WEEK ONE
Day One
DAILY SCRIPTURE
Philippians 1:4
LEADER GUIDE QUESTIONS
Week One Download
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Know: Read Philippians 1:1-5
Note: Mark keywords and phrases.
Bond-servant, Overseers, Deacons, Grace, Peace, Thank God, Joy
Observation:
Who is the author?
To whom is Paul writing?
Where is Philippi?
When did Paul develop a relationship with this church? (Acts 16)
How does Paul pray for them?
Where is Paul?
What: What trials are you facing? How are you responding to those trials?
“Paul and Timothy, bondservants of Jesus Christ, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the bishops and deacons: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now,” Philippians 1:1-5
A few years ago, I was in a ministry situation I had committed to, which became miserable after a while. I felt stifled and frustrated and lacked joy in doing things I ordinarily would have enjoyed, but my husband was on staff, and I was partnering with him in marriage. There had been a time in which I found joy in ministry. I enjoyed working and building relationships with people. I enjoyed helping take certain burdens off my husband that were not necessarily a part of his paid responsibilities to do them myself and feeling the accomplishment of a job well done. I also wanted my children to serve people and help with practical needs so that they would learn to serve and see the needs others did not. I had a vision for women to mature spiritually and have godly character, so I tried to develop a culture to do just that.
After a few years, I began to feel like my participation was being taken advantage of. I was working endless hours voluntarily during the summer months preparing for VBS; there were deadlines, and not everybody had the same work ethic except for one friend who would come alongside and help me while our children ran amuck.
The women’s meetings I had envisioned became a burden that I regretted after years of emotional pain. What began as a book club to study books on motherhood and becoming a “Titus 2” woman turned into having to break up endless petty disputes and arguments and enduring vindictive gossip and slander when somebody did not get their way.
My children also found no joy in the endless hours I was putting them through. What began as fun quickly became a burden as they were called on to babysit, clean, and wait long hours while I finished tasks.
While I was struggling to find joy amid drudgery, there were personal pains I was enduring. I had experienced postpartum depression after giving birth, a house fire in a home we were renovating, a divorce among parents, and the death of a pastor, which threw our lives into further chaos. I was constantly battling with feelings of rejection, feeling unwanted and less-than. For some reason, certain people found it necessary to write me letters listing my faults to further the lie that my life was a cruel joke.
I have loved God my whole life. Various situations when I was young strengthened my childlike faith in Him. I had experienced enough of God's goodness to keep me from desiring “the world.” I wanted to please God and honor Him in all I did, no matter what life threw my way, but little did I know that God did not desire my endless service and faithful self-sacrifice. I did not realize that my love and faithfulness were insufficient to withstand hardships. Incidentally, what I thought was ministry was not ministry at all.
There was a fundamental truth about God and His nature that I failed to miss along the way. I believed that my faith had to be at a certain level; my faithfulness to God was what He desired; joy must be manufactured when I lacked it, and my service, love, and honor are what He required. I believed that God was the one who allowed suffering and hardships to create me into a woman He could use for His glory. I believed He was so committed to my sanctification (or the process of becoming like Christ) that He would allow any testing to refine me. I endured suffering like a champ until I realized that it became too much to bear.
God began to look like the Godfather instead of the Father, and I felt like He was sitting in Heaven, laughing at the calamity that came my way and seeing how well I could endure it. If the purpose of all the pain was to refine me and to create a sinless person, at what point was it complete? It was a bottomless pit. I had lost all joy in my salvation.
My theology was wrong, and I didn’t know it then.
When we go through trials, lies we believe about God are revealed. Paul wrote to the Philippian church to encourage them in their trials through persecution and correct false beliefs.
When we are bombarded with trials and life is hard, how we respond reveals what we believe about God. If we have a distorted belief, no joy will be present. We might find ourselves depressed, anxious, or angry. Responses to difficult life situations indicate wrong or right beliefs.
We sometimes experience difficult seasons that result from wrong choices, lack of discipline, and misplaced priorities.
Some trials come from the devil to accuse, lie, and steal life.
Some trials come because we live in a fallen world.
Trials never come because God puts them on us to teach or refine us. We will look into this in detail in this study.
Do you lack joy and discover yourself in fear and worry? Perhaps you are facing a health or relationship crisis; you feel like God is distant or you have disappointed Him. Do you have a difficult time forgiving those who have hurt you? Do you feel your quiet times with Jesus are forced, unfruitful, or lacking? Do you use manipulative tactics to control people, or do you discover yourself blaming others for your problems? If you could say yes to any of these, perhaps some false belief has crept into your heart. There is nothing more freeing than uncovering a lie about God and being set free from the bondage that robs us of joy.
God desires us to be full of joy! Joy is not the result of something we force or manufacture. Joy comes as a result of right believing.