Applications of Joy

Introduction

If you haven't been with us we are studying the book of Philippians. Our text today is Philippians 1:3-8.

And two weeks ago we started Paul’s letter to the Philippians by highlighting the major themes of the letter.

One of the major themes in Paul’s letter to the Philippian church is joy. So much so that this has been called “The Epistle of Joy”.

Joy of course is different than happiness. Happiness is dependent on outward circumstances while joy emanates from the hope we have in the gopsel of Jesus.

St. Cyprian was born into a pagan family—and for the first 35 years of his life he lived in the world. He got saved at 35 and later became the bishop of Carthage. He wrote a letter to his friend Donatus in the third century. He wrote:

“This seems a cheerful world, Donatus, when I view it from this fair garden under the shadow of these vines. But if I climbed some great mountain and looked out over the wide lands, you know very well what I would see; thieves on the high road, pirates in the seas, in the amphitheatres men murdered to please the applauding crowds, under all roofs misery and selfishness.

It really is a bad world, Donatus, an incredibly bad world. Yet, in the midst of it, I have found a quiet and holy people. They have discovered a joy which is a thousand times better than any pleasure of this sinful life. They are despised and persecuted, but they care not…These people, Donatus, are the Christians, and I am one of them.”

As we read our text today we’ll see that the apostle Paul, imprisoned in Rome, uncertain of his future would certainly agree with Cyprian.

Joy transcends all circumstances because the source of our joy is affected by none of them.

Followers of Jesus have great reason for joy—but often times we need to press joy into the crevices of this “incredibly bad world”.

In our text this morning you and are going to see 4 Places for Joy to be applied.

I. Joyful Appreciation (3-4)

Philippians 1:3-4 “I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy,”

What is clear as we read these two verses is that Paul’s joy in the gospel affected his appreciation in his life despite hard circumstances.

And this is good news for you and I because we too can agree with our brother Cyprian—that this world is full of evil and hardships.

And we can and should rejoice that that the source of our joy is unaffected by these circumstances. The flow of joy that emanates from the glorious truth of the gospel only ceases when we stop coming to drink. When we get distracted. The spigot so to speak is wide open and does not stop flowing—only we stop drinking of this glorious truth.

So you and I want to be those that constantly—despite what is happening at any point in our lives—come again and again to drink from the living water that is Christ.

The number one way we quench joy is by going to drink from other fountains.

Paul is full of appreciative joy for the believers in Philippi. And not because the church in Phillipi was a perfect church.

In chapfter 4 he “entreats Eudoia and Syntyche to reconciled”. There is conflict in the church and where there is conflict there is the presence of sin. The church wasn’t perfect but perfection isn’t a requirement for Paul to be joyful in his appreciation of them.

And this applies in all areas of life. Things do not need to be perfect for you to experience joy. Stop believing that lie.

Q. What idols are stealing your joy? More money, better behaved children, perfect marriage, more respect, weight loss, success in your career? What are you believing you have to have before you can have joy?

Joy doesn’t come from these things! You can get these things and you won’t find joy—you’ll just find a new thing you have to have before you can have joy.

Joy is found when a person is in a right relationship with God. Joy comes from the fact that you are saved in Christ and nothing can take that away.

As long as you are trying to find joy in other things you won’t have it.

The best way to fight for joy is to remind yourself of the gospel. And believe the gospel.

Oftentimes instead of joy we feel critical—of ourselves and others. We look at our blessings and we shrug our shoulders over them.

Oftentimes instead of joyful appreciation we feel entitled to more—to better—to different.

But the gospel kicks back against this because what we currently have is far better—even in the worst circumstances—than what we actually deserve.

Don’t fool yourself into thinking that God owes you something. The only thing that God owed you—is everything that Christ Jesus got on your behalf. You were entitled to the cross—to the wrath of God as judgment for your sin.

But because of your salvation—if you have it-- God accepts you. God loves you. This is great news.

Because of Jesus Ephesians 1:3 is true...

Ephesians 1:3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,”

In Jesus you are rich beyond measure. You may never receive riches here on earth. You may endure things here that you don’t like—but in Christ you have riches and blessing that are sure and being stored up for you.

