Joy to the world
Part 1
Philippians 1:1-11
As we begin nearing the celebration of the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ
The word Joy
Becomes a common word
The rest of the year
It may only be mentioned outside of church
When you are trying to decide if you feel like a nut or not
Almond Joy or Mounds
But at Christmas we see the word on signs and banners and wreaths
We hear it in Christmas carols
Joy abounds in December
At least in theory
Or in word
Unfortunately
Many in the world
Even believers
Often confuse
Happiness with Joy
Happiness is an emotion that is dependent on circumstances
Happiness can fade
When the gifts under the tree become worn out
When the wrapping paper is in the trash can
When the hard times come
When the party is over
And life comes roaring back in
Happiness often flies right out the window
Despair and depression can take its place
And it can happen in the blink of an eye
But Joy
True Joy
Comes from the Lord
It is a gift of the spirit
Joy runs much deeper and is much stronger
Joy
Is the confidence we have as believers that we know that no matter what
God is in control
Joy is confidence in our salvation through Jesus and the assurance of that salvation
Joy
Is the assurance of God’s love
Joy
Is the assurance of God’s provision
Joy
Is the assurance of God’s protection
You see we can and should have joy when we have Jesus
In all circumstances
But happiness can fade
Because happiness depends on people and circumstance
But Joy depends on The Lord
Today we are beginning a short series on Joy
I can think of no other book of the bible that describes joy better than Paul’s letter to the church at Philippi
In the short 4 chapters of this great book
Paul outlines joy
He shows us how to
Find
Use
And pass on
The joy that comes though Jesus
Let me start with just a short history of Paul’s circumstances surrounding this letter
The Apostle Paul
Writes this letter to his friends
To his
Brothers and sisters in Philippi
While he was in chains for his dedication to Jesus
He had been persecuted
He had experienced wealth and poverty
Times of plenty and not times of not enough
He had been in a Roman prison in Philippi when he had been there before
And was now being held against his will
Guarded by Romans soldiers
There was not much in his life at this time that would lead to happiness
But still he writes a letter
That is known as Paul’s letter of joy
Over the next few weeks
Prayerfully we will be able to look at the source of Paul’s joy
And apply it to our lives
And with the right mind sets and attitudes
We too can learn to experience the joy that he found
Today we are going to begin this series
With The Joy of our Christian relationships
Please open your bibles to Philippians 1
Keep your finger in there or throw in your bulletin as we will go here several times this morning
Philippians 1:1-2
This letter is from Paul and Timothy, slaves of Christ Jesus.
I am writing to all of God’s holy people in Philippi who belong to Christ Jesus, including the church leaders[a] and deacons.
“2 May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.”
Paul has been separated from people he loves and cares about by distance and circumstances
But he sends them a letter so full of love and a desire to see them that it is truly moving
Verse 3
“Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God.”
He says in plain terms
Every time you cross my mind
I thank God for your presence in my life
Every time you cross my mind
I thank God for your friendship
Every time you cross my mind
I thank God for your love
We can learn so much about attaining joy in our relationships by Paul’s example here
When you think of friends
When you think of family
When you think of your brothers and sisters in Christ
Do you give thanks to God for them?
We often as sinful human beings
Want to focus on the bad
We remember the faults and forget the good things
Paul’s say he gives thanks to God for his friends
This is a good starting place to finding joy in our relationships
Look for the good and thank God for it
Verse 4
“Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy,”
He goes much further
Paul says
Not only do I thank God for you
But
I pray for you as well
And praying for you brings me joy
If you truly want to take an account of your own spiritual growth
Look at your own prayers
Do you pray
Shallow
Selfish
Prayers
Prayers all about God give me this
Or help me with that
Or do your prayers tend to focus on others
Let me tell you a little secret
It is very hard to stay made at someone
When you are praying for them with all your heart
It is hard to hold on to hurt when you are lifting the person who hurt you up to God
It is hard to hold a grunge against someone while asking God to bless them
It is hard to focus on the bad when your are thanking God for the good in them
And let me add to that secret
God hears those prayers
And he sees your spiritual growth
And he will reward that growth and some or those rewards will be joy
And some of that joy will be in your worldly relationships
Verse 5
“for you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it until now.”
Paul goes on to give another reason for his joy in these relationships
He says guys --we are like minded
We are walking the same path
We are kindred spirits
In cowboy terms
He says
We are riding for the same brand
And that brings me great joy
Serving together
Fellowshipping together
Doing life together
With like minded people should bring us joy as well
Verse 6
“And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.”
Paul continues giving reasons for his joy in relationships
By
Reminding the audience and us
That he knows
Knows!!!
