Stoking the Fires of Joy

Once again, the book of Philippians,
we find ourselves again in chapter two. Several weeks ago, really through
the prompting of the passage that we were considering, I suggested
that too many Christians live what I called a casual Christian
life and that really the insistence of God’s word is that we live
an aggressive Christian life, that we go after and lay hold
of the graces that God has availed to us and that we live an aggressive
Christian life seeking to eradicate the sin in our life and seeking
to appropriate the grace that is there for the taking. If that
was true, perhaps even more will resonate the appeal of the morning. And that is that far too many
Christians, in living a casual Christian life, live a joyless
Christian life. And Paul seeks in this passage
to address that very thing. that the tendency, I think, in
Christians and the tendency that Paul saw in the Philippian church
was the tyranny of the mundane, the tyranny of the day to day.
And that in that day to day, we get so used to it and we get
so taken down by it and so frustrated at times by it. We find it to
be so earthly that we allow that joy to drain out. I remember
when I was a boy, I could illustrate it in simple terms. I got a balloon
as a gift. It was for me, as I recall, one
of the first times I’d ever received or gotten a helium balloon. And
it was this big, bright blue balloon. And I was going to keep
it forever. What I didn’t realize is that
rubber and a balloon is porous. And that even as I toted that
balloon around our little house, the helium was already leaking
out of it. And so the next morning when
I got up, I was horrified to find my little beautiful blue
helium balloon shrunken and withered, lying on the floor. Perhaps that’s
an appropriate image for so many Christians. They’re porous. They came to taste the joy of
the Lord upon the precious gift of salvation. They came to know
the joys and the graces that God had to offer in complete
freedom to them. And yet, over the years, they
settle into their mundane life. They see it as mundane. They
see it as earthly and really, in a sense, useless. And the
joy year by year seeps out until they are bitter and in a very
real sense, lifeless before the Lord. I think that’s what Paul
saw in the Philippian church. I’ve already noted that throughout
the Philippian epistle, joy is a major theme. And I do think
that at one time Paul saw in the Philippian church, a church
that was joyous and joyful. Lydia, the jailer, those who
had come to Christ, the enthusiasm that that newfound salvation
brings. I believe that there were many
in the Philippian church that were just exuberant with praise,
overflowing in joy at the salvation that they had received. But now
recall that this is some ten years later. Many persecutions,
the difficulties of day-to-day life, the frustrations that life
brings, And Paul writes to them, and I believe wholeheartedly,
Paul is wanting to bring them back to that joy that they once
had. If you would, we need to consider
this passage in its context, and it really follows along on
the heels of the passage that we considered last week. It’s
one and the same. We just took, in essence, part
one last week. So if you would, let’s go back
to verse 14 and we’ll read through verse 18 where Paul urged upon
the Philippian believers, do all things without grumbling
or disputing that you may prove yourselves to be blameless and
innocent children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked
and perverse generation. among whom you appear as lights
in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that in the
day of Christ I may have cause to glory because I did not run
in vain or toil in vain. But even if I am poured out as
a drink offering upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I
rejoice and share my joy with you all, and you too I urge you.”
Rejoice in the same way and share your joy with me.” There has been quite a discovery,
as I’ve alluded to a few of you, in this latest course through
the book of Philippians. A constant discovery of sorts
for me to go back in and to look at my notes. And this is one
of those invisible verses. Seemingly so, because the first
time that I preached it, I just kind of rolled in verse 16b through
18 into that greater passage, at least easier to understand
verses 14 through 16a. I made very little comment at
all upon it and probably because of the inherent difficulty of
it, kind of a pastoral punt, if you will. where you just treat
it as being part of the greater passage. You make very little
comment upon it and move on to the next easier passage. And
so upon having the time and taking a new stab at this passage, I
saw so much richness in these latter verses that I purpose
to treat them completely separately or over and above what we considered
last week. Last week, we looked at the start
of this passage where Paul urged his Philippian believers do all
things without grumbling or disputing, all encompassing the totality
of their life, not just ministry, but especially ministry, because
he’s talking to the church about the inherent problems in the
Philippian church, that of those disputes that were now spilling
out and becoming public. We talked about what grumbling
is, that graphic Greek word that sounds like what it means. Those undertones of complaint
that are so prevalent in the church, not only in Philippi,
but even down to our day, although I would say that our church enjoys
more of a freedom from those things than most. Do all things
without grumbling or disputing that second portion there, speaking
of those things that bubble out into the open and become open
disputes and and eventually lead to factions and even church splits.