It’s this glorious truth of the gospel that leads Paul to say, in Roman custody, I am joyfully remembering you in all my prayers.

Joy in Christ is evident in our appreciation for all the blessings that God has given us. When our joy is rooted in Christ contentment and appreciation follows despite what is happening around us. Another way joy is applied in our lives is in...

II. Joyful Partnership (5)

Philippians 1:5 “because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.”

One of the things Paul is appreciative of is his partnership with the Philippians believers. What is this partnership?

What we are talking about here is gospel partnership. Gospel partnership is gospel friendships on gopsel mission. Let’s look at those seperately for a moment.

1. Gospel Friendships

Salvation breeds friendship based on the gospel—people who otherwise would not know each other are united in gospel bonds.

Did you meet anyone in this room through a hobby? Through regular patterns of life? You met in churches or ministry opportunities.

Look around—these people are your friends. And what a blessing to be connected to you! To know you. What a blessing it is to be blessed by you.

Church we are bound together because we have gone through something significant together.

Significant moments in life tend to form lasting friendships.

Do you remember the movie: The Matrix? The story mainly follows a group of people whose eyes have been opened to the truth. They were living a false life in slavery to machine overlords—life seemed real but it was all an illusion. But these people in the story of The Matrix all shared a bond becasue they had been awoken—they knew the truth about the world—and they wanted to free humanity.

Does this sound familiar to you? The best stories in the world are typically just retellings of the Bible.

Friends—we too were living in an illusion. We were dead in our sins—in slavery—and our future was destruction. But if you are saved—your eyes have been opened to the truth! We know that the spiritual is far more real than the physical—we know there is a holy God—we know the way of salvation to free humanity. WE WERE DEAD AND NOW WE ARE ALIVE.

Significant moments in life tend to form lasting friendships.

What experience is more impactful than salvation?

Why does Paul love these people so much? Because they too have met the risen Jesus! They too have been freed from darkness—they are gospel friends.

Q. What are your friendships based on? You should have friends that are lost and in the world and your light should shine bright around those people.

But what about your friendships with other followers of Jesus? Are those friendships based on the gospel? Do you talk about the word, do you pray together? Do you strive together in gospel mission?

Gospel Partnerships consist of gospel friendships on gospel mission.

Paul says, Philippians 1:5 “because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.”

The Philippian believers were on mission with Paul.

2. Gospel Mission

What does it mean to be on gospel mission? At risk of sounding sarcastic—it means to be on the mission of sharing the gospel.

Matthew 28:18-20 “And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.””

You and I are to be about the business of disciple making. And we have a specific role in that undertaking. God uses us and our gospel proclamation to bring people to Jesus and save them.

Romans 10:14-15 “How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!””

You and I cannot make anyone believe in Jesus. Only God can move a heart of dead stone to a heart that is beating and alive in Jesus.

What we are called to do is to tell the good news. To tell other people about what God has done for them in Jesus.

Paul says that the Philippians have been “gospel partners” from the “first day until now”.

From the very beginning they started living in this mission.

Years ago Vickery and I were in Baltimore sharing the gospel on the streets downtown—we went as a part of a team that was there to evangelize the city before the SBC Conference the next week. And downtown—on the boardwalk—we shared the gospel with a young man who was 18-19 and God used that gospel proclamation to awaken him to his need for Jesus. He repented of his sins and trusted Christ as the only means of his salvation.

And we had seen that quite a few times that week but then something happened that we hadn’t seen. He asked us, “What are you doing now?”

“Well we are going to go and tell more people about Jesus.” “Can I come!”

“You want to come with us? And tell people about Jesus?”

“Yes!” —And so he came with us. He watched us share the gospel. And then he wanted to try himself. So we coached him through it.

He had barely been alive in Christ for 30 minutes and he was telling other people about life in Christ.

This is the kind of gospel partnership Paul had in the Philippians. From the very beginning—as soon as they were alive in Christ they began to live on gospel mission with their gospel friend, Paul the apostle.

The longer we have been Christians the easier it seems it is to lose our joy and our excitement for gospel mission.

