Philippians 1:1-11 “Paul and
Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus
which are at Philippi, with the bishops and
deacons: 2 Grace be
unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. 3 I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, 4 Always in
every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy, 5 For your
fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now; 6 Being
confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will
perform it until the day of
Jesus Christ: 7 Even as it is meet for me to think this of you all,
because I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the
defence and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace. 8 For God is my
record, how greatly I long after you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ. 9 And this I
pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; 10 That ye may
approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence
till the day of Christ; 11 Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which
are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.”
Psalm 5:11 “Let all those that put their
trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest
them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee.”
We
have concentrated so far on the person of Paul. Today I want to show you “How To Personally Experience Real Joy!”
In Phil 1:4 “Joy” [Charas]
= gladness, cheerfulness, calm delight. The word “Cherish” is derived from this
word.
1.
ACKNOWLEDGE
& UNDERSTAND THE PAST (v 3). “I thank my God upon every
remembrance of you.”
Paul had much to remember about Philippi – Acts 16.
· The Macedonian Call (v 6-11).
· They conversion of Lydia (v 12-15).
· The conversion of the demonized woman (v 16-18).
· Their wrongful imprisonment
(v 19-24).
· The conversion
of the Philippian Jailer (v 25-34).
Paul remembered the Good & the Bad. Romans 8:28 “We know
that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are
the called according to his purpose.”
2.
BE GRATEFUL TO
GOD (v 3). “I thank
my God…”
Paul’s memory of Philippi
did not always bring back fond thoughts of good times yet he expressed
gratitude.
Romans 5:3-5 “We glory
in tribulations… knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience,
experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love
of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.”
3. CARE ABOUT OTHERS (v 4). “Always in every prayer of mine for you all making
request with joy.”
Caring about others means…
· Loving One
Another. John 13:34-35 3“A new commandment
I give unto you, That ye love one another;… 35 By
this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to
another.”
· Serving One
Another. Galatians 5:13 “For, brethren, ye
have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to
the flesh, but by love serve one another.”
· Being Kind,
Tender & Forgiving. Ephesians 4:32 “And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving
one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.”
· Teaching &
Admonishing. Colossians 3:16 “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all
wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual
songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.” Admonish
= to caution or reprove gently.
· Comforting
& Encouraging. 1 Thessalonians 4:18; “Wherefore comfort one another with these
words.” [5:11] “Wherefore comfort
yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.”
4.
PARTICIPATE IN
MINISTRY (v 5). “For your
fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now.”
Fellowship [koinonia] =
association, communion, participation.
We have THE SAME Salvation, Commission, Battles, and Savior.
Romans 12:16 “Be of the same mind one
toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be
not wise in your own conceits.”
Ephesians 4:12-13 says we are to pursue
spiritual maturity as saints “…for the
work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come
in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a
perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.”
When
Christians Work Together There Is JOY!
5. BE CONFIDENT IN CHRIST (v 6). “Being confident of this very thing, that he
which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus
Christ:”
2 Timothy 1:12 says, for
the cause of Christ I “suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for
I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that
which I have committed unto him against that day.”
Hebrews 11:6 “Without
faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe
that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”
6. LOVE WITH ABUNDANCE (v 9). “And this I pray, that your love may abound
yet more and more in knowledge and in
all judgment;”
May abound
(per-is-syoo'-o) = to super abound in quantity and quality; be in excess. In the KJV abound, abundance, abundant, be the better,
enough and to spare, exceed, excel, increase, be left, redound, remain over and
above.”
Jesus’ words, “As
the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love” (John
15:9).
If we are too grow
as Christ wants us to we must keep ourselves continually in the radiance of
Christ’s love.
1 Corinthians 13:4-8
· Love is patient,
kind, not jealous
· It does not boast;
is not arrogant, not rude, not self-serving
· It's not easily
angered or resentful.
· It's rejoices in
what is true.
· It bears all
things, believes all things
· It hopes all
things, endures all things.
· True Love never
ends.
As we abide in Christ’s love, we will show love toward
others. Jesus made this clear when He said,…
John 15:10, 12-13 “If ye keep my commandments, ye
shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide
in his love. . . . 12This is my
commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. 13 Greater love hath no man than this,
that a man lay down his life for his friends.”