The reason Paul urged that so strenuously upon the Philippian
believers was because of their witness. Do all things without
grumbling or disputing that you may prove yourselves to be. He
doesn’t doubt their salvation, but he says you need to show
yourselves to the world as being blameless and innocent children
of God above reproach. That was Paul’s goal. That was
his desire for the Philippian believers that they actually
live out what God was already working into them. And they find
themselves, as we saw, in a very difficult sphere of operation
where he calls the midst of a crooked and perverse generation. A quote
there from Deuteronomy 32. And he says that in essence,
God is sending us out into this dark and evil, crooked, perverse
generation where we are to go and in a very real way, shine
the light of Christ. among whom you appear as lights
in the world. And that’s the image that I think
Paul is stuck with or even dwells upon in the latter part of these
verses. He has the glorious image in
his mind of people who he, by God’s providence and grace, had
the privilege of leading to Christ, who then in turn turned and took
Christ to others. And even still, the process is
going on and the light is continuing to shine even to this day. I
think that’s the image that Paul seized upon. How glorious an
image. What a great and blessed privilege
was his. as he sees his saints holding
fast and holding forth, as it were, the very words of life,
the gospel itself. That’s what Paul seizes upon
in these latter verses. They’re almost parenthetical.
They’re almost an afterthought, if you will. But they are the
very words of God. It’s what God wanted included.
And they’re important and they’re crucial. And they have a great
message for us this morning. I’ve entitled the message, Stoking
the Fires of Joy. You’ll see why I use that imagery
here in a moment, the stoking of the fire. But the insistence
or the urge here to the Philippians is that of joy. He says that
that is a very vital part of the Christian life, a joyous
life. What I want to look at this morning
is the sacrifice that promotes that kind of rejoicing. What
kind of sacrifice brings about that kind of rejoicing? It isn’t
a common thought. That isn’t the first thought
that comes into our mind when we think of sacrifice. We think
of difficulty and heartache and frustration, much like what the
world and life dishes out to us. But there is a kind of sacrifice
that leads to joy. A joy that the world can’t touch
and that circumstances can’t harm. I want to look at three
elements of that life this morning. A joyful Christian life, first
of all, is enhanced by fruitful labor. A joyful Christian life
is enhanced by fruitful labor. Read along with me, if you would,
again, there in the latter half of verse 16. Paul rejoices that
they’re appearing as lights in the world, holding fast the word
of life so that in the day of Christ, I may have cause to glory
because I did not run in vain nor toil in vain. A joyful Christian
life is enhanced by fruitful labor, and that’s what Paul saw.
Paul saw that by God’s good providence and grace, he had been taken
to Philippi, this little town that was supposed to be a one
night stop. In God’s goodness, he opened
his mouth. Things came out. The gospel was
shared. People came to Christ and a church
was planted. And it continued even to that
day. Paul was thankful, very thankful for the part that God
had given to him And the fruit that had been born from the words
of his mouth as he brought the light of the gospel to the Philippian
city. The Philippians were already
in the midst, as Paul had already acknowledged, they were already
in the midst of working out their salvation. Paul just urged them
to continue what they were already doing, working out their salvation,
proclaiming the gospel, living out what God was working into
them. Paul had this common. joy and
attitude of rejoicing about most of the churches in which he,
well, we actually find expressions of that about most of the churches
that he was involved with. But you get the sense that Paul
had this joyous attitude about every one of them, even if it
isn’t recorded in Scripture. Of the Corinthians, he said in
verse 4 of chapter 1, I thank my God always concerning you
for the grace of God, which was given to you in Christ. Paul
was overjoyed. And if you know the Corinthian
church, there was a lot to focus on as far as being positives
in that church. Paul says, I thank God that God’s
grace was given to you. To the Thessalonians, chapter
two, verse 19, he called them his joy and crown. What a glorious
image that Paul rejoiced so greatly in what God had allowed him to
be part of. No wonder he says here that in
the day of Christ, I may have cause to glory. And that word
there is a big word. It means literally to boast.
