Have you seen my Baby?
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if you have your bibles with you please turn with me to the book of Philippians
and let’s read
Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus:
To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, including the overseers and deacons.
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
I give thanks to my God for every remembrance of you, always praying with joy for all of you in my every prayer, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. I am sure of this, that he who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Indeed, it is right for me to think this way about all of you, because I have you in my heart, and you are all partners with me in grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. For God is my witness, how deeply I miss all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. And I pray this: that your love will keep on growing in knowledge and every kind of discernment, so that you may approve the things that are superior and may be pure and blameless in the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God.
Paul wrote this letter to the church to encourage them to find Christ-centered, Spirit-empowered joy in living, serving, sharing, and resting.
While the letter contains sound doctrine - that is not the purpose of this letter
Paul wanted to write a letter of friendship
he wanted the church to know how proud he was of them and how much he loved them
he was a father (haven planted the church) who was wanting to show of his beloved child
They brought so much joy to his heart
listen to what he says about them in
I give thanks to my God for every remembrance of you, always praying with joy for all of you in my every prayer,
they just had a way of warming his heart
Paul loved this church so much -
and It is that love for them that drove him to constantly pray for them
now I am not saying that we should not pray for everyone but I think we can agree some people are easier to pray for than others
Paul loved to sing their praises - like a father that is proud of his child
and the thing I want us to consider this morning is
How did they get there?
How did they get there?
They were not born that way
most of them were probably heavily involved in idol worship before Paul led them to the Lord
so how did they become so a source of joy for Paul?
Because Paul set the example for them to follow
Paul took the time to disciple them
Paul taught them what he had learned
Paul had not always been this way - In fact he use to be on a mission to kill all Christians not life them up in love
but one day he meet Jeusus and
Jesus CHANGED everything!
and after Paul meet Jesus he was a man of joy
not the giddy type of joy
but the joy that is real lasting
a joy that we could all use - not only at Christmas time but all year around
Let mw ask you a question -
Would you describe our generation as a generation of joy?
if you would clearly you have not been to Walmart lately
In Sunday school we use to sing a song
see if you recognize it - if you do sing it with me
“I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart.”
“Where?”
“Down in my heart!”
“Where?”
“Down in my heart!”
“I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart.”
“Where?”
“Down in my heart!”
“Where?”
“Down in my heart to stay!”
I do not think I have heard that song in years and I think I know why
it just doesn’t sound right when it’s sung with a frown.
now I don’t want to be a Debbie downer but if you were to survey the look on most Christians faces on any given Sunday - what you would see would resemble the cast of grumpy old man
When describing the modern church Chuck Swindoll says
“Many of you have the joy so deep down in your heart that your face hasn’t found out yet!”
Paul had ever reason to have a frown on his face - but as I read about his life Ican not imagine him walking around like a grumpy old man can you?
Joy was a part of who he was
it was ingrained in his character
He knew joy was not an emotion that you chase after
Real joy the type of joy we all should have is an attitude of the heart
Paul is the perfect example of this kind of joy - not only did he understand it - he lived it out
but How could he have joy like this
how could he have joy in prison
how could he have joy after being beaten on several occasions
How could he look his situation the eyes and find Joy
Easy he knew God was in control
His life moyto was found in the words we read in romans - which by the way he wrote
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
And it is that kind of character that he modeled for the church there in Philippi
As I prepared this message one thing stood out to me - Paul did not have anything negative to say about this church - they were all words of praise
That is absolutely amazing when you consider when you consider all the pressure this church was under and the persecution they no doubt faced
Philippi was on a major trade route so they have witnessed any false God you could imagine
It was a Roman colony so emperor worship was heavily practiced
In his letter Paul address the fact that false teachers are trying to bust down the doors
situation in where most churches has at least stumbled
yet here is this church and they were rocking along - grounded in their faith and walking with God
I am sure if we looked at them with a magnifying glass we would uncover something (simply becasue we are all sinners) but for all intense purposes they were a model church
Why
becasue Paul helped them see that Jesus was the truth the way and the life
and he showed them how to live for Christ
and that they did - look at
because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.
