The Joy Of Godly Relationships Series

“THE JOY OF GODLY RELATIONSHIPS” Phil. 1:1-11

FBCF – 8/2/20

Jon Daniels

INTRO – “I’ve got that joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart…” – Kid’s song from years ago.

More recently, King & Country released a song a couple of years ago entitled, “I Choose Joy.” In a world that is getting crazier by the moment, their encouragement in this song is for us to choose joy over despair & discouragement & defeat. That’s good advice, especially in our day.

I read about a conference at a Presbyterian church where people were given helium filled balloons and told to release them at some point in the service when they felt like expressing the joy in their hearts. Since Presbyterians are known to be a bit more formal in their worship, they weren't really free to say "Hallelujah, Praise the Lord." So, this would be a quiet way to express their joy. All through the service balloons rose toward the ceiling, but when it was over 1/3 of the balloons were still unreleased.

Listen friends, we need to learn to let our balloons go! We need to learn to choose joy, to express our joy, to understand what joy is & where it comes from. Today, we are starting a new series of messages called “Joy in the Journey” that is going to be focused on joy.

EXPLANATION – Open your Bibles to Phil. 1:1-11.

Psalm 16:11 tells us that, in God’s presence, there is fullness of joy. Then Jesus, as He was drawing close to His death on a cruel Roman cross, said in John 15:11, “I have told you this so that you may be filled w/ my joy. Yes, your cup of joy will overflow” (TLB). Then Paul wrote in Gal. 5:16 that the “fruit of the Spirit is love, JOY, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, & self-control.”

So, why do so many Christians live under a dark cloud of disappointment & disillusionment when they could be walking in the sunshine of joy? What has robbed so many of us of our joy that is rightfully & Scripturally ours? That’s what Paul wrote about in AD 62 when he wrote this letter from a Roman prison cell. Of all the people who had reason to NOT be filled w/ joy, it was Paul at this time as he awaited his trial – acquittal or beheading. And yet, that’s exactly what he focused on all throughout this letter, mentioning joy, or rejoicing, or gladness 15-20 times.

Paul’s secret is found in another word that is used at least 10 times in Philippians – “mind.” “Think” used 5 times, & “remember” used once – at least 16 times. The secret is found in the way we think – our attitudes, our thought patterns.

- What consumes our thoughts?

- What are we filling our minds with?

- What kind of attitude toward life do we have?

Paul was not encouraging a shallow, worldly, self-help, “Power of Positive Thinking” kind of attitude that blindly says, “Everything is just going to turn out alright.” He was encouraging his readers to take a hard look at who they’re letting joy-stealing circumstances, joy-stealing people, & joy-stealing sin corrode & corrupt their minds. There’s a better way! Through a personal & passionate relationship w/ Jesus, we can truly “Rejoice in the Lord ALWAYS!” This is what we will explore in this “Joy in the Journey” series. And today, we begin w/ “The Joy of Godly Relationships.”

APPLICATION – There is great joy in having Godly relationships within the Body of Christ.

There’s a word in v. 5 that the ESV translates “partnership.” It’s the Greek word koinonia. It means “fellowship.” Usually, when we think about the word “fellowship” in church, we think about a party, or a social gathering, or a meal – “dinner on the grounds.” Might say, “We enjoyed fellowshipping with our friends,” or “That was some good fellowship time when we were playing golf…or on vacation…or shopping.” But that word means more than just a time of social interaction. It means to be in agreement w/ one another, united in purpose, & serving alongside one another.

Fellowship is all about the “one another’s” in the NT. There are about 60 “one another” verses in the NT. And when we look at this passage in Philippians we can see these “one another” aspects of fellowship. FELLOWSHIP MEANS:

- We are thankful for one another – v. 3

- We pray for one another – v. 4

- We partner w/ one another – v. 5

- We see God working in one another – v. 6

- We are unified w/ one another – v. 7

- We yearn for one another – v. 8

- We love one another more & more – v. 9