The Joy of being in Christ

Kickoff

We celebrated the birth of Christ two weeks ago and around Christmas we sing Joy to the world the Lord is come. Let earth receive her King. We read in Scripture that the angels said we bring you glad tidings of great joy

What is this great Joy? His name is Jesus and true joy is only found in Him

We are kicking off a series today called I Choose Joy but let me tell you upfront that there is no Joy apart from Jesus Christ - you and I are only able to choose that which He is freely and graciously providing - Joy unspeakable and full of glory.

In this series we will walk through the Book of Philippians, a letter from the Apostle Paul to the church in Philippi, and learn how we can have Joy in the midst of chaos, in the midst of pain, anguish, disappointment, hurt, and uncertainty - from a man who demonstrates just what that looks like

The apostle Paul had a life changing encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus and after that encounter, Paul was able to choose the joy that was freely and gracious provided to him in Christ regardless of his circumstances.

Wouldn’t you like to have Joy regardless of your circumstances. Aren’t you ready to choose Joy in the midst of chaos.

Well the 1st and last and most important point in all of this is that Joy is only found in Jesus Christ. Do you know Him and does He know you?

Before we dive in - you all should have received a Scripture journal like this (hold up) - these will be critical for us as we study this letter from Paul together. Take notes. Each week, we’ll give you a question to think about and write in this journal book. And we will, as much as possible, let you know what’s coming next so you can read those verses in preparation for what God has for you.

We will also be giving you some resources throughout the series. Your kids will be learning about the letter to the Philippians as well - we want you as a family to be able to sit around the table and talk about what you are learning. Parents, we want to equip you to lead your kids in God’s word.

Also, the 3rd Sunday of every month, the 1st - 5th graders will be with us. We want families to worship together. We want our kids to know this is their church, and we want our CK servers to get an opportunity to be in service as well. Many of them serve every week because we are short handed and they want to make sure your kids are safe and that they are learning about their Savior and how to have a relationship with the Father through Him.

Before we dive in, lets pray!

Title of Today’s message is: “The Joy of Being in Christ”

and the main point for today is: True Joy is Only Found in Christ.

we are just going to cover the first two verses of Philippians 1 today because I want to provide you with some context that will help us throughout the series.

Philippians 1:1–2 “Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Who is Paul - was Saul of Tarsus - a Pharisee - hyper religious and good at it - had an encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus.

Jesus changed Him. He became the world’s greatest missionary - Wrote Philippians around AD 62 - near the end of his life…

Look what he says about his life as a missionary 2 Corinthians 11:23–28 “Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one—I am talking like a madman—with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches.”

Paul’s life is full of pain, hurting, anxiety…far more than most of us have faced, yet we will see that his life here is filled with joy.

AND TIMOTHY - a young guy who is being mentored by Paul - experiencing hardships - been through some things as well.

Paul and Timothy - servants:

δοῦλος (doulos). n. masc. servant, slave. Refers to someone who is the property of another.

Paul is establishing their identity.

Now why would he want to identify them as slaves…why not apostles, teachers, Paul was a Roman citizen, a Pharisee, sat at the feet of Gamaliel - a well regarded Pharisee

Why doulos? - the answer lies in who they are slaves to:

OF CHRIST JESUS

now, I have heard it taught that Paul is teaching something in the way He mentions Jesus

Here, it is Christ Jesus - Christ = His Messianic Purpose - He is THE Christ, THE Messiah, THE One who would restore relationship between God and Man, the One who would redeem Israel and in doing so, all of those chosen by the Father.

Jesus - God in the flesh - Immanuel - God with us.

To all the saints

- All believers ( this also makes all of this applicable you and me because, as Christ followers, we are saints.

The title “SAINT” is not a reward for behavior or actions as we have seen it used - it is used to identified those who are being sanctified - who are being conformed to the image of Christ!

you and I are saints if we are in Christ Jesus!

who are at Philippi:

Details on Philippi

demographics

location

A lot like this place we live in…right?

With the overseers and deacons

this speaks to function, togetherness, roles and purpose, structure

It shows that the church, even in the beginning, had structure to it. Why is that? because God is a God of order - He uses structure to bring about His purpose

It should show us that His Word is for all of us, but He does create structure among us and uses the gifts that He gives to build His church

Grace to you

- Grace is -

and Peace

Peace is Shalom

Grace and peace only come

from God (our Father) and the Lord Jesus Christ

God and Lord = Almighty, supreme deity, On High, Above all else, in Control, Sovereign,

Jesus - God in the Flesh

Christ - Who came to fulfill the Messianic purpose

We talked about Paul and his journey to this place - in prison as he writes this letter to this young church that’s trying to find its way and what is he telling them - Grace and Peace only come from being in Christ - Joy only comes from being in Christ.

I can go through being shipwrecked, beaten, tortured, inprisoned and still have joy, why?

BECAUSE I KNOW WHO I AM IN CHRIST!

This is all about your identity.

Do you know who you are in Christ.

Because true joy is only found in Christ

But most of us look for happiness in things instead of joy in Christ

Most of us find ourselves overloaded with anxiety because we’re looking to everything but Christ to define us.

Paul makes it clear to us - we need to have a proper understanding of our identity.

What word did he use to identify his identity?

Doulos!

A slave of Jesus

There is no other master you or I could be a slave to that would bring grace, peace, and joy. Scripture tells us that He is the Prince of Peace, He is the God of all comfort, He has Joy that is unspeakable and full of glory, and His grace is sufficient for us. His strength is perfected in our weakness.

Whether we like it or not, we all identify as slaves to something -

For some of us, we are slaves to possessions, slaves to pleasure, slaves to pain, fear, anxiety, work, people - we’re all slaves to something and none of those will being you joy, grace or peace

But you can be a slave to Jesus

Bet you didn’t think you were going to come to church and be told to be a slave…

I get it, we don’t like the way that sounds…but He is the One and Only Master that is always faithful and true

He is the One and Only Master that willingly laid down His life for the slave and calls the slave His friend, His child, His very own.

I realize for many of us, joy seems fleeting in life because we don’t know who we are in Christ. I want to help you with that today:

Who I am In Christ resource and bookmark - pass them out.

I’m going to ask the production team to play some music for a few minutes and I want to give you an opportunity to read through that - and talk to the people on your row. Let someone know one or two of those identity markers that speaks to you.

AND SPEAK ONE OVER SOMEONE ON YOUR ROW - Maybe today you needed to read, I AM LOVED - Maybe I AM FORGIVEN.

You may be new and think this is weird…its ok, this is new to all of us, we all think it is weird but God placed us here together to grow with one another and we can’t do that unless we are willing to share and help one another…

In a few minutes, we will pray together and sing together - and I will give you your journal question for the week and next week’s passage.