Joy for you part 1
by
Rev. Irvin Mizell
Philippians 1:1-2
This morning we embark upon a wonderful new experience.
We will begin to examine Paul’s letter to the Philippians as we look for the secret to Joy.
Join me as we look at Philippians chapter 1:1-2
Let me read you verses 1 and 2 just as a starting point.
Php 1:1 Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons:
Php 1:2 Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
As we approach this epistle, I pray that God is going to shape our hearts and our lives and our attitudes through this experience.
The theme of these chapters is joy,
Paul mentions it at least 16 times in these four chapters.
He also mentions Christ 50 times.
And that is because his joy is found in Christ
and our joy found in Christ also.
Unfortunately,
We live in a somewhat sad world,
a world of despair,
depression,
unfulfillment,
dissatisfaction,
It’s kind of a sad reality with an even sadder future because we have a world of sadness with no hope that anything should necessarily change.
The long years of life inevitably become long years of sorrow punctuated by moments of happiness.
perhaps we ought to define happiness,
at least in a very simple way,
happiness is an attitude of satisfaction or delight based upon some present circumstance.
Happiness is related to happenings.
Happiness is that which you really can’t plan and program,
it may happen, it may not happen and it seems so elusive.
And the life long search for Happiness can leave you empty handed and hopelessly empty
And that’s the best that men can do.
On the other hand,
when we talk about joy we’re not talking about something that’s related to chance at all.
We’re not talking about something that’s related to circumstances at all.
We’re talking about a deep down confidence that all is well,
no matter what the circumstance,
no matter what the difficulty,
no matter what the problem.
Joy, to be understood in a biblical sense,
must be understood to be that which becomes yours in Christ.
It must be understood to be a permanent possession of every believer,
My favorite definition of joy is this...
joy is the flag that flies on the castle of the heart when the King is in residence there.
The verb "to rejoice" appears 74 times in the New Testament.
The noun "joy" appears 59 times in the New Testament.
I would like to give you some theology on joy.
And we will build it one piece at a time
First of all, Joy comes from God.
It is a gift of God.
In Psalm 4 verses 7 and 8 it says, "Thou hast put gladness in my heart for Thou alone, O Lord, dost make me dwell in safety."
And the psalmist is saying,
"You give me gladness, You give me joy because of my relationship of security with You."
Psalm 16:11 "In Thy presence is fullness of joy."
God is the source of joy.
So we begin our theology of joy by saying, “Joy is a gift from God “
Now let me add to that.
Joy is a gift from God to those who believe the gospel.
when the angel appeared to announce the arrival of the birth of a Savior, the angel said,
"Do not be afraid, for behold I bring you good news of a great joy which shall be for all the people, for today in the city of David there has been born for you a savior who is Christ the Lord."
It is the gospel that brings that joy or that conveys that joy to the human heart.
In John’s gospel record in chapter 15 he says in verse 11, "These things I have spoken to you that My joy may be in you and that your joy may be made full."
So, joy is a gift from God to those who believe the gospel.
Let me add another part to that sentence.
Joy is a gift from God to those who believe the gospel and is being produced in them by the Holy Spirit...
In Romans chapter 14:17 there’s a great little phrase
Ro 14:17 For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost
And Galatians 5:22 says, "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy..."
So joy is a gift from God to those who believe and is being produced in them by the Holy Spirit.
Let me add a little more to our sentence.
True joy is a gift from God that comes to those who believe the gospel and is being produced in them by the Holy Spirit as the believer receives and obeys the Word...
Jeremiah 15:16, "Thy words were found and I did eat them and Thy word was in me, the joy and rejoicing of my heart."
And one final thought in our little theology.
True joy is a gift from God to those who believe the gospel, joy is being produced in them by the Holy Spirit as they receive and obey the Word, and set their hope on future glory...
We are, according to Ro 5:2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God
AND
1pe 4:13 But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.
And Jude 24 says, "Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy."
