WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.560 let me add my welcome. My name is Sam. I'm one of the pastors here at St. Paul's. And 00:00:06.560 --> 00:00:11.099 as you've heard multiple times tonight, we're kicking off a new series. We're going to spend 00:00:11.099 --> 00:00:17.339 some time in the book of Philippians. And the series is entitled Joy for Everyone. This 00:00:17.339 --> 00:00:22.300 series is going to be about the search for joy. It's going to be about fighting for joy. 00:00:22.400 --> 00:00:27.480 It's going to be about trying to take hold of the joy that God has built into the Christian 00:00:27.480 --> 00:00:36.120 life. But like so much that is in the Christian life, it's going to be simple, but not easy. 00:00:37.259 --> 00:00:41.719 It's going to require change. It's going to require repentance. It's going to require 00:00:41.719 --> 00:00:49.579 discomfort. It will also require a willingness on our part to recognise that often we are 00:00:49.579 --> 00:00:55.100 our own barrier. So we are often the biggest barrier to our own happiness, our own joy. 00:00:55.100 --> 00:01:02.420 So we're going to need some honest reflection. But on offer is what Peter describes in the 00:01:02.420 --> 00:01:10.280 New Testament as an inexpressible and glorious joy. And I think we're going to find it waiting 00:01:10.280 --> 00:01:15.560 right in front of us. So before we begin, let's ask God to open our eyes, to fill our hearts 00:01:15.560 --> 00:01:20.579 and lives with joy so that others might come to know the kind of satisfaction that's only 00:01:20.579 --> 00:01:29.219 found in Jesus. Father God, please open our eyes and our hearts that we might hear you speak 00:01:29.219 --> 00:01:35.519 tonight. Shape us by your spirit to be the joy-filled community that you have designed us to be. 00:01:36.620 --> 00:01:46.840 Amen. Do you ever feel lonely in a crowd? So you're completely surrounded by people, yet at the same 00:01:46.840 --> 00:01:57.780 time alone? Do you ever feel isolated even when you're among your friends? They're there, but you 00:01:57.780 --> 00:02:04.280 just don't feel connected. Do you ever feel like that here at church, surrounded by brothers and 00:02:04.280 --> 00:02:11.379 sisters in Christ? We love family language here. And yet somehow you still feel lonely. 00:02:11.379 --> 00:02:19.879 It's possible to be in proximity with people all the time without actually having any deep connection, 00:02:20.519 --> 00:02:25.240 or at least no connections with the people that you're with. I've got friends you might say, 00:02:25.340 --> 00:02:33.740 they're just not here at church. God tells us in the Bible that he has designed this community 00:02:33.740 --> 00:02:41.500 to be the place where you find your deepest connections, to be the place where you get joy, 00:02:41.600 --> 00:02:47.920 where you have rich relationships. But I know that for some of us, that's just not how it feels. 00:02:48.719 --> 00:02:54.560 That's just not our experience. And this letter that Paul has written to the Philippians is 00:02:54.560 --> 00:03:01.460 a letter that's just saturated with joy. Their relationship seems to be this just fount of 00:03:01.460 --> 00:03:06.879 encouragement and love in spite of challenging circumstances, in spite of the distance in their 00:03:06.879 --> 00:03:12.580 relationship, in spite of spiritual opposition. These guys just have a relationship that produces 00:03:12.580 --> 00:03:20.580 joy for everyone involved. I mean, we're only 11 verses in to this book. We're going to work our way 00:03:20.580 --> 00:03:25.800 through it. We're 11 verses in, and already there is, you get this sense there's some serious 00:03:25.800 --> 00:03:32.360 love going on between Paul and this church. I mean, he's over the top in these first 11 verses. 00:03:32.980 --> 00:03:33.580 He says, 00:03:33.580 --> 00:03:40.600 I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers, I always pray with joy 00:03:40.600 --> 00:03:48.320 because of your partnership. I have you in my heart. God can testify how I long for you with all the 00:03:48.320 --> 00:03:55.400 affection of Christ Jesus. There's real intimacy and love in those words. I mean, 00:03:55.400 --> 00:03:59.640 if you are planning a love letter or an encouragement letter to somebody who matters in your life, 00:03:59.719 --> 00:04:05.020 the bar has just been raised. I don't know if any of you have come across the children's book, 00:04:05.020 --> 00:04:12.140 Guess How Much I Love You. It's a great book, and it has a little nut brown hair and a big nut brown 00:04:12.140 --> 00:04:18.199 hair. And the big nut brown hair is the dad, and they're going back and forward with the book 00:04:18.199 --> 00:04:24.920 beginning with little nut brown hair saying, guess how much I love you. And big nut brown hair says, 00:04:24.920 --> 00:04:30.560 I don't think I could guess that. And little nut brown hair says, well, I love you as high as I can 00:04:30.560 --> 00:04:37.319 reach. And then big nut brown hair looks down at him and says, well, I love you as high as I can reach. 