Welcome to a firm foundation presented by Princeton Ministries with Dr Ken Smith. This is Carol Smith, Ken’s wife. Please enjoy.

And we would remember those long ago days in Philippi. We would remember the ministry that he had. Father, we would ask, by the working of your Holy Spirit, that you would take these words that were written to an audience who are now no longer alive on this earth, but by the working of your spirit, that you would take these words, that you would place them in our hearts. And, Father, that we might see that they are as true today as they were in the day that they were written. And, Father, we ask that our joy might be increased. And, Father, that we, too, would focus and approve those things that are excellent, for we ask it in Jesus name. Amen. Perhaps one of the most important questions that a Christian asks himself or herself is the question, how can I have joy?

Where does joy come from? Will I know it when I see it? The book of Philippians was written by the apostle Paul as a direction result of the joy in his own life and the joy that he had experienced in the church at Philippi. And as we would study this book, we will learn the source of joy. We’ll learn its application to our life. And I believe that by the working of God’s spirit, that you and I would become more joyful Christians. The book of Philippians was written not in a rose covered patio in Princeton. It was not written in an oak panelled office of a seminary professor. Rather, it was written by the apostle Paul in prison. We know that he had been there at least two years.

And we also know that during those years in prison while in Rome, that no one in the roman church who were Christians knew his whereabouts, nor did they care, because we find that when his friend comes from Philippi and he goes to the Christians in Rome and he asks, where is Paul? They were uncertain. And Paul says that when he stood before the court of Rome and he needed a Christian to come in his defence, not one Christian stood in his defence. And Paul was greatly pleased at the church in Philippi, many hundreds of miles away. And yet, on three occasions, they would send their pastor to Rome to bring the provisions that Paul needed in prison.

And on three separate occasions, they would take an offering in Philippi, and they would put it into the hands of their pastor, and he would go all the way to Rome. He would search out the prisons and find where Paul was. And so we find in the letter of Philippians great joy on the part of the apostle Paul. No, this book was not written by a seminary scholar. It was written in the hard knocks of prison. It was written in the context of great suffering and great affliction. And yet, of all the books in the New Testament, it is agreed that the book of Philippians is one of the most joyful books that a Christian can reflect upon. Paul begins by greeting all of the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi with the bishops and the deacons.

His opening is standard in that he calls for grace to them and peace from God our father and the Lord Jesus Christ. And having given his word of greeting to these Philippian brothers and sisters, Paul begins to give insight into joy, and we would ask the question, how can I have joy? What is the source of joy? I think Paul has some surprising twists in the road for us. He begins in verse three by declaring, I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, that Paul was pleased to remember the Philippians. How many Christians do you know of that? When you think of them, they fill your heart and your mind with joy. When was the last time that someone entrusted you with their friendship? When someone came to you and said, I’m praying for you, I’m concerned for you.

You’re an encouragement to me. I guarantee, if you can remember such a person, just to simply reflect upon them begins to fill your heart with joy and with thanksgiving. And Paul, as he begins to think about the Philippians and all that they have accomplished, he says, I thank my God upon every remembrance of you. What were some of the things that Paul remembered about these Philippians? Well, undoubtedly, he must have had in his mind this memory. I remember the day when I wanted to go to Asia, and I had my entire missionary staff, and were poised to go towards India and China, and that was my goal, says Paul. But then I heard a voice, a call from the east, a call from Europe. I remember that Macedonian call, and if it had been up to me, I would have gone to China.

But the Lord redirected my steps and my mission, and he directed me into Europe, to Macedonia, and I went into that province of Macedonia. And the first city that I went to was the city of Philippi, a great city, a city that was known by the emblem of the roman empire. And I remember the first three people in Philippi who came to Christ. I remember Lydia, a woman who worked in purple goods, a commercial woman. And I remember when her faith was placed in Jesus Christ and she believed for the first time. I also remember a woman who was a type of a witch, a type of a medium. And I remember talking to her and I remember as she in faith gave her life to Christ. Paul undoubtedly had to remember that time that he spent in the Philippian jail.

