1. I Have the Joy, Joy, Joy

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Memory Verse: Philippians 1:21-22

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Vs. 1-2

Philippians 1:1 NKJV

1 Paul and Timothy, bondservants of Jesus Christ, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the bishops and deacons:

Easiest question you’ll get tonight, who wrote the book of Philippians? (Paul)

What does he call himself and Timothy here? (Bondservants)

Bondservant = Someone who is legally owned by someone else, but it’s even more than that… It’s a slave whose entire life purpose is to serve their master. There’s no way out, no plan b, Paul’s entire life purpose was Jesus. This all makes sense when he says later on in vs. 21, Philippians 1:21

Philippians 1:21 NKJV

21 For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

I am Christ’s servant, bound to Him for life!

Now, for your second easiest question of the night, who is Paul writing to? (The church in Philippi, including the pastors and deacons)

What does he say to them in vs. 2?

Philippians 1:2 NKJV

2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Pretty common Christian greeting, we see it all the time in Paul’s epistles.

It’s a shame we’ve lost that meaning and depth in our greeting…

- “How are you?” But we don’t actually want to know…

- “Sup”

Vs. 3-4

Philippians 1:3 NKJV

3 I thank my God upon every remembrance of you,

What attitude of Paul’s do we find in verse 3? (Thankfulness)

Why is that? (remembers the Christians)

Follow me on this… Paul is thankful when he thinks about other believers…

When we wake up in the morning, who do we tend to think about first? (Ourselves!)

Sometimes, it’s rare that we think about others… And when we do, we’re cranky! You could re-translate verse 3…

“I complain to my God upon every remembrance of you.”

Did Paul have good reason to complain and be cranky? (Yes, he was in jail!!)

How often is Paul thankful for the Philippians in vs. 4? (Always, in every prayer. Every single time that he prays for them, He is so grateful for them)

Philippians 1:4 NKJV

4 always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy,

What might be a key word in this verse? (Joy)

Someone write the answers on the whiteboard…

What are things people find joy in today?

If you wanted joy from pleasure, Rome was your place!! All sorts of things happened there: Theatre, sports, gladiators, gambling, sexual immorality, etc.

Now, we don’t live the same way as the world does; we don’t do these things they consider fun… What do they think of us for that? (Weird, missing out)

1 Peter 4:4 NKJV

4 In regard to these, they think it strange that you do not run with them in the same flood of dissipation, speaking evil of you.

Under house arrest, Paul had none of the pleasures of Rome available to him. And yet, Paul was the happiest man in Rome.

Why is that? (His joy in Christ)

What’s different about the joy we get in Jesus than the joy in the world?

People get the priority wrong…

What does Disney tell us to follow? (Our hearts. The priority in life is our own happiness, me first, others last)

J.O.Y Acronym

J - esus

O - thers

Y - ou

What happens when you get them upside down?

Y - ou’re

O - bviously

J - oking… thinking you’ll be happy this way.

Could Paul have let his circumstances eat away at his joy? Do we do this?

Sickness kills my “joy”

But Paul never allowed it to take away the joy that he had in Christ. And that’s because the joy that Jesus gives goes deeper than the outside, it can’t be taken away from circumstances.

Vs. 5

Philippians 1:5 NKJV

5 for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now,

What’s another thing Paul is finding joy in? (His fellowship in the Gospel with the Philippians)

Someone tell me what fellowship means?

Sharing something in common and enjoying the blessings of that thing.

What are some examples of things we might have in common with others?

- Nationality

- Language

- Hometown

- Favourite movie/tv show

- Food

Let me ask you this, how are friendships usually started? (Most of the time, it’s the “Wait… You too?!!”)

Fellowship is sharing something in common with someone else.

Ex. Marriage

Now Paul says he has the fellowship of the Gospel, what do you think that means? (They have Jesus in common, we share the same salvation and have been brought into the same body of Christ)

We use “fellowship” a lot around here…

- Men’s golf fellowship

- I’m so pumped for the fellowship at the potluck.

If at that “fellowship” meal all we talked about was about the soup and desserts, is it really fellowship at all? (Yes, but not the fellowship of the Gospel)

Whiteboard:

What are some things that might get in the way of fellowship?

- Individualism

- Sin

- Conflict

- Doctrinal disagreements

When did this fellowship begin based on vs. 5? (From the first day)

First day until now = When the church first started about 10 yrs before

Vs. 6

So, they had fellowship in the gospel ever since the church started. And ever since they started, Paul was confident of one thing…

Philippians 1:6 NKJV

6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;

What was he confident in? (That God would finish the work he started)

Any of you here struggle to finish something you started? feel like you should get checked for ADHD?

I’m notoriously bad for this…

- Marathon training, diets.

- Projects around the house (Ex. Clear the shed)

Can we really put much confidence in men for finishing what they promise to do? (No!)

But can we be confident in the Lord? Why? (He always finishes what he starts, God never changes)

Anyone remember the name of God’s attribute that describes this? (Immutable)

So, God has started a good work in the believers which He will carry through to the end.

Vs. 7

In verse 7, Paul shares that the Philippians are in his heart, what things in this verse might make it hard for him to love them? (His chains)

Despite the fact that things were not going well for Paul, he loved them deeply.

Philippians 1:7 NKJV

7 just as it is right for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart, inasmuch as both in my chains and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers with me of grace.

Vs. 8

Philippians 1:8 NKJV

8 For God is my witness, how greatly I long for you all with the affection of Jesus Christ.