Philippians Week 1 Introduction

How many of you open your junk mail? How excited are you to get junk mail? Who here has received an honest to goodness mailed from the post office letter in the last week?

Why is receiving mail exciting?

Has anyone here ever received mail from someone that they were dreading opening?

Why do you think the author of the letter is important?

When you read a book, do you read the back flap about the author? What are you hoping to find out when you do that?

I wanted to know more about the author. What were his motivations for writing to the Philippians, how did he know them, where was he writing from, why did they matter to him that he would send a letter to them?

Philippians was written by the apostle Paul. Paul was an apostle that had actually never “met” Jesus while Jesus was in ministry on earth. Paul was a Jew that was born in the city of Tarsus and his given name was Saul. He was born to a well to do Jewish family (of the tribe of Benjamin) that had been granted Roman citizenship. He was the son of a well to do tent maker. He was sent to Jerusalem to study the Torah (the Jewish book of the Law) with the foremost Rabbi of the day, Gamaliel. This was like the Harvard of schools for Jewish scholars.  Paul was a keeper of the law. He describes himself as a Pharisee of Pharisees. He had every expectation of one day sitting on the Sanhedrin, the Jewish council similar to our Supreme Court. The Pharisees had been expecting a Messiah but when Jesus came on the scene, many Pharisees believed him to be a fraud and therefore a blasphemer when He said He was the son of God. So after Jesus’ death, Paul did his utmost to see that the Christian belief in Jesus was squelched.

Turn with me to Acts 8:1-3,

Acts 8:1–3 (NAS)

Saul Persecutes the Church

   1  Saul was in hearty agreement with putting him to death.

And on that day a great persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.

    2   Some devout men buried Stephen, and made loud lamentation over him.

    3   But Saul began ravaging the church, entering house after house, and dragging off men and women, he would put them in prison.

 Now turn with me to Acts 9:1-3.

Acts 9:1–19 (NAS)

The Conversion of Saul

   1  Now Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest,

    2   and asked for letters from him to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, both men and women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.

“As an aside here, I need to tell you that Saul was so convinced that he was doing the right thing and so passionate about his faith that he was willing to travel over 100 miles to Damascus to find, jail and put to death people in this movement called “The Way.” There were thousands of Jews in Damascus, how many of them had converted to Christianity?  Saul had devised an aggressive plan to storm the city, capture the infidels and bring them into court.

That is until God intervened.  Let’s take a look.

Acts 9:3-30.

    3   As he was traveling, it happened that he was approaching Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him;

    4   and he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?”

    5   And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” And He said, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting,

    6   but get up and enter the city, and it will be told you what you must do.”

    7   The men who traveled with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one.

    8   Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing; and leading him by the hand, they brought him into Damascus.

    9   And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank.

  10   Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias; and the Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.”

  11   And the Lord said to him, “Get up and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying,

  12   and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him, so that he might regain his sight.”

  13   But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he did to Your saints at Jerusalem;

  14   and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your name.”

  15   But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel;

  16   for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name’s sake.”

  17   So Ananias departed and entered the house, and after laying his hands on him said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road by which you were coming, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”

  18   And immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he regained his sight, and he got up and was baptized;

  19   and he took food and was strengthened.

Why do you think God chose to convert Paul in this way? Why didn’t he just become a believer when he saw Stephen stoned or heard Peter preach?

Acts 9:20–31 (NIV)

²⁰ At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. ²¹ All those who heard him were astonished and asked, “Isn’t he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? And hasn’t he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?” ²² Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Christ.

²³ After many days had gone by, the Jews conspired to kill him, ²⁴ but Saul learned of their plan. Day and night they kept close watch on the city gates in order to kill him. ²⁵ But his followers took him by night and lowered him in a basket through an opening in the wall.

²⁶ When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple. ²⁷ But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus. ²⁸ So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. ²⁹ He talked and debated with the Grecian Jews, but they tried to kill him. ³⁰ When the brothers learned of this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.

³¹ Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace. It was strengthened; and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it grew in numbers, living in the fear of the Lord.

 Paul has several opportunities to share this story with many and his retelling is found 3 times in the book of Acts. In Acts 26 he tells his conversion story to King Agrippa. Read along with me. Acts 26:1-32.

Why do you think that we hear the retelling of Paul’s story 3 times in the book of Acts, which is written by the apostle Luke, not by Paul?

Acts 25:23–26:32 (NIV)

Paul Before Agrippa

²³ The next day Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp and entered the audience room with the high ranking officers and the leading men of the city. At the command of Festus, Paul was brought in. ²⁴ Festus said: “King Agrippa, and all who are present with us, you see this man! The whole Jewish community has petitioned me about him in Jerusalem and here in Caesarea, shouting that he ought not to live any longer. ²⁵ I found he had done nothing deserving of death, but because he made his appeal to the Emperor I decided to send him to Rome. ²⁶ But I have nothing definite to write to His Majesty about him. Therefore I have brought him before all of you, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that as a result of this investigation I may have something to write. ²⁷ For I think it is unreasonable to send on a prisoner without specifying the charges against him.”