That God will finish what he started
God started a good work in us when we accepted Jesus as our savior
And he will continue the good work in us
If we allow him to do so
I can tell you for Paul there was little that brought more joy to him than to see God working in the lives of those he was called to minister to
I can tell you that he is not alone
There is not much that can compare to the joy I or any person called into God’s service
To seeing God work in peoples’ lives
To see the progression of spiritual growth that occurs with obedience to God’s word
To see people go from broken to better
And from better to solid Mission minded believers
Is amazing
Paul was amazed and overjoyed
I am amazed and overjoyed
And I pray that as you progress into joy filled relationships
You too will experience this joy and amazement as well
Verse 7
“ So it is right that I should feel as I do about all of you, for you have a special place in my heart. You share with me the special favor of God, both in my imprisonment and in defending and confirming the truth of the Good News.”
Paul goes onto to explain more reasons for his joy
You see Paul loved these people
He loved them with a burning love
This is how we find that same joy
Do you love your brothers and sisters with that same love?
Do they hold a special place in your heart?
He says
You have been there for me in the good times and the bad
And I have been there for you in those same circumstances
You see you really see who loves you
Who is your true friend in the hard times?
I can tell you nothing will build a strong relationship better than working together for a common goal
And helping each other through hard times
If you want to find joy in your relationships come together untied for Christ and be there for others when they need help support and comfort
Verse 8
“8 God knows how much I love you and long for you with the tender compassion of Christ Jesus.’
God knows how much we love
God know everything
But do the ones we love know how much we love them?
Do we tell them with our words?
Do we show them with our actions?
Do we work to discover their love language?
Make them feel special
Do we build them up or tear them down?
You see this is one of those areas where by giving we receive
When we give love we get love
When we show love we are shown love in return
When we share the gift of joy
And we also receive the gift of joy
The last half of that verse says it best
Let me repeat it
God knows how much I love you and long for you with the tender compassion of Christ Jesus.
The tender compassion of Christ Jesus.
This is how we are to love
Use Jesus as the model of love
He is the perfection of love
Compassion
Caring
Listening
Being there for someone in the good and bad times and them being there for you
This is how we are to love and it is this type of love that should give us Joy
Jesus never turned anyone who was seeking compassion away
Leapers
Deaf
Blind
Sick
Afflicted
Demon possessed
Men, women, boys and girls
Jews and gentiles
They all came to Jesus for compassion and they found it
If we want true joy in our relationship we must
Must strive to find that type of compassion
Verse 9
“I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding.”
I want you to notice how many times in this short passage of scripture
Paul says that he prays for them
But look at his prayer
He does not pray for healing
He does not pray for a change of circumstances
He does not pray for any physical thing for the ones he loves
He says I want your love to over flow
I want love to
Fill you up to the brim and then spill out
Why does he pray this?
Because he knows that we will grow in all of our relationships when we find that kind of love
And when we grow in your understanding and knowledge
Listen
When you we
We will find the joy we are looking for
And it will endure in all seasons and situations in spite of the circumstances
Verse 10
0 For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return.
You see Paul knows something
He knows something that I know
He knows something some of you know
But he knows something that some of you don’t know
He knows
That
True joy in this life comes from Jesus
And he knows that true joy comes from living an obedient life to The Lord
You see
We can never find joy while we are living apart from Jesus
We can be saved
And make no mistake we will have eternal life if we have accepted his gift of salvation
But to receive the kind of joy Paul is describing we must strive to live pure and blameless lives
I need you to hear me on this
None of us are perfect
And we never will be in this life
But
The joy we seek lies in the seeking of perfection and that perfection is found in Jesus
I want you to think for a moment the feeling you have when someone has done you wrong or you have done someone wrong
Think about the strained relationship
The broken communication
When we are disobedient to God’s word
This is how our relationship with him is
Strained to say the least
Verse11
May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation—the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ[b]—for this will bring much glory and praise to God.
Paul goes on to pray that all who read these words will be filled with the fruit of their salvation
The fruit of the spirit
Some call them the gifts of the spirit
These are the blessings God sends to us with the Holy Sprint
At the time of our salvation
We receive them
But we must learn to use them
And when we do
The blessings really begin for us and those in our lives
Let’s look at the fruit from Galatians 5:22-23
But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!
Galatians 5:24-25
Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. 25 Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.
If you want to find joy in your life
Find Jesus and follow him
Philippians 1:27
“Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ”
If you want to find joy in your relationship with your families
Your spouse your children
Your friends
Your church family
Paul gives us a simple plan here in this short letter
First Jesus is the key
Trying to find Joy apart from Jesus is an effort in futility
We can’t get it
Happiness comes and goes
But Joy comes from the Lord and is everlasting
First
Know Jesus
Then
Give thanks to God for the people he has placed in your life
Remember the good
Look for the good
Forget the bad
Forgive and move on
Pray for the people in your life
Pray they will be filled with love that overflows
Pray that they will grow in knowledge and understanding
Live a pure and blameless life and set an example for others to follow
Seek him in all you do imitate him and his character
I can assure you
You will find joy
Next week we will look at finding joy through service
If you want to read ahead read Philippians 2
If you don’t have joy in your life or your relationship
You need to look in the mirror and ask
Do I have Jesus in my life?
Close from the heart
Pray