00:04:37.780 --> 00:04:41.800 And they go back and forth, outdoing each other with their love, trumping each other. 00:04:42.480 --> 00:04:47.319 And it's escalating until just before little nut brown hair is about to fall asleep, 00:04:47.319 --> 00:04:54.120 he gazes up into the night sky and spots the furthest thing that he can see. And he says, 00:04:54.120 --> 00:05:02.279 I love you all the way to the moon. At this point, big nut brown hair responds simply with, 00:05:03.139 --> 00:05:05.120 wow, that is far. 00:05:05.120 --> 00:05:14.639 The affection in these first 11 verses, the love between Paul and this church and from this church 00:05:14.639 --> 00:05:22.879 back to Paul is a to the moon and back kind of love. It's a relationship that is treasured in both 00:05:22.879 --> 00:05:28.500 directions. Both parties have just this love and benefit from being in relationship with one another. 00:05:28.500 --> 00:05:35.079 And you read that and you think, isn't that kind of the relationships that we want here as a church 00:05:35.079 --> 00:05:41.540 family? Wouldn't it be amazing to have that level of richness? And yet at the same time, it's kind of 00:05:41.540 --> 00:05:47.680 intimidating. I mean, I don't know if any of my friends, not just here, but anywhere would speak 00:05:47.680 --> 00:05:54.759 about me with this level of love and appreciation. Paul and the Philippians have this incredible 00:05:54.759 --> 00:05:59.899 connection to one another, but there's actually a whole bunch of reasons why they shouldn't have 00:05:59.899 --> 00:06:07.659 such deep connections. In the passage that Jimmy read out for us from Acts 16, we get the beginning 00:06:07.659 --> 00:06:13.939 of the church in Philippi. And it's not the whole story, but we're told about three conversions. 00:06:15.159 --> 00:06:22.539 You've got Lydia. She's some sort of wealthy, probably Asian fashionista. You've then got a demon 00:06:22.540 --> 00:06:30.620 possessed slave girl, and then you've got the head jailer. So rich, you know, flamboyant, fancy, 00:06:30.700 --> 00:06:36.820 upper class person, demon possessed slave girl, and kind of rough around the edges, tradie. 00:06:37.820 --> 00:06:43.320 There is no scenario on earth that has those three people hanging out in a room together, 00:06:43.420 --> 00:06:49.040 let alone having rich, deep, beneficial relationships, not to mention Paul, who's a random Jewish tent 00:06:49.040 --> 00:06:56.140 maker who just kind of swans in and out as he's travelling past. That's not the recipe for deep 00:06:56.140 --> 00:07:03.820 connection. The richness of their relationships is not natural or logical. They're not from the 00:07:03.820 --> 00:07:07.920 same backgrounds. They don't have the same interests or hobbies. They wouldn't even hang 00:07:07.920 --> 00:07:15.660 out in the same parts of town. And yet somehow they are bound together. Somehow they are a source 00:07:15.660 --> 00:07:22.280 of encouragement and joy in one another's lives. And there's only one thing substantial enough 00:07:22.280 --> 00:07:29.700 to take that mishmash of people and connect them, make them into a community. And it's there in verse 00:07:29.700 --> 00:07:38.640 three. I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 00:07:38.639 --> 00:07:47.419 because, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. It's the gospel. 00:07:48.519 --> 00:07:54.139 That's the common ground. And whenever you read the word gospel in Philippians, it's shorthand. 00:07:54.279 --> 00:07:59.919 Paul's wrapping up a whole bunch there. It's shorthand to say, it's the good news that Jesus came and died 00:07:59.919 --> 00:08:05.459 for unworthy people, that he rose again and he offers to forgive people and adopt them into his family. 00:08:05.459 --> 00:08:12.379 It's these people having received that love, that forgiveness, that adoption, that grace. 00:08:12.879 --> 00:08:18.939 Jesus is the thing that can take completely different people and make them a family. 00:08:20.399 --> 00:08:25.679 Jesus is the thing that has the power to draw people together and connect them to God. 00:08:27.240 --> 00:08:33.779 See, the picture we get here in this first half of Philippians 1 is the gospel-shaping relationships 00:08:33.779 --> 00:08:37.459 in three specific ways. And it's what I want to focus on for the rest of tonight. 