Pursuit of Joy

Pursuit of Happiness Joy
Philippians 1: 12 – 18

Introduction

We have a motto / mantra in our home: “Choose to be Happy.”  Shauna recently wrote this on a chalkboard in our kitchen as a reminder to all of us that we have a choice about how we will respond to our circumstances.  You can’t always choose your circumstances.  But, you can choose your attitude.

There are basically two narratives we believe about happiness.

According to fairytales and movies, happiness is something that magically appears in our lives.  One day, you are living a sad and meaningless life.  The next day, happiness magically appears—your prince charming comes riding on a white unicorn.

The other narrative teaches us that happiness is basically unobtainable for most of us.  Happiness is reserved for people who were born wealthy or born beautiful.  Or, that happiness is something enjoyed by people who are fortunate enough to live stress-free lives.

The problem with these two views of happiness is that they both depend on circumstances we cannot control.  No one can control whether or not they are born wealthy or beautiful.  No one can determine whether or not their “prince charming” will come.  And, no one lives a completely stress-free life.  As a result, happiness remains out of reach.

It might surprise you that the Bible doesn’t have much to say about happiness.  Instead, the Bible teaches us about Joy.  And, Joy is not the same thing as happiness.  Happiness is an emotion (or feeling) that can be affected some of the smallest changes in our daily circumstances.  If you don’t get enough sleep at night, it will affect your happiness.  The same thing happens if your bank account is running low or if you are suffering from ragweed allergies in September.

The Bible teaches us that Joy is completely different.  Joy does not depend on our circumstances.  It is possible to experience Joy in the good circumstances as well as the most difficult circumstances.  Joy is not the same thing as happiness.  Joy does not depend on our experience of pleasure or pain.

The Book of Philippians is a very short book in the New Testament.  It only has four chapters.  But Philippians mentions Joy in four chapters more than any other four chapters in the New Testament.  That raises a question about the circumstances going on when Philippians was written.  We might be tempted to think Philippians was written by someone who was experiencing the best day (or the best year) of his life. 

Philippians 1: 12 – 18 describe the circumstances the Apostle Paul was facing when he wrote this letter.

Philippians 1: 12 – 18

12 Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel. 13 As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. 14 Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly. 

15 It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. 16 The latter do so in love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 17 The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. 18 But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice. 

Notice in verse 13 that Paul tells us he was “in chains for Christ” when he wrote this letter.  More than likely, this refers to the story we read about Paul at the end of the Book of Acts.  Paul returned to Jerusalem after his three missionary journeys.  Because of some false charges levied against him, Paul was arrested by the Romans and placed under house arrest in Rome.  There he waited on a decision from the Roman Emperor about his fate.  Either, Paul would be released as a free man, or Paul would be executed for threatening the Roman peace.

While Paul was under house arrest, his friends in the Philippian churches worried about him.  They sent money to him to take care of his living expenses.  And, they sent a disciple named Epaphroditus to check on Paul’s well being.  Therefore, Paul feels it is important to let the Philippians know how he is doing.

I think the Philippians were probably concerned about a couple of things.  On one hand, they were genuinely concerned about Paul.  He was their friend, and they wanted him to be OK.  On the other hand, they were probably worried about Paul’s ministry.  If Paul was under house arrest, then (logic would tell us) the spread of the Gospel would either stop or slow down.  So, Paul writes to them about how God is using him while he is in chains.

Captive Audience

Paul assures the Philippians that what has happened to him has not slowed down his ministry.  In fact, just the opposite is the case.  Paul is in chains, but the Gospel is unfettered.  Paul continues to preach the Gospel.  He just has a different audience now.  We might say that Paul is preaching to a “captive audience.”

A person under house arrest had some freedoms.  People were free to come to visit Paul in his rented house.  Paul was free to write letters to the churches.  But, Paul was not free to come and go as he pleased.  More than likely Paul was chained to a Roman soldier around the clock.  A soldier would have been chained to Paul for a four hour shift, then a new soldier would take his place for the next four hour shift.  As a result, Paul had access to a lot of different soldiers.

This is what Paul is referring to in verse 13.  He said that his arrest has advanced the Gospel, because the Gospel has spread throughout the palace guard.  Because of his arrest, Paul can preach to an elite division of the Roman army—a group of people who would have otherwise been unreachable.

The same kind of thing happens to us when we are going through difficult situations.  Sometimes suffering brings us into contact with people we might not otherwise meet. 

This makes me think of Cindy Ramsey.  When Cindy was going through her lung disease and eventually underwent a double lung transplant, she found herself in strange places with people she didn’t know.  And, those of you who remember Cindy know what Cindy did.  She talked about Jesus and prayed with her doctors and caregivers.  Cindy thought of these encounters as “divine appointments.”  God had placed these people in her life so she could be a source of encouragement and a witness for the Gospel.

Do you think of encounters with other people as “divine appointments?”  Regardless of your circumstances—sometimes it may be a happy occasion, sometimes it might be a hospital room (hopefully it won’t be a Roman prison)—God has placed these people in your life and has placed you in their lives.  We must use these opportunities to encourage others and demonstrate that faith in Jesus makes a difference in our lives.

More Preachers

Paul found two positive results from his imprisonment.  First, he got to preach to Roman soldiers who were otherwise out of his reach.  Second, other preachers picked up where Paul left off and were preaching more than ever.