That I may have cause to boast. Paul isn’t saying that someday
when he gets to heaven, he’s going to go waltzing up to God
and say, look what I accomplished. That’s not it at all. It’s a
means of exaltation. Look at what great things the
Lord Jesus allowed me to be part of. Paul was overwhelmed. I take this as a most humble
statement. that of me, of all people, as
he said so many times, the chief of sinners, the least of the
apostles, that God would allow me. That’s how I take it. Earlier in this same epistle,
in chapter 1, verse 26, he spoke of the Philippians’ proud confidence
in me that it may abound in Christ Jesus through my coming to you
again.” It wasn’t that Paul was building himself up. Paul wanted the Philippians to
see God at work in Paul. That’s what Paul’s desire was. Paul’s great fear. His great
fear was that all of his efforts would be in vain. It’s a favorite
word of the Apostle Paul. Paul uses it more than the other
writers of the New Testament. In 2 Corinthians 6, 1, working
together with him, we urge you not to receive the grace of God
in vain. It just means empty, void, worthless. And the greatest fear Paul had
is that through all these efforts and all this expended effort
and toil and labor, All of this flow and coursing blessing of
God’s grace would be in vain. That the Philippians and other
churches would fail to appropriate it. And in essence, it would
be found in the end empty. He expressed the same thing to
the Galatians, it was because of revelation that I went up,
I submitted to them the gospel which I preach among the Gentiles,
but I did so in private to those who are of reputation for fear
that I might be running or had run in vain. It was a great fear. Paul here, says that his greatest
joy was to look forward down into the day of eternity to be
found, as he says, in the day of Christ having cause to glory
because he did not run in vain or toil in vain. And I believe
what Paul acknowledges there is that any labor by a Christian
for God’s glory and kingdom cannot be in vain. wouldn’t be in vain. He uses that simple metaphor,
more popular with some in the church than others, of running.
I talk to Carolyn from time to time, I don’t run anymore unless
somebody is chasing me, but some people enjoy running. Paul seemed
to enjoy running, even if I don’t know whether he actually did
it. But the imagery that he seizes upon with that little metaphor
of running is so frequent that you have to almost picture Paul
as a runner. A favorite image of Paul, listen
to this, Acts 20. He calls the Ephesian elders
to himself and he says to them, I do not consider my life of
any account as dear to myself so that I may finish my course.
And that word there speaks of a race course, a marathon, if
you will. Galatians 2, 2, which we just
read for fear that I might be running or had run in vain. Second
Timothy 4, 7, I have finished the course, the race course.
I fought the faith. 1 Corinthians 9, verse 24. Do you not know that all those
who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize?
And here’s this, you know, where the men really love this competitive
spirit of Paul. Run in such a way that you may
win. It’s not wrong to win at Monopoly,
right? Paul was a runner and Paul wasn’t
just a runner. Paul was a competitive runner. Paul ran to win. If not literally,
at least with regards to ministry, Paul’s heart was on winning. Paul didn’t purpose to just give
effort out there and issue forth some wishful thinking. Paul wanted
to establish churches. Paul wanted to establish the
saints. Paul wanted to win. He goes on in that verse. Everyone
who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They
do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.
