Grace Reformed Baptist Church, Bangalore

Everyone in the world seeks to be happy, but many don’t find happiness because they seek it in the wrong places. In our country, for example, even according to worldly standards like the World Happiness Index, which rates countries based on how happy people are, India’s rank is 126 out of 136. This repeated ranking shows we are a very unhappy country, with even Nigeria, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Bangladesh being happier than us. It’s a fact that we are an unhappy society, even on a worldly level.

It makes people even sadder to think of the future, not only economically, but also in terms of health and strength. People grow old, weak, sick, and even die, and when they live with no hope for the future, it will definitely make them very sad. Young people may forget their sadness by being busy and having no time to even realize how sad they are. Talk to old people in old age homes and you’ll see how their faces and voices are full of sadness. They are sad now, waiting for an even sadder future, with no hope that anything will necessarily change. A person’s long lifespan is filled with drops of temporary happiness, but those drops become less and less as they age, and in the end, a person leaves this world with a dissatisfied life.

Living in such a world, let me welcome you today to a journey of experiencing true happiness. Today we begin a journey that, as we progress, I believe by God’s grace will make each of us more and more happy in our lives. We’re going to look at what’s called the “epistle of joy” in the Bible. Although we can say the whole Bible shows the path to being truly joyful, this epistle shows us people who have already attained and are enjoying that divine happiness—a happiness which nothing in the world can disturb and no situation can take away.

I trust and pray that God will renew our minds and shape our hearts and our lives through this experience of going through four brief chapters. The main theme of these chapters is joy; Paul mentions it at least 16 times. He also mentions Christ 50 times, and that’s because true joy is found only in Christ. Paul shows all believers of all ages, wherever they are, how to find true joy. This epistle will make us supremely joyful.

We shouldn’t seek this joy just for selfish reasons. As people who are called to be witnesses for the gospel, the most attractive attribute of our lives should be joy. When unbelievers see our joy, they should pull their hair and wonder how we can be so joyful even in the midst of difficult situations. Also, the joy of the Lord is our strength. Only when we are joyful in the Lord will we serve Him with all our might.

Are you ready for the journey to experience increasing joy in our lives? When we ask a group in the office or a public gathering, “How will they all scream ‘yes’?” we can learn from Pentecostals how they say “Amen.” Can I hear a loud “Amen”? We have to train you because every verse and sermon from this epistle should make you scream “Amen” from your heart and transform GRBC from a dull church into a vibrant, joyful church.

To start this journey of joy, we have to do some preparations. First, we have to travel in our minds and hearts to 2000 years ago to a city called Philippi. We need to meet a few people and understand who is writing this letter, to whom it is written, and when and why. This background will make this beautiful epistle so real to you. So, let’s cover verse 1 on our way to diving into this marvelous epistle.

Philippians is a letter. If you post any letter, nowadays it’s all email, WhatsApp, and phone. I remember back in those days, when we saw off relatives at the train or bus station, we’d say, “Go to the town and send a letter.” Today’s children may laugh at us, seeing how old-fashioned we are. When we get a letter, it comes in an envelope. Before we open and read the letter, we have to understand two important things: the “From” person and address, and the “To” person and address. Nothing will make sense without that. So, today you have received this Philippians letter from God. If you want to understand this message, you have to understand my two headings first. The Philippians letter’s “FROM” person and their address, and its “TO” person and their address. That is given to us in verse 1:

Verse 1: “Paul and Timothy, bondservants of Jesus Christ, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the bishops and deacons:”

Let us understand the “From” person’s name and address. Who is writing the letter? Paul and Timothy, bondservants of Jesus Christ. We all know Paul, the beloved apostle. Paul saw the risen Lord and converted on the Damascus Road. He’s the most noble servant of Christ the world has ever known. Paul is that remarkable man that God’s Spirit used to write 13 of the 27 books of the New Testament. He is the author.

Perhaps the most concise description of Paul anywhere is given right in this letter. If you look at Chapter 3, verse 5, if you want to put confidence in just fleshly, external, worldly standards, this is who I am.

“5: circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; 6: concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.”

