Finding Joy in Serving Christ

Sermon Title: Finding Joy in Serving Christ (1:1-19)

Today we will start a mini-series sermons that will spread out during the next few months into the summer as we look at one of Paul’s letters in the N.T, the Letter to the Philippians (Show slide 1). As we begin today, I want to ask you a few questions? What brings you joy in life? Is it your kids/grandkids, family? (show slide 2) Is it your job/retirement, accomplishments? (show slide 3) Is it your local sports team(s)? (Show slide 4) How about your church? Do you find joy in serving the Lord here at PBC? (Show slide 5) What about suffering for Him? (Show slide 6)

As I was preparing for today’s sermon, I read a story recently of a missionary who was from the Czech Republic. (Show slide 7) His name is Petr and he had grown up as a pastor’s kid in a communist country. He became a Christ follower as a teenager at the age of 15. His family did a lot of Christian work under the communist regime and suffered persecution. His parents secretly trained Christians through a network of secret churches across the country.

On December 10th (remember that date) 2015, while in Sudan, Petr was arrested by airport security. He had been meeting with Christians and Sudanese pastors while he was serving with the Voice of the Martyrs. While in Sudan he had been under surveillance by the police since he entered the country. He was arrested and falsely charged with multiple crimes, including espionage and entering the country illegally.

He was thrown in a cell with members of the terrorist group called ISIS who were very hostile toward him, since they found out he was a Christian. Despite being beaten severely, being called names like “filthy rat” or “filthy pig” by the muslim terrorists, Petr realized that God was working in his life. He had peace despite the suffering.

His cellmates one day decided to kill him. In Petr’ words he wrote, “One of them slowly sharpened the edge of a metal plate while threatening to slit my throat. They also attempted to torture me with “waterboarding” because, they said, the Czech Republic had cooperated with the United States in waterboarding Muslims. As they collected water to pour on my face and prepared to tie me up, a guard who had overheard their plans opened the cell door and moved me to another cell. I believe that guard was sent by the Lord to save my life that day.” (Voice of the Martyrs)

Later during his imprisonment Petr struggled with discouragement and depression as he was asking God….”How long, O Lord, will You leave me here? “How long will You keep me separated from (my wife) Wanda and the children? How much more can I endure? The Lord answers his questions by moving him to a different prison, where he was able to share his testimony with prisoners from Eritrea, a country that he had visited earlier while serving with the Voice of the Martyrs. In the words of Petr…. “The Lord had turned that 10th day of the month, normally a day of discouragement and depression, into a day of ministry and celebration.” From that day, Petr dedicated his prison time to the Lord. He prayed this prayer to the Lord, “If you will allow me opportunities to share the gospel, I will stay here as long as You want!”

Petr experience a heart change. He was no longer fretting about his trial or how long he would be in prison. He even stopped praying about his release from prison. He simply allowed God to use him to build His kingdom while he was imprisoned.

While in the new prison, Two Sudanese pastors Kuwa and Hassan, were being tried with him as well. They were located across his cell and they would exchange Bible verses back and forth to encourage one another in the Word. They would recite Romans 12:12 together… “Rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer.” “We can rejoice today! We can be steadfast in prayer!” they would say.

Later on eventually the Sudanese pastors, Petr and his translator were transferred to another prison and were able to minister to many other people in prison.

During the trial hearings for the Christian prisoners, there was a lot of support by the local Sudanese Christians who would often sing hymns as they were led into the courthouse, risking their own arrest. The prisoners never felt alone, and not only God but also His body, the church was standing boldly with them during the trial proceedings.

