Philippians 1:3-11<\/p>\n
INTRODUCTION:<\/p>\n
A. As Paul wrote Philippians he was imprisoned in chains in Rome (1:13)<\/p>\n
1. He could have spent his time in self-pity and complaint – but he didn’t<\/p>\n
2. Instead, he spent his time encouraging others: “Rejoice in the Lord always: again I will say, Rejoice” (Phil. 4:4)<\/p>\n
B. You and I may not be physically bound, but most of us wear “chain” of varying sizes and lengths:<\/p>\n
1. Failing health or a serious medical problem<\/p>\n
2. An unhappy marriage or children who break our hearts<\/p>\n
3. Job-related stresses<\/p>\n
4. Financial struggles<\/p>\n
C. How could the apostle Paul be happy in his chains?<\/p>\n
1. How can we be happy in ours?<\/p>\n
2. Philippians 1:3-11 tells us to…<\/p>\n
DISCUSSION:<\/p>\n
1. Paul was able to be happy in chains because, when he looked at the past, he did so with thanksgiving<\/p>\n
a. Paul had probably been associated with the church at Philippi for 10 years, and he only had fond memories of that association<\/p>\n
b. Philippians 1:3-4<\/p>\n
c. The double use of the “all” make these verses amazing<\/p>\n
d. Paul looked for the good in all things – even though he had suffered mistreatment in Philippi_ 1 Thessalonians 2:2<\/p>\n
2. Perhaps, when he looked back on the unpleasant events he saw the good that came from them<\/p>\n
a. Romans 8:28<\/p>\n
b. He wrongful imprisonment resulted in the conversion of the Philippian jailer (Acts 16:16-34), and his being forced to leave town resulted in the preaching of the gospel in other places<\/p>\n
3. Paul’s pleasant memories were focused on the Christians in Philippi<\/p>\n
a. They faithfully supported his work _Philippians 1:5<\/p>\n
1) “Fellowship” – koinonia – to have in common<\/p>\n
2) The word embraces the concepts of sharing and joint participation<\/p>\n
b. They supported Paul in work in various ways:<\/p>\n
1) They prayed for him_ Philippians 1:19<\/p>\n
2) Financial support_ Philippians 4:15-16<\/p>\n
4. Paul could be happy in chains because he looked at the past with thanksgiving to God<\/p>\n
a. You and I can concentrate on the bad things that happen in our lives and end up bitter, or we can remember the good things, gives thanks to the Lord, and be happy<\/p>\n
b. Happiness is a choice<\/p>\n
1. As Paul thought about the Christians in Philippi, he was flooded with emotions: “Love” was one of these emotions<\/p>\n
a. Philippians 1:7-8<\/p>\n
b. Paul longs for them with all of his heart<\/p>\n
c. Paul loved them with the love that characterized the Lord<\/p>\n
2. As Paul remembered his brothers and sisters in Christ, he was also filled with “confidence”<\/p>\n
a. Philippians 1:6<\/p>\n
b. Paul was happy in prison because he was able to look at the present with confidence in God<\/p>\n
1) He was not self-confident as much as he was God-confident<\/p>\n
2) Philippians 2:12<\/p>\n
c. Paul had seen God at work in Philippi, and he believed that the Lord deserved praise for every good thing that had been accomplished<\/p>\n
d. The confidence expressed by Paul was primarily because of who God was (and is), but his confidence was bolstered by who the Philippian Christians were_the kind of people in whom God could work.<\/p>\n
1) God does not look for perfect people in whom to work; if He did, He would never work in anyone<\/p>\n
2) Rather, He looks for those who will allow Him to work in their lives<\/p>\n
e. How does God work in our lives?<\/p>\n
1) Through His word_ Hebrews 4:12<\/p>\n
2) Through events in our lives_ James 1:2-3<\/p>\n
3) Through people_ 2 Corinthians 7:6<\/p>\n
3. What qualities permitted God to work in the lives of the Christians at Philippi?<\/p>\n
a. Philippians 1:7<\/p>\n
1) Again, Paul uses the Greek work koinonia, but this time it is translated “partaker”<\/p>\n
2) He mentions three things he and these brethren have in common.<\/p>\n
b.They did not turn their back on him as other had when he was imprisoned<\/p>\n
c. They defended and confirmed the gospel when it was attacked<\/p>\n
1) “Defense” – apologia – meaning a verbal defense<\/p>\n
2) “Confirmation” – has to do teaching and exhorting<\/p>\n
d. Regarding their fellowship “of grace,” Paul used “grace” (unmerited favor) to encompass all that he was and did<\/p>\n
4. What ever our challenge is in life, we need to remember that, if we are faithful children of God, we do not have to face those challenges alone.<\/p>\n
a. Paul had confidence in his brethren<\/p>\n
b. Paul had confidence in the Almighty<\/p>\n
c. Ephesians 3:20<\/p>\n
1. Regarding what was ahead, he did not ignore the realities of life, he knew that the Philippians would continue to face challenges, as would he.<\/p>\n
2. Philippians 1:9-11<\/p>\n
a. Paul prayed that they would grow in love (agaph)<\/p>\n
1) That it would abound<\/p>\n
2) Always seek the best of another<\/p>\n
b. Paul prayed that they would grow in knowledge<\/p>\n
1) Spiritual knowledge<\/p>\n
2) Study is the key<\/p>\n
c. He prayed that they would grow in the ability to discern between right and wrong<\/p>\n
1) This is closely connected to knowledge<\/p>\n
2) It means perception and understanding<\/p>\n
d. Paul prayed that they would grow in Christian character<\/p>\n
1) “Sincere and void of offence”<\/p>\n
2) Sincere means judged by the sunlight (Lat. Without wax).<\/p>\n
e. Paul prayed that would grow in living fruitful lives<\/p>\n
1) “Fruits of righteousness”<\/p>\n
2) To bear the fruit of good works<\/p>\n
3. To face the future with confidence we must live closer to the Lord each day and glorify Him in all things<\/p>\n
a. Prayer is a main component in this<\/p>\n
b. There is no better advice for those who are “in chains” than to take their eyes off themselves and fasten them on the Lord<\/p>\n
CONCLUSION:<\/p>\n
A. What will your reaction be to the “chains of life”?<\/p>\n
1. We can look at the past with misgiving or thanksgiving<\/p>\n
2. We can look at the present with cowardice or confidence<\/p>\n
3. We can look at the future with apprehension or prayer<\/p>\n
4. We can rely on our strength, or we can rely on the strength of the Lord<\/p>\n
B. Which will be true of you?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Philippians 1:3-11 INTRODUCTION: A. As Paul wrote Philippians he was imprisoned in chains in Rome (1:13) 1. He could have spent his time in self-pity and complaint – but he didn’t 2. Instead, he spent his time encouraging others: “Rejoice in the Lord always: again I will say, Rejoice” (Phil. 4:4) B. You and I … Continue reading “How to be Happy in Chains – Bible Outlines”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43926","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43926","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43926"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43926\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43926"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43926"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43926"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}