That’s the believer’s joy.
That’s the theology of joy.
Joy is a gift from God to those who believe the gospel, and it is being produced in the them by the Holy Spirit, as they receive and obey the Scripture, and set their hope and their heart on future glory.
Peter sums it up in a marvelous way …
1 Peter 1:8, "And though you have not seen Him...that is Christ...you love Him, and though you do not see Him now but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory."
And so Joy is our theme and it should be the very essence of our Christian character
Let’s begin by just looking at that introduction to Philippians.
Php 1:1 Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons:
Php 1:2 Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Three things to notice in the first two verses:
the servants,
the saints
and the salutation.
The servants and the saints are in verse 1,
the salutation in verse 2.
Let’s start with the servants. "Paul and Timothy, bond servants of Christ Jesus."
We hardly need to say anything about that.
We all know Paul. Pharisee, … apostle, …
We all know Timothy. understudy … pastor
We all understand what it is to be a bond servant of Christ Jesus.
A Willing servant, …
Ex 21:5 And if the servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free: Ex 21:6 Then his master shall bring him unto the judges; he shall also bring him to the door, or unto the door post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an awl; and he shall serve him for ever.
But let me just touch lightly on the servants.
Notice the title that Paul chooses for the two of them. "Paul and Timothy, bond servants of Christ Jesus."
That title, by the way, is used by James, James 1:1;
by Peter, 2 Peter 1:1;
and by Jude in verse 1.
So the writers of Scripture love to call themselves bond slaves of Christ.
The term doulos conveys the idea of…
ownership,
possession,
allegiance,
a dependence,
subjection,
loyalty,
all that we think a bond slave would convey.
It emphasizes, however, something else…
and that is willing service.
this is a servant of love who has chosen a life‑long bonding to some he longs to serve."
Notice, please,
bond servants of Christ Jesus...
that was always Paul’s focus. His service was always to Christ...
What about the saints? Php 1:1 Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi,
Who are they?
Verse 1 says, "To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, including the overseers and deacons."
He includes the church leaders,
But he is writing, to the saints...
That is to all the believers in Christ….
You see…
"There’s only two kinds of people in the world...the saints and the aints."
Now the word "saint" means separated,… unique,… different,… set apart.
Now how do you define a saint?
The saints are in Christ Jesus.
We are holy, made holy by Christ’s salvation.
We have been made righteous.
We have been given the life of God.
We are made separate,
unique
and different from the rest of the world.
We are the saints.
We are saints in Christ Jesus.
Interesting to Note:
Only Christians say and affirm that they are “in Christ” empowered
“by Christ” and have salvation “threw Christ”
Not found with Buddha.. Or any other group.
THEN THE GREETING
"Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,"
I wish you grace, I wish you peace.
Grace is the gift of God, peace is the result.
Because of grace we have peace.
I wish you grace, I wish you peace. The source is God the Father, the source is the Lord Jesus Christ. I wish the best for you.
It’s a common greeting. He gave it in Romans 1:7, he gave it in 1 Corinthians 1:3, 2 Corinthians 1:2,
Now Paul filled with joy writes this letter to the beloved Philippians.
And as he thinks about them his joy overflows.
And that’s why in verse 4 he says that every remembrance of them produces joy.
Php 1:3 I thank my God upon every remembrance of you,
Php 1:4 Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy,
The joy that he had in his heart because of his relationship to the living God spilled over when he thought about the Philippians the saints in Jesus Christ.
He says, verse 3, "I thank my God in all my remembrance of you."
In other words “I rejoice over every memory that I have of you”
"Always offering prayer with joy,
Take a look at this amazing statement… Verse 23,
Php 1:23 For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:
Php 1:24 Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.
Php 1:25 And having this confidence, I know that I shall abide and continue with you all for your furtherance and joy of faith;
Joy is increased by faith…
Paul says “I want to hang around to help you achieve maximum joy potential”
