The Joy That Advances Past Our Circumstances...

This week, we have been looking at a section of a letter that is recorded for us in the New Testament in the Bible called the book of Philippians, where we have discovered a timeless truth when it comes to finding joy in that our Joy is found in the advancement of the gospel and not our circumstances. So far, Paul has shared that he could talk about experiencing joy in the midst of his arrest and imprisonment because the Apostle Paul recognized that joy is a mind-set that produces a quality of life that recognized the eternal significance and impact that his circumstances were having when it came to the advancement of the gospel.

We looked on as Paul basically said “however the message of the gospel is proclaimed, regardless of whether the motives behind the proclaiming of the gospel are false and faulty or are upright and true, at the end of the day the gospel is being proclaimed. Regardless of the motives that drive the gospel being proclaimed, people are hearing about Jesus. And because people are hearing about Jesus, regardless of the motives behind them hearing about Jesus, they are still having the opportunity to come to experience forgiveness and a relationship with Jesus. And because of that reality, regardless of how their hearing about Jesus impacts my circumstances, I will rejoice in the reality that more and more people are hearing about Jesus”.

Paul found and experienced joy because Paul recognized the reality that joy was not the product of his circumstances. Instead Paul recognized that joy is a mind-set, an attitude of delight in life that took the long view and is not based, limited, or tied to external circumstances, but on people having the opportunity to experience eternity in the relationship with God that they were created for as a result of the advancement of the gospel in their lives.

Paul had a confident expectation for the future that he would not disgrace Jesus but would instead make much of Jesus regardless of how his circumstances turned out. Whether he ended up being released from his imprisonment, or executed at the end of his imprisonment, he wanted every moment of every day of his life to make much of Jesus.

And while Paul deeply desired to depart from the earth so that he could be in the presence of Jesus, free from the pressures and circumstances that he was facing while on earth as he engaged in the kingdom mission that he had been given by Jesus, he Paul recognized that to be released from his imprisonment so that he could remain engaged in the kingdom mission that he had been given by Jesus would be far more beneficial for the members of the church at Philippi.

And because of that reality, Paul let the members of the church at Philippi know that he was confidently convinced that he would be released from prison so that he could continue to engage in the kingdom mission that he had been given by Jesus. Today, will we see Paul conclude this section of this letter with a timeless command when it comes to joy and the advancement of the gospel in Philippians 1:27:

 Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; in no way alarmed by your opponents-- which is a sign of destruction for them, but of salvation for you, and that too, from God. For to you it has been granted for Christ's sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, experiencing the same conflict which you saw in me, and now hear to be in me.

Now Paul’s command here, if communicated in the language we use in our culture today, would have sounded something like this: “Make sure that you are living out your day to day life in a way that is worthy of what Jesus has done to rescue you from the selfishness and rebellion that separated you from God so that you could experience forgiveness and the relationship with God that you were created for”.

Paul’s point to followers of Jesus throughout history is that, as followers of Jesus, we are to live our day to day lives in response to all that Jesus has done for us in a way that makes much of Jesus and that reveals and reflects Jesus in our character and conduct to others. Paul then provides the reason for this command by explaining that, regardless of how his circumstances turn out, he would hear that the members of the church at Philippi were living lives that remained firmly committed to the message and teachings of Jesus. Regardless of how his circumstances turned out, Paul would hear that the members of the church at Philippi were living lives that were marked by unity in genuine and authentic community. And regardless of how his circumstances turned out, Paul would hear that the members of the church at Philippi were living lives that were not intimidated by those who opposed Jesus.

Paul then unpacked the evidence that the members of the church at Philippi’s refusal to be intimidated would produce for the world to see in the second half of verse 28. First, when Paul uses the phrase “which is a sign of destruction for them’ he is revealing for us the reality that by not being intimidated by their opponents, the members of the church at Philippi would provide evidence of the eternal separation from God that awaited their opponents as a result of rejecting the message of the gospel. Second, when Paul uses the phrase “but of salvation for you” he is reminding the members of the church at Philippi that by not being intimidated by their opponents, they were providing the evidence of their rescue from selfishness and rebellion as a result of placing their trust in the message of the gospel.

Paul then concluded this section of his letter by reinforcing three realities that have been granted to the members of the church at Philippi, and followers of Jesus throughout history.  Paul reinforced the reality that, as followers of Jesus, God has graciously granted us forgiveness as a result of believing, trusting, and following Jesus as Lord and Leader. Paul also reinforced the reality that, as followers of Jesus, God has graciously granted us the opportunity to suffer for Jesus as a result of believing, trusting, and following Jesus as Lord and Leader. That is Paul’s point in verse 29: “For to you it has been granted for Christ's sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake.” Paul reinforced this reality by explaining that, as followers of Jesus, God has graciously granted us the opportunity to struggle and fight against opposition in the same manner that Paul had. 

You see, Paul wanted followers of Jesus to clearly understand that following Jesus was not all flying pink elephants and lollypops. Instead, Paul wanted followers of Jesus to clearly understand that, as followers of Jesus, we will experience difficult circumstances. And Paul wanted followers of Jesus to clearly understand that our joy is found in the advancement of the gospel and not our circumstances.

Paul wanted followers of Jesus to clearly understand that joy is a mind-set, an attitude of delight in life that takes the long view and is not based, limited, or tied to external circumstances. Paul wanted followers of Jesus to clearly understand that it is our joy in the midst of our circumstances that provides the opportunity for the advancement of the gospel. Paul wanted followers of Jesus to clearly understand that our joy in the advancement of the gospel impacts our expectations for what the future holds. As followers of Jesus, our joy produces a confident expectation that we will not disgrace Jesus, but instead make much of Jesus, regardless of how our circumstances turned out.

And Paul wanted followers of Jesus to clearly understand that our joy in the advancement of the gospel results in us living in a way that is worthy of the gospel, regardless of our circumstances. Our joy in the gospel results in lives that remain firm in our convictions in a spirit of unity. Our joy in the gospel results in lives that remain firm as we struggled together in our belief in the reliability of the gospel. And our joy in the gospel results in lives that are not intimidated by the opposition.

You see when our joy is in the gospel and not our circumstances; we will not be intimidated by those who oppose Jesus in a way that provides the evidence of their eternal separation from God and our rescue from selfishness and rebellion through faith in Jesus. As followers of Jesus, we have been graciously granted by God not only forgiveness but the opportunity to suffer for Jesus and struggle with Jesus against those who oppose Jesus. And we live worthy of the gospel when we find our joy in the gospel and not in our circumstances.

So here is a question to consider: Where are you trying to find joy? Are you trying to find joy in your circumstances? Are you letting your circumstances determine your mind-set and attitude? If I have just described you, how is that working for you?

Because the timeless reality is that joy is not an emotion that is connected and tied to our circumstances. Instead, joy is 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 that is focused on that which stands the test of time. And that is why joy is found in the advancement of the gospel and not our circumstances.

Our joy is found in the advancement of the gospel because the gospel advances past our circumstances and transcends time. And we can find joy in the midst of the difficult circumstances that we may be facing when we understand that God often works through our difficult circumstances in a way that provides us the opportunity to be the vehicle that He uses to reveal His Son Jesus and His message of rescue through the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel to those around us as we go through those difficult circumstances.

And when we find our joy in the advancement of the gospel, that joy will impact our expectations for what the future holds because we understand that it is Jesus who holds our future, regardless of our current circumstances...