Well, what has to be going right in life before you can rejoice?
Do you rejoice when you get a job?
Do you rejoice when you take a step up in your career?
Do you rejoice when you level up in League of Legends?
Do you rejoice when you get into a relationship?
Do you rejoice when relationships with family and friends are going well?
Do you rejoice when your kids are doing well at school?
Do you rejoice when you get public recognition?
Do you rejoice when you get a holiday?
Do you rejoice when you find some money in your pocket that you didn't realise was there?
Did you rejoice this morning when Liverpool won 3-0?
I certainly hope you did.
What gives you reason to rejoice?
Because whatever you rejoice in or whatever you anticipate will give you joy,
that is a really good indicator of what you are living for.
Whatever you rejoice in or you anticipate will give you joy,
that's a really good indicator of what you're living for.
Let me try and illustrate this with two songs.
I want to compare two songwriters.
The first guy has a great job.
He loves his job as a musician.
He's very popular at the moment.
He has a supportive family and he's making loads of money.
This is his lyrics.
I made 100 grand this year.
Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, so what?
Still lost.
Still feeling anxious.
Still worry about the same swear word.
I made 100 grand this year.
Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, so what?
Still lost.
Still feel depressed like I'm trying to find a way in.
Very raw words.
He's trying to find joy but what he's living for isn't paying off.
Still lost.
That's the first guy.
The second guy, he's just lost all his children in a shipwreck
and a fire has destroyed his investments which has just wrecked him financially.
This is his lyrics.
He sings this.
Though Satan should buffet, though trial should come,
let this blessed assurance control that Christ has regarded my helpless estate.
It is well.
It is well with my soul.
How can this guy still have joy?
And I reckon that is joy.
It is well with my soul.
He still has joy even though he's lost nearly everything dear to him in this life.
Whatever you rejoice in or you anticipate will give you joy,
that's a really good indicator of what you're living for.
So in Paul's letter to the church in Philippi, joy and rejoicing, it's on every page.
It's everywhere.
And this is especially incredible because Paul is writing from Rome in prison.
Imagine yourself in prison.
He's in chains.
Any minute someone could come to him and tell him he's got the death sentence
and it would be carried out pretty much straight away.
But six times he says that he is rejoicing.
What is this guy living for?
And he tells the Philippians and through them he's telling us as well in chapter 4 verse 4,
rejoice in the Lord always.
I will say it again, rejoice.
Now we're probably cringing at the moment, thinking, Paul, you can't possibly mean me.
If you knew what I was going through, you would have written me into the Bible as an exception.
Rejoice in the Lord, except when you're sick, except when you're lonely,
except when you feel you've been mistreated.
But to the rest of you, I'll say rejoice.
He doesn't say that.
Now Paul isn't telling us to fake it.
He's not telling us to fake it until we make it.
He's not telling us to ignore our circumstances.
But he is going to show us the way that there's reason that we can always have joy.
Don't feel guilty for not rejoicing.
But see that if Paul is telling us to rejoice, it must be possible.
He shows us the way.
He's rejoicing.
Whatever is happening in life.
So how can Paul rejoice always and expect us to as well?
Well, here's the reason.
Here's what Paul was living for.
Come with me to chapter 1, verse 21.
Have a look with me.
This is what Paul is living for.
For to me, to live is Christ.
And to die is gain.
Christ himself is Paul's greatest treasure.
To have him is to have life.
If you've got him this morning, by faith in him, you have life.
For Paul, death is not losing life.
It's gaining more.
Because it's gaining more of him.
If Christ is our greatest treasure, then we have him.
If we have him, we have life.
And since we have Christ, no matter what else is going on around us, we can rejoice.
We can have joy.
Even while we're hurting, we can have joy.
We have reason to rejoice.
So we want to live for Christ too, don't we?
We want Christ to be our life.
So the question is, what does it look like to believe with Paul to live is Christ?
In Paul's letter to the Philippians, I think he tells us three main ways.
He says a lot of things that we're going to look at in more detail.
