Servants & Saints: Philippians 1:1-2

Andrew McClure

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New Year, New Happenings

Introduction

Good Morning CBC, and Happy NEW YEAR! I cannot believe it’s already a new year, but here we are on the first Sunday in 2024.

If you would, go ahead and have a seat for me this morning.

I’m going to do something a little different. Usually at this point I would pray for us and then we’d open up to our text.

But with it being a new year, I want to take a moment to inform you about some new happenings in the life of our church.

First, if you remember our Elders presented the Grout Family to you on december 10th as we have been conisdering Nathan as an Elder of our church.

Well over the last month, we have only received glowing affirmations and this morning I want to call Nathan and Donna, and the kids up to formally confirm him as our newest elder.

So as they come up, feel free to welcome them with applause.

Nathan and Donna, thank you for engaging such a lengthy and thorough process with such grace and humility. We are excited about your leadership here at CBC Richmond Hill. Nathan we have watched and witnessed you lead and serve your family in a Godly manner, and we believe that you meet the qualifications of Elder in the book of 1 Timothy and Titus. Thank you for the way you’ve prayed for this church, loved this church, and served this church. We love you. Let me pray for us.

Well the second new happening that I want to inform you about concerns some changes to our space that will go into effect in February.

If you’ve been with us for more than a couple of Sunday’s, than you are are aware that we could use some more space.

I know you all love each other, but most Sunday’s we’re all a little too close for comfort.

And if somehow you’re unaware, or hard of hearing, our kids rooms are even more crowded than our sanctuary.

As this section over here can attest to lol.

In fact, let me take a moment to put our situation into perspective for you.

SLIDE

According to a survey done by the church consultant group the Unstuck Group

The Average church in America is 21% kids.

So for every 4 adults, the average church in America has 1 kid.

If you have 32% kids you’re considered top 10% in America. Well above Average!

Any guesses as to where we are here at CBC Richmond Hill!?

SLIDE

We are at 41% with many Sunday’s toping 48%!

On any given Sunday we have between 130-160 kids 5th grade and younger.

And can we just take a second to praise God for that!

I so long to be a church body that puts a dent in the rapidly progressing kingdom of darkness in America.

And I’ve said since the beginning, may we be a church that stops moaning and complaining about the dark, and instead light a candle.

And we have the next generation overflowing within our church… let’s light a candle.

But we have a little bit of a space problem.

Sanctuary and Kids.

Now we’ve known this since August, but I was pretty deadset on avoiding 3 services. The strain that puts on our serve teams is formidable, not to mention that the church is people!

And if we split the people in 2 services into 3 services, we risk not seeing one another.

So we are going to do eveything we can to maximize the space that God has graciously provided for us here at the City Center.

And here are some 30,000 foot plans of how we are going to do it.

More details will come out in the following weeks.

We are going to expand our sanctuary (much like what we had on Christmas Eve), and from what people so graciously tell me… I’m vertically challenged, so we are planning to add a little bit of a stage.

We are going to add some kids classrooms, and better utilize the dining room,

And the City has graciously folded in the Wetlands Building, into our lease.

So you’ll hear all the details in the coming weeks, but I wanted to give you plenty of advance heads up.

These changes will impact nearly every one of our serve teams, but my encouragement is that you don’t miss the deep work of God that is driving these changes.

2 Corinthians 4:15

Message paraphrase says, “Every detail works to your advantage and to God’s glory: more and more grace, more and more people, more and more praise.

Alright, the final NEW Happening, is that today we are beginning a New Series and cracking open the book of Philippians for the first time!

So if you have a Bible, turn with me to the Book of Philippians.

Context

If you’re new or visiting, my name is Andrew McClure and I’m the Lead Pastor here at CBC Richmond Hill.

And here at CBC we want to see you fall deeper and deeper in love with Jesus, as evidenced in your deeper and deeper obedience to Jesus.

As John 14:15 ““If you love me, you will obey my commandments.”