Verse 5: “I was circumcised the eighth day”—that is the prescribed pattern for a Jewish boy—”of the nation of Israel”—the chosen people of God—”of the tribe of Benjamin”—one of the noble tribes—”a Hebrew of Hebrews.” Jewish blood runs in my veins. Among my own peers, I was esteemed as the epitome of what a Hebrew was and is. “As to the law, a Pharisee.” The most strict religion in the world is Jewish. In his religion, outwardly, he had attained the highest standard—an exemplary Hebrew. He was so zealous for the law he became a Pharisee. As to the righteousness which is in the law, he was found blameless. His own peers found him blameless. Verse 6: “As to zeal, so zealous was I, thinking Christians who believe Jesus are liars, destroying law, I became a persecutor of the church.” His whole generation saw him as a man who lived according to the law, a man of tremendous integrity religiously, in his own system. What a man!

To a man who lived like this, something amazing happened.

“7: But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. 8: Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ.”

In those verses, you can understand this man, Paul. This is Paul. He was a Jew. He was a zealous Jew. So zealous he became a Pharisee. He kept the law outwardly without any deviation. He was blameless among his peers, with so many years, maybe 30 to 35 years, of achievement and fame. And he trashed all of those human credentials, counting them as rubbish, in order that he might gain Christ. And so he gave himself to Christ. That’s Paul. And then he spent the rest of his life proclaiming that gospel of Christ. That’s Paul. Amazing man.

In the “From” address, we see not only Paul but another name, Timothy. Did Timothy co-author Philippians? No. Because all through the letter, starting in verse 3, all the pronouns are first person singular. It’s never “we,” it’s always “I,” “my,” “my.” In verse 3, it’s that way all the way through. Paul is the author. Well, why does he add Timothy’s name in fact in equal standing to Paul’s name? Why? There are many reasons.

First, the meaning here is not Paul and Timothy as writers, but Paul and Timothy as bondservants in Christ Jesus, who are together while Paul is writing. If there is one person to whom Paul will hand over his ministry after his death in full trust, it is Timothy. He has earned Paul’s full trust. Timothy was Paul’s son in the faith. Paul first met Timothy in Acts 16 when he visited Derbe in Lystra, near Galatia. He found this young man, took him as his disciple, and trained and taught him. He became a real son to Paul. In the Men’s Meeting, we’re reading 1 Timothy. Paul writes to Timothy when he left him in Ephesus to correct problems in that church.

If you want to know how much Paul trusted Timothy, see in the same letter, 2:19, “But I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly, that I also may be encouraged when I know your state.” Timothy’s going to come, and he’s going to find out what’s going on with you, and he’s going to encourage me when he tells me. Timothy’s my messenger. And the reason I’m sending him—and here we find a little about Timothy, verse 20—”For I have no one like-minded, who will sincerely care for your state.” He’s a clone. There’s no one like him. His heart beats with my heart. His blood flows with my blood. And I’m sending him because he’s of kindred spirit with me. What about others? “You don’t have other men.” See, even Paul had so much difficulty finding true men.

“21: For all seek their own, not the things which are of Christ Jesus.”

What a tragic thought that is. Here is the great Apostle Paul saying, “I don’t have anybody to send but Timothy, because all the other people around me seek their own interests. Timothy’s the only one who has my heart—what a treasure. I’m sending him.”

“22: But you know his proven character, that as a son with his father he served with me in the gospel.”

Timothy is now with Paul. Paul is a prisoner in a jail, as we will see. Timothy is not a prisoner, but he’s able to come and see Paul, work alongside, and help Paul as a son does to his father. Not only that, he’s genuinely concerned about you. He’s compassionately concerned about you. And that’s because during the terrible, life-risking journey when the Philippi church was formed, Timothy was always with Paul and worked hard when the church was born. Timothy kept traveling to them for years, watering and ministering to them as they grew as a church. There was a bond between Timothy and this church. The Philippian Christians knew Timothy from the very, very beginning. What a blessing Timothy is to Paul and this church. All this could be a reason why he puts his name equal to his.