But I think there's three main ways that we live for Christ, that we show that Christ is our deepest treasure.
What we're going to do is spend about half our time this morning looking at the background of Philippians
and what we share in common with the church then.
So the outline doesn't really reflect the time we'll spend, so don't freak out.
We're going to spend about half our time doing that.
And then we're going to look at the three ways that we can show that we're living for Christ.
So please get ready to flip back and forth through the letter or using your tablet, phone, whatever you're using.
So get your Bibles ready.
And please just get ready to get an overall impression of this life-giving message.
We've got a whole series to just soak in it and dig down deep.
Today is just really an impression.
Okay, the Philippian church.
What were they like?
What was going on in their congregation?
Look at chapter 1, verses 3 and 4 with me.
I thank my God every time I remember you.
In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy.
Why?
Because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.
No matter what situation Paul was in, for 30 years or so, these guys have been praying and giving and standing up for the gospel alongside Paul.
They've been sharing in Paul's trouble.
They've even sent one of their dear brothers, Epaphroditus, to Paul with gifts.
He almost died doing it.
These guys are passionate partners in the gospel.
This is a church who are sure of who Christ is, his death and resurrection, his certain return.
And they're working and striving for the gospel out of an overflow of their faith.
I would call this a mature church.
This is a really positive letter.
And Paul has a lot of joy for this church.
Have a look at verses 7 and 8 of chapter 1.
Listen to Paul's affection for this church.
It is right for me to feel this way about you all because I hold you in my heart.
God is my witness how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus.
He loves this church.
Their common faith, their partnership in the gospel side by side has created a deep mutual love for each other.
And that's one of the main reasons that he's writing this letter.
Because they love him so much and they love the gospel so much, they're really worried about Paul being in prison.
He's writing the letter to calm their fears.
That's one of the reasons.
This church is anxious.
And a big cause of their anxiety is that God has let their founder be chained up.
Flick over to chapter 4 verse 10 with me.
I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me.
You were indeed concerned for me but you had no opportunity to show it, he means.
They were really concerned for him.
That's one of the main reasons he wrote this letter.
But they're also very anxious because they themselves are being attacked.
Flick back to chapter 3 and just have a look at the first 10 or so verses.
Paul has to strongly warn them of those who demand that they put their confidence not only in Christ but also in works of the law.
Paul uses some of the strongest language he ever uses to encourage them not to give an inch.
Watch out for the dogs.
Look out for the evildoers.
Look out for those who mutilate the flesh.
Referring to circumcision.
These guys are under theological attack to add to Christ.
And we're also told in chapter 1 verse 30 that it has been granted to the Philippians to suffer for Christ's sake.
To engage in the same conflict that they saw that Paul had.
What did they see that Paul had?
I had the pleasure of being with the men's group this week.
And they went to Acts 16 and we studied Acts 16 together where the church is founded.
When we read there, the church is founded first by Lydia being converted.
And then Paul and his companions are beaten publicly and thrown into prison.
In prison, while they're singing, mind you, and praying, there's an earthquake.
The earthquake.
The earthquake removes their chains and the jailer is about to kill himself because he's convinced that the prisoners have just run for it, as you would expect.
Paul cries out, saves him, stops him from killing himself.
And the jailer asks, what must I do to be saved?
He and his household are converted.
This church is not unfamiliar with attack.
Their very church was formed partly because Paul was attacked.
But these threats still have the potential to rock their confidence in God.
They are under attack socially, maybe from authorities, not sure.
And they're under attack theologically to add something to Christ.
And there also appears to be a widespread issue in the church.
We see a hint of it in chapter 1, verse 15.
Because there seems to be a few individuals who are preaching Christ from motives of envy and rivalry.
Perhaps they saw Paul's imprisonment as an opportunity to get more influence in the church.
And then in chapter 4, verse 2, there's two women, Iodia and Syntyche, who are both solid Christians.
Their names are written in the book of life.
They've been striving for the gospel alongside Paul, but they're at odds.
