Joy in Serving Jesus:
We are in this together!
Philippians 1:3-8
Introduction: Are you rejoicing
in the Lord this morning? We are here, with a few inconveniences, but are together!
And we are in this together. In this paragraph, Paul is continuing the greeting
of the letter. Though Paul writes to his friends in the church in Philippi while
he is under house arrest in Rome, awaiting trial before Caesar. As he writes, he reflects joy in the Lord, and
hope about the future. “Hope” is often used quite differently in modern English,
like the little boy who said “Hope is wishing for something you now ain’t gonna
happen…” Though that is what many
English speakers may mean by “hope,” that is not the Biblical
idea of “hope”! Hope in the Bible is a
confidant expectation about the future, based on trust in the Lord of History.
It is not wishful thinking, it is the joyful expectation of faith.
There is value in looking back, so that we
can be reminded of God’s demonstrated faithfulness in history. In the book of Deuteronomy, as the nation is
poised on the plains of Moab and being readied to enter the promised land, they
were reminded of what God did in the past – forty years earlier when he led
them out of Egypt, in preserving them in the wilderness, and even in giving
them preliminary victories on the east of the Jordan. God had shown himself
faithful. That is true as well in the history of our church. It is wonderful
to think that God has worked for over 200 years in this community
through this church, preserving a remnant, a witness, and a testimony
for himself. And He has worked in your
life and your family as well. We learn
from the past, we are encouraged by it, but we don’t live there. Now we can
look ahead with joyful expectation. We look ahead joyfully, and with a
confident hope to the future. At the heart of this paragraph Paul expresses his
confidence, “He who has begun a good work in you will complete
it.”
The
historical context:
Paul is writing this letter as a prisoner, probably in Rome, the setting that
we see at the end of Acts 28. Though he
is a prisoner, he is writing to a church that he knew well, and he is encouraging
them to rejoice in the Lord, even if circumstances were difficult. Paul had a history with this church, in fact
had been beaten, jailed, and later asked to leave town by the authorities (Acts
16). We see in this letter Paul’s love
for the people, his “Shepherd’s heart.” He is writing this letter to encourage
his brothers and sisters in Philippi, despite difficult circumstances, to rejoice
in the Lord. Here, still in the opening of the letter, let’s read his greeting…
The Scripture: Philippians 1:3-8… 3 I thank my God in
all my remembrance of you, 4
always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, 5 because of your partnership in
the gospel from the first day until now.
6 And I am sure of
this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the
day of Jesus Christ.
7 It is right for me to feel this
way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers
with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation
of the gospel. 8 For God is
my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus.
New Testament scholar Gordon Fee calls Philippians
a “letter of friendship,” and Paul, with the love of a shepherd, writes to his friends
in Philippi, dear brothers and sisters in Christ, thanking them for their
partnership in the Gospel. Here we’ll see…
The Maine*
Idea:
Let God’s work in the past encourage you to look ahead with joy and hope, loving
Him, and loving one another… First, we see Paul…
I.
Looking back with joy: We can rejoice in God’s faithfulness
(3-5).
We’ve recently been apart for a couple of months, but God has continued to be
faithful.
3 I thank my God in
all my remembrance of you, 4
always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, 5 because of your partnership in
the gospel from the first day until now.
“Remember”
is a key word in the Bible. One of the
main themes that carries through the Old Testament is that the Jews were
repeatedly called on to remember what God had done in their past, the
Exodus being the paradigm… He is the God
who brought them out with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm! They were
to remember, and they were to teach the truth to their children. In the New
Testament, as Jesus was preparing to depart, the disciples were given the Lord’s
supper, and told that the ordinance would serve as a reminder of Christ and his
work: “Do this in memory of me…” Remembering is important since God’s
past work shows us his character and reveals his attributes. He revealed his love toward us. Since God, “…spared not his own son, but
delivered him up for us all, how will he not also with him freely give us all
things?” Paul here is saying that as he looked back and remembered what God
had done in and through the Philippians, he was thankful and prayed with
joy. There is joy in remembering
what God has done!
