His Word is a Lamp: Philippians

Philippians is often called the letter of joy. As we read it, we see Paul rejoicing in the Lord and giving thanks to Him time and again, even though he was in prison. This is Paul’s thank you letter to the church in Philippi for their gift for his ministry. He was greatly buoyed in spirit by their kindness and he felt the genuine love and fellowship behind their efforts, especially as Epaphroditus had to travel over 700 miles to deliver the gift to Paul in Rome. (Think of the planning and preparation the church underwent as well as their commitment to the Lord and to Paul to accomplish such a ministry feat as that. That’s a lesson in and of itself!)

Here’s a quick rundown of the pathways to joy that we talked about in our study of Philippians:

Thankfulness, 1:3
Fellowship and Partnership, 1:5-7
The Affection of Jesus, 1:8
Paul’s prayer for the Philippians, 1:9-11
To live is Christ and to die is gain, 1:21
The Model of Christ’s Humility, 2:5-11
Counting everything as loss compared to knowing Christ, 3:8
Pressing toward the goal, 3:12
Eagerly awaiting our Savior from Heaven, 3:20
Having a disciplined mind/intentional thinking on these things, 4:8

Just as these pathways help usher us into the joy of the Lord, there are things that drain joy: 

Disunity, 2:1-5, 4:1-2
Grumbling, 2:14
Your stomach being your god and other idols, 3:19
Worry, 4:6-7

So, as Paul learned to be content in various financial situations through the strength of Christ (4:11-13), we need to learn the same thing through use and practice of these pathways.

Let’s choose to rejoice in the Lord today,

Pastor Andy

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