And their are 2 specific ways we strive as a church, to lead you to that end.

First, we want to invite you into our community. We don’t want you to be anonymous. We don’t want you to be a consumer viewing church much like you view home depot or lowes, walmart or target, or zaxbys and chick fil a.

Church doesn’t exist to meet your personal preferences.

Instead church consists of a community of people, who are different and broken, and sinful, and hurting, and everything in between, but when we come together, one similarity stands above all of our differences… namely a deep dependence on Gods grace.

So we want you to get plugged in,

maybe for you that looks like lingering before and after service around the coffee table,

maybe, and I hope it does mean you jumping onto one of our serve teams,

or signing up for one of our Grow Groups launching in February.

The point is we want you in community.

But secondly, we want you to fall deeper in love with Jesus by studying the Bible!

For the Bible is fulfilled in Him.

Every word of this Book points to Him.

So every Sunday you can expect us to open up this book, and slowly and methodically work our way through it book by book, chapter by chapter, verse by verse.

And today we are beginning the book of Philippians.

And I plan for us to take 18 weeks to work through this short letter, becuase it is power packed with encouragement for us.

Tone and Tenor

In fact, encouragement is the tone and tenor of this letter. It just oozes warmth, and love and affection.

You see Paul, who wrote this letter, loved this church in the city of Philippi!

Now listen, I don’t know if the rules applied to parents are the same rules applied to church planters.

Like as parents, we are not allowed to have favorite children.

But it is my deep belief that the church in Philippi was Paul’s favorite church!

In most of Paul’s letters he’s addressing specific issues plaguing the growth and the health of the church.

In Corinth there’s idolatry, and immorality, and Paul writes, “shall I come to you with a ROD!?”

It’s dicipline they needed!

Or to Galatia he writes, “WHO HAS BEWITCHED YOU!? Are you so foolish that you’re so quickly deserting Christ and turning to a different gospel!”

It was correction they needed!

But not the church in Philippi.

To them he writes, Philippians 1:3–5 “I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.”

The tone and tenor of this letter is one of encouragement and warm affection. It’s one of JOY.

In fact JOY is mentioned 16 times in this letter.

When Paul thinks about the Philippian church, he is filled with Joy, in fact he says

Philippians 4:1 “Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown,

He calls them HIS JOY.

Some have even called this the Epistle of Joy, asserting that JOY is the central theme of the entire letter.

But that’s actually not true.

Joy may show up 16x, but it is actaully the SOURCE of Joy that dominates this book.

And as we’re going to see over the next 18 weeks, that source is none other but Jesus Christ.

the name of Jesus appears 50x in these 4 short chapters, and

Paul wants the Phillippians to know that he is overwhelmed with JOY becasue he is overwhelmed with CHRIST.

And church, I long for that to be true of you as well.

That your life would be characterized by a deep seated confidence, and wellspring of Joy because your life is characterized by a deep seated affection for CHRIST.

This is why we’ve chosen to title this Series “that I may gain Christ.”

And this book is so relevant for us today!

Relevance for Today

Let me pull back the veil, or put all my cards on the table for a moment.

Since 2009, my burning passion has been cross-cultural missions among unengaged peoples.

To live among those who have never heard the name of JESUS, and introduce them to the good news of their salvation for the very first time.

To meet these people who were spiritually dead as a doornail, and see them raised from the grave by the ressurecting power of the gospel.

And from 2012-2020 I lived out that passion, until we were abruptly kicked out of a country in South Asia due to that passion.

But the passion never waned. Annie and I knew God would open up another door, or direct our steps to another country.

But He didn’t. Instead, to our utter shock he began to open my eyes to a whole different type of people.

These people weren’t in graves though. No they were in American cities, living in American subdivisions, working in american corporations, playing american rec sports, & even attending American churches.

But just as dead as those in graves, with the only different being that they were acting like that they were fully alive.

But God used this turmoil of the last several years to in my opinion, expose American Christianity for what it really believed.