We're not told why, but they're at odds.
And then there's chapter 2.
There seems to be a widespread culture of people doing things not primarily for love's sake,
but out of selfish ambition and conceit.
Just having an exaggerated view of yourself.
They're looking to their own interests.
So, the church in Philippi is mixed.
And I don't think that should surprise us, should it?
Churches are always mixed.
This church is mature.
They are passionate partners in the gospel, but they're also riddled with anxiety.
Especially as their church founder is in chains.
They're under attack themselves.
And there's a widespread culture of just being self-seeking.
These believers are in danger of no longer living for Christ, losing hope that God is still at work in them and through them.
They attempted to just protect themselves out of fear.
They attempted to compromise the gospel because that's easier.
And they attempted to slowly lose their passion for serving the Lord.
Paul writes into this situation.
So, here's the hard question.
Is this true for us as well?
What's the grace evangelical church situation?
What do we share in common with the church in Philippi?
Is this a church who are passionately working for the sake of the gospel?
I could list all the formal ministries going on.
I could try and describe all the informal ministry behind the scenes stuff that's going on.
I would fail because there's so much going on.
Can I just point to one piece of evidence that convinces me that, yes, this is a church passionate for the gospel?
Now, I might be biased here, but when you as a church sent Jeremy and Hayley and Emma and I off to college, you didn't know whether we would come back.
You sent us all because you wanted to advance the gospel, didn't you?
It didn't matter where, whether it was here, whether it's overseas, whether it's in Sydney.
And you gave generously, you gave a lot of money to get us ready for that.
I really appreciate it.
It affirmed, it was really good.
Anyway, can I just say that you prioritise the kingdom.
You're willing to let, I assume you love us, you're willing to let people you love go for the sake of the kingdom.
Now, maybe you just gave the money to get rid of me for two years.
I can understand that as well.
But I don't think so.
I think this is a church that is passionate for the gospel, that gives out of generosity because of your love for Jesus.
Are we anxious?
Individually?
Yeah, many of us.
One of Grace's founders, Don McMurray, he's not in prison.
Though if you keep it up, Don, you...
But in recent years, our leadership has been shaken.
People we love have left.
And it's made us all question, is God still committed to us?
It worries us.
Are we attacked?
Aren't you super aware in conversations that...
There's just topics that if you even gave a hint of your Christian conviction on,
it would be like a dementor from Harry Potter came in and just sucked the warmth out of the conversation.
Aren't you super aware of that in those conversations?
So I think socially, yeah.
Thankfully, from authorities, we have a lot of safety at the moment.
So we should praise God for that.
Are the Jewish people trying to impose circumcision in the law of Moses?
I don't think so.
Haven't heard of it.
Please let me know if that happens.
But I think in another way, we are in danger of adding something to Christ.
Let me try and illustrate.
When I was at the LIT camp with some of the youth a few weeks ago,
I was chatting to a year 12 boy,
and I asked if he was confident that Jesus had saved him and would never let him go.
His answer was way more insightful than I was expecting.
He said something like,
I know that I'm definitely saved,
and I know I'm only saved by faith in Jesus.
I was really glad to hear that.
Then he said,
but there's pressure on me to prove I've got faith by doing lots of things.
Don't you feel that sometimes?
I think we will always be under attack
to move away from faith in Jesus alone making us righteous before God.
We will always be under that attack.
In our hearts,
and maybe from outside as well.
Here's maybe a more heart-heating one.
Are we self-seeking?
Are we driven by envy and rivalry?
Well, we certainly don't want to think so.
But why do I sometimes feel threatened
when a brother or sister is better at something than me?
Why do I feel threatened by that?
I think it's because there's envy in my heart.
Why do I sometimes think church cleaning is beneath me?
Am I just choosing the acts of service that are comfortable?
Or am I driven to serve in whatever way others need me?
Or do I just choose what's comfortable for me?
I think that's how it plays out in my heart.
So I think we do share some things in common
with the Philippian church.
We need to hear this letter.
