WEEK ONE
Day Two
DAILY SCRIPTURE
Philippians 1:7
LEADER GUIDE QUESTIONS
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Know: Read Philippians 1:6-8
Note: Read slowly, carefully marking keywords.
Confident, good work, day of Christ Jesus, I am in chains, affection
Observation:
Who did Paul say would complete the good work?
Why is Paul so confident?
Where is Paul?
How do the Philippians share in God’s grace? What Grace does Paul refer?
What: What is the good work that was begun in you?
“Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ; just as it is right for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart, inasmuch as both in my chains and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers with me of grace. For God is my witness, how greatly I long for you all with the affection of Jesus Christ.” Philippians 1:6-8
Do you know that God is confident in you?
God is confident in you because He is confident in His Son at work in you. God has one hundred percent confidence in His Son, so He is sure that the work that Jesus began in you will be completed, not because you completed it but because He did. Jesus began the work, and He’s the finisher. We live from His finished work.
When you came to Christ, you responded to the Holy Spirit. You heard the Good News of the Gospel, and faith came.
Faith came because you heard Jesus preach. (“So then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.” Romans 10:17)
The Gospel is this:
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)
“And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” ( John 17:3)
“We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,” (Colossians 1:3)
“Who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (1 Timothy 2:4)
When we heard this message, something inside us desired this love. The something was the Holy Spirit speaking Jesus to your spirit. You received it, and with that act of faith, your spirit came alive and became one with God. You became His—hidden in Him.
His love is far greater than anything you could ever do to earn or lose it because you are safe in Him. The Holy Spirit seals you in Christ!
When you believed in Christ, you were given a new heart and new identity as a born-again child of God.
Paul was writing to the Philippians to encourage them amid severe persecution. Paul himself was in jail for the very same reason. To go against the pagan culture of the Roman government was heretical to the Romans. They believed in the worship of gods and goddesses, as well as an allegiance to Ceasar and acknowledgment that he was a god. Jesus' followers were beginning to become problematic to the Romans as they refused to hail Ceasar as lord, and others were quickly following suit.
The Romans were the most powerful war machine the world had ever seen. They conquered Europe, the Middle East, and Northern Africa, yet all of Rome’s military might could not crush a small community of Jesus’ followers in its own yard.
Why?
Jesus was their exceedingly great reward, but they were God’s great reward first. “For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” What joy did Jesus set before Him? They were. This truth is what sustained the Philippians and what sustained Paul.
Paul, who established the early churches in Rome through Christ's authority, displayed God's strength through numerous trials.
“From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness— (2 Corinthians 11: 24-27)
Paul was confident that nothing could separate him from the love of God. (Romans 8:31-39) This was the truth that fueled his joy. Over thirteen times, Paul mentioned joy in this letter. Paul did not manufacture this joy; how could he be so joyful?
Paul wrote this in another letter: “The fruits of the spirit are love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22-23)
Love is not an option; it does not come to an end. What about peace? Is it an option? Without peace, we will only live in anxiety. Without kindness, we are ruled by emotions.
Thus, joy is not optional.
The joy that sustained Paul was the joy of Jesus Christ. Paul reminded his friends that the same God who lived in him lived in them. When he was in jail during their first meeting, the joy of the Lord was his strength then, and it is his strength now; it would be their strength in the days when persecution would reach its height.
When trials come your way, rejoice because the God of victory is with you. For every problem, there is victory on the other side. Your weapon is joy!