On his Second Missionary Journey, after visiting all of the churches in Asia Minor that he had planted on his First Journey, Paul wanted to venture northward spreading the Gospel into Bithynia, but as Luke recorded in the Book of Acts, “the Spirit of God forbade him to do so.” As a result, Paul had what is called his “Macedonian Vision,” in which he saw a man beckoning him to “come over to Macedonia and help us.”  Paul, and his traveling companions, Luke, Timothy, and Silas, obeyed the vision and landed in the port city of Neapolis, just a short distance from Philippi.

Once in Philippi, Paul heard that some devout women always met for prayer down by the river on the Sabbath, and so Paul and his companions joined them for the morning. And, as you might have guessed, Paul had lots to say about Jesus being the long-expected Messiah, the Son of the living God who died for our sins and rose again, and was seated in heaven at the right hand of the Father. When Paul finished his short message, a woman named Lydia (a seller of purple linen from Asia Minor) responded in faith, and became the first convert in Europe.

There is uncertainty as to the location from which Paul sent his “Prison Epistles” to the churches. He spent time in two prisons, the most notable in Rome, but the other was in Caesarea as Paul awaited a ship to take him to Rome to stand trial before Nero. He was in Caesarea for well over a year and he had plenty of time to write. In reality, however, the prison from which he wrote his epistles has little bearing on the content of his letters.

Paul praises this congregation because they had previously reached out to him with a much needed gift at his time to need. However, in spite of their generosity, the church was struggling with unity within the body, and Paul exhorts them to stand firm in their faith and live in harmony with one another.

In the first chapter, Paul contemplates his future, realizing that he could be martyred for his faith at any time (this might favor his Roman imprisonment, rather than Caesarea). And so, he shares his own heart with this congregation saying,

“For me to live in Christ, and to die is gain. But if I am to live on in the flesh, it means fruitful labor for me…” (Phil. 1:21-22).

Being with Christ after death was one of the great anticipations of his life, but he also realized that if God wanted him to remain on earth, it would be “fruitful labor” for him, as it should also be for us.

And then, Paul goes on to stress the need for humility in our dealings with each other, calling us to have the same “mind” or “attitude” that Christ had when He “emptied Himself” and became a man.

“Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself; do not merely look out for your own interests, but also the interests of others” (Phil. 2:3-4).

Paul continues to share his deepest passions with this congregation, saying,

“I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish in order that I may gain Christ, and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith” (Phil. 3:8-9).

Being once a “self-righteous” Pharisee, Paul knew that his own righteousness meant nothing when it came to salvation. He knew that he needed God’s grace to redeem him, and that’s what he meant when he said that he needed to have the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith. As he said in the Book of Ephesians, salvation is a free gift of God’s grace that is received by faith in Christ. But that’s not all as Paul continues by sharing his passion,

“That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings…” (Phil. 3:10).

Paul wanted to “know” Christ more intimately, and to experience the same power that raised Jesus from the dead. And he realized that there is a deep fellowship with Christ that only comes from suffering in much the same manner that He did – despised and rejected by his own countrymen.

Paul wraps up his letter by providing each of us with a pathway to peace in times of worry, 

“Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice!…Don’t worry about anything, but by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God which passes all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:4-7).

We need to take our worries and submit them to God with both prayer and thanksgiving, and then expect God’s peace to overwhelm us. But there is more,

“Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace shall be with you” (Phil. 4:8-9).

Paul provides another great lesson for all of us. In times of worry, we need to focus our minds on the things that are praiseworthy rather than on the challenging circumstances swirling around us. In other words, turning our minds toward those things that are “worthy of praise” will result in a “settled” mind. 

As we enter another week, with all of the worries and challenges it may bring, let’s put into practice those things that Paul exhorts us to do, that is, let’s pray with thanksgiving, and then focus our minds on the blessings that we have received from God.

Peggy and I pray that you will all have a blessed week rejoicing in the blessings of God.