Joy and encouragement in the midst of difficulty

Philippians:

1:6 "he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." In other letters, such as the first chapter of Ephesians, Paul takes great care to show how God chose us and began this good work through the redemption that was provided in Jesus Christ. But here, he explains that the good work continues, it is more than just getting to heaven someday. The good work is a continuing growth in our Lord and being conformed to His image, which will not be complete until the day of Christ Jesus. Even when we are backsliding, the Lord is at work. He will discipline his children when necessary, and encourage them when appropriate, but He will in either case continue the good work He has begun in us.

1:21 "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." The context is that Paul is under house arrest awaiting trial by Caesar, and did not know if he would lose his life (he was set free, but probably arrested again a few years later and put to death). Instead of being fearful, Paul proclaimed Christ to the guards, taught Christians in Rome, and dictated letters such as this one. He realized that this life is inferior to being 'absent from the body but present with the Lord', and would gladly die if it were the will of God. He does conclude that being alive is beneficial for other believers. The goal of his life is not his own comfort or ambition, but to be of service to other Christians. We should not fear death if we know Jesus as our Lord and Savior, but we should not seek it either. We should follow the example of Paul in living for others and not for ourselves.

II. Examples for Living the Christian Life (2)

2:1 Another way of reading the ‘if’ clause is "If you have any encouragement, and you do, then ..."

2:4 "Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others." (KJV) This prefaces the example of Jesus - referring to both his coming to earth and his dying on our behalf. We are not told to ignor our own needs, simply to also consider the needs of others. Looking out for others also includes 'seeing to it' that real needs are met (to the extent that we are able).

2:5 "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus" (KJV)

2:12 Working out your salvation does not mean earning your way to heaven, the price of that ticket was paid on the cross. Salvation includes sanctification, the lifelong process of becoming like Jesus. Working out salvation means putting our freedom from sin and the ability to do God's will into practice in our life. It is characterized by service to others and by good works.

2:15 We must face the fact that God considers our society to be a "crooked and peverse generation". We may think of the positive aspects of our nation, even considering it as a beacon of democracy in the world. But we must also consider how little honor is paid to God, and our very materialistic and selfish national character. (Come to your own conclusion on this.)

2:21 Paul had to say of Christians that he knew and loved, "Everyone looks out only for his own interests, and not for the interests of Jesus Christ" (My paraphrase). If this was true of some early Christians, we should ask ourselves whose interests we are looking out for. It was not that they looked out for themselves, but that they only looked out for themselves.

III. Exhortations for Living the Christian Life (3)

3:2-9 The immediate problem was the false teaching that men must be circumcised to become true Christians. Paul had to warn against this in many of his letters. But Paul also warns against a more subtle deception, that we might begin to trust in other things we do in place of trusting in Christ for our standing before God. Paul boasts, but only to show that his accomplishments are nothing when compared to faith in Christ. It is a great error to think that this only applies to 'being saved' or first coming to Christ. It also concerns our daily walk with the Lord. We can enjoy serving him, but we can never earn this privilege of walking with Him. It always remains a gift of His grace by faith. Did you notice what harsh words Paul has for the false teachers? He calls them dogs. He does not extend polite words to those who would lead the saints astray. False teachers, different from people making honest mistakes or asking questions, are dangerous.

3:12-14 If Paul, who wrote this letter by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, admits that he is still being perfected, then certainly we still have some perfecting to look forward to. This is one more section reminding us of our growth in Christ. Paul pressed toward 'the goal', are you moving toward the goal?

3:20-21 "For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body so that it may be conformed to His glorious body ..." We are reminded that Jesus will return to Earth someday. Our final destiny is not as a spirit in the presence of God, but as perfect people complete with a transformed body. For Paul, this was more than an abstract doctrine for someday, he eagerly waited for it and lived for this goal. The chapter break was not in Paul's original letter, his exortation to 'stand fast' immediately follows the reminder that we will be transformed.

IV. Enablement for Living the Christian Life (4)

4:4 "Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice."

Lyrics to "I'm Gonna Praise the Lord"

I'm gonna praise the Lord, I'm gonna praise His name
Oh, I'm gonna praise the Lord, I'm not gonna be ashamed
The Devil won't like it, but I don't care
I'm gonna sing about my Jesus everywhere
I'm gonna praise the Lord

Verse 1
Sometimes my load is heavy, sometimes the road is long,
But the Lord is always fathful and He always gives a song,
In the mist of trouble the Lord will give me peace,
If I can just call on Jesus, He'll set my mind at ease.

Verse 2
He is the rock of ages, His kingdom has no end,
He's closer than a mother, father, sister, brother, friend,
and He made me a promise, if I live like I should,
He'd take my circumstances, and work them for my good.

Strengthened in Faith Regarding God's Promises

He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. (Rom_4:20-21)
Faith is the proper response to the promises of God. Also, our faith in God's promises can increase day by day, year by year. These present words offer helpful insight into being strengthened in faith regarding God's promises.