And when it seemed as though there was an earthquake and the doors opened and heard a jailer call out in his distress, knowing that if any of his prisoners should escape, that his life would be taken. And in the darkness of that Philippian jail, he cries out, what must I do to be saved? And Paul must have remembered, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou thy shall be saved and thy household. Undoubtedly, as Paul tells us, that he thanks God for every remembrance of these Philippians, that these and untold other thoughts must have flooded his mind. He also must have remembered that in the Philippian church there was no division in the Philippian church. There were no heresies that are recorded in the Philippian church there were no false teachers.

And as he sits in a cold prison cell with all of the exterior circumstances to bring depression and discouragement, Paul is to be filled with joy. And he gives us insight, I think, to one of the qualities of joy, and that is that we receive joy because of the actions of other Christians. And when you remember what other Christians have done for you along the way, it brings in your heart great joy. I remember a note that someone sent me when I was going through a hard time, just a little note. And I can’t think of that person without being filled with joy. I think of a phone call, a word of encouragement at a time when it was greatly needed.

And the joy that’s in my mind is I think about that person and the few minutes that they talked and said, I want to encourage you. Can you remember people who encouraged you in your Christian life? Well, as you remember them, they will bring great joy to your mind. And no matter what prison you may see yourself in, there’s joy in that prison. When you are feeling joyless, do this, sit down and remember an act of kindness that was done to you by another Christian. I believe, like Paul, you will thank God for that remembrance, because our mind is a funny thing. It can only focus one thought at a time. And if you would focus your attention upon the things of the Lord and those things that encourage you, it will bring encouragement into your spirit.

On the other hand, if you remember the hurts that others have brought into your life and you have your mind focused on that, you will be joyless. The apostle Paul knew greatly of the joy as he would remember the actions of other Christians, but also, he remembers not only their actions, but as a result of that remembrance, it causes prayer in the life of Paul. It’s interesting that you cannot think with great thanksgiving about what someone has done for you without responding to the Lord in prayer. And so we read in verse four, as Paul has said, I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always, in every prayer of mine, making requests for you all with joy. And so the outcome of remembering what has happened in your life and the involvement of other Christians is that it would produce prayer.

Do you know that in the New Testament there are only eight instances of recorded prayers that the apostle Paul had made? Two of those prayers are found in the Book of Ephesians. One of them is found in the Book of Colossians. Four of them are found in the book of Thessalonians, and one of them in the book of Philippians that we’re looking at today. Can you imagine being in prison for roughly two years knowing that in that town of Rome were Christians who at first were so excited because you were there? This is the apostle Paul. He must have been invited to every potluck that was to be found in town. He probably was invited to all of the special meetings as a special speaker.

But then he continued to preach, and we don’t know why, but over a period of time, Paul seems to have fallen out of fear favour with the church in Rome, to the point that when he is finally brought for trial, there is no one in that Christian church at Rome who will stand and give a character reference for him. Can you imagine two years thinking that only a few hundred yards within a mile are Christians walking the street? And if only they had come in on my day of trial, I would not be in prison. But that’s not what Paul reflects on. He brings nothing up about those roman Christians. Instead, he brings up his fond memories of what this faithful group in Philippi had done.

Verse six, we find the second clue to joy in the Christian life, and that is being confident of this very thing, that he who has begun a good work in you will complete it unto the day of Jesus Christ. Paul wants us to know that there is joy in the accomplishment of good works and that there is a confidence that comes, as you would see God working in your life to accomplish good works. He was confident of this very thing, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion until the day of Jesus Christ. We ask the question, what’s the nature of these good works? How do I know if I’m accomplishing good works? Well, through the study of scripture, we would find that good works is seen in two ways.