Not just this morning,
but soak in it.
We need to rejoice in the Lord.
We have a whole series to carefully listen.
But for the rest of this morning,
we're just going to hear three major things that Paul writes.
Firstly,
church,
be confident
that God is at work in you.
Second,
stand firm together in Christ.
Third,
keep bearing fruit
in gospel work.
These things is what it looks like
to make Paul's words
your own words.
To me,
to live is Christ.
This is what it looks like.
So let's quickly
go through these one by one.
First,
be confident that God is at work in you.
What is Paul's confidence
that this church will grow
in faith and love?
Look at chapter 1, verse 6 with me
and let it sink in.
Here's Paul's confidence
that God
will keep growing
his church.
And I am sure of this,
that he who began
a good work in you
will bring it to completion
at the day of Jesus Christ.
He who began
a good work in you
will bring it
to completion
at the day
of Jesus Christ.
Do you doubt
whether you're changing
in the ways
that God wants you to?
Do you feel stuck
in a particular sin?
Be confident.
God is at work in you
because when God
starts saving you,
he finishes it.
He has a long-term goal
in mind.
Stop measuring it
just on one day.
He's got a long-term goal.
He's committing
to finishing it
when Jesus returns.
He is at work.
We have to strive
for it.
Yes.
We have to pursue it
ourselves
to think
and choose
in ways
that are more
and more like Christ.
But chapter 2
verse 13
tells us very clearly
we can only strive
to do this
because
it is God
who works in you
both to will
and to work
for his good pleasure.
Be confident
that God
is at work
in you,
in us
because he promises
to.
He's committed
to us.
And God
is still at work
in us
and through us
even in dark times.
Think of Paul.
He was a man
of God
used to establish
so many churches
and how did he do it?
By travelling around
but now he is
locked up.
He could die
any moment.
This is a dark
time for the church.
But look at his
perspective
in chapter 1
verse 12.
Have a look.
I want you
to know
brothers
that what has
happened to me
has really served
to advance
the gospel.
Others are more
bold to speak up
for Jesus.
All the soldiers
guarding me
know that I'm
here only because
of my faith
in Jesus.
brothers,
this is a good
thing.
There would
have been a
family sitting
in the congregation
when this letter
was first read
out that would
have been smiling
from ear to ear.
That God
is using
his imprisonment
to save.
Paul isn't
focusing on
the injustice
of it all
though that
would have
been so painful.
he's focusing
on Christ.
He's living
for Christ.
He wants
Christ's name
to be known
and to be
treasured.
And so in that
he can rejoice.
Secondly,
to live for
Christ
is to stand
firm together
in Christ.
There's two
aspects to this
one.
Firstly,
stand firm
together
as one.
Don't let
envy and
rivalry,
selfish ambition,
being full of
yourself
motivate you.
But Paul
doesn't leave it
as a command,
don't do it.
He spends
way more time
painting a
picture of
what to do.
A beautiful
picture of
Christ.
Chapter 2,
think like
Christ because
you are in
Christ.
Think like
him who
did not
grasp at
greatness
but emptied
himself,
humbled
himself by
becoming
obedient to
the point of
death,
even death
on a cross.
The one
who lowers
themselves for
the sake of
others is the
one that God
counts as
truly great.
And the
result of
this Christ-like
humility is
true unity,
true serving
one another,
true looking
out for the
interests of
others.
Have this
mind because
we are in
Christ.
We need to
share that
humility,
stand firm
together.
And the
other aspect
is to stand
firm in the
gospel of
Christ by
counting
everything as
rubbish compared
to gaining
Christ.
We see this
in the start
of chapter
three.
If someone
had reason to
be accepted
by God as
a righteous
man based on
their own
efforts,
Paul would
be top of
the list.
He's up
there.
He would
smash all
of us.
But what's
his perspective?
All the
things he could
do.
Once he got
Christ, he saw
them as valuable
as they actually
are.
Rubbish.
Dung.