What a perfect picture of real discipleship
Paul Shared the good news with them
He Showed them how to love
Showed then how to serve
showed them how to seek knowledge so that they could have discernment
showed them how to men and women of God
And they were following in his footsteps
- not only were they spreading the good news of Jesus and making disciples
- they were offering support for Paul at a time when we could say he was at his lowest in his ministry (although Paul never threw a pity party and never took advantage of his situation)
Now we come to the moment of truth
I wonder how many pastors could say things that Paul said about this church in reference to their church
Or how many saints could say this about a longtime Christian friend?
Like most of us, Paul experienced some great disappointments
from churches
from individual brothers and sisters in Christ.
But not from the Philippians.
The thought of them didn’t make his stomach churn; rather, it prompted him to thankfulness, joy, and prayer.
he was a proud father showing of his baby
He was confident in their future faithfulness (1:6).
For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.
Paul had no doubt that
God was at work in Philippi,
that He had plans for that church,
and that He was in control and would see them through to the end.
The Greek verb translated “perfect” in 1:6 is
epiteleō
, which means “to bring about a result according to plan or objective.”
becasue Paul had shared christ with them and took the time to disciple them
The Holy Spirit was living on the inside
and they were growing - the were serving - they were witnessing
And Paul was confident that they would keep on keeping on until the day Christ came back
So while is is God’s job to change a person form the inside out
a truth Paul knew and lived by
He however was filled with great joy at thought of them - and rightfully so
a love that he expressed in
For it is only right for me to think this way about you all, because I have you in my heart, since both in my chains and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are fellow partakers with me in this grace.
For God is my witness, how I long for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus.
Paul didn’t hesitate to share his deep emotions.
He always had the Philippians “in his heart” (1:7).
From the family of Lydia (who was Pauls first convert in Philippi) to the Roman jailer’s household
The deep love Paul felt for the church in Philippi made his heart leap in his chest as he yearned to spend time with them again.
This profound thankfulness and love led to specific prayers for the Philippians, as it should for us.
Christians shouldn’t just say, “You’re in our thoughts.” We should say, “You’re in our prayers”—and we should mean it!
Paul certainly did. His deep, joyful contemplation of the Philippians prompted him to pray for some specific things, things that can only come from God.
look at his words is
And I pray this: that your love will keep on growing in knowledge and every kind of discernment,
When Paul scanned the ten-year life span of the body of Christ in Philippi, he had every reason to rejoice in confidence, as expressed in thanksgiving, prayer, and praise
The secret begin Paul’s ministry and theirs is found in Philippians 1:6
I am sure of this, that he who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
This church and Paul had been filled with the righteousness of God
They had been changed from the inside out
That is why Paul could boast about their work
That is why we can look at Paul’s life and be amazed at all he was able to do
Let me ask you this
Is God at Work in your life?
Have you accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior
Do you feel the king of joy that Paul describes for us
If not let me just say that unless you accept Jesus you will never find real joy - he is the source of lasting joy
If you have never accepted Jesus we will give you a chance to do that in a minute
For those of us that are saved
Let em ask you a question
Do you make your leaders proud? When the leadership of the church thinks about you what is their first thought
I saw this picture today and one of my friends and I had a good laugh (show picture) -
We all know that person that makes you feel that way and if you don’t there is a good chance that person is you
don’t be that person - be the person tha tGod has called you to be
a person that Paul would brag about
Leaders it’s not all about those around you
Ask yourself do I set the example that Paul did?
Do you lead the way?
Do you show them what serving the Lord looks like?
Do you do it with joy?
Are you a good example or do use the statement so many kids hear form parents
you know the one
Do as I say not as I do
Are you praying for those you lead?
I mean really praying
The church is to be a house of prayer and we are to lead the way
do they see that in your life
Can others see the fruit of righteousness pouring out from you?
Church let me ask you this question - when it come to out church
Is Jesus showing off his church to the father - is he saying Dad look at what they are doing - look at how they are spreading my gospel - look at how they are serving each other and the community
Or is he saying Dad I do not know what is wrong with these folks?