STUDY OF PHILIPPIANS (part-1)

Study of Philippians (part 1)

LESSON TITLE: Related by Grace.

PHILIPPIANS:
    - Written by Paul twelve 12 or more years after he founded the church in Philippi.

    - Paul was in prison (probably in Rome) when Epaphroditus arrived 
      with a gift from the church at Philippi; he wrote this letter in reponse.

    - He probably had four motives for writing this letter:
          1. It served as a ‘thank you’ note to the people at the 
              church for their love and their partnership in the gospel.
              Question:
              How often do we express our appreciation for our own church staff?

          2. It was a report on his situation - he wanted them to know 
              that even though he was in prison, he was not discouraged.
              Question:
              How often do we hide our hurts and discouragement from others?

          3. It was a warning for them to stand firm against false 
              teachers who were bringing wrong doctrines into the church.
              Question:
              How ‘alert’ are we to false doctrines? Are we spending time 
               reading God’s Word so we are prepared to detect false teachings?

          4. It expressed his concern about a serious clash between two women 
              in the church; a disagreement that appeared to be affecting the 
              unity of the church.
              Question:
              How often do we pray for peace and harmony in our own church?

    - This may have been Paul’s most upbeat letter:
          - It shows his joy in the Lord, and his love for these people.

          - Even though he was in prison, his joy was a result of:
                - His awareness of the presence of Jesus with him.
                - His confidence that he was in Christ’s hands.
                - His pleasure over the advancement of the gospel.
                - His desire to know Jesus more each day.

    - His concern was that the Philippians should reflect his attitudes through:
          - A lifestyle of mutual service for the Lord.
          - Steadfastness in the truth (standing firm for the things of God).
          - Dedication to the things of Christ (commitment to use what God
            has given them - spiritual gifts, Holy Spirit) to live more like Jesus
            each day. 
            In essence, saying “No” to unrighteousness, and “Yes” to 
            righteousness;  and allowing God to transform them through 
            His ‘sanctification’ process of those who belong to Him. 
            That they would learn what it means to become ‘selfless’ (thinking 
            of others and how to encourage them), instead of being ‘selfish’ 
            (only having thoughts about themselves and their needs). 
            Note:
                Jesus taught us to how to be ‘selfless’ and as followers of Him, 
                we should be mimicking His attitudes, habits, and lifestyle.

PHILIPPIANS 1:

VERSE 1:
Paul knew the importance of staying in touch with other believers. 
He understood how they can support and encourage each other. 
Encouraging others is one of the greatest contributors to becoming 
‘selfless’, which is what Jesus wants and expects of His followers. 

Question: 
What are the benefits of communicating with other Christians?
    - Encouraging each other?
    - Supporting each other during times of need?
    - Assuring each other of our love and concern, 
      and that we are praying for each other.

Note: 
    Letters were written on scrolls during this time, and the 
    name was listed at the top. This would let the recipient 
    know who it was from, without unrolling the entire scroll.

Note: 
    Paul did not identify Timothy and himself by any of their 
    accomplishments, but in terms of their relationship with 
    the one they believed in, and were following - Jesus Christ.

Question: 
What are some characteristics of a servant?
    - Submissiveness.
    - Faithfulness.
    - Obedience.
    - Devotion.
    - Trustworthiness. 

Note:
    ‘deacon’ - A transliteration of the Greek word ‘diakonos’.
    ‘diakonos’ - Means ‘through the dust’ (it carries the image of 
                       stirring up dust in a rush to do the master’s bidding).

VERSE 2:
Paul opens with a cordial greeting. Have you noticed that in most 
of his letters, he always mentioned the word ‘grace’? If it important 
enough for Paul to mention often, then we should understand what 
it means, and especially what it means to us. 
Note:
    I feel like the Lord wants me to create a series on His ‘grace’
    and ‘forgiveness’ that I have been working on (with the Lord’s
    guidance of course) and will be posting it on my Blog and 
    distributing it on social media when I finish the series (it
    will probably will be about 10-11 sections). 
    Pray that,
       (1) I continue to compose what the Lord wants in the content.
     and 
       (2) that God will use what He provides for 
           the series to impact the lives of others.

VERSE 3:
We can see Paul’s deep concern for the Philippians; 
whenever he thought about the people of the church in Philippi 
it triggered his emotions and caused him to thank God for them.

Question:
Who can you think of in your own life 
that makes you want to thank God for?

VERSE 4:
Paul didn’t ‘just pray’ for them, but it gave him joy when 
he prayed intercessory prayers for them. It should have the 
same impact on us, wouldn’t you agree?

Sometimes others will not voluntarily ask for prayers, but
whenever we ‘touch base’ with them and assure them that
we want to pray for their needs, it can be encouraging and
uplifting to their spirits. As a result of our efforts to reach
out to them, they are more prone to share the needs if their
hearts with us. And when they do, we can pray for them 
more effectively.

There are times when others are going through a difficult time 
that is so traumatic that they aren’t sure how to pray. It’s during 
those times that the Lord urges us to reach out to them and let 
them know that we want to pray for them. We must never forget
our responsibility and the impact that intercessory prayer can 
have on the lives of others.

Question:
How does Paul’s joy contrast with the way the worldly people find joy?
    Worldly people seek joy through:
        - Possessions.
        - Power.
        - Prestige.
        - Worldly pleasures.
    Paul found joy in obediently praying for the welfare of others.
    Note: 
        External circumstances (like imprisonment) could not steal Paul’s joy.