Moreover, Timothy could be a secretary to whom Paul dictated Philippians. It was customary for Paul to dictate; he did that with Romans, 1 Corinthians, Colossians, and Galatians when in jail, so Paul wanted to add Timothy’s name as a secretary. Furthermore, since Paul was going to send Timothy now with the letter to minister to the Philippians, he wanted them to receive Timothy as they would receive Paul, with the same trust and respect as a co-worker in Christ. So, for all these reasons, Timothy’s name is added.

So we see these “From” persons are these two, although Paul is writing, which is why Timothy’s name is there. Next, notice the title that Paul chooses for the two of them: “Paul and Timothy, bondservants of Christ Jesus.” The term “doulos” conveys the idea of a slave who is the property of a master. It talks about ownership, possession, and loyalty.

We think of a slave, we think of forced behavior, unwilling duty, and abusive subjection, but that’s not the idea. It emphasizes willing service. Can you grasp that thought? Willing service. In those days, some slaves out of love, a sense of esteem, would become bondslaves to their masters. In Exodus 21:5, slaves were to serve for seven years and then be free, but some slaves loved their masters deeply and dearly and wanted to serve them for life. And the master would say, “Take your slave to the door, pull his ear lobe, and drive a spike or an awl through his ear. And the piercing of the ear, and the hole in the ear, will be the symbol to all who see him that this man is a slave out of love.” This is a servant of love who has chosen a lifelong bonding to someone he longs to serve.

So Paul and Timothy don’t see themselves as forced slaves, doing something they don’t want to do, but as willing bondservants of Jesus Christ, serving out of joy, out of willingness, out of affection, and out of love. Paul always identified himself as a bondslave of Christ, always serving Christ and no one else, faithful to him. This is the man writing this letter—not a false preacher, but a true preacher who made himself a bondslave of Christ in love for Christ.

So we see the persons in the “From” address, and now let us move to look at the address itself. Where is Paul writing from? To our shock, although it is not directly written here, we can see inside the letter and from history that Paul is in a Roman prison, not the kind of prison where he will be released in one week. He is waiting for a verdict from Caesar on whether to cut his head off or release him. In verse 13, he says, “so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ.” So the letter is coming from a Roman jail with a postmark. He may die in a few days, which is why he says “for me to die is gain.” Or he may be released, which is why he says if God is willing and he gets released, he will come and meet them. He is chained in a terrible Roman prison right now, but with some freedom, where visitors are allowed to come and meet him, which is how Timothy is able to come and help Paul. This is somewhere around 64 A.D. in a Roman prison.

He is in prison. If we were in prison, what would we do? I know what we would do: nothing. Even being outside, we don’t do anything, so in prison, we’d do absolutely nothing except grumble and complain about the hard work and saltless food. You know what Paul did in jail? He wrote four epistles. We know them as the “prison epistles”: Ephesians, Colossians, Philippians, and Philemon. This is the last of the four prison epistles, in which he is anticipating either death or release. Even in prison, he is preaching the gospel. Verse 12 mentions, “But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel, 13: so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ.” From jail, he’s also spreading the gospel to Caesar’s palace in Rome. In 4:22, he says, “All the saints greet you, especially those of Caesar’s household.” What a man. Pure gold will shine whether in a palace or a prison.

So, we see the “FROM” persons and address of this letter. Now, let us look at the “TO” persons and address. “To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the bishops and deacons.” The word “saints” is wrongly understood by people in our times in the Roman Catholic church as a person who is made into a statue, someone who is canonized. Or, as one little boy said, “They’re dead people that you put up on the church glass wall to keep the light from coming through.” Saint Anthony, Saint Francis. “Saint” is a designation used in Scripture for all of those who are saved by Christ, who are regenerated by the Holy Spirit. All Christians are saints. The word “saint” means separated, set apart from the world. It is a glorious word that defines what Christ has done for us in salvation by his work. We can define saints as sinners who are made holy and righteous by Christ’s salvation by uniting them to Christ. Because when Christ suffered for our sins, we suffered with him. We were buried with Him by His death, and we have risen in Him to walk in newness of life. Because of his work and our union with him, we have become saints. So I should call you “saints who are in GRBC.” Saints, this is your position in Christ; live worthy of this.

