Philippians 2:19-24
Introduction: What number of steps are there to a cheerful life? There should be eight, as a result of that’s the magic quantity in every kind of e book titles.Listed here are some books I noticed on this matter: The New Eight Steps to Happiness; Eight Aware Steps to Happiness; Beatitudes: Eight Steps to Happiness; Eight Steps to Happiness. One author tried one thing totally different: Eight Legal guidelines of Happiness. One other e book is Eight Steps to Extra Happiness. Right here’s one other: The Busy Lady’s Information to Happiness. Need yet another? Eight to Nice: How To Take Cost of Your Life and Make Optimistic Adjustments Utilizing an 8-Step Breakthrough Course of… for Followers of the Happiness Undertaking.
There’s extra, however it’s getting redundant!
Nicely, let me provide you with yet another: Eight Steps to Happiness: The Science of Getting Completely satisfied and How It Can Work for You. This specific e book is by Dr. Anthony Grant and Alison Leigh. I don’t suppose they’ve all of the solutions we’d like, however they actually open the e book by summing up the issue:
It’s arduous to be actually completely satisfied. To remain completely satisfied. Individuals allow you to down. The fates are unkind. Life conspires towards you. The world grows chilly and harsh. Life turns into bleak and grey.
Simply while you suppose you’ve bought all of it labored out and all of it appears in steadiness…the sensation slips away. Optimism and contentment dissipate. Nervousness returns. We get downhearted. We hand over.
It’s simpler to buy groceries. It’s simpler to seek out methods to make ourselves really feel good by shopping for one thing new, going to the flicks, consuming good meals, ingesting, getting on the web… different distractions. It feels good. However the hedonic treadmill—the vicious cycle of looking for materials issues to make us completely satisfied and ease our disquiet—is simply that, a treadmill.
We will all establish with that! I don’t know of something we wrestle with greater than psychological effectively being. How can we keep our psychological effectively being? Why is that so arduous?
There’s a paragraph within the Bible I would like us to research alongside these strains. It looks like a easy on a regular basis paragraph, however there’s extra to it than meets the attention. Let’s learn Philippians 2:19-24:
Scripture:
19 I hope within the Lord Jesus to ship Timothy to you quickly, that I additionally could also be cheered once I obtain information about you. 20 I’ve nobody else like him, who will present real concern in your welfare. 21 For everybody seems to be out for their very own pursuits, not these of Jesus Christ. 22 However you recognize that Timothy has proved himself, as a result of as a son together with his father he has served with me within the work of the gospel. 23 I hope, due to this fact, to ship him as quickly as I see how issues go together with me. 24 And I’m assured within the Lord that I actually will come quickly.
Background: There are two background points right here.
First, what was occurring? As we’ve seen, simply when the apostle Paul was able to launch his fourth missionary tour, he was arrested and spent 5 or so years in imprisonment ready for his trial earlier than the imperial courtroom. On the time he wrote the letter to the Philippians, he was both nonetheless below home arrest in Rome or in some holding cell nearer to the imperial courtroom. He knew the case towards him was weak and the proof nonexistent, and he additionally had a really highly effective weapon—his official Roman citizenship. He really anticipated to be launched, however he wasn’t sure. With Nero within the palace, nobody felt very safe. So he instructed the Philippians he would ship Timothy with information as quickly as he came upon how all the things can be resolved and go to them as quickly as doable.
Second, who was Timothy? Timothy was a really younger man. 5 years or so later, Paul wrote to him and mentioned, “Don’t let anybody look down in your youthfulness” (see 1 Timothy 4:12). It’s doable Timothy had solely been a younger teenager, maybe 13 or so, when Paul unofficially adopted him and commenced taking him with him on his travels. Now he’s maybe in his twenties. Discover how Paul describes him.
20 I’ve nobody else like him, who will present real concern in your welfare. 21 For everybody seems to be out for their very own pursuits, not these of Jesus Christ. 22 However you recognize that Timothy has proved himself, as a result of as a son together with his father he has served with me within the work of the gospel.
After all, Paul was utilizing Timothy for example of what he had been discussing up up to now in his letter. He had instructed the Philippians to look to not their very own pursuits, however to these of Jesus Christ and to have a real concern for others. Now he was exhibiting them a residing, respiration, true-life instance of that.
So Paul was primarily saying, “It is advisable be like Jesus and have the thoughts of Christ and care extra for His pursuits than your personal with out complaining, having real take care of each other. And as quickly as I can be taught the result of my authorized issues, I’ll ship Timothy with information after which, Lord prepared, I’ll come to see you myself. Within the meantime, welcome Timothy as somebody who epitomizes what I’ve been attempting to inform you on this letter. Have a look at Timothy and also you’ll see a Christ-like man, whose instance you may comply with.”