I’m thankful for how our class prays for each other, 
and especially the person assigned to us each week.

VERSE 5:
Paul found joy in ‘partnering’ with the Philippians as participants
of God’s command to share the gospel with others. It encouraged
him to know that they had been faithful servants from the day they 
first believed.

Question:
How faithful have we been as God’s servants?  What have we
done for the Lord since the day we were saved? How often do
we pray for the needs of others? How often do we read God’s 
Word in order for Him to speak to us individually?

VERSE 6:
Paul makes a great observation: 
    When God starts something, He finishes it.
    Note:
        When God saved us, He began something in us, didn’t He?

Question:
Does that mean God is still working in each of our lives?
    Question:
    If so, does that mean we should be expecting and
    experiencing changes in our lives?  What kind of 
    changes should we expect?

When we were given God’s gracious gift of salvation, we began
a new journey, didn’t we? We entered into His ‘sanctification’
process of teaching us, and transforming us into becoming 
more righteous (so we can become a little more like Jesus). 

Without God molding us daily, we would become stagnant in our 
Christian lifestyle, and as we all know, when we become idle, it 
doesn’t mean we stay in ‘one place’, it means we actually start 
moving backwards in our relationship with the Lord. When we
move backwards, it impacts our obedience to God’s commands.

VERSE 7:
Paul expresses his appreciation that they didn't ‘write him off’ Paul 
as a result of his circumstances. If he was defending the gospel, they 
supported him; if he was in prison, they encouraged him. And then,
He used that word ‘grace’ again. Paul knew the magnitude of God’s
grace and the impact it has on the lives of those who belong to the 
Lord.

Note:
    There are times when believers can ‘write off’ and disassociate
     themselves from a brother or sister in Christ who has fallen 
     as a result of Satan’s temptations. 
     Question:
         What does the phrase, 
         “We tend to shoot our wounded” mean to you?

Note:
    When someone ‘falls’, it is not a time to abandon them; it is an
    opportunity for us to let them know they are loved, and that we
    are praying for them. That’s how we would hope others would
    treat us when we are already suffering the guilt and shame of
    our own failures, right?

VERSE 8:
We can sense the depth of Paul’s love and affections for the
people of the church in Philippi. Of course, he would like to 
be out of prison, but even more than that, he wanted to enjoy
fellowshipping with other Christians who believed in, and were
actively following the Lord (the people of the church in Philippi
had a reputation for having and showing their faith in Jesus Christ)!

VERSES 9-11:
Paul had great concerns, and love, for the people of the church 
in Philippi. He wanted to see them growing in their relationship 
with the Lord, and for them to enjoy ‘feeling’ the Lord’s love for
them.

Question: 
Do you think love is only an emotion, 
or does it include what we do as well?

Question:
What are some actions that contribute to a love 
bond between two people? What are some actions 
that contribute to a bond between Christians? If 
we ‘do nothing’, then how would a brother or sister 
in Christ know that we love them?

Paul’s prayer for the Philippians included:
    - A desire for their love to continue to grow.
      Note:
        There was a story about a boy who passed several churches 
        on his way to attend another church each Sunday. When 
        asked why he bypassed the other churches, he said, 
            “Because they love me and accept me there”.
        Question:
        How does our church rate in this category?

    - A desire for them to have spiritual discernment.

    - A request for them to remain pure and blameless.
          - He wanted them to realize:
                - Our profession of faith should be reflected in our
                  words, actions, and overall lifestyle. We should be
                  consistent in our faith regardless of our location, 
                  or our circumstances.
                - God calls us to help others, not hinder them.

    - A prayer for them to be filled with the fruits of righteousness.
      Note: 
          Fruits of righteousness 
          are the qualities that righteousness produces:
              Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, 
              goodness, faithfulness, gentleness,
              self-control. 
              (Ref. Galatians 5:22-23)
      Note: 
          Paul points out that Jesus Christ 
          is the source of our fruitfulness .
          (Ref. John 15:5-8)
  
SUMMARY:
- As Christians, we should:
      - Be in touch with other Christians.

      - Be grateful for our relationship with other Christians.

      - Encourage each other.

      - Express our appreciation for each other 
        (look for ways to show we care).
        Note: 
             One example is, sending cards, emails, or texts to the 
             church staff and others who are actively serving the Lord.

      - Pray for each other. 

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, help be to understand the importance of 
interacting with, and supporting my brothers and sisters in
Christ. Teach me to look for ways to encourage others in their
efforts to obey and serve You. Help me to be more humble and 
less selfish. Remind me that when I support and encourage those 
serving You, I am showing how much I value their relationship. 
Help me to realize the importance of praying for others who share 
my faith in You. Create a guilt in me whenever I fail to pray for 
others and reach out to them to see if they have any special prayer 
needs that they have not shared. Impress on me that others in need 
may not ask for prayers, unless  I reach out to them and let them 
know that I sincerely want to pray for them. Your Word says that 
where two or more are gathered ‘in Your name’, You are there with 
them. Remind me that I have failed to ‘gather’ with them, when I am 
not willing to pray for them, and let them know that I am praying for 
them. Don’t let me be the reason for someone remaining in a state of 
discouragement and possibly loneliness. Thank You for all those who 
support and encourage me!”

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