Revelation. 2:1-4 Jesus is speaking to the church in Ephesus and he says,

“ ‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary. But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.”

It is possible, like the Ephesians church, to have works, patiently endure, love sound teaching, and do all this with a cold practicality—with a stony knowledge of the truth that doesn’t move your heart.

Jesus says—you have abandoned your first love. Friends when we are saved what is our first love? It’s Jesus.

Let me just ask you, are you currently worshipping God from a place of intellectual consent or are you worshipping God in the passion of your heart?

Most Christians don’t live a life on mission not primarily because they are ill equipped, not primarily because they are too afraid, but because their love for Jesus has grown cold.

If we are going to take joy in being gospel partners with Christ whose kingdom we are building and we are going to take joy in being gospel partner with one another then we must above every other pursuit cultivate our love for Jesus.

We must remind ourselves of the glorious truth that we exist in—we were dead and now we are alive—we were judged and now we are forgiven—we were spiining our wheels chasing the garbage of the world and now we have holy purpose and treasure immeasurable in the heavenly places.

Jesus said, “If you love me obey my commands.” Love moves in obedience. And the secret to moving in obedience is loving Jesus.

So read your word. Pray for God to help you believe. Pray for God to reveal sin to you. Pray that you would desire God more and more. Pray that the truth of Bible would be more real to you than anything else—because it is more real than anything else.

We apply joy by with appreciation for our blessings, we apply joy into gospel partnerships, also we apply joy in

III. Joyful Anticipation (1:6)

Philippians 1:6 “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.”

What does our text say? There is encouragement here.

1. God began a good work in you!

You are not the same person that you were before you got saved.

2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

I know you get disappointed in your own sin and I know that our enemy the Devil tries to get you to believe that you are a lost cause but God’s word has never lied once and never will.

If you are in Christ Jesus then God has transferred you from spiritual death to spiritual life. The Holy Spirit resides in you and a good work was started.

Sometimes we have a hard time believing that. Don’t we? “Have you ever said, ‘I wouldn’t have done that if I was a Christian.’”

Friends, you aren’t the only one. In our worst we comparte ourselves to perfection and say this is how I should live if I am a Christian.

Here’s the truth of the gospel. You should be perfectly obedient to God’s laws but you can’t be. That is the purpose of Christ’s coming. If you could be perfect Christ would not have come. So in our imperfect weak, sinful moments we should not say if I’m not perfect I can’t be a Christian, we should say because I’m not perfect I am a Christian. Because I’m not perfect I believe in a perfect savior. And there I find my rest—in his perfection and not my own.

Sanctification is slow. But it is taking place. God started a good work in you.

2. God is continuing a good work in you.

Sanctification is a slower process—sanctification, the act of the Holy Spirit conforming us to Christ is a life long pursuit.

As time goes on and as we walk with the Lord we become more and more like Christ.

2 Corinthians 3:18 “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”

We are being transformed into the same image as Christ by the Spirit.

Maybe you’re thinking—I honestly don’t feel like this is happening to me. What does that mean. Does that mean I’m not saved?

It could mean that. A person can grow up in church and find themselves to not be a follower of Jesus. If your Christianity only exists on Sundays or when you are around other Christians. If you are a different person away from Christians. If you have no desire to read the Bible—if you pray little—if Jesus is just a get out of Hell free card for you---you might not be saved. This is why God’s Word says to work out your salvation with fear and trembling.

Christians should examine their walk with Christ. If that is you talk to someone about your faith, let someone else in, pray and if you find that your Christianity had very little to do with Christ—come to Christ and be saved.

But maybe you simply aren’t “beholding the glory of the Lord”. Maybe you’re not abiding in Christ as he calls you to.

Maybe you are distracted and have gotten caught up by other things. Maybe you are in a valley of sanctification.

If that is you then come back to Christ, behold his glory, abide in him.

Whether it’s going well or going slow—what is sure is that God is continuing in His people the good work he started.

And most exciting is...

3. God will complete this work in you.

Can I get an amen?

Maybe you didn’t amen because you don’t know what this means.

God’s completed good work in you is when sanctification is finished and glorification takes place.