Long story short, on Jan 2017, Petr was found guilty and sentenced to 20+ years in a political prison. The others Christian prisoners were also found guilty but given a lesser sentence. It was a difficult circumstance for Petr but he found comfort in the promise that he had made to God during his prison time. On Feb. 2017, a month later, he was set free. In his story, Petr wrote: “When my fellow prisoners heard the news, they rejoiced with me and shouted for joy… other prisoners hugged me and rejoiced over my release. Petr’ was 445 days about 14 months in prison and during that time many prayed for his release and for his family. His Sudanese Christian brothers were also released later on. In his testimony, he wrote: Returning to my home after being sentenced to life in prison has given me an interesting perspective. Although I gave my life to Christ when I was 15 years old, I think it has more meaning now when I say, “Lord, the rest of my life is Yours. You brought me out of prison. You saved me from a life sentence. The rest of my life is Yours; it is in Your hands. Here I am. I want to serve You for the rest of my life.”

Imagine being in Petr’ situation. Would you respond the same way? Would you find joy in serving Christ even in the most difficult of circumstances.? I shared this story with you because today we are going to focus on this main topic of “finding joy in serving Christ”. And this may look different for us today (here in the U.S), but know that there are brothers and sisters in Christ today who are going through the same experience and are finding joy, even in dire circumstances. Paul put this way to the Philippians “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!”.

The Author:

As we look at the letter written to the Philippians, we find out that Paul is in a similar situation. He was suffering for the Lord and was a prisoner in Rome (1:7,13) when he wrote the letter. He writes the letter to the church to inform them of his current circumstances, to thank them for their financial support and encourage them in the Lord. In verse 1, Paul begins the letter with a greeting as it was customary in his writings. Usually, Paul would identify himself as an apostle, but in this particular letter he calls himself a bond-servant (literally a slave) of the Lord. As we read verse 1, he also includes Timothy’s name in the letter as well. There was a special relationship that existed between Paul, Timothy and the believers in Philippi. In the entire letter, Paul frequently uses words such as “I”, “me”, “my”. There are over 100 occurrences in this short letter and the word “I” is found fifty-two time (Gromacki, p.259).

This does not reveal that Paul was egocentric, in fact it shows the personal close relationship that existed with this church. This letter is considered to be a “personal joyful letter” that included much needed encouragement for the saints at Philippi.

Paul & Timothy founded the church in their 2nd missionary journey. Paul was the sole writer of the letter as identified in 1:1. Timothy played an important role in Paul’s ministry and along with Silas and Luke were part of the missionary team that spread the gospel and evangelized the city of Philippi as recorded in Acts 16. While in prison, he hoped and also expected to be released and get the opportunity to revisit Philippi one day (1:25, 27; 2:24; cf. 1 Timothy 1:3). While in prison, he used the opportunity to write letters to different churches. Bible history tells us that most of his epistles or letters were written while in prison, otherwise known as the “prison letters.” There is a lesson to be learned here. Paul had been imprisoned for sharing His faith for a few years (vvs. 1-8). He did not complain or quit as he was facing hardships and persecution. He instead made good use of his time despite his circumstances. Sharing the good news of the gospel was more important to him then his daily comforts.

Let me ask a personal question: What is the most you have suffered for being a Christ-follower?

Suffering for what we believe challenges our faith, it increases it and is part of the Christian life and the apostle Paul understood it better than any of one in his time. Paul’s confidence in Christ and the power of the Gospel emboldened him to serve God even while in prison.

Paul writes the letter to the entire church which included the believers, overseers (the elders) and deacons. He is addressing the letter to not just the regular members of the church but also to the leadership of the church. And notice how Paul addresses the believers in verse 1. He calls them “saints in Christ Jesus”. In our traditional Christian culture, we view “saints” as these individuals who are high and mighty and have this ranked status in religion, especially in the Catholic faith. There are even churches named after them. The other day, I saw a person wearing a t-shirt with the saying: “Patrick was a saint, I ain’t”. (Show slide 8) Around St. Patrick day we see a lot of people wearing these t-shirts to make a statement. But in reality, if you have truly believed the good news of the gospel, you are a saint in Christ. Now, this does not mean that we are “perfect” and better than other people. The word Paul uses to address the believers in Philippi is the Greek word “hagios” (hag'-ee-os) which means “those set apart” or holy (TBKC p. 649). We are “set apart” from the world, just like the saints of Philippi were set apart for God. Notice as he continues to the next verse, Paul uses two very important words: Grace and peace. Robert P. Lightner writes in his commentary: “The order in which he used them is significant. Before there can be any genuine peace there must be a personal response to God’s grace, His unmerited favor manifested climactically at Calvary.” (TBKC p.649). For us believers, as was the case for the believers in Philippi, we find grace and peace in our lives when we put our faith and trust in God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ. No matter how evil this world is getting and whatever crazy things are happening in our country, politically, socially, economically, educationally, spiritually, our peace and joy is found in God the Father and His Son Jesus not in our personal circumstances.

