At the church where I serve, we have been looking at a
letter that was written by the Apostle Paul and that is recorded for us in the
New Testament of the Bible called the book of Philippians. And as we look at
the book of Philippians, our hope and our prayer is to be able to answer the
question "What is joy?" along with sharing the several timeless
truths that the Apostle Paul found as he lived a life that was marked by joy.
We launched into opening section of the book of
Philippians by talking about the reality that in spite of the fact that he was
in prison for proclaiming the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel;
in spite of the fact that he was facing the possibility of death by execution;
Paul prayed with joy. We asked the
question “How could Paul be experiencing joy when he was in prison facing the
possibility of death?”
We discovered that while our
culture views the word joy through the prism of emotion and as being connected
and tied to our circumstances, the authors of the letters that make up the
Bible viewed joy as a mind-set, an attitude of delight
in life that takes the long view and is not based, limited, or tied to external
circumstances. Joy is a quality of life and not just a fleeting emotion. And
during this series, we have discovered that our joy is rooted in our connection to the message of the
gospel and a growing love of Jesus.
And as we have looked at the
book of Philippians, we have discovered that our joy is found in the
advancement of the gospel and not our circumstances. We
have discovered that our joy grows as we follow the example
of Jesus by placing others first in a community that is marked by
gospel-centered unity. We have discovered that our joy grows when we respond to what Jesus has done for us
by living in obedience to Him. We have discovered that the
common joy of a growing
relationship with Jesus will lead us to encourage one another.
We have discovered that our joy is
found in a growing relationship with Jesus, not religious performance.
Last week, we discovered that
we find joy when we have the right focus. As followers of Jesus, we find joy
when we are focused on our relationship with Jesus. We find joy when we are
gentle and tolerant of others. We find
joy when we are focused on not being apprehensive about anything, but instead
pray to God about everything. We find joy when we are focused on carefully
considering the things that bring joy. And we find joy when we are focused on
putting the message and teachings of Jesus to practice in our lives.
Now this week, I would like for us to spend our time together picking up where we left off
last week. And as we jump into the final section of this letter that the
Apostle Paul wrote to early followers of Jesus while in prison facing the
possibility of death that we will discover another timeless truth when it comes
to finding joy. So let’s discover that timeless truth together, beginning in
Philippians 4:10:
But I
rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at last you have revived your concern
for me; indeed, you were concerned before,
but you lacked opportunity.
The Apostle Paul begins his final section of this letter
by expressing his joy for the members of the church at Philippi and their
renewed concern for his well being. You see, as Paul sat in prison for
proclaiming the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel. As Paul faced
the possibility of death by execution, Paul had a sense of well being that
flowed from the consistent care and concern that the members of the church at
Philippi had demonstrated toward him.
When
Paul uses the phrase “indeed, you
were concerned before, but you lacked opportunity” this phrase if
communicated in the language we use in our culture today, would have sounded
something like this: “while you have always been concerned about me in the
past, you have not always have had the opportunity to demonstrate your care and
concern. Now however, as a result of my current circumstances, you have had the
opportunity to demonstrate your concern and care for me”.
And as a result of the opportunity that the members of
the church at Philippi now had to demonstrate their consistent care and concern
for him, Paul had an attitude of delight in life and a
quality of life that took the long view instead of focusing on his current
circumstances. Paul had a mindset and not a fleeting emotion that was producing
something in his life as a result of the circumstances that he found himself in
that caused the members of the church at Philippi to demonstrate their care and
concern toward him. Paul then revealed exactly what was being produced in his
life as a result of his circumstances in verse 11:
Not that I
speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I
am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in
prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being
filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.
Now to fully understand what the Apostle Paul is
communicating here, we first need to understand a few things. First, when Paul
uses the phrase “Not that I speak from want”, this phrase, in the language that
this letter was originally written in, literally means to lack that which is
essential. In addition, when Paul uses the word learned here, this word
literally means to come to the realization of something through experience or
practice.
So Paul here is basically saying “I am not writing these
things to you because I am lacking what is essential, because I have come to
realize, through my experiences in life, how to be content regardless of my
circumstances. I know how it is to be
subject to a life of strict discipline when there is little and I know how it
is to experience prosperity when there is plenty. I have come to realize,
through my experiences in life, the secret of being content when my stomach is
full of food and the secret of being content when my stomach is empty of food.
I have come to realize, through my experiences in life, the secret of being
content when I of having an abundance in life and the secret of being content
when I am lacking and have to go without what I need”.
Now, I don’t know about you, but a natural question that
arises in my mind at this point is “what is that secret that Paul has learned?
What is the secret realization that Paul has come to that resulted in him being
able to be content regardless of his circumstances? And can I have access to
that source of contentment as well, so that I can experience contentment in
life regardless of my circumstances?”
I mean, don’t you want to know the answer to that
question? I mean, don’t we all want to be content? Paul then makes a statement
that is one of the most misunderstood, misused, and abused statements in the
entire Bible. And it is in this single statement that we see Paul reveal for us
how he realized the secret to contentment. So let’s look at this statement
together in Philippians 4:13:
I can do all things through Him who
strengthens me.
Now, when Paul wrote this single statement that has been
preserved and recorded for us in this section of this letter, he was not
thinking that it would be used by an athlete in an interview as to how he was
able to throw the touchdown pass that won the big game. Paul was not thinking
that this phrase would be quoted by a student before they went into a daunting
exam that they may or may not have studied for. Paul was not thinking that this
phrase would be placed on bumper stickers and coffee mugs about being able to
achieve a promotion at work or a degree at school or a date with that person
they were pursuing.
Instead, with his phrase, Paul is revealing for us the
reality that though all of his experiences, he had come to the realization that
it was God who empowered him to be content in whatever circumstances he found
himself in. You see, the reason why Paul could say that he rejoiced in the Lord
greatly in verse ten was because Paul had come to the realization, through his
experiences, that it was his joy in the Lord that empowered him to be content
in any and every circumstance. It was Paul’s mind-set
that resulted in an attitude of delight in life that took the long view and was
not based, limited, or tied to circumstances that empowered Paul to be content
regardless of circumstances. And it was this joy that resulted in a quality of
life and not a fleeting emotion that empowered Paul to be content regardless of
his circumstances.
But not
only was Paul’s joy in Jesus empowering him to live a life of contentment. Tomorrow,
we will see Paul reveal what else was being produced in his life as a result of
his circumstances…
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