00:08:38.159 --> 00:08:44.699 Firstly, the gospel establishes gospel connections in their relationship. 00:08:45.620 --> 00:08:50.079 So every relationship that you have in life, every single relationship that you have in life, 00:08:50.120 --> 00:08:56.500 has some point of connection, has something that's common to both parties, which is the foundation 00:08:56.500 --> 00:09:01.360 for your relationship. So it could be that you work in the same place. 00:09:01.360 --> 00:09:06.100 And so you're in proximity with each other for five days a week and for eight hours a day 00:09:06.100 --> 00:09:09.519 and you get regular interaction. That could be a point of connection. 00:09:09.639 --> 00:09:13.860 It could be that you both like the same sports team and so you journey together through the 00:09:13.860 --> 00:09:19.899 highs and lows that go with that. It could be that you have the same taste in music and so 00:09:19.899 --> 00:09:23.440 you go to concerts together. You share new music that you've discovered. 00:09:23.440 --> 00:09:31.740 It could be that you have the same parents. It could be that you have a cause that you believe 00:09:31.740 --> 00:09:36.360 in and so you share that concern. Maybe you even serve together doing it. It could be that you have 00:09:36.360 --> 00:09:42.340 multiple points of connection, but it stands that for every relationship there has to be 00:09:42.340 --> 00:09:48.800 connection. There has to be a thing that joins you. And here's why this matters. This is really 00:09:48.799 --> 00:09:57.259 important. The strength of connection, the depth of relationship, the quality of friendship 00:09:57.259 --> 00:10:06.500 is directly proportionate to the significance of the thing that connects you. Say that again 00:10:06.500 --> 00:10:14.919 because that's a mouthful on a cold Sunday night. The strength of connection, the depth of relationship, 00:10:14.919 --> 00:10:22.299 the quality of friendship is directly proportionate to the thing that connects you. 00:10:23.339 --> 00:10:29.079 So in other words, if your connection is that you catch the same bus each day, so you've got a bus 00:10:29.079 --> 00:10:34.299 friend, person you sit with on the way to work or the way to school or whatever it is, that's not 00:10:34.299 --> 00:10:41.559 significant. Catching that bus is in a big part of who you are or your identity and so when you stop 00:10:41.559 --> 00:10:47.779 catching that bus, that connection will probably fade or disappear. Your bus friend will be done 00:10:47.779 --> 00:10:53.599 unless you've found another point of connection that can somehow endure. But if your connection is 00:10:53.599 --> 00:10:59.019 something major, something significant, like maybe it's a shared traumatic experience, maybe it's something 00:10:59.019 --> 00:11:05.439 that's close to your heart that you both care about, there's a good chance that even when there's distance 00:11:05.440 --> 00:11:10.520 in your relationship, even when there's less time spent together, that the connections remain strong 00:11:10.520 --> 00:11:17.220 because the point of connection is more important to you and so the relationship is more substantial. 00:11:18.520 --> 00:11:27.760 Now, we need to understand what it means as people of God to be connected by the gospel. 00:11:28.820 --> 00:11:34.460 We need to understand what it actually means when we use phrases like brothers and sisters in Christ. 00:11:34.460 --> 00:11:41.560 I mean, look at the way, the shape of the relationship between Paul and the Philippians in these passages. 00:11:42.240 --> 00:11:51.500 In verse 3, Paul thanks God for the Philippians. It's not, thanks guys, you're awesome, I'm so encouraged 00:11:51.500 --> 00:11:56.379 by you, thanks for the money that you've given me and all that. It's, I thank God for you. 00:11:57.720 --> 00:12:02.320 God is the direction that he's focusing on. The connection between the two of them is through God. 00:12:02.320 --> 00:12:07.720 And then even when he's expressing his affection back to them and not his appreciation of what he's received 00:12:07.720 --> 00:12:14.320 from God, he says in verse 8, I long for you with the affection of Christ Jesus. 00:12:15.100 --> 00:12:21.860 Again, it's through God. That's the point of connection. The warmth and love and closeness 00:12:21.860 --> 00:12:28.600 and encouragement that Paul has for them is through Jesus. He loves them the way Jesus does. 00:12:28.600 --> 00:12:36.720 Gospel connections are Jesus' connections. That's the foundation for any gospel relationship. 