So Paul is first writing to believers in the Philippian church. He also includes the leaders, “bishops and deacons,” the only two biblical leadership roles commanded by scripture. There are no other roles. So, saints (members), pastors, and deacons—the entire church. We see the people, and now what is their address? “And where do they live?” In Philippi. We have to understand this city because Paul is writing to people living in this city, so everything he says will have great meaning if you understand where they live.

Let us go to the city. If you know about this city in those days, you will want to run and settle there. The city had some distinctive features. Since olden times, it had tremendous gold and silver mines. When they first discovered gold and silver, it became a boom town. People rushed into that area to mine gold, and it became a commercial center in the ancient world—a great trade center. Its location is exceedingly strategic. It’s right at the top of the Aegean Sea. You know that Asia Minor dips down into the Mediterranean, that Greece dips down into the Mediterranean, and that Italy dips down into the Mediterranean. So any road going from east to west has to go across the top of the Aegean Sea. So all the major roads ran right across the top edge of the Aegean Sea, which means they ran right through Philippi. Furthermore, there was a range of mountains, and the pass from Asia to Europe went through the pass of those mountains. That was the only way to get through without climbing all the peaks, and the pass was Philippi. It was strategically located right at the pass between Asia and Europe, the East and the West. Running right through that pass, for 500 miles from Greece to Italy, was the Ignatian Highway. The Ignatian Highway was the trade route from east to west; Philippi was right on the trade route. It was a strategic site in Europe, a strategic site to build a city.

The city itself was built by Philip of Macedon, the father of Alexander the Great. The reason he built it was to command the pass—to command the road you command the two worlds. A very strategic city. Think of it: what a rich city, a city of gold, and then a city through which all trade must go. What power they had! If they wanted to, they could cut that world in two. They must have been a very wealthy city. If that’s not enough, thirdly, at that time, it was a Roman colony. Not only did it have gold and silver mines, a commercial center, and a key strategic location, but it was a Roman colony. And to be a Roman colony was really the very height of dignity for a town. The Romans would take over any important strategic city and make it their colony.

It was already a Greek city, but they wanted it to be a Roman colony, so they would take about 300 veteran soldiers near retirement, pack them and their families up, and have them go settle right in the middle of that city and begin to govern that city and lead that city and turn it into a Roman colony. And that’s what happened; some veteran Roman soldiers came with their families, perhaps some others as well, and settled there with Roman culture and a Roman lifestyle. They made it a Roman city, even calling it “Rome away from Rome” or “miniature Rome.” The people in a Roman colony enjoyed “Pax Romana,” or the Roman Peace. They had to be very loyal to Caesar, even worshipping him. The city had three privileges: one, self-government. They were not governed by Rome; they were governed by themselves with these Roman soldiers. Secondly, they were never to be taxed by Rome. So they were free from taxation, and they were free from the government of Rome. Thirdly, they enjoyed the rights of Roman citizenry. They had all the rights of anyone who lived in Rome. They had their own judges, police, and soldiers, and they imitated the Roman style of life and culture in every sense. Their Roman citizenship was their great pride and dominating characteristic. The Roman language was spoken. Roman dress was worn. Roman customs were observed. Their magistrates had Roman titles. Wherever they were, these colonies were stubbornly and unalterably faithful to Rome. One King, Caesar; one nation, Rome; one culture, Rome. They were proud to be Roman citizens. As a Roman colony, Philippi was intended to be a miniature version of Rome. It became such a famous and prestigious place; its official Roman name was “Colonia Julia August Philippensis”—a pretty big name for a little place. Much honored.

Now, in spite of all this glory of this city—the gold and silver mines, the strategic location, the Roman colony—do you know what that city is famous for today? Not for any of those things. Those things didn’t permanently put this city on the map of the world and the map of history. One preacher said Romans and Babylonians proudly said their cities would be remembered across centuries in the world for their glory and architecture. Athens claimed the world would remember their cultural wisdom for all centuries. Sparta said the world would remember their brave soldiers for all centuries. Jews said their religion, devotion, and temple are deathless, timeless. But all that today is gone with the wind, and only mud ruins remain in all these places. All the glory is gone.