After this initial greeting in the letter, Paul gives praise and encouragement to the believers at Philippi. This brings us to the 1st point in the outline. How do we find joy in serving Christ? (Show slide 9)

By giving thanks and praying for all believers in Christ Jesus (vv. 3-4; 9-11)

Have you ever received a note or letter of encouragement? Do you ever write notes of encouragement to church members or people that you care about? Is that a lost art? How about our missionaries? Back in the day, before the time of emails, missionaries used to write letters that were read out loud in front of the entire church. The letter often included words of thanks and appreciation and what God was doing in their mission field. In todays’ world the art of writing letters has been lost. A lot of times we may get email updates from missionaries but how often do we write back to thank them for their hard work. How often do we pray and thank the Lord for them? I want to challenge you to do that this week. There are missionaries that we support here at PBC who are in the trenches and they need some encouragement and prayer. Reach out to the church leadership and Pastor Joel to see how we can be a blessing to them in these difficult times. See Paul, even though in prison, made it a priority to thank God and pray for all the believers in the church. Every time he thought of them, he thanked and prayed to God on their behalf. In verse 3, Paul says “I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always offering prayer with what….what’s the next word……joy in my every prayer for you all.”

The gospel message brings joy to every person who believes. In this letter, as we will see later on Paul speaks of joy (1:4,24; 2:2, 29; 4:1) or rejoicing (1:18; 2:17, 18, 28; 3:1; 4:4,10) over a dozen times.

The book is known to be the letter of joy. Various forms of the works “joy” and “rejoice” are found 18 times in the entire book. This theme can be seen in the key verse of the book: “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice” (4:4) (You guys remember the song..)

As Christians, we should be the most joyful people in the face of the planet. Do you find it joyful to pray and thank God for what He is doing in our church, individually and collectively but also around the world? Let me ask another question…Do you rejoice greatly when someone you know join’s God’s family?

The Bible tells us that Paul was very faithful and committed to serving God wherever He went. In the many years of establishing churches, he never forgot the believers in those churches. It had been 10 years since Paul had founded the church in Philippi. Let’s go back in history to learn about its origin. A trip down memory lane takes us to Acts 16, where Paul preached the Gospel to people of Philippi. What do we know about this place and church? (Show slide 10-12 in order every 5 sec.)

The Location:

The city of Philippi was located in ancient Greece on the eastern border of the Roman province of Macedonia. It was a strategic area in ancient times as many travelers passed through Philippi on their way to Rome. It was the main road from Rome to the province of Asia as well. In New Testament times it was regarded as the “chief (leading) city of that part of Macedonia, and a (Roman) colony” (Gromacki, p.255; cf. Acts 16:12)

The city of Philippi, had a very rich history. The city was named after Philip II of Macedonia, father of Alexander the Great. Under Alexander, the city rose to become the capital of the Greek Empire. It was also a location where a major Roman battle took place in 42 B.C. Many Roman soldiers settled and occupied the place thus becoming a Roman colony. It was located close to a major east-west commercial highway so the city was very prominent and wealthy in its days.