Every follower of Jesus will be glorified which means they will no longer struggle in their sin. They will no longer be tempted by their sin. Because sin will no longer exist in them.

The battle against these bodies of flesh will end and we will be sinless.

This is extremely good news. Lord Jesus come quickly.

But until he does this good news—this surety of your sinless eternity—can help us live meaningful in the here and now.

All of this will pass away but eternity is forever and is sure and so we can live now with eternity in mind. We can build up our treasures in heaven knowing that even though all this will pass away that future is sure and secure.

When the days get bad—when the struggle is hard—when the brokenness of this world cuts us deep—we can have joy and rejoice because these days will pass and coming are the eternal days where there is no darkness to be had.

Philippians 1:6 “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.”

So for the believer—we have joyful appreciation, joyful partnership, joyful anitcipation, and finally our text says we can have...

IV. Joyful Affection (7-8)

Philippians 1:7-8 “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. For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus.”

I’ll have to be honest. Of all the verses of this passage these last two are hardest for me.

Joyful affection—I can get so wrapped up in my own world—and everyone else just becomes background.

But Paul reminds us that “yearning for one another with the affection of Christ Jesus is right.” Paul says, “It’s right for me to feel this way about you.”

It’s right for believers to hold each other in their hearts. To love and appreciate the other partakers of grace that we know. That God has given us as blessings.

Sometimes its easiest to just hold people at arms length. To treat people as if they are expendable—another commodity to be used when it’s convenient. But this should not be amongst the people of God.

The relationships that exist amongst the people of God should draw the world to look and see that Christ is good.

My own conversion to Christ started because I could see that Christian relationships had something that none of my worldly relationships had.

John 13:34-35 “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.””

I think there are two main reasons verses 7-8 might seem strange and foreign to us—if they do. For some people it’s not.

1. You’ve been hurt in the past by loving others.

The word Paul uses for affection here means a deep “churning in your guts”.

And maybe at some point in the past you really loved someone well—a partner, a friend, a family member—and they hurt you bad. And now you keep everyone else at arms length because you don’t want to experience that again.

In the words of my friend Larry Trotter- “Don’t protect yourself from love.”

If you love others in the church with a Christ like affection it will be glorious and sometimes it will hurt because we are not yet glorified—and if you and I, are friends I guarantee at some point you’ll bump into my sin.

Christ loved us despite the fact that we’d hurt him. Thank God, amen?

Don’t miss out on the blessings of godly, joyful affection because there is pain in the mix.

2. Verses 7-8 might seem very strange to us because we are selfish.

Loving others is not something we are interested in—we are interested in being loved, but not loving.

The kind of love God calls us to is only possible if we are beholding his glory, and abiding in Him.

It’s very easy—especially when we are caught up in this world to think that everything is about us.

Do you know something—a selfish person is one of the loneliest people there is.

Joy comes when we focus our lives on others. Serving ourselves is a pit where joy goes to die. The world tells us to serve ourselves, to take care of ourselves, to look out for number one. The world says if everyone would serve themselves then everyone would be taken care of. But worldly logic is dead logic—it’s for fools.

God’s word tells us to serve one another. When we serve one another everyone gets served and joy is felt. Do you want to feel joyful affection for other people? Like you are supposed to?

Then start serving others and I guarantee that you’ll find that God’s word is true in your life. Transform your relationships by becoming a servant and see what happens.

When we fight protecting ourselves from love and we fight serving ourselves in selfishness we find that joyful affection like Pual has for the believers in Philippi is abundant.

Conclusion

Cyprian said to his friend Donatus, “They have discovered a joy which is a thousand times better than any pleasure of this sinful life.”

You and I want to be a joyful people in the midst of a darkened world. We want to live lives full of joyful appreciation, joyful gospel partnership, joyful anticipation, and joyful affection for Christ and others.

So what do we do? We fix our eyes on Jesus, yes? We read His word, yes? We pray, dependent on God, yes?

Because joy is not bought or manufactured—it comes when we—like Paul, like the Philippians—find our identity, our purpose, our pleasure in our God.

Joy flows when we rejoice in the truth of the gospel and all that it means.

So let us be a joyful people, amen?

Let’s pray.