Human memory remembers none of that temporary glory today. This glorious city of Philippi, all its glory is gone. All that rich inheritance is gone. It is a ruined place, an archaeological site, and the only reason it is remembered today is because a man called Paul traveled there 2000 years ago and founded a church. Later, he wrote a small letter of joy to that church, and he immortalized the city by this. It’s an imperishable legacy.

The world will remember Philippi as a place where there was a true church of Jesus Christ. Those people in that church saw the vanity of this world and didn’t find any joy in their richness as a gold city full of gold, in their location as the trade route of the world, and in their political glory as a Roman colony. They found true joy only in Jesus Christ. This ruined city is still in Europe, and you can see it on Google. Today, Europe is one of the biggest Christian nations. The entire continent and the world remember Philippi for one reason: this is where their main Christianity religion started. European Christianity started from Philippi.

So, how did a church begin in such a city? This is an amazing, fascinating story. Let me encourage you to read Acts 16 before you come next week. It’s a thrilling, thrilling story that the Holy Spirit has written in such detail in Acts like no other story. The church began with three amazing conversions, completely opposite to one another: Lydia, a rich businesswoman; a Roman Philippian jailer; and a demon-possessed sorcerer slave girl. The church began with the grace of God transforming these people.

Turn to Acts 16. We know Paul went on three missionary journeys. This is the second journey. Paul and Silas have left Antioch. They have just taken Timothy with them from Lystra, as seen in verses 1 to 3. They were mysteriously forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. They moved out in their ministry, going from place to place. They finally came to Troas, which was the last point of land in Asia. The Holy Spirit said, “Don’t speak to anyone there.” And they stood there facing the Aegean Sea, looking across and wondering, “Where do we go?” And then came that wonderful vision, verse 9, “A certain man of Macedonia standing and appealing to Paul and saying, ‘Come over to Macedonia and help us.’” The verb is “kept repeatedly pleading with Paul.” Paul understood God was calling Christianity from Asia to Europe. God was calling Christianity to Europe.

So, there they were at Troas, on the border of Asia, with the call to step into Europe. They took off on a ship. Verse 11 says, “They put out to sea from Troas.” A straight course northwest takes you to Samothrace, which is an island they reached the first day. The second day, they went from Samothrace on to Neapolis. Neapolis is the port city for Philippi, which is ten miles inland. So, as verse 12 says, they went from Neapolis those ten miles “to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia, a Roman colony; and we were staying in this city for some days.” When it says “we,” it means there are four missionaries staying there: Paul, Silas, Timothy, and somewhere on the way, Luke joined them. It is important to note that Luke, who is writing Acts, says they patiently waited there for God to open an opportunity.

Think about what a monumental time this is. Today, one of the largest Christian regions, the region from which the Reformation started in Germany and spread through Europe, the Gospel goes there for the first time in this city of Philippi. Imagine the thoughts, the prayers, the longings, and the deep internal struggles that were going on during those days as the apostle and his companions stood in a city that was the farthest penetration of the Gospel at that time in the history of the church. It was very far from Israel, and they had no clue about the Gospel. What would they preach? How would they start a church? And one thing they knew as they waited in those days at Philippi was that they were there by the appointment of the living God. The Holy Spirit did not allow them to preach in Asia but directed them to Macedonia.

So, what do they do? On the Sabbath day, Paul’s custom in going into a city was to go to a synagogue. But this was a pagan city, so pagan and so far from Gospel or Jewish influence, there wasn’t even a synagogue. It takes ten Jewish men to have a synagogue, so this city didn’t have any Jewish men. They were all full of their idol and Caesar worship.