The Church of Philippi:

The Church at Philippi, was founded by Paul & Timothy along with Silas & Luke the doctor on their 2nd missionary Journey around 50 AD (Acts 16:12-40). This was the first time that the gospel had ever reached that far and it became the first Christian church in Europe. The ministry of Paul and his missionary team was very fruitful as they were traveling from city to city. Acts 16:4 records: “so the churches were being strengthened in the faith, and were increasing in numbers daily.” In Acts 16:9… “a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing and appealing to him, and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” Paul responds to the vision in obedience and heads for Macedonia with his fellow missionaries to evangelize it (Acts 16:8-10)

At Philippi, Paul and his companions ministered to a group of women, Lydia and her household, the young slave-girl who was demon-possessed, the jailor and his family. According to Acts 16, Lydia’s house became the place where this planted church at Philippi would meet regularly (Acts 16:15; 40). After Paul and Silas are released from prison, they go to Lydia’s house and encouraged the believers there before they departed the city.

According to the late author and professor Robert Gromacki, he writes… “The young church at Philippi probably had a strange membership consisting of a converted business woman, a demonic soothsayer, a jailor, and perhaps some prisoners.” (p.257) The Gospel message brought together people of different walks of life.

The Believers in Philippi were excited and filled with joy by Paul’s letter. Their hearts were filled with joy and they were encouraged by Paul’s words as he was praying for them and thanking God always for their faithful service to the Lord. Paul loved the church of Philippi and cared for them a lot because they were with him from the very beginning. He was confident that God would complete the good work of salvation that He had started in their lives (v.6). Paul in verse 6, writes ”For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in your will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” What does verse 6 mean to us today? How can you tell whether God has begun a “good work” in you (v. 6)?

First of all, if you have been saved and have received Christ as Lord and Savior that is a great start. As we receive Christ, He sends the Holy Spirit to live in us and the Spirit influences our lives and guides us in how we should live. This is not something done overnight. Each and every day, your attitude and actions should become more like Christ. This is a process that is ongoing from the young to the old. Paul says that it it’s continuous! We will reach “completeness” or “perfection” until the day of Jesus Christ (2:16), when Christ returns and when we get to heaven with Him! But in the meantime, we are to make the most of every opportunity. In order for us to become complete and mature in Christ, we will have to endure and go through the same challenges and struggles that the apostle Paul and our brother Petr went through. Listen brothers and sisters, God is not done with you yet. He is still working in our church, just like He was working with Christian believers at Philippi. The process that Paul was referring to is called “sanctification”, one where a follower of Christ becomes more like Jesus himself. It is God who is in charge of this process not us (v. 6). Let’s me ask this question to our youth: Are you allowing God to work in you and complete you? You guys are growing in a very challenging culture. I get it! But like Paul, don’t lose confidence in Christ. If you try to avoid suffering, our faith and our relationship with Jesus won’t grow. Don’t set lower expectations about who you can become in Christ. Trust God who began that process to complete it! This message is not for just our youth. It’s for all of us, including some of us who have been Christians for a very long time…you are not there yet?

In the next part of the text, Paul in verses 9-11, specified what he was praying for in regard to the Philippians.

Prayed that their love for other Christians would overflow (v. 9). This love is not love as the world knows it. It’s not love that is based on emotional feelings that comes and goes. It is based on spiritual knowledge, wisdom, insight, discernment. It’s godly love!

What was the purpose of such prayer?....In verse10, we get the answers…So that we can discern what is right/best, but also so that we can be “sincere/pure and blameless” when Christ returns. (v. 11). Paul used words like “Best, pure, blameless” (vvs.9-11) to describe the way we should be. We can be excellent, pure and blameless before God and men if we allow our lives to be filled with fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus and allow the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us in a righteous path. We must cloth ourself with Christ’s righteousness and produce fruit as we filled by the Spirit of God (Gal. 5:22-23). Paul wanted the believers at Philippi to be in a right relationship with Him and right relationship with other believers. His prayer and desire should be the same for our church and all believers today.

As a church, are we praying and thanking God for other believers, other churches in our area, ministries and missions that we support locally and globally? I think we can learn a lot from Paul’s devotion in serving the Lord in these areas. We take time on Sunday and Wednesday here at PBC to pray for what God is doing locally and globally. I want to extend an invitation to you today…come and pray with us! I want to challenge our church members to find joy in serving God in these areas of thanksgiving & prayer for the saints.