00:12:37.340 --> 00:12:40.899 See, sometimes when we think about our relationships with other Christians, 00:12:41.700 --> 00:12:44.980 we think about them as being connected to God a bit like a triangle. 00:12:46.120 --> 00:12:50.779 So this is me and I'm connected to God. There's the line of connection. 00:12:50.779 --> 00:12:57.000 You're over here and you're connected to God as well. And then we add this third line of connection, 00:12:57.199 --> 00:13:04.100 which is related, but somehow separate. That's not the picture here in Philippians 1. 00:13:04.779 --> 00:13:12.279 That's not what's going on. It says that I'm connected to God by Jesus. By his death and resurrection, 00:13:12.480 --> 00:13:19.299 I'm connected to God. And if you're a follower of Jesus, you are connected to God by Jesus' death 00:13:19.299 --> 00:13:28.759 and resurrection. We are actually drawn together in God. There's not separate stands. It's all part of 00:13:28.759 --> 00:13:38.879 the one connection. Our relational link is Jesus. God is in every relationship between Christians. 00:13:39.599 --> 00:13:44.959 He is the source of every relationship between Christians. He is the foundation for it. He is the 00:13:44.960 --> 00:13:51.400 enduring strength of it, which means no other point of connection comes close. 00:13:53.900 --> 00:13:58.220 Because there is nothing more significant in the life of a Christian than the God who has called 00:13:58.220 --> 00:14:04.700 them and loved them and forgiven them and brought them into his family. He is our defining reality. 00:14:05.420 --> 00:14:11.379 In him, we've been recreated for his purposes. Our lives belong to him, which means every other 00:14:11.379 --> 00:14:18.340 thing in our life kind of fades when it comes to significance. And so for God's people, it actually 00:14:18.340 --> 00:14:23.879 doesn't matter if you're the same age as me. It doesn't matter if you're the same marital status 00:14:23.879 --> 00:14:29.000 as me. It doesn't matter if you like the same music or food, if you spend your recreational time doing 00:14:29.000 --> 00:14:33.379 what I do, if you vote liberal or labor. It doesn't matter if you were born in the same country, 00:14:33.480 --> 00:14:37.419 if you speak a different language, if you eat the same food that I like, if you earn more money than me, 00:14:37.419 --> 00:14:44.819 if you dress like me. It doesn't matter. Because the most significant thing in our lives is the same. 00:14:46.419 --> 00:14:50.059 We're connected by the thing that matters most to us, Jesus. 00:14:53.039 --> 00:15:01.139 We are both loved, both forgiven, both adopted through Jesus' death and resurrection. We are both 00:15:01.139 --> 00:15:08.019 on the same journey towards heaven. We both have the same call on our lives to live in all things for 00:15:08.019 --> 00:15:19.980 the glory of God. That's gospel connection. Now, the other option, and maybe the habit we fall into, 00:15:21.000 --> 00:15:25.539 is to focus on and build our relationships based on the more peripheral connections. 00:15:25.539 --> 00:15:29.279 They're still real. They're still valid. 00:15:31.319 --> 00:15:34.779 But instead of going, the connection between us is Christ, 00:15:35.419 --> 00:15:40.279 we build relationships based on the connection of the fact that we're 00:15:40.279 --> 00:15:42.779 in this building at the same time, once a week together. 00:15:44.379 --> 00:15:47.240 Or that we do dress the same. 00:15:48.240 --> 00:15:49.659 Or like the same music. 00:15:50.199 --> 00:15:51.899 Or follow the same sports team. 00:15:52.179 --> 00:15:53.519 Or live in the same area. 00:15:53.519 --> 00:15:59.860 But what happens is, if we settle for those weaker connections, 00:16:01.240 --> 00:16:06.759 our church relationships end up just being poor imitations of the rest of our relationships. 00:16:07.340 --> 00:16:11.460 Because we've lost sight of what actually makes Christian relationships unique. 00:16:12.699 --> 00:16:13.279 Jesus. 00:16:14.460 --> 00:16:15.319 The gospel. 00:16:16.399 --> 00:16:19.319 When the gospel is the centre of a Christian relationship, 00:16:19.500 --> 00:16:21.460 when Jesus is the connection point, 00:16:21.460 --> 00:16:29.440 every relationship built on him is an opportunity for you to encounter the source of all joy, 00:16:30.220 --> 00:16:31.060 Jesus himself. 00:16:33.460 --> 00:16:36.320 If Jesus is the thing that draws us together, 00:16:36.420 --> 00:16:37.400 if he's the foundation, 00:16:37.580 --> 00:16:39.600 if he's the means by which we have a connection, 00:16:39.600 --> 00:16:45.660 every interaction in that relationship is an opportunity to encounter Jesus. 