26            Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You have permission to speak for yourself.”

So Paul motioned with his hand and began his defense: ² “King Agrippa, I consider myself fortunate to stand before you today as I make my defense against all the accusations of the Jews, ³ and especially so because you are well acquainted with all the Jewish customs and controversies. Therefore, I beg you to listen to me patiently.

⁴ “The Jews all know the way I have lived ever since I was a child, from the beginning of my life in my own country, and also in Jerusalem. ⁵ They have known me for a long time and can testify, if they are willing, that according to the strictest sect of our religion, I lived as a Pharisee. ⁶ And now it is because of my hope in what God has promised our fathers that I am on trial today. ⁷ This is the promise our twelve tribes are hoping to see fulfilled as they earnestly serve God day and night. O king, it is because of this hope that the Jews are accusing me. ⁸ Why should any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead?

⁹ “I too was convinced that I ought to do all that was possible to oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth. ¹⁰ And that is just what I did in Jerusalem. On the authority of the chief priests I put many of the saints in prison, and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them. ¹¹ Many a time I went from one synagogue to another to have them punished, and I tried to force them to blaspheme. In my obsession against them, I even went to foreign cities to persecute them.

¹² “On one of these journeys I was going to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. ¹³ About noon, O king, as I was on the road, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, blazing around me and my companions. ¹⁴ We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’

¹⁵ “Then I asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’

“ ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ the Lord replied. ¹⁶ ‘Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen of me and what I will show you. ¹⁷ I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them ¹⁸ to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’

¹⁹ “So then, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the vision from heaven. ²⁰ First to those in Damascus, then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and to the Gentiles also, I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds. ²¹ That is why the Jews seized me in the temple courts and tried to kill me. ²² But I have had God’s help to this very day, and so I stand here and testify to small and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen— ²³ that the Christ would suffer and, as the first to rise from the dead, would proclaim light to his own people and to the Gentiles.”

²⁴ At this point Festus interrupted Paul’s defense. “You are out of your mind, Paul!” he shouted. “Your great learning is driving you insane.”

²⁵ “I am not insane, most excellent Festus,” Paul replied. “What I am saying is true and reasonable. ²⁶ The king is familiar with these things, and I can speak freely to him. I am convinced that none of this has escaped his notice, because it was not done in a corner. ²⁷ King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you do.”

²⁸ Then Agrippa said to Paul, “Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?”

²⁹ Paul replied, “Short time or long—I pray God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become what I am, except for these chains.”

³⁰ The king rose, and with him the governor and Bernice and those sitting with them. ³¹ They left the room, and while talking with one another, they said, “This man is not doing anything that deserves death or imprisonment.”

³² Agrippa said to Festus, “This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.”

What a conversion! How could such a fierce enemy of Christ so quickly become one of His apostles? His life was completely turned around. He was truly blind, spiritually blind and then in an instant he could see! He was compelled to tell anyone who asked, and even those who didn’t ask! What explanation could there be other than that he met the risen Christ and was confronted by Him? He became radically changed! Jesus is alive today and He is still in the process of changing lives. I am someone who has been radically changed.

I had my road to Damascus experience when I was in nursing school. I knew about God like Paul did, but I didn’t know God. I even believed in God, like Paul did but I didn’t know Him. I was spiritually blind. My conversion experience wasn’t a blinding light and it wasn’t an audible voice but it was intensely real to me and the life change it brought has been nothing short of miraculous. I think I had been searching for God. I had that God sized hole that nothing could fill. God had placed Christians around me and they had shared their stories with me. But I was a legalist. Like Paul. I believed that I could work my way to heaven but I never knew if what I was doing was enough. I knew I was a sinner, I knew that I couldn’t meet His standards. I had memorized the 10 commandments and was aware that I wasn’t keeping them. I was alone in my dorm room, a room that had been created just for me. I was studying for my Anatomy and Physiology exam, it was December 18^th and listening to the radio program Unshackled. It was a story about a good person working her way to heaven and why she couldn’t do it. Because no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t not sin. Then I heard these verses from Ephesians 2:1-10. Turn with me there.

Ephesians 2:1–10 (The Message)

He Tore Down the Wall

        ^1–6      2 It wasn’t so long ago that you were mired in that old stagnant life of sin. You let the world, which doesn’t know the first thing about living, tell you how to live. You filled your lungs with polluted unbelief, and then exhaled disobedience. We all did it, all of us doing what we felt like doing, when we felt like doing it, all of us in the same boat. It’s a wonder God didn’t lose his temper and do away with the whole lot of us. Instead, immense in mercy and with an incredible love, he embraced us. He took our sin-dead lives and made us alive in Christ. He did all this on his own, with no help from us! Then he picked us up and set us down in highest heaven in company with Jesus, our Messiah.