Paul
had a history that he could look back on with joy. He remembered when he first
arrived there and met Lydia with the other women down by the river. God opened
her understanding and she believed what Paul said. He remembered delivering the
demon possessed fortune-teller, and then, after he had been arrested, sharing
Christ with the Philippian jailer and then with his family. They all believed
and were baptized that very night! Something
like 15 times in this short letter, Paul uses the word “joy” or “rejoice.” And don’t
forget that he is writing as a prisoner!
I
don’t mean to imply that there were no struggles: Paul had been severely beaten
before they were jailed in Philippi, and once released the team was asked to leave
the city after just a short time effective ministry! But the connection with
the church, the unity in the family, the fellowship in the ministry
continued. One motive in writing this
letter was to thank the church for their partnership in gospel, including their
giving on his behalf (4:18,19). They saw Paul as a spiritual leader and viewed
themselves as partners, coworkers in Christ.
Paul could genuinely be thankful for their partnership,
“koinonia,” “sharing”, in the
ministry, “from the first day until now.” They were connected, they were
a team, a family, even when they were separated by long distances. We are a family, and like any family there
have been good times and times of struggle. In the church, we “…bear one
another’s burdens, and so fulfill the Law of Christ.” We’ve looked through
the years at some of the “one another” statements in the NT, encourage, love,
build up (or edify) one another… bear each other’s burdens. That’s what a
family does! We watch out for one another, care for one another. We read
later in Phil 4:15-18 about Paul’s experience of partnership with the
Philippians…
15 And you Philippians
yourselves know that in the beginning of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no
church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving, except
you only. 16 Even in
Thessalonica you sent me help for my needs once and again. 17 Not that I seek the gift, but I
seek the fruit that increases to your credit.
18 I have received full payment, and more. I am well
supplied, having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant
offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God.
So, a part of the partnership between Paul
and the Philippians was financial. They had given generously to make sure
Paul’s ministry could continue in Macedonia and beyond. And Paul was grateful.
What
about our church? God has been faithful in the past, he has provided for our
needs and strengthened us in times of testing. He is faithful. Through the months of this lockdown, he has
continued to encourage his people and to provide for the ministries of this
church and those of our missionaries. What has been your experience,
personally? I hope that every one of you can look back, and remember
with joy the time you first believed.
I trust there are moments you can recall when God answered prayers, when
he worked in your life to teach you. I
hope that as a church we can remember God’s hand, guiding and preserving,
teaching us and leading us. Remember
that God has guided this church through many times of trial in the past. And he
has worked in your life as personally as well. Let God’s work in the past
encourage us to look ahead with joy and hope and to grow in our love for
others.
II.
Looking ahead with confidence: We can have faith in God’s plan. Here we see the joy
of our hope! (v.6). God
has a plan — and its better than we could imagine!
6 And I am sure of
this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the
day of Jesus Christ.
He
is faithful, he is trustworthy. Trust is not always easy… Haddon Robinson told
the story of an apartment fire in Harlem, in NYC. The fire was out of control,
and a blind girl was perched on fourth floor window with smoke billowing around
her… The firefighters couldn’t get the ladder truck between the buildings, so
they placed a net, and called on the girl to jump. She was afraid, she was
blind and wouldn’t jump into a net she couldn’t see. Finally, her father
arrived, and he shouted through a bull horn that there is a net, “Jump!” And
she did, and didn’t even suffer a scratch. Why did the girl jump when she heard
her father’s voice? She knew him, she knew he loved her, she trusted him
implicitly. She heard her father’s voice, and she responded to it. At
different times and in different ways God spoke in times past to the fathers
through the prophets, in these last days he has spoken in a Son. We have
His word written. We can trust Him, and entrust ourselves to Him. We trust our
Father! We trust and obey.
“Being
confident of this very thing…” Paul could pray with confidence and joy as
he looked back, rejoicing in God’s work. Yet he didn’t live in the past. He had
a hope for the future. For Paul, “hope”
implies a confident expectation that just as surely as God had worked in the
past, he would bring this story to a glorious conclusion. He is good, and all
that He does is good, all the time. We can trust Him.
“…He who began a good work in you will
complete it…” People are not always reliable. We start projects with good intentions,
but… On the human level we need
reminders (2 Cor 8:6, 11). God is
completely reliable, he is trustworthy, he finishes what he starts. He has a
plan for creation, and by grace we are a part of the story.