I count
everything as
loss because
of the
surpassing
worth of
knowing Christ
Jesus my
Lord.
That
promotion at
work,
benching 10
kilograms above
your personal
best, paying
off your
mortgage,
rubbish
compared to
knowing Christ.
Be confident
of God's
work in you,
stand firm
together in
Christ and
keep bearing
fruit in
gospel work.
Philippians,
grace evangelical,
you have given
of your very
best towards
the work of
the gospel.
Keep going.
Have you
noticed that
Paul talks
about himself
a lot?
Is he
narcissistic?
No, I don't
think so.
Chapter 3
verse 17
gives us the
reason.
He says
this,
brothers,
sisters,
join in
imitating
me and
keep your
eyes on
those who
walk according
to the
example you
have in
us.
And in
chapter 2
he gives
two examples,
Timothy and
Epaphroditus.
So who is
the Epaphroditus
in your
life?
Our
society says
to make
your own
decisions,
carve out
your own
way,
based on
your own
reasoning?
It's full
of it.
God says
imitate.
Look at
people who
are passionate
for the
gospel,
watch them,
keep your
eyes on
them,
imitate.
There are
times when
you're going
to lose
heart.
There are
times when
you're going
to have
no idea
what the
godly
response to
a situation
is.
areas in
your life,
my life,
I'm not
even aware
of yet,
that are
getting in
the road
of serving
Christ.
We need
an
Epaphroditus.
There are
many
Epaphroditises
in this
church.
Pick one.
Pick a few.
Let's
imitate those
who are
passionate for
Christ.
So we've
heard very
quickly,
very quickly,
three ways
that it
looks like
to live
for Christ,
to treasure
Christ.
It's to be
confident that
God is at
work in us
and through
us.
It's to
stand firm
together and
it's to
keep bearing
fruit.
And what
drove all
these things,
what drove
it was Paul's
all-consuming
passion.
And we need
to share this
passion with
him.
Otherwise,
we're just
not going to
care or
we're going
to try and
do it in
our own
strength.
Neither of
those things
would be
good.
We need
to share
this
passion.
What is
this
passion?
Come and
look at
it in
chapter 1
verse 20.
Chapter 1
verse 20.
Here's
Paul's
passion.
It is my
eager expectation
and hope that
I will not be
at all
ashamed,
but that
with full
courage,
now as
always,
Christ will
be honoured.
He means
these words.
He could
be executed
at any
moment.
What is
Paul living
for?
That
Christ is
honoured.
Whatever is
happening,
he can
rejoice in
that.
Whatever is
happening.
I love
this.
Even as
he says
it,
he puts
Christ at
the centre.
He doesn't
say that
I honour
Christ.
He puts
Christ as a
subject,
that Christ
will be
honoured.
Anyway,
I love that.
He keeps
Christ at the
centre.
Honoured.
And the
word honoured
literally means
make large,
magnify.
It's saying
Christ himself
is my life,
he is my
treasure,
and therefore
I want him
to be greatly
enlarged by the
way I live.
I want him
to be greatly
enlarged and
seen for as
precious as he
is,
by counting
death as
gain.
man.
This is the
passion that's
going to help us
live for Christ.
This is the
passion that's
going to help us
be confident that
God is at work,
it's going to
motivate us to
stand firm
together in
Christ,
and it's going
to motivate us
to keep bearing
fruit for his
sake,
because we
want him
seen for as
beautiful and
as treasured
as he deserves
to be.
So will you
treasure Christ?
Will you
treasure Christ?
Will we as a
church treasure
Christ and want
to see him
honoured no
matter what?
Let me pray.
Please pray with
me.
our Father in
heaven,
we struggle to
see Christ for
as great as he
is,
but we know
that he is
great.
Lord, we
see him
lowering himself
for our
sake,
bleeding for
our sake,
even though
he is in
very nature
God,
he served
us.
Lord,
help us
treasure him.
Make us a
church who
love Christ
and want to
see him honoured
above all else.
We ask this in
Jesus' name.
Amen.