Therefore, I run in such a way as not without aim. Paul knew
what his goal was. Paul set his sights there and
he went for it. And he expected to win. Romans
9.16. So then it does not depend on
the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has
mercy. Paul had his perspectives in
order, as we’ve seen before. By the grace of God, I am what
I am. One pastor commenting on his frequent
use of metaphor. God used him in such a unique
way. Here he was, this Roman citizen,
a Jew by upbringing, who had been planted in perhaps one of
the greatest cultures, at least to that day, that had ever existed. And here’s Paul planted in the
midst of him. And as you stand back and look
at his writings, you see the culture begin to pop out on the
page. One pastor wrote of it in these
terms. Speaking of Paul’s very frequent use of these athletic
metaphors, not just running, but running is one of his most
common in his constant illustration of the Christian life by the
requirements and the rewards of Greek athletic contests. Paul
at once displays his own sympathies and appeals to the noblest enthusiasm
of the national life of the Greek converts. Do you know what Paul
does? Here he is. It’s as if he’s in
the middle of this great culture and he uses all kinds of Super
Bowl imagery. Because that would be probably
the closest thing To the Olympics, it’s as if the Olympics were
in full view all the time in our own American culture, which
it isn’t. It just isn’t. And so Paul seizes
upon the things that were most in the minds of the people, not
a bad thing, not a bad thing to talk about athletics, not
a bad thing to talk about the Super Bowl or of sports imagery. He goes on and says the Olympian
games were closely connected with all that was most precious
in the contribution made by Greece to the providential education
of the world. Once in every four years, the
perpetually quarreling states of the Roman world proclaimed
a solemn truce for a single summer month and met on the sacred plain
of Olympia. This is where our Olympics were
born. met on the sacred plain of Olympia in a brotherly contest,
city against city, man against man for the highest glory that
life could offer. Nothing could take precedence
over this supreme festival. And it’s over those images that
Paul again and again and again puts up before the hearts and
minds of these converts. Paul uses their very language. For instance, Philippians 1.30
talks about the same conflict you saw in me. It’s a wrestling
match. As soon as they heard that, they all seized upon that.
They knew what he was talking about. They were talking about
that hand-to-hand combat, that wrestling match in a great arena
that was seen and witnessed by all. Colossians 1.29, for this purpose
I labor, striving, that agonizing effort that an athlete must. Colossians 2.1, I want you to
know how great a struggle I have using that same imagery. In 1
Timothy 6.11, fight the good fight of faith. He’s talking
about the boxing match that was conducted in the arena. Second,
Timothy two, five, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does
not win the prize unless he competes according to the rules. All of
these things Paul was constantly using as an effort aided by the
spirit of God to communicate with those people. The word that
he has here in this very passage that I did not run in vain or
toil in vain is the same kind of word. Same kind of word that
labor means laboring, exerting yourself as an athlete to the
point of absolute exhaustion. It was work, this ministry that
he was conducting was work, it was work indeed, but it was happy
work. It was glad, ungrudging work. It was joyful work. I remember
Dr. Roscoe, some of the men know
or have met him and seen him at the shepherds conferences.
Dr. Roscoe was the most joyful instructor, professor that I
ever had at the seminary. And he was he was just bless
his heart, just so joyful and had these quirky little songs
that he would often break out in and sing in class. And one of his famous ones was
weary in the work, but not weary of it. He’s saying it better
than me. But that’s the image that Paul has. It is labor and
it’s toil. I strive like an athlete. I work
myself to death, but I’m joyful in it. I’m joyful to be a part
of it. By the grace of God, Paul said,
I am what I am. And His grace toward me did not
prove vain. But I labored even more than
all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God in me.” Paul ran. Paul ran hard in the race for
the Gospel and advancing the cause of Christ. And he won. He labored hard for the cause
of the Gospel, but the fruit of it would not and could not
fail because it was the work of God. 1 Corinthians 15, 58
says it this way, Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast,
immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing,
not just hoping, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the
Lord. We don’t know what the fruits
are. But you know that if you are a Christian, a child of God,
and you are in service of that God, you know because of the
God you serve that someday, some way, God is going to bless your
efforts and there will be fruit. It’s not just that I’m advancing
this point and saying that look about you, your labor must be
fruitful, your labor will be fruitful because of the God you
serve, not because of your creativity. And that brings us joy. It brings
us joy to know that we’re serving that kind of a God, that God
has put us in service, God has equipped us for service, God
has called us to a particular service and God will bring fruit
from it. I don’t think that God here countenances
indolence or sloth and says, you know, do whatever you can,
if you want, in whatever way that you want. And I’m going
to bless it and glorify myself. And that’s not at all. Paul talked
about that laborious exertion of effort and we should all be
about the same kind of ministry. But the participation in that
kind of ministry brings joy, secondly. We’re looking at the
sacrifice that promotes rejoicing. A joyful Christian life is enhanced
not only by fruitful labor, but by a devotional offering, a devotional
offering. Look at verse 17, where Paul
almost all of a sudden, in fact, part of the difficulty of this
verse is you don’t exactly know where he’s coming from with this
whole strain of thought. Look at verse 17. But even if
I’m being poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrifice and
service of your faith, I rejoice and share my joy with you all.