So, “on the Sabbath day, we went outside the gate to a riverside.” Why would they go to a riverside? Because if there were any Jews, Paul knew they would go on the Sabbath to the river. Why? Because we read in Psalm 137 that during the Babylonian captivity when the Jews didn’t have a temple in Babylon, they went to the riverside to weep, pray, and sing. It became a custom for the Jews in captivity and in exile to go to the river and weep because they were away from their homeland, their temple, and didn’t even have a synagogue. So, the tradition grew that where there was no temple and no synagogue, Jews or those who had converted to Judaism would find a riverside, just as they did in captivity, and pray and weep over their plight. So, Paul knew that if he wanted to find the Jews, he would find them there, if there were any, at a riverside on the Sabbath.

This place was so pagan that there were no Jewish men, only a few women who had believed in the Jehovah of the Old Testament and converted to the Jewish religion. They gathered there to pray. So Paul sat down and began speaking to the women who had assembled. One of them, named Lydia, was from Thyatira. She had a business of selling purple fabric. She was a Gentile who believed in Jehovah and was a true worshiper of God. She knew some things about the Old Testament, and the Holy Spirit used it, and it says, “the Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul. She and her household had been baptized.”

So there’s the first convert, where the church began. It began with some women by a riverside. Listen, the first person the Lord ever revealed His Messiahship to was a Samaritan woman, and the first European convert was a woman. Today, most of Europe is a Christian nation. The Gospel went into Europe through this woman, Lydia, the first European convert. And she urged them in verse 15, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house and stay.” “And she prevailed on us.” She must have been a persuasive woman; maybe she had a successful selling business because she was persuasive. She is the first convert.

Then, the second convert was amazing. Right after that, they were going to the place of prayer, as verse 16 says, probably on a following Sabbath. The second convert, a slave girl, came with a spirit of divination, a demon-possessed mystic slave girl. That world was full of the occult. Verse 16 says she was making much money for her masters by fortunetelling. She would go into a frenzy when the demons would take control of her, and she was making money for her masters. She followed after Paul. She kept crying, “These men are bondservants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation.” See, she knew and the demons in her knew that. Paul didn’t want any witness from a demon-possessed girl. In verse 18, “But Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, ‘I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.’ And he came out that very hour.” He permanently cast the demons out of her.

Well, that infuriated her masters because they lost their profit, as verse 19 says. They saw the hope of profit was gone; they seized Paul and Silas, and dragged them to the marketplace before the authorities. “And they said, ‘These men are throwing our city into confusion, being Jews,'” “‘They’re proclaiming customs not lawful for us to accept or to observe, being Romans.'” And here is this proud Roman colony mentality. “They’re violating our Roman customs.” Just like if we say anything against someone’s custom or religion, they rise up. And then mob rule takes over, and you have a lynch mob. “The whole crowd rose up, and the chief magistrates tore their robes off them and proceeded to order them to be beaten with rods.” They gave them over to the police/lictors. “They inflicted many blows on them, threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to guard them securely.”

Imagine the situation. They had just been flayed open by a bundle of rods in the hands of experts that left their back a pulp, which often caused intense hemorrhaging, injuries to organs, smashed vertebrae and ribs, and could cause death. So these aching, bleeding, limping men are then taken in, thrown into a deep, dark cell in the inner dungeon, and tied with chains tightly. They were put in stocks. The stocks that the Romans used had a series of holes extending further out. Depending on the size of the individual, they stretched the legs to the farthest possible extremity and then locked them in those holes. And then they stretched the arms to the same extremity and locked them there. And in that condition, they were placed in that inner dungeon, aching, bleeding, sitting in a dark cell, cramping up in ways that we couldn’t even imagine, along with the filth of the cell, the rats, in their own excrement. Whatever it was, that was the condition. They were given terrible treatment, and why? Because these men lost their money when they lost their demon-possessed girl. The demon-possessed girl wasn’t just half delivered. That girl has now become a Christian, which means no demon will ever come even 10 kilometers closer to her. She was fully freed by the Son of God through the Gospel. Then, they are charged as anti-Rome.

Think of their condition. You think you have problems, and you cannot praise God. See here, what is their attitude in jail? Verse 25 says, “About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.” Imagine what songs. Not like ours, the same uninspired, superficial lyrics. These were deep gospel songs; they would have been preaching the Gospel through their singing. The men were listening to the gospel songs. The church in Philippi was born out of this kind of divine joy—it was born out of joy in the worst of circumstances.

