Introduction:
What’s the difference between Joy and Happiness? There are many thoughts and definitions as they pertain to the bible. As we contrast happiness to the joy of the Lord, we tend to think of happiness as the emotion of the flesh. It’s outward; it’s the smile on your face when you see a friend. When that friend leaves, happiness is a memory, clouded over with sadness of departure.
The joy of the Lord is an inner contentment that’s not contingent on emotions or settings. It’s peace with God, grace overflowing, love abounding all of which was born in us when we were born again. The things I see with my eyes and hear with my ears can have no detrimental effect on joy. The pain I feel may dull it for a season but it can’t be harmed. This joy isn’t based on who I am, how smart I am or how good a person I am. This joy comes from Jesus.
How do we find the Joy of the Lord? We often struggle with this because we fail to acknowledge our joy even when we are unhappy. When we do that, we allow our joy to be stolen. The things of life then steal our joy (Note: bullet points from Wiersbe’s Four Thieves that Rob You of Your Joy):
- Circumstances; The circumstances of our life certain can make us unhappy. We attempt to control our circumstances but this control is a thinly veiled illusion! If we only experience joy when our taxes are low, we have no cavities, the boss is nice to us, work was fun, the weather is perfect and the traffic light, then we will never find joy.
- People: the actions of other people steal our joy. Sometimes things are said and done that cause hurt or bitterness. But if we allow everyone else’s actions to steal our joy we will never be happy. After all, we can’t force everyone to work toward our joy. We have to admit also, sometimes we are the bad person who hurt someone else.
- Things; Our life doesn’t exist in the abundance of our possessions (Luke 12:15). It’s very easy to get our eyes on stuff, things and money and lose our joy in pursuit of them. If we can only find joy when we have enough things, we’ll quickly find out we will never have enough. Our sinful desires are a deep, dark pit that can’t be filled. Our appetite for things is voracious.
- Worry: I know, now your going to worry about worrying! It happens. We seem to find things to worry and fret over (see 1-3 above). Who every changed anything by worrying ourself sick. No one will ever worry themselves to joy, only death.
Paul is going to show us (as he has many times) that his joy is separate from his circumstances and setting of life. His worldview is so broad, his understanding of God so high and his love for Jesus so deep, that the physical things around him can’t touch his joy. His joy was linked to God’s holiness, righteousness, eternality, kindness, love and grace. This heart filled with the joy of the Lord was maintained in all circumstances by holding onto this attitude (Bullet points from Wiersbe: The Four Attitudes that maintain your joy):
- Being single minded (Chapter 1): As the double-minded man is unstable (James 1:8) so a single-minded devotion to Jesus is joy. Paul said, “To live is Christ, to die is gain.” His entire life is completely centered and engulfed in Christ.
- Having a submissive mind (Chapter 2): Paul was submitted to serving other people; not just when it was fun, convenient or easy, but all the time. He loved others and put them first. When we put our self first, someone is always going to offend us or disappoint us. We should not expect to be served, but to serve as Chrsit did.
- Have a spiritual mind (Chapter 3): The spiritual mind doesn’t have his mind fixed on earthly things. We are to be concerned about heavenly things. Our eyes are focused upward to things eternal and not down where we stand or what we hold in our hands.
- Have a secure mind (Chapter 4): A secure mind stands guard at keeping the 1-3 healthy. When worry creeps into our life, one of our attitudes becomes unhealthy and it spreads like a cancer. The Lord fights our battles; He goes before me and is my rear guard, therefore, I don’t have to worry.
We find joy by understanding what God has laid out for us and then putting our program aside and accepting his. In pursuit of this; as we endeavor to walk that path of our life, we recognize the ‘joy killers’ when they creep into our life.
Under the heading of the Joy of the Lord, we also find the joy of suffering, joy of serving, joy of believing and joy of giving. Paul is going to show us how God works through suffering and hard times. As he writes the Philippians you can see his trying to get them to focus on the Lord and not their own circumstances. Good things come from bad or uncomfortable situations. We need to watch and live expectantly for the Lord.
