Joy in Partnership

Call to Worship

To all who are weary and in need of rest

To all who are mourning and longing for comfort

To all who fail and desire strength

To all who sin and need a Savior

We at Moraga Valley open wide our arms

With a welcome from Jesus Christ.

He is the ally to the guilty and failing

He is the comfort to those who are mourning

He is the joy of our hearts

And He is the friend of sinners

So Come, worship Him with us.

Scripture Reading

Philippians 1:1–11 NIV

Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all God’s holy people in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart and, whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me. God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.

Sermon

So good to see you this morning! We want to start our time together by staying in Paul’s letter to the Philippians. Today we begin Week 2 of of our series, The Joy-Filled Life, and this morning we get to see the joy in partnership — the joy that exists when we link arms with each other for the gospel.

Paul’s letters are fun — they’re kind of like reading a journal entry or a love letter from someone else. We read about issues we may not have, people we’ve never met, and we’re left to determine the meaning of language and intent when we’re reading these words.

Luckily, Paul’s letters to various churches have a similar outline. Author Gretchen Ronnevik says that Paul’s letters all sound a little like this:

Grace.

I thank God whenever I remember you.

Hold fast to the gospel.

For the love of everything holy, stop being stupid.

Timothy says hi.

And this morning, we begin with a very similar start as we look at the first two verses from Paul’s letter to the Philippians. Look with me there!

Philippians 1:1–2 NIV

Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all God’s holy people in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

The beginning of a letter, or any document, tells us a lot about what to expect, and most letters start with a FROM and then a TO — who is it FROM, and who is it TO.

Verse 1 tells us who this letter is FROM. We see that Paul and Timothy are identified as the authors of this letter — and he says they are servants of Christ Jesus. A better way to read this is slave: Paul and Timothy, slaves of Christ Jesus.

And verse 1 also tells who us this letter is TO: to all God’s holy people in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the spiritual leaders of the church.

And in verse 2, Paul issues a customary greeting: Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

But Paul’s opening statements to a growing Roman colony are anything but customary, and anything but normal… These people have likely heard of Paul’s situation, that he’s under house arrest, awaiting trial in Rome, and he’s unsure of what the future holds for him.

Later on in the letter, Paul will thank them for their continued partnership, they gave generously to support Paul’s ministry and decided to stick with him when others didn’t.

Slaves of Christ Jesus and God’s holy people — these are very specific statements regarding the tone of this letter.

This whole letter is framed around God — who is in control of not only Paul and his future-defining circumstances, but this church, who has been made holy by Jesus.

When Paul refers to himself as a slave, and to this church as God’s holy people, he is singlehandedly reminding everyone who is in charge.

Paul calls himself a slave because he knows that slaves are owned by a Master. And Paul refers to them as God’s holy people, because he knows it was God, who took them out of their enslavement to sin, who set them apart, which is what being holy means, and made them one with Himself through Christ Jesus.

Now, I get it. When Paul calls himself a “slave of Christ” it might make us uncomfortable. We've got some pretty awful connotations around slavery. But stick with me here, because this is crucial. Take Romans 6:22 for example

Romans 6:22 NIV

But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.

Paul's not using this term lightly. When he says 'slave,' he's talking about a complete change of ownership. Think about it: we used to be slaves to sin. That wasn't some part-time gig we could quit whenever we felt like it. Sin owned us, controlled us, defined us.

But here's the reality: Jesus bought us out of that. At the cross, He paid the ultimate price to transfer our ownership. We've gone from being owned by sin to being owned by the God of the universe.

As Grant Osborne puts it, “We exchanged an evil, abusive taskmaster for a loving, caring master who watches over and protects us.” That's not just a change of status; that's a total life change.

This whole letter is for people whose lives have been dramatically saved by Jesus.

And every statement in these opening verses points to God’s very specific actions in redeeming His people. The gospel is of real impact and consequence, and Paul continues this in verse 2 through His greeting.

