian church was with Jewish women down by the river. Apparently there were not enough Jewish men to lead a synagogue.

2) The slave girl

3) The imprisonment and earthquake

Later he passed through Philippi again on his third missionary journey on his way back to Jerusalem, though we don’t have any details of that stay. It was likely they he spent some time encouraging the believers that were there before moving on.

After arriving back in Jerusalem at the conclusion of his third journey, the Jewish leaders had Paul arrested. They intended to kill him, but because he was a roman citizen he had the right to appeal to Caesar, and that’s exactly what he did. The governor happily sent him to Rome because he was not excited about dealing with the Jews anymore.

It was while he was in prison that the Philippians ministered to Paul by sending some money to Paul to help him in his time of need. In those days, the state did not supply food for you while you were in prison. If you were to live, there needed to be people who cared enough about you to bring you food. The Philippians sent a man named Epaphroditus to bring their gift to Paul.

On that journey, Epaphroditus got sick. So sick that he nearly died.

Purpose

So Paul wrote this letter. He wrote with at least three purposes in mind:

1) To thank the Philippians for their generosity toward him.

2) To comfort their hearts as they were concerned about the health of Epaphroditus.

3) To encourage them in their Christian walk, as both he and them were facing hardship.

Themes

One of the remarkable things about this letter is the prevailing theme of joyousness, despite the facts that

1) Paul is in prison!

2) Both he and the Philippians were facing persecution and suffering on account of their faith!

3) Epaphroditus nearly died!

Paul’s confidence and faith in Christ welled up in him to produce a joy and a peace that cannot be explained by earthly means. Joy is one of the fruits of the Spirit, and it was on full display in the life of Paul. The flag that proclaimed to all that the King of Kings was residing inside Paul was evident to all, so joy was flying high.

So let’s turn to Philippians and begin to get a fell for this great letter.

After his greeting he spends a moment expressing how grateful he is for the Philippian people, noting especially their partnership in the Gospel.

Overview

Chapter 1 – Gospel Advancement

- Gratitude for the Philippians, encouragement – v 4-5

- Bad circumstances ended up being good for the Gospel – v. 12

- To live is Christ…and Paul desires the benefit of others – v. 21

- Live worthy of the Gospel – v. 27

Chapter 2 - What does it look like to live worthy?

- Pursue unity in Christ. We’re suffering for Christ; we need each other! – v. 2

- Christ as the ultimate example – v. 5, 8 exalted position!

- Live as lights – v. 14-15

- Example 1: Timothy 19-24

- Example 1: Epaphroditus 25-30

Chapter 3—Pursue Christ as citizens of Heaven. As we transition to chapter three we find a new language from Paul: a warning. There are those who would steal your joy by placing a harder burden, a different standard than that which Scripture provides, but also that Paul was willing to trade every earthly asset for the sake of Christ.

- Watch out for the Judaizers; They think keeping the law will help them.

- trade all earthly gain for Christ. V. 7-8

- Press onward toward Christ –v 12-14

- Live as citizens of heaven. – v. 20 Some are walking according to the world, but our citizenship is above

Chapter four – Final Encouragements

- Think on noble things. Rejoice! (4) Pray! (6-7) think! (8)

- God’s provision through the Philippians.

- Contentment in all circumstances. The famous verse is not about conquering all, but about being content in good or bad, plenty or want.

How could he have this contentment?

1. He saw how God uses bad circumstances for good

2. He see what Christ endured and how he is now exalted

3. He sees that the value of knowing Christ is far better than any earthly asset

Therefore, he can be content. He can have divine joy in the midst of a difficult earthly journey because of the value of knowing Christ.

And then he ends the book where he started: with a blessing of grace.

Turn with me back to chapter one. I would like us to look at just the first two verses before we conclude.

The Greeting

Grace: God’s favor. A blessing.

Peace: inner tranquility of the soul despite life’s storms. Submarine submerged. When it surfaced “what did you think of that storm?” what storm?

How can Paul talk of such things while he sits in a stinking prison?? How can we write with such joy while his brothers are also enduing suffering?

The source of the blessing: from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

God is ultimately in control. Jesus Christ is supremely valuable.

Questions to ponder:

What flag flies over your life to proclaim that the King of kings has taken up residence in your heart? Is it joy? Why or why not?

Is your joy dependent on your circumstances?

What things or events rob you of your joy? How can you turn these over to the Lord?

How does reflecting on the Gospel and the value of knowing Christ bring jo y?