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The book of Philippians is a letter Paul wrote the church of Philippi. He was responding to news & support brought by Epaphroditus, who nearly died in bringing this to him. As such, Paul sent Epaphroditus back with a letter for them. Paul's main theme of this letter is fellowship and unity. That is partially due to there being some sort of division at the church Philippi. As you begin, you'll see Paul doesn't come right out of the gate naming names and scolding them. Instead, he builds them up and reminds them of all the ways they share fellowship. He's telling the saints there that we are all in Christ for His glory. We work to bring the gospel to others. It's a team effort. It's not about getting glory for what an individual has done. And if our goal and motives are right the divisions won't exist. Keep these things in mind as we begin to study this book and you'll see Paul continually reinforce these points.
The city of Philippi was originally known as Datos and then about 356B.C. became Krenides, meaning "little fountain." This name came from the many springs in the area. The name Philippi came from the Philip II of Macedon. This guy was the father of Alexander the Great. Philip conquered this region and all its gold and silver mines just a few years later.
The Romans conquered the region in 168B.C. and the city became a Roman province of Macedonia.
In 42 B.C. the forces of Marc Antony and Octavius moved against the forces of Brutus and Cassius. This was to avenge the death of Julius Caesar at the hands of Brutus and Cassius. The clash of these armies was known as the battle of Philippi.
This is just some of the history of this Roman Colony. The city of Philippi was further settled as a colony of soldiers who were given farm land when discharged from the army after the battle of Philippi. When Paul visited Philippi the first time on his second missionary journey that generation would have passed away. But Paul would have been dealing many descendants of these soldiers.
Paul normally went to the synagogue first when he came to a new city but there was none in Philippi. It was mostly gentiles. Acts 16 tells us Paul discovered a group of women at the riverside who worshiped God on the Sabbath. This is where Paul met Lydia. She and her entire household were baptized that day. Right after that is when Paul and Silas had this little slave girl following them around. She had a spirit of divination. She was proclaiming them to be bondservants of the Most High God. Paul didn't want the gospel to be associated with this demon possessed girl and so he cast the spirit out of her. This cut into the profits of her master when she could no longer divine the future for money. They dragged Paul and Silas before the authorities where they ended up being beaten and imprisoned. The result was the jailer and his entire household was saved.
Lydia and her household along with the jailer and his household were the beginnings of the church there. This was the 1st church in Europe. Paul later visited Philippi twice on his 3rd missionary journey. His last visit was when he took up a collection for the poor in the church in Jerusalem. He noted in 2 Corinthians 8 that these churches in Macedonia, Berea, Thessalonica and Philippi, had given much out of their poverty. So even early on, the church in Philippi was close to Paul and supported him. You can imagine how easy it would have been for them to forget Paul. They had not seen him in years. Yet we'll see this letter is a response to their continued support of him, even while he was sitting in prison in Rome.
Paul was in prison in Rome in a.d. 61–63, about 10 years after he had founded the church in Philippi. He had not seen the folks of Macedonia for 3-4 years. Paul wrote this letter to personally thank them for their support of him; to encourage them in their faith; to warn them of false teachers and divisions. There was a bond between these people and Paul. That primary bond was a common love of Jesus Christ. He will point out that that same bond and love should exist among every group of believers.
As we read this letter, you need to know that Paul was sitting in chains in Rome. He was awaiting his trial and an opportunity to preach the gospel before the Caesar. Caesars response would establish how Christianity would be dealt with through the Roman Empire. At the same time, during his wait, he was preaching to the guards and all who would listen. He had many freedoms as a prisoner.
Philippi sits along Ignatian way. This was an important Roman commercial road. Like most of the cities of that time and in that region, it was influenced by the Greeks early on. False gods and goddesses were worshiped there. The city had many pagan temples and idols that were interspersed among housing and shops. There was even a theater. Philippi had two prominent city gates. There was a forum. And in the forum was the speaker's platform known as the bema seat. If you remember this is where the city official or governor sat to judge. In the ruins of ancient Philippi, archeologists have also discovered a small stone crypt near the forum. This crypt was a prison. The early church tradition says this was the sight of the imprisonment of Paul and Silas.
This town was influenced by many cultures. Early on there were gold and silver mines that brought people to the area. This also brought wars and strife. The mines had long since gone dry but that had a lasting influence on the area. The military presence and scars of war were prominent at that time. And the Greek gods and goddesses influenced this culture. Now, since Paul had started the church there, there was an influence by Paul and the church of Jesus Christ. Paul's letter is going to gird them up; remind them what is important and strengthen the bond of these believers with each other and with him.
© 2017, 2023 Doug Ford
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