Becuase our behaviors always reveal our true beliefs. And the turmoil of 2020 & 2021 revealed that American Christianity actually believes

Namely, that self-indulgence, comfort, and security are of greater gain than the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Now it takes discernment to see it,

because we confess, with our words, that Jesus is of infinite worth and value, but our actions contradict our confession

You see our actions are spent pursuing all the GAINS that this world has to offer, believing that they are actually the source of our greatest joy.

And this is why I believe Philippians is so relevant for us today.

Because in Philippians Paul says no, no, no.

It’s not the Gains of this world that lead to fullness, and meaning, and life, and joy.

He says,

Your gains are not found in your security, because in chapter 1 we’ll see Paul staring down imminent death, and yet he says, Philippians 1:21 “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”

Your gains are not found in your safety, for he’ll write to the Philippians, their gain is actually found in the granting of their suffering.

Your gains are not found in your Self-Indulgence. He’s says, People will preach that.

People will preach that you should indulge yourself, and they will want you to set your mind on earthly things but he says your true gain, Philippians 3:20 “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,”

Your gains are not found in your comforts. Your greatest gain isn’t in your possessions. Instead he’ll say, “Philippians 4:11–13 “Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”

What Philippinas is going to show us is that when we truly GAIN CHRIST, we can count all these other things as rubbish, we can suffer the loss of all things… because the Gain of Christ is of infinite value.

Church, that is our prayer for you over the next 18 weeks.

Is that you would find the overwhelming JOY, in the infinite GAIN of Jesus Christ.

But today, I’m going to read us the first 2 verses, and give us a little background on this book that will set us up for the next 18 weeks.

Let’s read together

Philippians 1:1–2 ESV

Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Servants

Acts

The story of Philippians begins a little less than 2000 years ago, in 51 A.D.

The Apostle Paul, who was once a zealous persecutor of Christ and His Church, but due to one encounter with the risen Jesus on the Damascus road, becomes a missionary and church planter,

And in 51AD he had just left Jerusalem where he met with other leaders of the church in Acts 15.

There they had decided that the forgiveness of sins, and eternal salvation purchased in Jesus death and resurrection is available, not only to Jews but also to Gentiles.

So Paul, and his crackteam of Silas, Dr. Luke, and his apprentice Timothy begin to retrace their steps from their first missionary journey in order to strengthen the churches they had planted throughout Asia, specifically modern day Turkey.

MAP

And Paul sought to keep pushing deeper into Asia, into Bithynia, but we read in Acts 16:7 “ but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them.”

Instead, that night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia, which is in Europe, saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us!”

Acts 16:10 “And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.”

So they set sail across the Aegean Sea and landed in the port city of Neapolis, and from there they went to the leading city of Philippi.

Philippi

Now Philippi was a Roman colony. They were populated by roman citizens, governed by Roman Law, spoke latin as the Roman Language, and adopted Roman dress.

In fact, one historian says, that apart from Rome itself, Philippi was the most roman city Paul visited.”

But when they get to Philippi, as was his custom, Paul sought to go to a Jewish synogogue to share the gospel, but there was no synogogue in Philippi.

You needed 10 Jewish men to have a synogogue, and apparently there weren’t enough.

So without a synogogue, it was customary for Jews to gather for worship by a river, which was a practice of the Jewish people in the times of their exile,

So Paul goes to check out the river bank, and stumbles upon a group of women participating in a Bible Study.

And one of the ladies is a business woman, named Lydia who opens her heart to Paul’s preaching and becomes the very first convert on the continent of Europe!

THE MAN FROM MACEDONIA IN PAULS DREAM TURNED OUT TO BE A WOMAN.

And as the gospel opened Lydia’s heart, Lydia opened her home to Paul and his team.

Well the next day, they’re headed back to the place of prayer when a young slave girl who had a spirit of divination, and was a fortune teller began to pester Paul to the point that he turns around and cast the demon right out of her!