Let's talk about grace and peace for a second. In verse 2, Paul's not just throwing out nice Christian words. These are gifts we get through the gospel, and they're going to be the anchors for this whole letter.

Grace - it's not just a churchy way of saying God's nice to us. Here's the real deal: grace means you didn't get what you deserved. Let’s be honest about this, what we deserved was hell. But because of Jesus, we don't get hell. That's grace, and it changes everything.

And peace? This isn't about feeling cozy or having a good day. This is about our status with God. Sin made us God's enemies - we were at war with Him.

But Jesus? He turned enemies into friends. Romans 5:1 says it this way: “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

So when Paul says 'Grace and peace to you,' he's reminding them - and us - of the radical change Jesus has made in our lives. We're not getting what we deserve, and we're at peace with God. That's the foundation everything else in this letter is built on.

This is Paul's rally cry. He's getting the band back together, reminding them of who they are and what they've been given. And you know what's cool? Every person hearing this letter read out in those house churches across Philippi? They're being united all over again in these core truths of the gospel.

They've been rescued from an abusive master - which is sin - and delivered into God's hands by this matchless grace and peace. Their lives have been turned upside down by Jesus, and Paul's reminding them of it.

So when you hear “grace and peace,” don't just let it go in one ear and out the other. It should be fresh every time: You're under new management. You didn't get what you deserved. You're at peace with God. That's the good news that binds us all together.

God didn’t just bring us all here together on accident. He brought us together for what Paul calls a good work — a purpose much larger than ourselves — and Paul wants to make that abundantly clear.

Paul see’s the gospel as a bridge building apparatus — this is the truth that brings people together, that rallies them around something bigger than themselves. When you belong to Jesus, when you’ve experienced what Paul and Timothy have experienced, when you’ve been set apart as God’s holy people, like the believers in Philippi, when you’ve been filled with His love and the Holy Spirit seals God’s promises on your life — it was on purpose.

And it’s because of this purpose that Paul prays in verses 3-6. Let’s look there now.

Philippians 1:3–6 NIV

I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Now, check this out. Paul doesn't just pray for these folks in Philippi. Verse 4 says he prays with joy. Get that? Joy. The guy's under house arrest, facing a trial that could cost him his life, and he's joyful. Why? Because he's not in this alone.

Look at verse 5: “because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.” Paul's got gospel buddies. These aren't just fair-weather friends. These are people who've been redeemed from sin's slavery right alongside him, and now they're all in, committed to helping set others free through Christ.

This should revolutionize how we do church. This isn't about showing up on Sundays, going through the motions, and calling it good. This is about linking arms with the people around you - in your community groups, in your serving teams, in your giving - and saying, “We're in this together. We're on mission together.”

C.S. Lewis nailed it when he said friendships are born the moment one person says to another, “What? You too? I thought I was the only one!” Every time we gather, every time we serve, every time we give, we're saying to each other, “You too? We're in this together!”

We aren’t the only ones. We aren’t the only ones fighting for truth. We aren’t the only ones sweating it out over our kids and grandkids coming to faith. We aren’t the only ones with a burden to see heaven come to earth in Northern California.

Take a quick look around this room.

You aren’t the only one.

There’s something beautiful in that. We’re in this together.

We fly the same banner of Christ over Moraga, over Orinda, over Lafayette, over our homes, over our businesses.

With other believers in the Bay Area, we are in this together. It is not about the success of Moraga Valley if it is not about the success of every other church and believer in the Bay Area.

This is what happens when we rally around Jesus, when we link our arms together for the gospel. It changes everything - how we show up, how we serve, how we give, how we welcome non-believers. This isn't random. This is God bringing His family together, to stand in unity around what Christ has done — so that He might finish what He started.

Look with me at Philippians 1:6

Philippians 1:6 NIV

being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Paul’s joy in their partnership isn’t just that they’re all on the same team — it’s also from the fact that God doesn’t have any plans of abandoning a single one of them. He will be faithful to complete the work that He started.

