09-30-12 Philippians!

Today we begin a new series,

one that I believe will provide us

with the perfect follow-up to the prophecy series we’ve been in for much of this year.

We are going to return to a book we spent some time in many, many years ago -

Paul’s letter to the Philippians.

It is a book I want to bring us back to

because what happens in this relatively short letter

can do more to equip us for daily life with our Lord

than anything else I could offer us.

It is a letter that, on the surface, seems deceptively simple,

perhaps even a little superficial.

It’s a joy to read

because of the flood of positive and encouraging comments Paul makes.

But the power of the book comes not just from what Paul says,

but most of all from where he was

and what he was facing

at the time he wrote the book.

It was written by Paul to the Philippians

from a prison in Rome,

a prison in which Paul was waiting for his trial before Caesar

on charges of treason against the Roman Government,

a charge that, if convicted, would result in his immediate execution.

At the time of the writing of this letter

he’d been in prison for about two years,

waiting.

And in the most remarkable way

these four chapters

give us tremendous insight into how Paul not only survived but thrived

during what was certainly one of the potentially darkest times of his life.

It was written to a group of believers

with whom Paul shared a relationship

that is, I think, in many ways very much like

the relationship I share with you.

They cared about each other deeply -

Paul and the Philippian Christians.

The Philippian church had kept in close touch with Paul

through most of his travels,

encouraging and supporting him

as they were able.

In fact, there was a period in Paul’s travels

when the only group

who helped Paul meet his physical needs was the Philippian church.

They would send him money and supplies

as they were able,

apparently numerous times

in his travels.

But then they received word

that Paul had been arrested in Jerusalem

and hauled off to Rome for trial.

And for nearly two years

they had no communication with him,

not even knowing

whether he was still alive.

Then finally word reaches them where Paul is

and Epaphroditus, one of the leaders of the Philippian Church,

gathers together a gift of supplies

and money for Paul

and sets off to Rome to deliver it.

If you were here this past summer

on that Sunday when Maurice and Suzie Elliot were with us,

you know that during the 1970's

for several years I helped a missions organization start a church

on the Carribean Island of Trinidad.

I loved the Island...I loved the people

and for years I had wanted

to return to the Island

to see how the church was doing.

Very early in our church’s history, I think in 1990,

this fellowship made it possible

for Sandee, and Joni, and me to go to Trinidad.

But just a couple of days after we arrived on the island

a militant rebel group stormed the government buildings

and attempted to overthrow the Trinidadian government.

For several weeks there was an 18 hour a day curfew on the island

in which anyone found on the streets

would be shot.

OK, now imagine what it would have been like

if we had gone to the island,

and then you had received word

of the chaos on the island

and you had no communication from us.

You didn’t know whether we were alive

or dead,

safe, or in hiding, or in pain.

And then imagine what it would have been like

if this went on, not for a couple of weeks,

but for two full years -

no word,

no communication,

no way of finding out how we were.

I can hear Ed and Paul now

as week after week in their prayers

they would say, “And let’s continue to remember Larry, and Sandee, and Joni

wherever they are.”

Sort of brings a tear to your eye, doesn’t it?

That is not unlike what was happening

between Paul and the Philippian church

in the 2 years preceding this letter.

Now let’s take it one step farther.

After two years of no word from or about us in Trinidad,

you receive word that we are being held

under house arrest

by the Trinidadian government

under suspicion of spying

for the U.S. Government.

No trial date has yet been set,

but the government will allow

a visitor from the states

to visit us and bring money

to help with our legal defense.

You all join together

and take up a very generous collection,

then you buy Ed a ticket

and send him off.

Several weeks pass without Ed returning

and with no word from him.

Then you hear a rumor that Ed got extremely sick soon after arriving on the island

and the doctors did not expect him to live.

That is very close to where

the Philippian believers were at

when this letter from Paul arrived.

Paul was in prison.

Epaphroditus, one of the leaders of the Philippian church

had taken a gift to Paul from the church,

but had then become extremely sick.

And the church was praying,

and hoping,

and waiting to hear.

And then finally Ed comes back,

recovered, and bringing this letter.

There are all sorts of prisons in life,

and the worst ones

have nothing to do with bars or court systems.

Sometimes prison is brought on

by a son or a daughter

who’s going through some deep struggles in their life.

You can’t change it for them -

all you can do is pray

and hope

and wait.

Sometimes prison come from

having someone we love very much

suddenly yanked out of our life

leaving a huge,

cold,

empty hole into which we fall

every morning when we step out of bed.

Sometimes prison come in the form of

loneliness

or fear

or stress that blankets our life

like a heavy fog,

making it impossible for us

to see more than a few hours

or a few minutes ahead.

Sometimes prison comes in the form

of losing a job we love,

or finding a job we hate.

Prison is brought on by anything

that makes us feel trapped,

or isolated,

or caged,

or empty,

or hurt.

Paul wrote the book of Philippians

in his own personal prison,

very possibly waiting for his own execution.

And in it he shares with us

the attitudes that equipped him

not only to survive

but actually to thrive

in the prisons of life.

It is a remarkable letter

not only for what it says,

but all the more for what it says

given where Paul was at when he wrote it.

At least 16 times in these 4 chapters

Paul uses the words “Joy” and “rejoice”.

And even more important,

he gives a basis for it.

OK, with that background,

let me read you the first 6 verses of this letter

and we’ll see what Paul has to offer us.

PHI 1:1 Paul and Timothy, bond-servants of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, including the overseers and deacons: [2] Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. [3] I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, [4] always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all, [5] in view of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now. [6] For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.