That’s what this paragraph is all about. In its easiest historic context, Paul was telling the Philippians he would quickly ship Timothy to see them and he counseled Timothy in very tender phrases. However there’s one thing extra right here. As I’ve learn this paragraph time and again, three phrases have stood out to me.
1. Be Involved However Not Anxious
The primary phrase I would like you to note is constructed across the phrase “concern.”
19 I hope within the Lord Jesus to ship Timothy to you quickly, that I additionally could also be cheered once I obtain information about you. 20 I’ve nobody else like him, who will present real concern in your welfare. 21 For everybody seems to be out for their very own pursuits, not these of Jesus Christ.
Right here’s what’s so attention-grabbing. The Greek phrase for concern is merimnao. That’s the phrase Paul used. Now flip to chapter 4 and take a look at verse 6: “Don’t be concerned about something.” The phrase anxious there’s merimnao. In chapter 2, Paul tells us to be involved, and in chapter 4 he tells us to not be, utilizing the identical phrase.
However after all, even in English the phrase concern can have a variety of meanings, relying on the context.
- She’s going to inform a narrative regarding her mom.
- She’s at all times involved for the wants of her neighborhood.
- She’s very involved as a result of her daughter is in peril.
The psychological steadiness between Philippians 2 and Philippians 4 is a supernatural one. As we undergo life, it’s good to be involved, however it isn’t good to be concerned. Be involved for others; be concerned for nothing.
In my e book, Fear Much less, Dwell Extra, I wrote:
The zone between concern and fear is a slippery slope. I’ve typically questioned how one can know, at any given time, if I’m fairly involved or unreasonably alarmed. It’s a troublesome median, however right here’s the important thing: When our concern is wholesome in nature, it doesn’t debilitate us. When it begins to really feel debilitating, it has morphed into fear, which turns into a vicious cycle.
That’s very arduous for me, however let’s maintain digging into this paragraph as a result of there’s one other phrase that brings much more steadiness—that I could also be cheered.
2. Be Cheerful However Not Naïve
19 I hope within the Lord Jesus to ship Timothy to you quickly, that I additionally could also be cheered once I obtain information about you. 20 I’ve nobody else like him, who will present real concern in your welfare.
“…that I additionally could also be cheered.”
The biblical steadiness for psychological well-being is to be involved however not anxious, and cheerful however not naive. This can be a very useful reminder to me as a result of I’ve at all times struggled with these items. I believe I used to be born within the damaging case. As soon as once I was in school, I used to be moping round and depressed and discouraged. Generally I had bother getting off the bed due to despondency. In the future my roommate got here into the room and mentioned, “Robert, I’ve been learning in regards to the lifetime of the good evangelist Dwight L. Moody, and also you remind me of him.”
“How is that?” I mentioned.
“Since you’re moody!”
For those who’re moody, I need to encourage you to do what I’ve carried out. Undergo the Bible and discover out what it says in regards to the joyful life. In line with the phrase search at Bible Gateway…
- The phrase “pleasure” happens 242 occasions within the New Worldwide Model, both within the verses or within the headings.
- The phrase “rejoice” happens 177 occasions.
- The phrase “blessed” happens 217 occasions.
- The phrase “glad” happens 108 occasions.
- The phrase “delight” happens 105 occasions.
- The phrase “consolation” happens 71 occasions.
- The phrase “have fun” happens 68 occasions.
- The phrase “get pleasure from” happens 57 occasions.
- The phrase “completely satisfied” happens 20 occasions.
- This phrase “cheer” happens 13 occasions.
- The phrase “merry” happens 5 occasions.
- And so does the phrase “overjoyed”—5 occasions.
That’s 1,088 occasions! It comes virtually precisely to a few verses for on daily basis of the yr, with out repeating any of them! I can inform you from private expertise that nothing compares to seeking out these verses and making a private listing of those that the Lord particularly needs to offer you. Write them down. Put them on playing cards. Memorize them. Internalize them. If you really feel anxious, go to your cheerful verses and declare them.
You are able to do the identical with any topic—worry, religion, anger, persistence…no matter it’s. Choose the topic you most have to expertise, do a phrase search within the Scripture, learn every verse you discover in its context so that you’re deciphering the phrases correctly. After which begin compiling your listing. This type of mission could take an hour or every week or a month or longer. It doesn’t matter. You might be increase an arsenal of Scriptures in your thoughts.
Discover methods of conserving these verses on the forefront of your consideration.