Paul is like, “I am so pumped every time I think about you because it reminds me that God is gonna get the job done.”

God is not starting a good work without the intention of finishing a good work — and just because He’s pulled us all together through what Jesus has done, doesn’t mean He’s done.

And in verse 7-8, Paul is pretty convinced that his thinking on this is right, and not only is it the right way to think about things, but that God is actively at work to seeing others link arms together for the good of the world for the sake of the gospel. Paul says in Philippians 1:7-8

Philippians 1:7–8 NIV

It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart and, whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me. God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.

I think the thing that Paul is trying to convey here is that having people like this in your life is a priceless commodity, and that there’s something beautiful that is offered to us in the body of Christ, because these are people who share in the same struggles. These are people who get it, who get the sacrifice of Jesus; and yet, who also get the same call to suffer in the same way we’re suffering.

There’s something encouraging about identifying people who are going through the same thing, again, it’s the CS Lewis idea of, “I thought I was the only one.”

This past week I got the chance to take 20 pastors on retreat in Wyoming, and these are guys I love dearly, and it was so healing for me to see that we are in this together. But I showed up wondering if I was “the only one” in a couple of areas of my life and ministry and a lot of us learned that we weren’t the only ones with hardships, with heartbreak, or the occasional hiccup in leading churches. We lamented about our families or leadership, but yet rejoiced in God’s faithfulness to us — and how did I leave? More excited, more full of joy, about where God was moving in the Bay Area than I have ever been before.

I am more optimistic, more eager, more full of joy about what God is doing at Moraga Valley through all of you than I ever have been… and you know what gets me even more excited? He’s not done, yet.

Paul has been calling for the church to keep linking arms together, trusting in what God is going to do through Jesus, not outside of their circumstances, but in the middle of their circumstances.

And while they link arms, as they trust in Jesus, he wants to encourage them, and he does so through a prayer in verses 9-11 and he says in verse 9, “this is my prayer,” and the prayer that Paul prays for these people is this: that their love would grow.

Paul knows that just as exciting it is when groups of people are on the same team together — that we can’t forget that Jesus is returning, and that we are preparing ourselves for the day that He returns.

That’s a sobering comment, I think. We are all working towards that day of completion that Paul has said is promised by Jesus. Even in that, we work together.

What’s there to be found at the end? Verse 11 tells us. That when He returns He will find us filled with the fruit of the thing that Jesus has done through us and in us.

Here's the deal: God didn't just randomly throw us all together. He's got a plan, and it involves all of us linking arms for the gospel.

So, here's what I want you to do this week:

Partner Locally — Find someone in this church to partner with. Maybe that's praying together for your non-believing friends, or serving in a ministry, or just digging into scripture together.

Share Where He is Working — Take a minute each day to think about how God's been working in your life. Where have you seen Him showing up? Share that with someone - let's encourage each other with these stories.

Thank God for Someone In Your Life — Look around this room one more time. These are your people. Your team. Each day this week, thank God for one person here and maybe shoot them a text to let them know you appreciate them.

Repent and Trust Jesus — And hey, let's be real - we all have areas where we're still kinda 'enslaved' to the wrong stuff. Take some time to think about where you might need to transfer more of your allegiance to Jesus.

Celebrate Someone — Lastly, let's be a church that celebrates each other. When you see someone growing in their faith or serving others, cheer them on. Let's make joy our thing.

Remember, every time you walk through those doors, every time you serve, every time you give - you're not just going through the motions. You're part of something huge. You're in this with God and with each other, spreading the best news in the world - the freedom we've found in Jesus.

So let's get out there with some fire in our belly and joy in our hearts. Let's link arms, stand firm, and go hard after this mission God's given us. Because we know this - the God who started this good work in us? He's gonna see it through to the end.

Let's pray.