Paul begins his letter by introducing himself,

telling his readers that Timothy is with him,

and makes it clear that this is an open letter

to everyone in the Church.

And then from the very first verse

Paul begins to reveal to us

the keys to surviving the prisons of our lives.

It is the nature of all prison experiences

for our attention to be focused

on what’s happening around us.

I’m very good at this.

Nearly every morning when I get out of bed

one of the first things I do is to look at the temperature.

I do this partly because I’m curious,

but mostly because it usually gives me a reason to feel sorry for myself.

And then, as my mind begins to wander into the day,

the first thoughts that surface

are nearly always the left-over,

unresolved troubles from the day before.

My default setting in life

is to begin with my circumstances,

and especially with what I don’t like about my circumstances.

But that is not what Paul does when he begins this letter.

Rather than beginning

by talking about his prison

or his pain

or his concern for his future,

he begins by reminding us

of 4 crucial elements

of our life with Christ.

He talks about WHO we are,

he talks about WHERE we are,

he talks about WHAT to expect,

and WHO is in control.

First he reminds us who we are.

....to all the saints...

...to all the HOLY ONES...

God’s favorite word for addressing the Christian - His Holy ones.

Paul understands

the absolute necessity

of reminding ourselves over and over again who we are -

who we have become in heart and spirit

because of the transforming work

of Christ in our life,

just as Satan loves to remind us

of who we once were

and then tries to convince us that nothing has changed.

We may not feel holy,

we may not always act holy,

but these are simply temporary difficulties

that cannot change the eternal reality

that we are now and forever

His Holy Ones,

purified through the blood of Christ.

And with those opening words

Paul begins to reveal his battle strategy

for thriving in prison.

He is telling us that our success,

our mental and emotion survival

depends upon our not allowing

our circumstances to shape

our concept of ourselves as Christians.

When we begin with the circumstances

do you know what question

immediately comes to mind?

Why is this happening to me?

What have I done to cause this?

Or what can I do to change it?

And underlying all of those thoughts

we allow the circumstances

to subtly

but powerfully mold

both our concept of ourselves

and our concept of our God.

If only I had done better

or been better this wouldn’t have happened.

And even though we rarely consciously say it,

inside we also doubt the integrity of our God.

Why has He allowed me to be in this situation?

Why didn’t He step in and change things for me?

What kind of God would put me here, now, in this situation?

And underlying that truth is the reminder

that we can never allow ourselves

to begin believing that our prison experience has come

or the prison doors have slammed shut

as judgement for our sin.

Sin does demand judgement,

Sin does demand payment,

sin does demand suffering,

and Christ really did suffer

and He really was judged,

and really did make full and complete payment for our sins forever.

And we now stand freed from the wrath of God,

His HOLY ONES FOR ALL ETERNITY.

Then Paul talks about the WHERE -

...to all the saints IN CHRIST who are in Philippi...

We are IN CHRIST.

We are not just with Him,

or beside Him,

or for Him,

we are IN HIM.

Here again, when God wanted to create

a phrase that communicated

the kind or relationship we share with our Lord Jesus Christ

He came up with the phrase “In Him”

In Christ.

And in that phrase He wanted to create in or minds

a mental image of our being

absolutely and totally surrounded

with the Person and presence of our God.

We do not have to go to Him,

or look for Him,

because where He is we are -

in Him.

Part of any prison experience

is that feeling of abandonment,

that feeling of being all by ourselves,

alone.

And to that Paul says, NO! Not only is your Lord with you in this,

you are immersed in HIM.

And then in verse 2 he gives us the 3^rd crucial truth - he tells us what to expect.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father.

We may come back to these next week,

but for now I mostly want us just to be aware

of what Paul says we can expect from our God

in the prisons of our lives.

GRACE and PEACE -

expressions of His kindness to us.

No matter how it may feel right now,

He is not after us,

He’s for us

as no one has ever been for us before.

And then finally, in verse 6

Paul reminds us of who’s in control -

For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.

Here again we may need to come back to this next week,

but for now I just want to point out the obvious:

Paul begins his survival manual

for the prisons of our lives

by telling us right up front

that no prison ever has

or ever will in any way

at any time short-circuit

God’s commitment

or God’s ability to complete and perfect

the good work He has begun in our lives.

And I want to be sure we hear Paul’s words accurately.

Here is the one individual in all the world

who is more vital,

more critical to the birth of the Body of Christ

than any other human being in history

ever has been

or ever will be again.

And he’s sitting in prison for two years.

He has a better grasp of what needs to be done and how to do it

than anyone else alive.

And there he sits, day

after day

after day.

And it is in this context that he affirms

this remarkable truth that:

... He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.

Once our Lord Jesus Christ picks us up

and holds us in His hands

He does not set us down again

until He has carried us into

the eternal presence of God the Father.

From our perspective what’s going on right now

may not look anything like

the skilled handiwork of God,

but things are often not at all as they appear.

Some of God’s finest work is done in prison.

Paul talks about his prison

and the sickness of his friend

and other real life issues in the verses that follow

but when Paul begins his survival manual

for how to thrive in prison

he begins by telling us the truth.

No matter how things my look,

or how cold it may feel,

or how many days its rained,

still 4 things have not changed.

We are still His Holy ones,

we live forever secure in Christ,

He is actively working to bring His grace and peace into our lives,

and no circumstance we will ever encounter

can prevent our God from perfecting

and completing the good work He has begun in us

until the day we stand face to face

before our Lord Jesus Christ.