00:16:45.659 --> 00:16:54.019 The gospel shapes relationships by being our point of connection, 00:16:54.379 --> 00:17:01.159 and it transforms them into opportunities to encounter the all-satisfying saviour, Jesus. 00:17:01.159 --> 00:17:07.299 But he won't be displayed through the perfection of your relationship, 00:17:07.920 --> 00:17:11.000 or through the perfection of the people you're relating to. 00:17:11.379 --> 00:17:14.839 The second way that the gospel is going to shape our relationships, 00:17:15.019 --> 00:17:17.359 the second way that it's impacted Paul and the Philippians, 00:17:17.559 --> 00:17:19.819 is by giving them gospel perspective. 00:17:20.379 --> 00:17:23.099 So first, it helps them to see the gospel connection, 00:17:23.099 --> 00:17:26.539 but second, it gives them gospel perspective. 00:17:27.799 --> 00:17:32.699 Now, even though this letter gives us a glimpse of what is clearly a pretty incredible relationship 00:17:32.699 --> 00:17:33.980 between a church family, 00:17:34.899 --> 00:17:36.599 it is far from perfect. 00:17:36.740 --> 00:17:39.659 You can be assured that neither Paul nor the Philippians 00:17:39.659 --> 00:17:41.740 are under any illusions about the other. 00:17:42.839 --> 00:17:46.359 In fact, what Paul rejoices in in this passage 00:17:46.359 --> 00:17:49.299 is the incompleteness of the Philippians, 00:17:50.179 --> 00:17:51.779 is their unfinishedness. 00:17:51.779 --> 00:17:53.039 Have a look at verse 6. 00:17:54.019 --> 00:17:57.639 Just after going on about thanking God all the time and praying with joy, 00:17:58.059 --> 00:17:58.420 he says, 00:17:58.539 --> 00:17:59.720 Being confident of this, 00:18:00.539 --> 00:18:02.740 that he who began a good work in you 00:18:02.740 --> 00:18:06.119 will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. 00:18:07.240 --> 00:18:08.700 Their work's in progress. 00:18:09.779 --> 00:18:11.039 Paul looks at the Philippians, 00:18:11.319 --> 00:18:13.480 and he says there's lots that's great here. 00:18:14.000 --> 00:18:15.740 Even when he prays in verse 9, 00:18:15.819 --> 00:18:18.639 and he prays for more love and more knowledge and more insight, 00:18:18.640 --> 00:18:22.740 that's assuming there's already some love and some knowledge and some insight. 00:18:23.200 --> 00:18:24.500 So in this one section, 00:18:24.900 --> 00:18:26.360 Paul can give thanks for them 00:18:26.360 --> 00:18:28.100 and get joy from them 00:18:28.100 --> 00:18:29.620 and celebrate all that's good 00:18:29.620 --> 00:18:33.820 and pray that they would grow because they need to. 00:18:35.600 --> 00:18:37.120 That's gospel perspective. 00:18:37.119 --> 00:18:42.379 It's the recognition that we are connected to imperfect people 00:18:42.379 --> 00:18:45.500 who are just as in need of grace as we are. 00:18:47.319 --> 00:18:51.719 Gospel perspective creates safe relationships where you can fail, 00:18:53.059 --> 00:18:54.219 where you can fall short, 00:18:54.299 --> 00:18:56.500 where you can let one another down, 00:18:57.500 --> 00:19:00.819 and where you can find grace in those moments of failure. 00:19:00.819 --> 00:19:05.240 Gospel perspective gives you the chance 00:19:05.240 --> 00:19:07.439 to be who you really are in relationship. 00:19:08.720 --> 00:19:09.539 No pretending. 00:19:10.559 --> 00:19:11.779 No pretense. 00:19:13.480 --> 00:19:16.319 It enables genuine relationship. 00:19:19.119 --> 00:19:21.799 As I was preparing this message today, 00:19:22.000 --> 00:19:24.759 and in honesty probably for longer, 00:19:24.919 --> 00:19:27.559 God has been challenging me on this issue specifically. 00:19:27.559 --> 00:19:32.599 I think that I would describe myself as someone who is relationally weak, 00:19:33.500 --> 00:19:36.379 and there's a whole bunch of baggage there to unpack, 00:19:36.879 --> 00:19:39.179 but as I was preparing this week, 00:19:39.240 --> 00:19:39.980 I was convicted 00:19:39.980 --> 00:19:44.839 that this is one of my big challenges relationally. 00:19:46.279 --> 00:19:48.659 Being willing to entrust myself 00:19:48.659 --> 00:19:52.259 in all my unfinishedness to other people. 00:19:54.500 --> 00:19:56.799 Being willing to trust the grace of God 00:19:56.799 --> 00:19:58.799 to the point where I'm okay with you knowing 00:19:58.799 --> 00:20:01.319 the rough edges in my life. 00:20:03.119 --> 00:20:05.200 I don't know if this is your struggle, 00:20:05.440 --> 00:20:06.539 but for me personally, 00:20:06.980 --> 00:20:10.039 I can give you the illusion of vulnerability 00:20:10.039 --> 00:20:13.419 by sharing the things that I'm comfortable with sharing. 00:20:14.940 --> 00:20:16.980 The things that I've put into the category of, 00:20:17.259 --> 00:20:19.000 I'm happy for everyone to know this, 00:20:19.339 --> 00:20:21.659 even if they're slightly more personal than you might expect. 