       ^7–10      Now God has us where he wants us, with all the time in this world and the next to shower grace and kindness upon us in Christ Jesus. Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It’s God’s gift from start to finish! We don’t play the major role. If we did, we’d probably go around bragging that we’d done the whole thing! No, we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving. He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing.

             

It is by grace not by works, I couldn’t earn my salvation. A seemingly simple concept yet so complex. Simply profound, yet profoundly simple. I got it. I felt like the scales had fallen off my eyes. I prayed right there to God. I don’t know exactly what I said but I remember it as a time when I accepted Him and surrendered my will to His own.

There is another kind of spiritual blindness that can occur when we are believers. It is the blindness of sin. I am not talking about the sin that we are aware of. I am talking about the underlying attitudes, thought processes and sometimes actions that we are at times not aware of.

The Bible says that the heart is deceitful and desperately wicked, who can know it?” Jeremiah 17:9

Jeremiah 17:9 (NLT)

⁹     “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things,

and desperately wicked.

Who really knows how bad it is?

Only God can see us as we truly are and only He can reveal the truth to us. Paul was sincere in his belief and yet he was sincerely wrong. We need to examine ourselves daily using His Word and if and only if we are regenerated will we be able to have Godly discernment. I challenge you to pray that God would reveal wrong thinking and sin to you; that you would give Him permission to invade every area of your life.

In your small group time I am asking you to share some defining moments in your lives. Obviously my greatest defining moment was my road to Damascus conversion. Another defining moment is the story of how we ended up changing careers and Mike going to seminary in Dallas, Texas.

In conclusion I would just like to point out 3 things:

1. No matter how we appear to others, everyone has sin in their lives

1 John 2:1–6 (The Message)

        ^1–2      2 I write this, dear children, to guide you out of sin. But if anyone does sin, we have a Priest-Friend in the presence of the Father: Jesus Christ, righteous Jesus. When he served as a sacrifice for our sins, he solved the sin problem for good—not only ours, but the whole world’s.

The Only Way to Know We’re in Him

        ^2–3      Here’s how we can be sure that we know God in the

right way

: Keep his commandments.

        ^4–6      If someone claims, “I know him well!” but doesn’t keep his commandments, he’s obviously a liar. His life doesn’t match his words. But the one who keeps God’s word is the person in whom we see God’s mature love. This is the only way to be sure we’re in God. Anyone who claims to be intimate with God ought to live the same kind of life Jesus lived.

             

Paul believed he was righteous, a Pharisee of Pharisses, he was dedicated to keeping the law.

2. No matter what you have done, you are not beyond hope. God is a God of redemption. He not only forgave Paul for his persecution of Christians, He gave him the right to be called an apostle.

3. Your past doesn’t have to define you.

God is a God of mercy and forgiveness.

1 John 1:9 (NLT)

⁹ But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.

Study Questions/Discussion Questions week 2 Philippians

Read the entire book of Philippians in one sitting.

1. How would you describe the mood of the letter?


2. What appears to be his attitude toward his circumstances, the Philippians, other people and himself?

Repetition is one way to see what is important in a book of the Bible.

3.  What words or ideas are repeated in each of the following sets of verses?

1:27; 2:2-4; 4:2-3

1:5,7;2:25; 4:14-15

1:4, 18,25;2:2,17-18; 3:1;4:4-10:

4.  From your first readings of Philippians, what seems to be Paul's chief aim for writing this letter?

5. If you were in prison, what kind of a letter do you think you would write?  What would you say?

Application:

Since application is an important step to the study of God's word, you need to ask yourself, "What difference should this passage make in my life?  How should it make me want to think or act?"  Application takes time, thought and prayer and maybe even input from someone else.

Pick one area that you think God is speaking to you and write down some ways you can apply this to your life today.

Philippians Discussion Questions Small Group Time

Philippians

Discussion Questions Week 1

1. Some people love change, others hate it. Are you someone that rearranges your furniture often or likes things just the way they are?



2. What is it about change that excites you?




3. What is it about change that unnerves you?



4. Paul’s background really shaped the way he thought about things/his worldview. If you could pick one value that was emphasized in your home growing up, what would it be?



5. Paul was pursuing a way that seemed right to him in his persecution of Christians. Have you ever been pursuing something just to have your direction turned? What were you pursuing and what changed your direction?



6. Paul had a defining moment in his life on the road to Damascus. Can you briefly share a significant “defining moment” in your life? What happened and how did it impact you?

Bible Study Resumes 9/21

First bible study of the fall is on September 21st from 9:30-11:30 It will be a study on the book of Philippians.

Sept 14th 9:30-11:30 is the first Mom's meeting.

Due to a luncheon
...scheduled for the "Thirst" conference on September 28th that MOMS needs to be
canceled. The luncheon will begin at 11:30 and all are invited.
There will be child care provided. We will be giving more details at our
first meeting. Robin Pollitzer's talk is being rescheduled for a later
date. I know the luncheon will be a blessing to all who
attend.