Not all of these preachers had good intentions.  Some took advantage of Paul’s house arrest as an opportunity to promote themselves.  They probably raised questions about Paul’s arrest.  They may have even tried to replace him as the recognized authority in the Christian churches. But, in trying to stir up trouble for Paul, they also preached the Gospel.  Regardless of their motives, Christ was preached and lost people were saved.

There is an interesting thing about the Gospel.  The Gospel is God’s work.  God uses people like you and me to spread the message of salvation.  And, since God uses people to spread his message, the messengers are often flawed and imperfect.  (In fact, I would even argue that all of God’s messengers are flawed.)  But, this does not hinder the Gospel.  As the old saying goes, “God can hit straight licks with crooked sticks.”  While the messenger is an important part of the Gospel, the message is more important than the messenger.  If God can use flawed and imperfect people, then God can use us!

Other Christian preachers recognized that Paul’s imprisonment meant that they needed to do more than they were doing while Paul was free to travel around the world with the Gospel.  Perhaps they had been too dependent on Paul in the past.  They could send him money to help in his ministry.  They could pray for Paul to be successful.  But, otherwise, they could just go about their daily lives and let Paul do all the work.  As long as Paul was successful, they didn’t have to take any risks.

Now that Paul is under house arrest, these Christians recognized that they had to take up the responsibility and face the risks so that the Gospel would continue to be preached.  They understood an important facet of the Gospel.  The Gospel is always a collaborative effort.  The spread of the Gospel does not depend on just one person—even if that one person is someone like the Apostle Paul.  The Gospel is bigger than just one person.  The Gospel is bigger that the pastor (or staff) of the church.  The Gospel is something we do together.

Some of you think that as a pastor I have more opportunities than you do to tell others about Jesus.  But, that’s not the case.  I spend a lot of time with Christian people and members of this church.  I have to look for non-Christian people.  You don’t have to look as far as I do.  You work with non-Christians and go to school with non-Christians.

This leads me to a couple of conclusions about collaboration…

First, you can be a witness by inviting other people to come to church.  I promise that I will preach about Jesus every Sunday.  If there is someone in your life who needs to hear about Jesus, bring them to church.  Any Sunday will be fine.  I won’t embarrass you.  I will simply stand right here and talk about Jesus.

Second, you have a great opportunity to be a witness next Sunday.  We will have a special evangelistic service next week.  I have invited Richard Jackson to preach next Sunday and present the Gospel.  He has put together a “soul-winning” New Testament.  We are providing one of these New Testaments to every person who is in church next week—members and guests.  Then, Pastor Jackson will walk through the plan of salvation with us and give everyone an opportunity to profess faith in Jesus Christ as Lord.

This is what it means to collaborate to spread the Gospel.  Everyone has a job to do.  If you will bring your friends, you will be spreading the Gospel.

Joy in All Circumstances

Paul was not having the best day of his life when he wrote the Book of Philippians.  It wasn’t even the best year of his life.  Yet, Paul found reasons to rejoice in the midst of his difficult circumstances.

This is one of the remarkable things about the Christian faith.  As Christians, we have a difficult time explaining the presence of evil and the reality of suffering.  We cannot explain why bad things happen to good people.  However, we do believe that suffering always has a purpose.  There is no such thing as meaningless suffering.

Of course, we need to be careful here.  I do not believe that God is the source of evil.  I do not believe God causes us to suffer (or causes bad things to happen to good people).  Instead, I believe that God brings something good out of every difficult situation.

Paul’s words to the Philippians show us that Paul was able to see what God was doing.  Even though Paul was under house arrest, God continued to work through Paul and through other preachers.  There are some times when we get to see what God is doing through our suffering and difficulties.  But, that is not always the case.  Oftentimes we have to accept by faith that God will bring something good out of our suffering.

There is an important point to notice about Paul’s Joy.  Paul was able to experience and express Joy, because Paul was not focused on himself.  Instead of concentrating on how difficult it was to be falsely accused, arrested, in chains and facing execution, Paul focused on how the Gospel could not be stopped.

In other words, Paul had a bigger purpose in life than being happy and comfortable. 

Do you have a bigger purpose in life?  If the only purpose of your life is to be happy and comfortable, then you will not experience Joy in all circumstances.  Your Joy will fluctuate with your checking account balance or will come and go as your stress level increases.

Paul lived for a bigger purpose.  He gave his life away for other people.  He wanted to be a blessing and encouragement to other people.  He took great risks to start new churches throughout the Roman Empire.  He was willing to go to jail so that other people could experience the Grace of God through Jesus Christ.

Conclusion: Joy Is a Gift

The Book of Galatians is another of Paul’s letters to the churches.  In Galatians 5, Paul tells us that Joy is a gift from the Holy Spirit…

Galatians 5: 22 – 23…  22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 

Technically, Paul says Joy is a fruit of the Spirit.  But, there’s not much difference between fruit and gift.  To say that Joy is a “fruit” of the Spirit is to say that Joy is something the Holy Spirit produces in us.  Joy is not something we conjure up within ourselves.  Joy is a product / produce / result / fruit of the Holy Spirit in us.  Therefore, Joy is a gift from God.

If Joy comes from God, then Joy does not come from our circumstances.  The world does not give us Joy, and the world cannot take Joy away from us.