This is the joy this letter will teach us: a joy beyond circumstances, a joy no circumstance in life will take away from us. It’s a joy unrelated to circumstances. They were alone. They were in pain. They faced the loss of their life. And they rejoiced—that’s joy—so deep and so profound that nothing touches it. It is joy produced by the Holy Spirit.

When you have such divine joy, the Lord always shakes the world for such people and performs miracles. In the middle of the night, as they sang praises and all the prisoners listened, the Lord decided to shake the place. He shook the whole place, all the doors opened, all the chains broke, and all the stocks split; everybody was loose. The jailer realized it. In a Roman colony, if you lose prisoners, you will be publicly punished. So he decided to kill himself rather than be humiliated publicly by an execution for having lost his prisoners. As he was starting to commit suicide, Paul cries out with a loud voice in verse 28, “Do yourself no harm, we’re all here.” “He called for lights, rushed in; trembling with fear, fell down before Paul and Silas.”

And after he brought them out, he said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” You say, “How did he know even to ask the question?” Well, maybe he heard Paul preach, and surely he heard Paul sing, and surely they sang the Gospel. They told people they should be saved. He heard it. He knew enough. “He said, ‘Sir, what must I do to be saved?’ They said, ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus and you’ll be saved, you and your household.'” And some people say, “See, it’s so simple, just believe.” “What, you are taking so much time for membership, 1689, this, and that?” But there’s a lot in that belief. We have to teach who God is, who Christ is, and what he has done. And verse 32 says, “And that’s why they spoke the Word of the Lord to him together with all who were in his house.” They had to explain what it all meant. They had a baptismal service. He baptized them.

That’s the third convert in the birth of the church of Philippi. Special, isn’t it? It started with a lady and her household down by a river, then a demon-possessed slave girl, and then the jailer and his household in a cell. They came together with families and started the Philippi church. Marvelous conversions. The church is now meeting in Lydia’s house; that’s the birth of the church.

That’s how it was born. It was born in joy. Is it any wonder that Paul wants to write back to them and say, “Now, look, we started in joy, and I just want you to know we still have to maintain that joy, so I want the saints and rejoice”? Several years have passed, and the church is flourishing. The church has already grown to the place where it has elders and deacons. It’s got its structure; it’s got its leadership. Here he just greets them. So this is the saints at Philippi.

You should sense with what sacrifices and pain this church was born, and you should realize why Paul had so much feeling and love for them. They had a marvelous bond with Paul. They saw him in a terrible extremity for their sakes. They loved Paul. Lydia and her household loved him, and the jailer and his household loved Paul. There was a bond there.

It is amazing to see the bond Paul had with this church. The church always loved him and was always sending him gifts. Verse 10 says they send him gifts now. Verse 16 says, “Even in Thessalonica you sent a gift, even though I didn’t need it, you always showed your love.” He goes to Corinth, by way of Athens. 2 Corinthians 11:9 says they send him a gift. They loved him, and they expressed their love by giving gifts to him.

Years have passed since the last gift—some estimate even six years—and he is in jail now, but they have not forgotten their spiritual father. They are so worried that they send one of their pastors, Epaphroditus, to help Paul in jail and send a lot of gifts for his physical needs in jail. He went all the way from Philippi to Rome in order to bring to the imprisoned apostle things that were necessary for his physical well-being as an expression of love. The point is not the physical gifts but the expression of their gratitude, how they were living blindly and this man with so much sacrifice taught them the Gospel and opened their eyes. They expressed their gratitude through their love and gifts. They were a generous church. They may be among the poor of Macedonia who gave out of their deep poverty, referred to in 2 Corinthians 8:1 to 5.

Paul is here, receiving not just those gifts with joy but also their love. Epaphroditus had come with the gift. He writes this letter to thank them for the gift and to tell them, “Don’t worry about me, I’m rejoicing. I’m rejoicing.” “I am worried about you. I want you to rejoice.” So, “I am sending back Eph to you to make you rejoice.” He explains why there was a delay in sending him back. Epaphroditus contracted some kind of illness that almost took his life while he was there with Paul at Rome. Now he is well enough to return, and so he exhorts them in verse 29 to “receive him, therefore, in the Lord with all joy, and hold such in honor, because for the work of Christ he became nigh unto death, hazarding his life to supply that which was lacking in your service towards me.”