Julie Chapman, an elementary faculty instructor at Chattahoochee Elementary College north of Atlanta, was identified with most cancers. She struggled bitterly, however her college students and mates despatched her messages, typically together with Bible verses. Julie wrote every of these verses on a sticky observe and posted it on the wall. She was actually surrounded with Scripture. It was in an article in her native newspaper. The headline mentioned: “For Julie Chapman, Beating Most cancers Got here Right down to Religion, Household, and Sticky Notes.”
Krystal Whitten is a spouse and mom in Tampa who, when she was in highschool, beloved to put in writing out Bible verses in a artistic fashion with Crayola markers. She posted them on the wall of her bed room. In school, she studied graphic design. However as an grownup and a spouse, she bought away from the Bible. Her mom was very sick after which handed away, and Krystal went by way of some darkish occasions. For years, she had little interest in studying the Bible.
However in the future a pal invited her to a Bible research that offered free childcare. The research group would learn a e book of the Bible every week, then collect to debate it. So Krystal discovered herself studying the Bible on daily basis and turning into reacquainted with it. It got here alive to her, and in the future she chosen a verse and wrote it out in a artistic fashion utilizing hand lettering. Within the course of she discovered she had memorized the verse. She framed it and put it on the wall, and each time she glided by it she mentioned it in her thoughts.
Now her hand-letter Bible verses are displayed and bought within the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C., Krystal has a best-selling useful resource entitled Lettering Prayer Journal.
We have to be taught to publish Bible verses on the partitions of our coronary heart, together with verses about pleasure and cheerfulness. God needs us to be involved with out being anxious and cheerful with out being naïve. However beneath all of it is one highly effective fact—and that’s the third phrase I need to provide you with.
3. Be Within the Lord Jesus
Discover how Paul begins and ends this paragraph with the phrase “within the Lord.”
19 I hope within the Lord Jesus to ship Timothy to you quickly, that I additionally could also be cheered once I obtain information about you. 20 I’ve nobody else like him, who will present real concern in your welfare. 21 For everybody seems to be out for their very own pursuits, not these of Jesus Christ. 22 However you recognize that Timothy has proved himself, as a result of as a son together with his father he has served with me within the work of the gospel. 23 I hope, due to this fact, to ship him as quickly as I see how issues go together with me. 24 And I’m assured within the Lord that I actually will come quickly.
That’s not all. Have a look at:
- Philippians 1:14: And due to my chains, many of the brothers and sisters have turn out to be assured within the Lord and dare all of the extra to proclaim the Gospel with out worry.
- Philippians 2:29: So then, welcome him within the Lord with nice pleasure….
- Philippians 3:1: Additional, my brothers and sisters, rejoice within the Lord!
- Philippians 4:1: Subsequently, my brothers and sisters, you whom I like and lengthy for, my pleasure and crown stand agency within the Lord.
This phrase happens 9 occasions within the e book of Philippians, and the associated phrase “in Christ” happens one other eight occasions. That is Paul’s signature phrase, the abstract of all 13 of his letters. “In Christ” or “within the Lord Jesus.” These phrases happen roughly 216 occasions in his writings.
Students have a tough time pinning down all that Paul meant to convey with this phrase.
What does that imply? It means you might be not exterior. You might be an insider. You might be inside the love and the redemption of Jesus Christ. You might be in union with Him. The Gospel of John talks about abiding in Christ. Your entire life is lived inside His grace.
The summer time after I graduated from school, I used to be a part of a Gospel staff that toured the Northeast. I preached in camps and church buildings all through New England. In a single camp, my buddy and I served as counselors to a gaggle of Center College boys, and we thought we’d take them tenting one night time. After supper, everybody rolled up their sleeping baggage and hiked about an hour to camp there. About 2 am, I used to be jolted awake by water being thrown in my face, which I shortly realized was the rain was coming down in torrents. There was no shelter anyplace. We needed to hike an hour within the driving rain, and it was chilly and depressing. Think about how good it felt to get into that dry cabin, right into a sizzling bathe, right into a heat mattress.
Being inside is healthier than being exterior within the rain. However at this time so many individuals are standing out within the chilly rain, exterior of Christ, exterior of peace, exterior of the everlasting life He provides. Jesus mentioned in John 10:8 (NKJV): “I’m the door. If anybody enters by Me, he will probably be saved.”
Conclusion
If anybody is standing within the chilly rain, I need to invite you to return by way of the door and end up in Christ. It doesn’t take eight steps—only one.
If you find yourself within the Lord Jesus Christ, He Himself supplies the muse for psychological well-being. He lets you develop emotionally and spiritually, to turn out to be somebody who is aware of how one can be involved with out anxiousness and how one can be cheerful with out being naive.
The Bible says, “Subsequently, if anybody is in Christ, he’s a brand new creation; outdated issues have handed away; behold, all issues have turn out to be new” (2 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV).
