Lesson 4: Joy builds God’s kingdom
Philippians 1:1-30 – www.bible.com/bible/59/php.1
12 I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel,
13 so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ.
14 And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.
15 Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will.
16 The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel.
17 The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment.
One of the greatest promise-guide verses of Scripture is found in Matthew 6:33 – seek first God’s kingdom and righteousness, and all our needs will be supplied. It is an amazing promise, and is not only found here but also in many other Scriptures. It is also the center of what is taught in today’s verses.
The principle is simple – make the priority of our life God’s will for us, His kingdom, and He will supply all our needs. While simple, it is quite revolutionary and against every instinct we have in our human bodies and minds. Read the above verses again with this in mind.
First, the “what has happened to me” is explained in the verses of last lesson – Paul is in prison unjustly, and everyone around him knew it. Yet, he was not being set free. Then, to add insult to injury, others were taking advantage of his absence to try to take away his authority and the people who loved and honored him.
How could these hardships for Paul ever be considered “seeking God’s kingdom” with his life? How could Paul’s suffering ever produce good? How could joy ever grow in these kinds of circumstances? He greatly rejoiced in God’s salvation coming to those close to the emperor.
These questions lead us to the second point in these verses. Sometimes we learn to understand and see what God accomplishes through our lives – as Paul did as he watched many of the inner-circle guards in Nero’s personal security forces come to accept Jesus as their Savior.
But sometimes even Paul could not see how things could turn out well – so he simply praised God that the Gospel was being preached even if it was with what he saw as wrong motives. He knew the truth of God’s promise in Isaiah 55:11 – God’s word will always accomplish ALL He sends it to do.
When we understand this principle, joy is ours no matter the circumstances, because we can be certain He sees and He will provide all we need to complete what He has asked of us.
*Can you think of a time you went through a hard experience you did not understand at all, and you couldn’t even see any good come out of it? How did God enable you to trust Him during and after this confusing time?