This brings us to the 2nd point in the outline. How do we find joy in serving Christ? (Show slide 13)

By partnering with believers in the ministry of the gospel (vv. 5,7,14, 18)

The Christian believers at Philippi and Paul were partners in the ministry of the Gospel. A close relationship existed between them over the years. The church at Philippi sent financial gifts to support Paul during his ministry and were very generous as a church (Philippians 4:15; 2 Corinthians 11:9). The gospel message had brought joy to the believers. Paul states in verse 5 that they were participants in the gospel from the very beginning. They were faithful, committed to the cause of Christ and also partakers of God’s grace along with Paul. Paul enjoyed their long-lasting partnership and held them very dear to his heart. Their unwavering commitment to Christ and his message brought great “joy” to the apostle’s life. Paul emphasized the word “Gospel” in this letter over 9 times.

As Christians and members of the body of Christ, we are “partners in the ministry of the gospel. (vs. 5). As partners in the gospel with other believers, what have you personally accomplished for God’s Kingdom?

Think about some of the things that we have accomplished at PBC locally, regionally, in other states in the U.S. and around the world. Some of these ministries and partnerships we pray for every week. God is working around the world and the more committed we are to partnering in His mission the more fruit we will see through the work of the missionaries that we support.

This brings us to the last point in the outline…. How do we find joy in serving Christ? (Show slide 14)

By encouraging one another, sharing our faith boldly and seeing God at work in others (vv. 12-19)

In this part of the text, Paul wanted to assure his original audience that his ministry had not come to a halt just because he was in prison. In fact, it had the opposite effect. Even though he was in prison, the gospel was being proclaimed and being spread out to different parts of the world. During his imprisonment he wrote many letters to different churches and the gospel message traveled beyond his prison walls. Five out of his 13 books were written while he was imprisoned. Paul while imprisoned for spreading the Gospel message was able to gain a new audience (vv. 12-14). Though the Philippians were worried about him and thought he was in a bad situation, for Paul it was an opportunity to further the gospel. Something good came of it! He preached to the whole praetorian guard, Roman authorities and others (v.13). As a result of his imprisonment, God raised up other believers to share the gospel boldly (v. 14). However, there were people in Paul’s day that were spreading Christianity with wrong motives (vv. 15-18). We are not sure what their motives were, we can speculate but Paul didn’t mind and in verse 18 he says… “whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed and I will rejoice…” We may not all agree in style or how certain people spread the gospel but if they are bearing good fruit…there is nothing wrong with that. (The style of clothes, way of worship or music genre, making money off music records,..etc.) it may be different than ours but its getting the good news to many others.

Should we be worried about people who are spreading the Gospel? We need to be cautious and wise and draw the line if they are doing illegal and involved in immoral practices and teaching false doctrine. In our culture of Christian youtubers and influencers, we need to exercise wisdom and support those who are preaching the True gospel. Remember that we are partners in the ministry of the gospel and God will use his followers to continue till the word is done.

Let’s pray… Lord, help us to be faithful and find joy in serving you! Help us to become more and more like you and find joy in serving you through the ministry of prayer, thanksgiving, encouragement, partnering with others and sharing the Gospel message to the ends of the earth. Amen.

As we have heard the message today, now it’s time to us to take a few minutes to reflect on it. As we take the time to reflect, think about the questions on the screen. How are you going to apply God’s word in your life as you leave today?

Resources:

The Voice of the Martyrs

https://www.persecution.com/stories/petr-jasek-imprisoned-with-isis-in-sudan/

Strong’s Concordance

https://biblehub.com/greek/40.htm (Hagios—sacred, holy, set apart)

Youth Quick Studies: Philippians-Hebrews

https://www.gotquestions.org/church-in-Philippi.html

Elwell, A. Water; Yarbrough, W. Robert. Encountering the New Testament

Gromacki, G. Robert. New Testament Survey: Philippians

Lightner, P. Robert. The Bible Knowledge Commentary: Philippians