One is the personal understanding of good works, and that is that there is an internal good work that God does in the life of everyone who would put their faith in Jesus Christ. And what is that internal good work? We read about it in Galatians, chapter five, verse 22. The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control. Everyone who has trusted in Jesus Christ has this fruit in their life. It is internal. You begin to look at the way you’re reacting to people. Before, you had no love for people. Now you’ve put your faith in Christ, and for the first time, you begin to notice other people, and you care for other people.

Perhaps you were a person who was always short tempered, and you come to Christ and suddenly you notice that your temper is being tempered by the spirit of God. And that which was out of control is now coming under the control of the spirit of God. Perhaps you were the type of person who wanted everything done in yesterday. It’s never good enough that it’s going to be done tomorrow. And then you begin, as you trust in Christ, to see that you have, for the first time in your life, patience, and that you’re beginning to learn the lessons of long suffering. That’s an internal good work that God is doing in your life. He promises that he will do that in the life of everyone who had put their faith in Christ. But the scripture also teaches that there is an external good work.

It is not good enough that I would know internally that I now have love, joy, peace, and so forth, but that this would be manifested so that others can see it. We read in James, chapter two, verse 18. James makes this declaration; I will show you my faith by my works. Let me ask, if I hired a secret detective, he couldn’t talk with you. He just had to follow you around all day. All that he could do is watch you and listen to you. At the end of the day, would he come back and say, because of the things he has seen and the things he has heard, why that man, that woman, is a Christian, if that is so, and that is an external good work, that people will know that you are a Christian by the external activities of your life?

But God help the person who would say, there’s nothing to be seen of evidence externally in my life. And so if you were to send that detective to follow me around all day, he would not be able to detect anything in my life that is Christian externally. What I need to do with that detective, I need to sit down with him, and I need to tell him what’s inside. The person who would believe that type of faith will save them is greatly deceived. For Jesus declared that the fruit of a Christian life can be seen by other people. What is being seen in your life as a Christian? Would people know that you’re a Christian even if they couldn’t sit down with you in a Bible study and find out?

Would it come as a surprise to your neighbours, to the people that you work with in your office, that you’re a Christian? And if I were to ask them, they would say, why? I would never have guessed that he or she is a Christian. Why? That’s the furthest thing from my mind. No. Paul was confident that he who began a good work was going to bring that good work to completion. The fact that it is a completed work. Have you ever thought that there is nothing that God has made in this world that is not complete? Birds are complete to fly. Fish are complete to swim in the sea. How often I have met Christians who say, I would like to do this ministry, but I don’t feel complete. I don’t feel ready.

When I finish reading the Bible, when I finish that class that I’m taking, I’m going to go take a seminar. Then I’ll be prepared to do those external things. Do you remember that palsied man who was taken by Jesus and was able to walk and was able to declare, Jesus did this? Do you remember that blind man who was totally inarticulate except for one thing, that when Jesus touched his eyes, he was able to say, I was blind. Now I see. Every one of us begins our Christian life like that blind man. Very simple in kindergarten, spiritually. And then God begins to instruct us by his word, and he begins to bring us to completion.

And scripture teaches that at this moment, if your faith has been placed in Jesus Christ, God has completely equipped you at this moment to accomplish a good work that only you are able to accomplish. Do you know what that good work is? Can you see it in your life? Paul was confident that he who began that good work in you will bring it to completion. Charles Spurgeon said, all of God’s works are finished. With wondrous care, he as accurately fashions the dust of a butterfly’s wing as those mighty orbs that gladden the silent night. God has completed completely equipped you today to accomplish not only that internal work, but to see the fruit of that internal work in the world. And every Christian is called upon to be involved in that evidence of the things that God is doing in your own heart.

Verse nine, he tells us, and this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment. Not only will we grow in good works, but we will grow in knowledge, your knowledge of who God is. And you will learn to grow in discernment, to know that which is right and to know that which is wrong. Finally, we read in verse ten that God may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ. It is important, if we would have joy as Christians to remember those who have been involved in our lives in the past. It is equally important for us to be confident God is going to bring his work to completion.