00:20:22.099 --> 00:20:23.839 But the things that I'm embarrassed about, 00:20:24.359 --> 00:20:26.099 I'm not telling you those. 00:20:26.099 --> 00:20:29.219 That's what vulnerability is. 00:20:31.099 --> 00:20:33.599 It's a willingness to share the things that are sensitive. 00:20:36.319 --> 00:20:38.259 And in my life, I'm not good at it. 00:20:39.619 --> 00:20:42.859 But gospel perspective gives me permission. 00:20:44.679 --> 00:20:45.480 Because it says, 00:20:45.659 --> 00:20:47.539 even if you struggle with how to process that, 00:20:47.639 --> 00:20:48.740 even if you react in a way 00:20:48.740 --> 00:20:50.719 that might not be exactly how I want you to react, 00:20:50.720 --> 00:20:52.900 I have grace in Jesus, 00:20:52.900 --> 00:20:54.579 who's in the middle of our relationship. 00:20:56.100 --> 00:20:58.180 Which means even as you respond in a way 00:20:58.180 --> 00:20:59.220 that might be hard for me, 00:20:59.539 --> 00:21:02.380 God can empower me to give you grace in your response. 00:21:03.779 --> 00:21:06.440 And for us together to walk through that challenge, 00:21:06.779 --> 00:21:09.420 we need to look at other people with gospel eyes, 00:21:09.519 --> 00:21:10.799 knowing that they are imperfect, 00:21:11.000 --> 00:21:12.480 knowing that they have their struggles, 00:21:12.680 --> 00:21:14.100 knowing that their work's in progress. 00:21:14.099 --> 00:21:18.439 But also we need to look at ourselves through gospel eyes, 00:21:19.099 --> 00:21:21.519 unfinished and still in need of grace. 00:21:21.519 --> 00:21:25.839 We need to be willing to be vulnerable with one another. 00:21:28.160 --> 00:21:29.299 Because when we do that, 00:21:29.359 --> 00:21:30.859 we actually shine Jesus. 00:21:31.920 --> 00:21:35.019 We shine what it is to be unconditionally accepted 00:21:35.019 --> 00:21:36.180 to people around us 00:21:36.180 --> 00:21:38.920 who maybe desperately need that same permission, 00:21:40.119 --> 00:21:41.539 desperately need to be reminded 00:21:41.539 --> 00:21:43.000 of that incredible grace 00:21:43.000 --> 00:21:45.779 that covers all our failures, 00:21:46.019 --> 00:21:47.059 all our sins. 00:21:47.059 --> 00:21:51.940 Maybe we can give permission to a brother or sister 00:21:51.940 --> 00:21:53.159 to be hurting, 00:21:53.879 --> 00:21:54.980 to be struggling, 00:21:55.399 --> 00:21:56.279 to be doubting, 00:21:56.399 --> 00:21:57.159 to be unfinished, 00:21:57.399 --> 00:21:58.879 to be a work in progress. 00:22:00.899 --> 00:22:04.500 The gospel gives perspective to our relationships, 00:22:05.059 --> 00:22:08.019 which enables us to display Jesus to one another. 00:22:10.379 --> 00:22:13.740 Enables us to shine a light on the author of joy 00:22:13.740 --> 00:22:16.559 and so to bless the people that we interact with, 00:22:16.559 --> 00:22:18.859 with what Peter called a joy 00:22:18.859 --> 00:22:21.599 that is inexpressible and glorious. 00:22:23.440 --> 00:22:26.679 And the last way the gospel shapes relationships 00:22:26.679 --> 00:22:29.799 is by giving them a gospel agenda. 00:22:31.359 --> 00:22:33.079 This letter is between people 00:22:33.079 --> 00:22:35.059 who clearly care deeply for one another. 00:22:36.480 --> 00:22:38.579 Now what does this incredible love 00:22:38.579 --> 00:22:40.179 and intimacy and encouragement 00:22:40.179 --> 00:22:41.279 lead them to talk about? 00:22:42.579 --> 00:22:44.700 What's their relationship made up of? 00:22:44.700 --> 00:22:47.220 Verse 5, 00:22:48.400 --> 00:22:49.620 partnership in the gospel. 00:22:50.600 --> 00:22:51.440 Verse 7, 00:22:51.900 --> 00:22:53.539 the shared grace of defending 00:22:53.539 --> 00:22:55.019 and confirming the gospel. 00:22:56.120 --> 00:22:56.920 Verse 8, 00:22:57.180 --> 00:22:58.660 the affection of Jesus. 00:22:59.799 --> 00:23:01.740 Now there are a couple of incidental things 00:23:01.740 --> 00:23:02.360 that get mentioned. 00:23:02.500 --> 00:23:03.519 There's a few individuals 00:23:03.519 --> 00:23:05.600 that get mentioned in this letter. 00:23:05.819 --> 00:23:06.380 But really, 00:23:06.480 --> 00:23:08.160 all Paul wants to talk about is Jesus. 00:23:08.160 --> 00:23:12.360 To those that he cares about most, 00:23:12.440 --> 00:23:14.259 what he wants to talk about is Jesus. 00:23:14.420 --> 00:23:16.040 He wants to remind them of the gospel 00:23:16.040 --> 00:23:17.740 so that they get joy. 00:23:19.340 --> 00:23:22.120 Even in talking about his own struggles and situation, 00:23:22.220 --> 00:23:23.440 which we're going to look at next week, 00:23:23.640 --> 00:23:25.600 he does it so that they might get joy 00:23:25.600 --> 00:23:27.300 about the way the gospel is advancing. 