It’s
not the work that God has done for us that is emphasized, notice the
wording here, but rather the work he has begun in us. Our experience of salvation, by grace through
faith, is certainly implied, it is the beginning of a new life. But it seems by
speaking of God’s work in us, the emphasis is on the
transforming, sanctifying work God is doing in our lives, from the
inside out. We’re not yet what we will be, but we are not what we once were. He
who began a good work in you will bring it to completion…
“…until
the Day of Christ Jesus…” God has appointed a Day in which He will judge
the world in righteousness. Do we really believe that? Do we live like it? All
of history is moving toward a culmination, Jesus will return and reward the
faithful and judge and unrepentant. For believers that is Good News! The world
lives in denial, thinking their sin is hidden they will never have to give an
account. Not so. God has appointed a Day in which He will judge the
world in righteousness. And so, we are thankful for God’s gracious
intervention in our lives. For the work that He initiated of His own sovereign
will, not because we somehow earned it or deserved it. We deserved wrath, but
in His mercy we received grace. And from the time you believed, God has been at
work in you! We’ll see an amazing statement in Phil 2:12,13…
12Therefore, my
beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much
more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in
you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
We’ll talk about the details at a later date,
but for now notice the connection between human responsibility and divine
sovereignty. Work out your salvation with fear and trembling… Why? …for
God is at work in you both to will and to work for His good pleasure… It is
not just what Jesus did for us in the past, it is also what He continues to do in
us now. God is at work in us! That work will continue until the Day of
the Lord Jesus Christ. We should let God’s work in the past encourage us to
look ahead with joy and hope, and to grow in our love for others.
III.
Looking around with love: We can rejoice in God’s family (7-8).
7 It is right for me
to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you
are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense
and confirmation of the gospel. 8
For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ
Jesus.
“Just as
it is right for me to think this of you all…” Paul’s love for the believers
in Philippi is evident, “I hold you in my heart…” The language here reflects the inner parts,
the tender affection that Paul felt for the church at Philippi. God so loves us (Jn 3:16; Rom 5:8).
“…you are partakers with me of grace…” We
are fellow recipients of Grace, the unmerited favor of God. (We saw this word in the opening verses). God
has extended his grace toward me--aren’t you thankful that is all of
grace? I know I am! If God has so loved us, we ought to love one
another. We are fellow recipients of grace!
We should be gracious to one another…
“…For
God is my witness, how greatly I long for you all with the affection of Christ
Jesus…” Paul loved Jesus, and his love for God overflowed in his love for
the church. First John 4:7, 8 “Beloved,
let us love one another, for love is of God and everyone that loves is born of
God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God for God is love.”
Jesus had told his disciples that love for one another would be a hallmark of
authentic Christian faith: “By this men
will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
What does that look like? We know Paul’s
inspired perspective: 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a…
4 Love is patient and
kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on
its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;
6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the
truth. 7 Love bears all
things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never ends…
God’s work in our lives should encourage us
to look ahead with steadfast joy, a confident hope, and sincere love for one
another. It should encourage us to look ahead with joy and anticipation and to
grow in our love for one another!
What is God saying to me in this passage? Look back with steadfast joy, rejoicing
in God’s faithfulness. Look ahead
with confident hope, have faith in His plan.
Look around with love, rejoice in God’s family!
What
would God have me to do in response to this passage? As far as it rests
with you, be at peace with all men. Let’s
not be discouraged by limitations we have to deal with, lets rejoice that God
has brought us to today – He is faithful!
The Creator has a plan. He knows you, and by grace, you are included in
his plan.
As we prepare our hearts for the Lord’s
table we can look back with joy and remember. We remember the Cross. We
remember the Good News that Christ died for our sins… and that He rose again
the third day. We can remember the day we first believed and were grafted
into the family of God. We also prepare our hearts knowing that this same
Jesus will return, and that He promises to continually work in us, growing
our faith, maturing our understanding, making us more like Him. And that on
that Day we will be perfected, we will be like Him, sin eradicated once for
all. Until then, we need to be patient with each other, don’t we? We need to
deal with things like viruses, and the first pandemic, human sin. We all need
grace!
Look around. Do you feel the love of Christ within you, prompting you to
love your brothers and sisters? As John said, “Beloved, let us love one
another…” Jesus said, “…by this men will know that you are my
disciples…” AMEN.
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