But it is also important for us to see a word that is found in verse ten. And that word is that we may be sincere. Is yours a sincere faith? In the palmy days of the Roman Empire, it was the custom of those who were well to do to bring into their home sculptors, artisans, and they would fashion in your home a special piece of artwork and the accomplishment of that task. People would come and look at the wonderful piece of sculpture that had been placed by your artisan and built by his hand. Well, there was occasionally the misplaced chisel point. Occasionally, there was a flaw to be found in that marble sculpture, and an artisan would mix together a mixture of cement and wax, and it looked exactly like the marble.

And he would cover it over, and no one would ever know until the passage of time, the weather, the heat, would begin to show its effect on that patch. And then a year later, two years, five years, you would look at that, and you would see the flaw, and you would know that he had misguided you and had been dishonest. Well, as the people in Rome began to learn about this practice of the sculptures, they decided to have contracts written, and the contract had a clause in it, and the clause was that the sculptured piece would be, in Latin, sine sera, without cement, without patches, without wax. And so he would. Would sign his name that this is a sine sera sculpture. Today, as Christians, we are called upon to have a sincere faith. What does that mean?

It means that when the chisel would be applied to your life and there’s a flaw, that we would not try to cover it up, that we would not, by some man made plan, take a little bit of wax and a little bit of cement that we’ve mixed up in our basement and try to come on Sunday and fill in the dents? No. A sincere faith is a faith that would turn to Jesus Christ alone. And every time that we would see one of those flaws, that we would turn to Christ in forgiveness and ask him to forgive us, to ask him by his spirit to make us new. And one of the great tragedies of a life is a life that began well in the things of Christ. But then the chisels of life kept beating away.

And rather than come quickly to Christ and ask forgiveness, we tried some man made filler, and we hoped that nobody would recognize it. But as months passed, years passed, we know that we have filled ourselves. One of the great tragedies of the Christian life. Life is to find someone who never learned to turn to Christ immediately, as they would learn of sin in their own life and ask for his forgiveness, and turn in faith to him that he would not take some man made concoction and try to fill in the dens, but that Christ would take us and fashion us from a new piece of marble, that he would make us new every day, and that because of Jesus Christ, there would be no flaws. And through Christ we would be made perfect.

My prayer for you as a Christian is that as you have been belted with the chisel blows of this world, that you have learned to quickly turn to Christ, to ask him to forgive you. And if you have not known Christ, my prayer for you is that you would look at yourself and see what your self construction has done. Are you pleased with all that you are? And you look at all of those nicks that you have filled in. Are you pleased? Or do you look at yourself and say, I need to be made new, Jesus Christ, from your quarry, bring forth a new piece of marble and make me new? That you would put your trust in Christ alone, that you would know him, that you would love him, and that you would follow him. Let us pray.

Our God and our father, we thank you for the completed work of Jesus Christ. We thank you for those brothers and sisters who come to our mind as a great remembrance to us of things that have happened in the past and their faithfulness. And, Father, they fill us with joy, and we’re filled with joy, as we remember with confidence that it is you who is building each of us and that you who began that work in us, you are going to bring it to completion. And, Father, we would thank you for that sweet sincerity that would come only from your spirit. As father, we would look to our own devices and conclude that we cannot repent ourselves. Father, help us with great joy to turn to you that our faith might be sincere. We thank you and we love you, and we pray for your richest hand of blessing upon each of us that we might grow in joy. For we ask this in Jesus name. Amen.

Thank you for listening to a firm foundation presented by Princeton Ministries. This programming is supported by you, the listener. You may go to our website, princetonministries.org, or send your donation to Princeton Ministries Post Office box 2171, Princeton, New Jersey 08543. That’s Princeton Ministries post Office box 2171, Princeton, New Jersey 08543. The Lord bless you, and Doctor Smith looks forward to hearing from you.