Paul, where on earth are you coming from? Because if you read
through the flow of thought, Paul’s urging them to do all
things without grumbling so that they prove themselves to be all
these great Christian things in the midst of a dark and perverse
generation. And then all of a sudden, the
next thought He’s talking about being poured out as a drink offering. The what’s in relief or what’s
in contrast there, the the but that stands at the head of the
verse, verse 17 is to this to the general thought that is
presented there in the previous verse. He isn’t suggesting that he’s
going to live forever until the day of Christ, he’s going to have joy that is
laid up in the day of Christ if he sees the Philippians acting
and conducting themselves as he had urged them. But that even if his life is
extinguished in the course of that great effort, He still has
cause for joy. He’s going to be joyful either
way. But that even if it takes his life, he’s going to rejoice. Look at verse 17 again, even
if I am being poured out as a drink offering, what’s. The image that
he uses, there is one from. that was familiar to Jews for
sure, but also to the heathen practice of offering sacrifices
to their gods. In the book of Numbers, it speaks
of the drink offering that you shall prepare wine. Numbers 15,
5, you should prepare wine for the drink offering one fourth
of a hen with the burnt offering or for the sacrifice. And what
would happen is the animal would be sacrificed and the wine would
be poured around it and the smoke would arise as a fragrant aroma
to God. That’s the image. Leviticus 23,
2 Kings 16, all of those speak of the drink offering. The rising smoke resulting from
the pouring of the drink offering on the sacrifice basically symbolized,
was symbolic to the earthly of the rising of that burnt offering
into the nostrils of God to whom it was offered. That’s what liquid
does when it’s poured on flame. I can remember we lived in Iowa.
We raked up this big pile of leaves and they decided, what
else can you do with leaves that burn them? Well, I had such a
big pile that all of a sudden the flames to me, well, they
were pretty tall, seemed out of hand. So I just decided I’d
put out the fire and then things smoldered for, I think, a day
and a half with this nasty, acrid smoke. That’s what the image
is that when you pour the drink offering on the sacrifice, this
smoke, this aroma rises to God. Paul says, even if I am poured
out as a drink offering in addition to this sacrifice, I rejoice. I’m going to be happy
with that. One pastor said that even if
supposes a case that has some probability of occurrence, Paul
says, you know, I think it’s probably quite likely that I’m
already being poured out in a very real sense. But in an ultimate
sense, my life may be taken from me in this course of ministry.
And Paul was OK with that. He goes on to say it might be
the will of God. Circumstances seem to render
it not improbable that soon in his providence, it might be shown
to be his will that to complete the sacrifice, the apostles blood
should be shed in martyrdom. And then he says, if it be so,
he would make the drink offering with joy. And he trusted that
his Christian friends would, through grace, being able to
join in joy with him. There are some that don’t see
it that way. There are some that don’t think
that Paul had ultimate martyrdom in view. It may not be in his
immediate perspective, but it is in his ultimate perspective.