And he loved these people so much. In Chapter 2, verse 24, he says, “When I get out of prison, I’m coming to see you.” He uses the most touching words to describe their relationship. This is the most intimate and personal of all of the apostle’s letters. That is the introduction to this marvelous letter. We have seen the first verse, from the persons, addresses, and to the persons and addresses of this. We will dive into this epistle from the next in our journey to find true divine joy in our sad times. Pray for me and the next messages that God may help us to find true joy.

Applications

• The first step to finding true joy is to be a saint in Christ. Paul writes this epistle of joy only to saints, not to anyone else in Philippi. They may have big palaces, houses full of gold, big achievements, big businesses on the trade route, Roman citizenship, position, or political power. There is no joy for any of them. Mark my words: you can never find true joy in anything in life until you come to Jesus Christ in faith. This is the wisdom of the ages. Solomon, the wisest man, teaches us this, because your sin will make everything in your life a curse and poison. It will always stand as a glass door between you and all blessings, so you will never enjoy the creation of God, the relationships of a father, mother, sisters, wives, or husbands, food, places, or work. All will be bitter and a curse because sin is ever before you. The first step to finding joy is coming to Christ in faith and becoming a saint. When you trust Jesus Christ, he unites you to himself, makes you righteous, washes away your sins, and delivers you from the slavery of sin.
• The second step to finding true joy is to become a bondslave of Jesus Christ. A willing servant of Jesus Christ. Even as believers, the only reason you are not happy is because you are not living as a willing servant of Jesus Christ like Paul. It is not just apostles like Paul who are called to live this way; we all are bought by Jesus Christ’s blood to be his slaves. The reason you are not happy as a believer is because you are not a slave. Are you a slave of Jesus Christ? You may not like the idea of being enslaved to anyone, but the fact is, you are enslaved to someone or something. In John 8, the Lord said, “Everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin.” You are either a slave to sin or a slave to Jesus. The reason you are not happy is because of your slavery to sin. “You gotta serve somebody.” Either you are enslaved to sin or you’re enslaved to Jesus Christ (Rom. 6:16). But while sin is a terrible master because it destroys and leads to death, Jesus is a kind, gracious, and loving Master. Serving Him leads to eternal life and true joy.
• Slaves’ lives were consumed with serving their masters. A slave didn’t clock in at 8 in the morning, put in his eight hours, and it was over. We think we can serve Christ like this: “Okay, two hours of church, and it’s over.” A slave was the property of his master. He was on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, always ready to do what his master commanded, even if it was unpleasant or inconvenient. In Paul’s case, his Master’s will when he wrote Philippians was that he be in chains in a prison in Rome. He could have chafed under that, complaining, “Is this any way to treat a faithful apostle?” But instead, Paul was content because he was in total submission as the slave of Christ Jesus. Many people call themselves Christians, but the truth is, they live every day for themselves. They do not yield themselves each morning and say, “Master, I’m your slave. I’ll do your bidding at work, at home, or at play.” The starting place for experiencing God’s joy is to yield yourself daily as a slave to Jesus as your Master and to view yourself as being on duty for Him, listening for His voice, and quick to obey His commands.
• The next step for joy is to be in the fellowship of a local church. Paul writes “to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, including the overseers and deacons.” After you have truly trusted Christ, you should always be part of the church. There is no protection or joy outside the church. When you believe, you become a member not only of Christ but also of His body, the church. The church worldwide consists spiritually of all who have trusted Christ, but it gathers locally in congregations organized under the godly leadership of overseers and deacons. If you are not vitally connected to a local fellowship of Christians, you are lacking a crucial part of the foundation for joy in the Lord because you are isolated from those who can stimulate you to love and good deeds and who can encourage you to godly living as the day of the Lord draws near (Hebrews 10:24-25).