It is so often the case that the circumstances we are in tend to cast doubt upon the promises God has made. This was certainly what happened to Abraham concerning the promised son, Isaac. It was obvious in God's first set of promises to Abraham that a son would be provided some day. "I will make you a great nation" (Gen_12:2). Soon thereafter, the Lord promised that the land He had for Abraham would go to his seed. "Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, 'To your descendants I will give this land' " (Gen_12:7). The years rolled by, and no son had arrived. Eventually, a son was specifically included in God's promises. "And behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, 'This one (Eliezer, his servant) shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir' " (Gen_15:4). Still, the years passed by without the arrival of the son.

Now, as Abraham approaches one hundred years of age, God repeats promises that necessitate a son. "When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, 'I am Almighty God . . . I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly... And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you' " (Gen_17:1-2, Gen_17:7). More time passes. Once again, the Lord restates His promise of a son. "Sarah your wife shall have a son" (Gen_18:10). At this point, the scriptures record the natural impossibility of this promise being fulfilled. "Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well-advanced in age; and Sarah had passed the age of childbearing" (Gen_18:11).

Nevertheless, "He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith." How did he grow in faith? His circumstances gave reason to doubt: "his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah's womb" (Rom_4:19). He focused upon the ability of the God who had promised a son, and he was assured: "being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform."

Learning from the Suffering of Job

The suffering of a man named Job explains much about why character is more important in God's eyes than the discomfort and pain we experience in this life. Job was an exceptionally righteous man. He carefully avoided acts of transgression against God's laws. He behaved blamelessly. But, like all of us, he had weaknesses (Mark 14:38). He was not perfect.

God decided to test Job's character to see how his commitment to Him would bear up under adversity. The account of Job is in Scripture to help righteous people, when they go through discouraging and traumatic experiences, to learn to trust God patiently while awaiting the resolution of their problems.

God boasted of Job's righteous behavior to Satan. (Job 1:8). Satan responded, ". . . Stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and [Job] will surely curse You to Your face!" (Job 1:9-11). Later events proved Satan wrong. Job's character was not that weak.

God granted Satan permission to strip Job of his possessions and his family and to afflict him with excruciating boils (Job 1:12-19). Job at first accepted his plight, saying, "The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD" (Job 1:21).

Later "Job's three friends heard of all this adversity that had come upon him, [and] each one came . . . [to] mourn with him, and to comfort him" (Job 2:11). After a week of lamenting with him, they began to discuss his calamities and suffering. Job listed his complaints, showing the inequities of life. Later God agreed with him. Not everything in this life is fair and equitable.

Job's three friends, however, were certain that God was punishing Job for some secret sin, something Job could hide from everyone but God. Job vehemently denied that such was the case, and he was right. God later verified this also.

However, during his ordeal of loss and suffering, Job gradually came to resent God. This often happens to people in the midst of inexplicable calamity.

Many chapters relate the faulty reasoning and accusations of Job's three friends and Job's denials. Finally, one of Job's younger friends, Elihu, spoke up. He recognized that Job's perspective was flawed and distorted. Job had convinced himself that his afflictions served no purpose. He decided that God was simply not treating him fairly.

Elihu realized that Job was so obsessed with his innocence (Job 33:8-9) that he was finding fault with God rather than looking for lessons to learn from his trials. To Job's complaints Elihu replied: "Do you think this is right? Do you say, 'My righteousness is more than God's'?" (Job 35:2).

Instead of seeing his adversity as opportunity for patience and for letting God mold him, Job had grown in his resentment toward his Creator. He closed his mind to the possibility that he could learn something valuable from his suffering.

Job's principal objection was that God was unresponsive to him, that He was not properly acknowledging his righteousness.

God challenged Job, suggesting that he try to tame a sea creature, a great beast that was "made without fear" (Job 41:33-34): "Can you draw out Leviathan with a hook, or snare his tongue with a line which you lower? Can you put a reed through his nose, or pierce his jaw with a hook? Will he make many supplications to you? Will he speak softly to you?" (Job 41:1-3, 4-10).

In the end Job saw that the basis of his problem was his lack of understanding and excessive confidence in his own righteousness. Then his view of God's fairness changed. He saw that His critical attitude toward God was wrong: "I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know . . . I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You. Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes" (Job 42:3-6).

Job's experience is recorded in great detail so we can learn the folly of holding too high an opinion of ourselves. "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. Better to be of a humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud" (Proverbs 16:18-19).

Job's experiences can explain why righteous people may go through discouraging and traumatic times and be tempted to resent God for not obviously and quickly intervening on their behalf. Like Job, we can fail to understand that God sees far more than we see.

No matter how severe a trial is, we should never assume God isn't listening or doesn't care. He sees lessons we need to learn that are beyond our present understanding. We need always to remember some excellent advice from King David: "Wait on the LORD; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the LORD!" (Psalm 27:14). We should learn from Job's experience to maintain patient respect and trust in God even in the midst of our sufferings (James 5:10-11).