But without the spirit of divination, she couldn’t make her owners money… and they didn’t like that.

So they had Paul and Silas severely beaten and flogged, and thrown into the inner prison!

But instead of moaning, and blaming God for their present circumstances, we find Paul and Silas singing!

The early church father Tertullian writes, “The legs feel nothing in the stocks, when the heart is heaven.”

You see Paul’s gain wasn’t in his own self-indulgence, comfort, or security, no he was consumed with Jesus Christ.

And as they sang, an earthquake began to shake and the prison doors miraculously open and their chains fall to the ground.

To which the Jailer cries out, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved!”

So he takes Paul and Silas to his home, and his whole household believes and is baptized.

Well the next day they were released and told to leave the city, but before they did they visited the newly formed church at Lydia’s house, and oh my goodness what a core team they had!

A Business Woman

A recovering witch.

And a man, whose life had been spent in torturing others.

Ya’ll this is the church. Any church. Every Church.

A bunch of people who couldn’t be more different, different ages, socio-economic status, and sin pasts… but they shared one thing in common.

They had gained Christ. And that one similarity trumps every other distinctive.

And there in Lydia’s home the birth of the Philippian Church in 51 A.D.

Well flash foward 10 years, Paul has been arrested again, but this time in Jerusalem… but he wasn’t going to find justice in Jerusalem so as a Roman citizen he appeals to Ceasar, and is escorted to a prison in Rome to await His verdict

But while in a Roman Prison, he writes 4 LETTERS.

Famously known as the Prison Epistles.

They are Ephesians, Colossians, Philemon, and the last of them Philippians.

Written in 61 A.D. by Paul, who was waiting his verdict of life or death in a Roman Prison.

But although fettered in Rome, he had not been forgotten in Philippi.

The church in Lydia’s home, remembered Paul and sent one of their members by the name of Epaphroditis to Rome to encourage him, and provide some basic necessities, or as Paul says

Philippians 4:14 “Yet it was kind of you to share my trouble.”

You see the Philippians were worried about PAUL.

But Paul send a letter back to Philippi with Epaphroditis saying, “No, no no… my beloved church. don’t worry about me, instead I am worried about you!”

I’m worried that you may see all that has happened to me and conclude that I’ve LOST.

But I want you to know… that I have suffered the loss of all things, only that I may GAIN Christ!

And the first thing he writes in this letter is

Philippians 1:1 “Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus,

Servants. Paul wants them to know that His GAIN is found in being a Servant of Christ.

That word is the word bondservant, or a slave who so enjoys serving his master that he voluntarily subjects himself to him for the rest of his life!

And that’s how Paul views himself. He is so indebted to the grace of King Jesus, that he vows to voluntarily subject himself to His service for life!

Writing as a slave to Cesar, but in reallity a servant of Jesus Christ.

Service is a consitent theme in the Book of Philippians.

We have models like Paul and Timothy.

In chapter 4 we have Epaphroditis as an example of a servant.

But in chapter 2 we will see no greater example than Jesus Christ who took on the form of a servant even though he was the Sovereign God!

Paul’s greatest gain was in being a servant.

And that’s the first thing he reminds the Philippians of, and I believe the first thing we need to be reminded of as well.

Church you may think that your greatest gain is found in serving your self, or having others serve you…

but in reality your gain is going to come from you serving Christ and overflowing into serving others.

I think this is such a good word for us today.

You see we’re 17 months in as a church. And although our best days are ahead, the proverbial honeymoon is over.

And for those who have been with us since the early days, do you remember all the enthusiasm you possessed when we first began! It was palpable. we were coursed with adrenline! But at some point, if it hasn’t already, that adrenline will begin to wax and to wane.

You may start thinking… well I’ve paid my dues. I’ve served. It’s time to let somebody else do it.

Listen I get it, but if you’re beginning to think that your gain is going to be found in BEING SERVED, it WILL be your loss.

Your gain is found in being a servant of Jesus Christ.