He certainly expected to be released currently. Remember, Philippians
124 to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake. Convinced of this. I know that
I will remain and continue on with you all. Paul did have that
hope of a temporary release. He wanted more ministry. He told
them in chapter two, verse 24, I trust in the Lord that I myself
also will be coming shortly. He believed. In that temporary
release, but I think ultimately he knew that God was going to
take him in the book of Acts at his conversion. Remember,
the message was go and tell Paul how much he must suffer. In my
service. Paul says, even if I’m being
poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrifice and service
of your faith. It was their faith that was being
sacrificed. We go back again to the image
of the altar. We’ve already identified that
it’s Paul that’s being poured out as a drink offering. He says
it himself. But what’s being sacrificed is the faith of the
Philippians. That’s what’s on the altar. And
it’s an interesting image. He basically sees the Philippians
in their in their character, their character of godliness
set apart for God and for God’s glory as a burnt offering being
offered up to God. And on that sacrifice is poured
the drink offering. And that’s his own lifeblood,
if necessary. And if that happens, so be it,
he says. Robert Johnstone, great Puritan commentator on this section,
said this. The sacrifice of your faith,
faith in Christ is a voluntary surrender to God, a spirit of
love and thankfulness of something which by nature we deem very
precious. He says every one of us is called
to a sacrifice of faith. We’re called to faith. All faith
in Christ worthy of the name. All faith which lays hold firmly
of men’s affections and thus becomes the governing power of
the soul. And no other faith than this
is saving. All of this involves struggle.
God has provided a Savior who has done all that was needed
to open up a way by which consistently the glories of the divine character,
mercy might flow to man. Such faith. is a sacrifice. There is nothing that the natural
heart would not sooner give to God than this. For it involves
a renunciation of pride, a renunciation of the pride of reason, a renunciation
of the pride of self-righteousness, a renunciation of the pride of
self-will, which are the natural heart’s dearest possessions. Paul says that the Philippians,
he was literally laying their faith, the fact that they had
come to faith in Christ as a burnt offering to God, a sacrifice. And if need be, his blood was
going to be that drink offering poured upon it. All of the language here is particularly
the language of the the altar, if you will, when he talks about
service, when he talks about the sacrifice and service of
their faith, that is a priest word. It’s the word liturgia
where we get our word liturgy. Originally, it was service of
a public office, but in the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the
Old Testament, it was always of priestly functions. Priestly
functions. That’s the word that Paul uses
here. He says, look, I am doing the work of a priest in coming
and bringing before God the sacrifice of your faith. And it is my service. And even if I pour out my life
blood. I’m rejoicing. Paul said essentially
the same thing to the Romans. I have written very boldly to
you, Romans 15, 15. I’ve written very boldly to you
on some points so as to remind you again, because the grace
that was given to me from God to be a minister of Christ Jesus
to the Gentiles, ministering as a priest the Gospel of God
so that my offering of the Gentiles may become acceptable, sanctified
by the Holy Spirit. He puts them on the altar, as
it were. To the Ephesians, he wrote, Therefore, I ask you not to lose
heart at my tribulations on your behalf, for they are your glory
to the Corinthians. He wrote in Second Corinthians,
I will most gladly spend and be expended for your souls. That was Paul’s mindset. And
so this imagery is in addition to being graphic, it was it was
so biblical. The very fact that Paul’s writing
from Rome I think he indicates even the heathen sacrifices that
are there. He does the same thing that he
does with all those athletic metaphors. They were very well
versed in these things. Paul says, look, I’m willing.
You’re the main sacrifice. I’m willing to just be poured
out as a minor drink offering upon it. Paul says at the end of that
great verse, even if. Maybe not right now to a degree
right now, but eventually and fully and completely, even if
I’m being poured out as a drink offering, which I fully expect
to be upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, your great
faith that is advancing and growing and flourishing there in Philippi,
even if. I rejoice and I share my joy
with you all. It is a communal thing. It is
a means of great rejoicing that they would be able to do that.