00:23:27.299 --> 00:23:33.500 The details of his situation are context to gospel info 00:23:33.500 --> 00:23:35.659 so that they can get joy and be encouraged. 00:23:36.659 --> 00:23:38.720 What does he pray for when he thinks of them? 00:23:39.680 --> 00:23:40.319 Health? 00:23:41.379 --> 00:23:42.440 Financial struggles? 00:23:43.319 --> 00:23:43.659 Weather? 00:23:44.940 --> 00:23:45.419 Work? 00:23:45.420 --> 00:23:48.400 Verse 9, 00:23:49.480 --> 00:23:51.120 this is my prayer, 00:23:51.900 --> 00:23:54.759 that your love may abound more and more 00:23:54.759 --> 00:23:56.880 in knowledge and depth of insight 00:23:56.880 --> 00:23:59.500 so that you may be able to discern what is best 00:23:59.500 --> 00:24:02.660 and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 00:24:03.000 --> 00:24:04.720 filled with the fruit of righteousness 00:24:04.720 --> 00:24:06.440 that comes through Jesus Christ 00:24:06.440 --> 00:24:08.660 to the glory and praise of God. 00:24:09.600 --> 00:24:11.259 He prays for their growth. 00:24:11.259 --> 00:24:16.140 His heart's desire is that they make it to the end, 00:24:17.140 --> 00:24:18.640 that God gets the glory. 00:24:19.400 --> 00:24:21.440 Now, that's not to say we shouldn't pray 00:24:21.440 --> 00:24:24.279 for material struggles or health or anything else. 00:24:24.379 --> 00:24:27.740 God encourages us to cast all our anxiety on him 00:24:27.740 --> 00:24:29.079 because he cares for us. 00:24:29.960 --> 00:24:32.879 But how often are our prayers for one another 00:24:32.879 --> 00:24:36.200 marked by an earnest desire 00:24:36.200 --> 00:24:39.500 that we would see growth in one another? 00:24:42.259 --> 00:24:44.559 How much of our conversation with one another 00:24:44.559 --> 00:24:46.660 is marked with talks of Jesus, 00:24:47.740 --> 00:24:49.900 talking about what we're learning in the Bible, 00:24:50.559 --> 00:24:52.339 talking about what God is teaching us 00:24:52.339 --> 00:24:53.460 and how he's shaping us 00:24:53.460 --> 00:24:55.599 or struggles that we're having in the Christian life? 00:24:57.279 --> 00:24:59.940 Now, it's not to say we can't talk about the weather 00:24:59.940 --> 00:25:02.039 or the football or whatever else it is 00:25:02.039 --> 00:25:03.079 that we're talking about. 00:25:03.079 --> 00:25:07.619 But if this isn't there at all, 00:25:09.259 --> 00:25:15.039 the gospel is an all-consuming reality. 00:25:16.159 --> 00:25:17.960 Gospel connections point us back 00:25:17.960 --> 00:25:19.599 to what Jesus has already done, 00:25:20.359 --> 00:25:23.460 point us back to the security we have in God's love. 00:25:24.500 --> 00:25:28.019 Gospel perspective recognises the tension we have right now 00:25:28.019 --> 00:25:30.899 as forgiven people who aren't finished yet. 00:25:30.900 --> 00:25:34.380 And a gospel agenda lifts our eyes 00:25:34.380 --> 00:25:35.560 to where we're trying to get to, 00:25:36.640 --> 00:25:38.160 shows us the end goal. 00:25:39.360 --> 00:25:42.340 When Jesus returns, God is glorified 00:25:42.340 --> 00:25:44.680 and finally we will be finished. 00:25:45.460 --> 00:25:46.300 It's everything. 00:25:47.460 --> 00:25:48.960 It's what has been, it's what is, 00:25:49.000 --> 00:25:49.800 and it's what will be. 00:25:49.900 --> 00:25:52.320 And so it must be on our lips. 00:25:53.880 --> 00:25:56.120 It must be in our conversations. 00:25:56.340 --> 00:25:57.640 It must be in our hearts. 00:25:57.640 --> 00:25:59.280 It must be part of our prayer. 00:26:01.340 --> 00:26:03.160 It must be in our relationships. 00:26:05.720 --> 00:26:08.259 God's design and desire for us as a community 00:26:08.259 --> 00:26:10.100 and for our relationships here at church 00:26:10.100 --> 00:26:11.759 is that they would be joy-filled, 00:26:12.460 --> 00:26:14.460 that they would be joy-giving, 00:26:14.640 --> 00:26:16.620 that they would be deep and they would be rich. 00:26:16.720 --> 00:26:19.220 And the key to that is the gospel. 00:26:20.040 --> 00:26:21.420 The key is Jesus. 00:26:21.420 --> 00:26:27.700 True, lasting joy is only ever found in Jesus. 00:26:28.920 --> 00:26:31.320 This whole series is about Jesus. 00:26:31.640 --> 00:26:33.220 It's called Joy for Everyone, 00:26:33.640 --> 00:26:34.940 but it's really about Jesus. 00:26:35.380 --> 00:26:37.320 You could replace joy with Jesus. 00:26:38.100 --> 00:26:39.140 They're almost synonyms. 00:26:39.240 --> 00:26:40.560 That's how good Jesus is. 00:26:41.259 --> 00:26:42.720 Don't, because I really like the graphic, 00:26:42.900 --> 00:26:43.920 but you get the point. 00:26:45.180 --> 00:26:46.740 It's joy for everyone, 00:26:46.940 --> 00:26:49.900 but that joy can only ever be found in Jesus. 