And if you’re desire to serve has begun to fade, my prayer is that the book of Philippians would be used by God to stir your affections for Christ, and refind your gain in being a servant.

But some of you are new, or newer, but by God’s grace and your insanity you’ve chosen to call this local expression of Jesus Christ your church home.

Paul is saying to you, that your greatest gain is going to come from serving Him, not being served.

So may people have a warped view of church.

We view church as a place that should serve me.

Or somehwere I “get something out of it.”

“Or a place that makes me feel ________.”

And let me just tell you, if that’s your view… it’s your loss.

The goal of a church member or attender isn’t to primarily consume, or “get something out of it” or to serve yourself.

The gain for you will be found in serving JESUS.

To Make HIm famous. To lift Him up. To put him forward. To serve Him.

we are so tempted to live and work and play solely considering how it serves us, lifts us up, or puts ourselves forward.

this is why serving is so important. It’s actually an act of resistance. Fighting the temptation of self indulgence

Our greatest gain is in Christ. and expressed in our service to Him.

Now obviously being a servant doesn’t simply apply within these 4 walls alone.

The applications are endless, because He is LORD and MASTER of every area of our life.

We serve Him in our careers, at home, while coaching rec sports, while choosing movies to watch, tips to leave, or neighbors to love.

Our greatest gain is in Christ, and expresed in our service to Him.

May this year be a year that you find your gain in serving Jesus Christ.

So we have the authors of this letter:

Paul and Timothy— servants.

But let me quickly show the recipients.

Saints

Philippians 1:1 “To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons:”

All the Saints

Now the concept of saints is surrounded by a lot of confusion these days.

Saints are not some iconoclast holy person.

Saints are not some really special people who did some really incredible things while alive, and then one day at the wave of a wand those deeds are cashed in and they can be painted on stain glass.

That’s not the biblical view of a saint.

Saint simply means one, “consecrated to God, holy, sacred, and pious.”

And in the Bible the word saints always refers to the church, the body of Christ, all Christians.

Christians are holy and sacred, and set apart unto the Lord, but not because of any merit or piety of our own. No far from it.

We are saints only by virture of our GAINING OF Jesus Christ.

Apart from Jesus, we are all sinners. Unholy. Corrupted. Dead in our sins. Enemies of God.

But when we gain Jesus, we are forgiven, and righteous, and set apart from His service. We are saints.

So Paul, is writing to all the saints, to all the Christians in a local church in the city of Philippi.

And I say Local, because he says, “with the overseers and deacons.”

Indicating a formalized, and structured local church. Where overseers, or Elders are leading, and formal deacons, or servants, are serving.

The Local church is the hope of the world, and if you want to experience GAIN then you will connect in the community of a local church.

For some of you my prayer is that hopping from church to church would finally come to an end, and that you would realize that an online experience can never substitute for the real thing of a local church.

Not because any church is perfect, but actually because it’s not.

When the people of a church let you down, hurt you, fail you… that obviously demonstrates that a church isn’t perfect, but that we all desperately need a perfect God.

Who can heal your hurt, pick you back up, and teach you to forgive!

The Local Church is the hope of the world… and that’s who Paul is writing to.

Conclusion

Well that’s all I have time for today.

I look forward to reading, and praying, and preaching this incredible book to you over the next 18 weeks.

So why don’t you stand, and I’ll pray for us.

Father, there is so much encouragement in Christ. So much comfort from your love. So much we get to participate in by your Spirit. And becuase we’ve gained so much from you, I pray that we would be in full accord and of one mind. That each saint here would do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than themselves. That we wouldn’t be a church that looks only to our own interests, but to the interests of others.

Just like Jesus, who though he was in the form of God did not count equlity with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of.a servant. Humbling himself to the point of death, even a criminal’s death on the cross.

May we follow you Jesus. May we be overwhelmed by Christ, and consequently serve one another and this community in your name.

Amen.

Benediction

Philippians 1:2 “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

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