Philippians - Joy in All Circumstances

Click Here to Listen to the May 8, 2011 Sermon by Pastor Rodger S. Loar


Click Here to Download a Copy of the Philippians Outline Chart


Scripture Reference:  Philippians 1:1-30

How do you have joy in all circumstances? 

Life is deucedly tough sometimes.  Can I get an ‘Amen’?  As a pastor, you  get a glimpse into the pain in a lot of people’s lives.  It seems that every day, someone close to me is going through their own private hell.

Here’s just a few from the last few weeks: 

• An old friend sent me the news that a mutual friend from Junior High and High School had murdered his wife and then shot himself.
• A friend of mine got THE diagnosis of the ‘C’ word.
• Another friend is in the suffering in the hospital and the doctors cannot seem to find out what’s wrong.
• Several friends are going through varying degrees of serious marital problems.
• Several friends have lost their jobs.
• Others are dealing with serious workplace conflict.

There’s divorce, medical problems, family fights, betrayal, death, and a thousand other real life problems.

The question then is:  How do you be joyful in your circumstances?

Our current series at Mountain View is on Paul’s letter to the Philippian church.   Paul is writing them a letter of thanks and encouragement.  He is thankful for their support and encouragement and he is encouraging them as they work through problems of persecution and internal conflict within the church.

The irony is this… Paul was in prison, facing possible execution.  You’d think that he would be the one that needed the encouragement, but here he was encouraging them.

Encouragement.  Joy.  Unity.  These are all powerful themes in this letter.  They are also things that should naturally flow out of being a believer.  We have received the greatest gift in the entire universe, the hope of salvation in a loving God.  It would seem that nothing else should phase us.  Why fear death if we know where we are going?  Why fear persecution when we have a Lord that gives us strength?  Why worry about squabbles and fighting when we are part of the greatest world-wide body of people?

Those are three great questions, but the simple truth is that we are all human.  We do get discouraged.  It is possible to get so overwhelmed that we forget our joy.  Disunity does happen due to our selfishness.

Well then, what’s a Christian to do?

God has given us a gift that makes a difference:  Each other.

We can encourage each other.  We can share joy with each other.  We can be unified with each other.

Encouraging another person can be simple.  Write a short letter to them.   Take someone to coffee or lunch and let them vent.  Pray with them.  Drop a short line on Facebook or by email.  Call them up during the week or give a hug on Sunday.  This brings them joy and it builds unity.

The funny thing about encouraging someone else is that it builds our own joy too. 

We live in a world of discouragers.  There’s always someone ready to tear you down at work, at school, and often in our own families.  That’s why we need our fellow Christians to be encouragers and that’s why each of us must make the decision to be an encourager.

Our practical application during this series is to send an encouragement letter to someone.  Sit down with paper and pen and write a good old fashioned letter or card to someone that you know needs encouragement.

Do this and you’ll make a difference in someone’s life.

It might just be your own.

NOTE:  OUR APOLOGIES THAT IT TOOK SO LONG TO POST THIS SERMON AND DEVOTIONAL.  WE HAVE BEEN UPGRADING OUR COMPUTERS AND THIS INTERRUPTED OUR USUAL POSTING.