00:26:49.900 --> 00:26:51.860 The search for joy in your life 00:26:51.860 --> 00:26:53.920 is ultimately a search for Jesus. 00:26:55.160 --> 00:26:56.800 It's a search to include him 00:26:56.800 --> 00:26:58.800 and encounter him in all the situations 00:26:58.800 --> 00:27:00.600 and circumstances and relationships 00:27:00.600 --> 00:27:02.280 that he has placed you in. 00:27:03.100 --> 00:27:04.820 Nothing can come close to the joy 00:27:04.820 --> 00:27:06.840 of being loved unconditionally 00:27:06.840 --> 00:27:08.860 by the one who gave his life for you. 00:27:09.620 --> 00:27:12.900 Nothing comes close to the joy of certain hope. 00:27:16.120 --> 00:27:18.440 He is the one you need to be satisfied. 00:27:18.440 --> 00:27:22.740 He is the one you need to be content to have joy. 00:27:24.900 --> 00:27:27.340 And this gospel community, 00:27:28.340 --> 00:27:33.559 this network of relationships connected by Jesus, 00:27:34.240 --> 00:27:35.960 being shaped by the gospel, 00:27:36.420 --> 00:27:38.360 being driven by a gospel agenda, 00:27:39.400 --> 00:27:44.500 this community of brothers and sisters in Christ, 00:27:44.500 --> 00:27:48.960 every relationship that he has placed around you here 00:27:48.960 --> 00:27:52.599 is one of the vehicles that Jesus has chosen 00:27:52.599 --> 00:27:55.359 to make himself available to you. 00:27:56.019 --> 00:27:57.740 He is the source of all joy. 00:27:58.660 --> 00:28:00.480 Not a great church community, 00:28:01.480 --> 00:28:05.099 but this community is one of the vehicles 00:28:05.099 --> 00:28:08.460 that he has chosen to make himself available to you. 00:28:08.460 --> 00:28:13.620 So take hold of him. 00:28:17.759 --> 00:28:19.819 Look again at the people around you. 00:28:21.059 --> 00:28:22.640 See past common hobbies, 00:28:23.579 --> 00:28:25.279 past common location, 00:28:26.299 --> 00:28:27.720 past common background, 00:28:28.400 --> 00:28:31.700 and see that what brings you together 00:28:31.700 --> 00:28:33.039 is the eternal reality 00:28:33.039 --> 00:28:35.980 that you are loved and forgiven in Jesus. 00:28:38.860 --> 00:28:41.740 This community is God's gift to each of us 00:28:41.740 --> 00:28:45.460 so that we might encounter and enjoy Jesus 00:28:45.460 --> 00:28:48.759 with ever-increasing measure 00:28:48.759 --> 00:28:51.440 until he comes back and we get all of him. 00:28:51.440 --> 00:28:54.680 So let's take hold of him. 00:28:58.000 --> 00:28:58.700 Let's pray. 00:29:05.120 --> 00:29:06.880 Father God, we ask that 00:29:06.880 --> 00:29:10.340 you would open our eyes to see what it is that you see, 00:29:11.200 --> 00:29:12.920 to see brothers and sisters, 00:29:14.039 --> 00:29:18.120 to see not people who are like us or not like us, 00:29:18.119 --> 00:29:22.519 but to see fellow recipients of grace. 00:29:24.679 --> 00:29:27.479 Enable us to be givers of grace to one another. 00:29:29.000 --> 00:29:31.379 Empower our relationships to be encouraging 00:29:31.379 --> 00:29:34.579 and strengthening and joyful and vulnerable 00:29:34.579 --> 00:29:36.059 and yet safe. 00:29:38.799 --> 00:29:40.979 Help our relationships as your people 00:29:40.979 --> 00:29:43.000 to be a place where we encounter you 00:29:43.000 --> 00:29:45.559 as you work in those around us. 00:29:45.559 --> 00:29:49.019 Fill us with joy, Father. 00:29:50.179 --> 00:29:52.879 Fill us with a joy beyond our circumstances 00:29:52.879 --> 00:29:55.700 and shine your infinite worth 00:29:55.700 --> 00:29:57.440 into a world that is searching 00:29:57.440 --> 00:29:59.980 for the satisfaction that only you can offer. 00:30:04.859 --> 00:30:06.579 God, do your work in us 00:30:06.579 --> 00:30:10.460 so that we might finish the race full of joy 00:30:10.460 --> 00:30:13.619 and so that you get the glory. 00:30:14.980 --> 00:30:15.460 Amen. 00:30:15.559 --> 00:30:16.379 Amen. 00:30:24.519 --> 00:30:25.059 Amen. 00:30:25.519 --> 00:30:25.579 Amen. 00:30:25.579 --> 00:30:25.899 Amen. 00:30:25.899 --> 00:30:26.039 Amen. 00:30:26.259 --> 00:30:26.559 Amen. 00:30:26.559 --> 00:30:28.619 Amen. 00:30:28.619 --> 00:30:30.579 Amen. 00:30:30.639 --> 00:30:30.679 Amen. 00:30:30.700 --> 00:30:32.639 Amen. 00:30:33.440 --> 00:30:34.179 Amen. 00:30:34.399 --> 00:30:34.659 Amen. 00:30:34.659 --> 00:30:34.740 Amen. 00:30:36.740 --> 00:30:36.759 Amen. 00:30:36.759 --> 00:30:36.799 Amen. 00:30:36.799 --> 00:30:38.000 Amen. 00:30:38.000 --> 00:30:38.899 Amen. 00:30:38.899 --> 00:30:41.019 Amen. 00:30:41.179 --> 00:30:42.319 Amen. 00:30:42.319 --> 00:30:44.359 Amen. 00:30:44.359 --> 00:30:44.599 Amen. 00:30:44.599 --> 00:30:44.740 Amen. 00:30:44.740 --> 00:30:45.419 Amen.