One pastor said it this way. The pouring out of Paul’s blood
was a reason for joy to him, as long as it could be considered
a drink offering which crowns the sacrificial offering that
was brought by the Philippians. Christian joy in his anticipation
of martyrdom. It was really twofold. Not only
was he confident in the great hope that by death he was going
to be introduced to heaven and Christ for eternity. But that in so many ways, that
glory was going to go to God in the midst of whatever Paul endured in whatever ways he was
expended for God in his grace. Listen to Second Timothy. At
the end of his life, perhaps even the last epistle that Paul
wrote, the last words, he said this, For I am already being
poured out as a drink offering. Same exact image. And now the
cup is even tilted a bit further. He’s already beginning to take
his place all around the burnt offering. I am already being
poured out as a drink offering. The time of my departure has
come. I have fought a good fight. I have finished the course. I
have kept the faith in the future. There is laid up for me the crown
of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge will award
to me on that day. And not only to me, but to all
who have loved his appearing. Paul said, you know what? If
you spend me, God, I rejoice. The joyful Christian life is enhanced by that fruitful
labor, just the privilege of being in God’s service. It’s
enhanced by a devotional offering, knowing that whatever it is we
do, it may not have worked out the way we planned. We may not
have the gift package that we desired. We may not have the
specific ministry or the numbers behind our ministry that we thought
we should have. But if we are doing it as unto
the Lord, If we are willing to be poured out, our joy will be
enhanced. The service of the Lord done
devotionally will enhance our joy. Thirdly and finally, a joyful
Christian life is enhanced thirdly by the communion of God’s people. Look at verse 18. Trailing on
the thought that he introduced in verse 17, I rejoice and share
my joy with you all. And you too, I urge you, rejoice
in the same way and share your joy with me. It’s a compound
word that he uses here, which describes a deep, mutually experienced
feeling. Because Paul and the Philippians,
they had sacrificed and served together. Remember, they were
part of his privileged partnership. They were daily sacrificing and
giving and participating in his ministry. And because of that,
they were able to rejoice together. They were joined, not at the
hip, but at the heart. He assumes their joy. He affirms
their joy. He can’t wait to participate
in their joy. He wants them to know that even
if he is put to death, to rejoice and to be joyful in it, that
their salvation was a fruit of that. The bottom line is Paul couldn’t
bear the thought of rejoicing alone. That they should rejoice
with him, he rejoices with them and because they will ultimately
be glorified in heaven, He wants them to rejoice in what God has
used him to do. The bottom line here is that
joy is best when shared, isn’t it? Luke. Remember Luke? Luke 1 58. Records that when her neighbors
and her relatives heard that the Lord had displayed his great
mercy toward her, They were rejoicing with her. It’s never enough to
rejoice by yourself, is it? No matter what it is. You win
some award, some achievement, some great blessing that God
bestows upon you. Isn’t it true? You cannot wait
to share it with others, can you? You can’t wait to share
with others. And it almost compounds, doesn’t
it? It almost builds and grows. Later
on in that same gospel, the story is told about the lost coins,
the lost sheep and the lost son. Remember that? And on each of
those occasions, there is a party that ensues at the discovery
of a lost coin. Yep. At the recollection of a
lost sheep. Yep. And absolutely at the recovery
of a lost son. Yeah, there was rejoicing. When
he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors,
saying to them, rejoice with me. Joy is best when it’s shared. There should be a communion of
joy with God’s people. We are to rejoice with those
who rejoice and weep with those who weep. But Paul says here
to the Philippians, You need to refill the balloon.
You need to recharge the balloon by God’s grace. You need to refresh
that joy that you once had at the gospel. Don’t let the mundane
difficulty and frustrations of the world sap that Christian
joy from you. Rejoice that you’re in His service.
Rejoice that God will use it. Rejoice that even if it costs
you your life, Others will come to know Christ because of it. Let’s pray. Lord God, we thank You for the
depth of Your Word. Words that we would look at and
on first glance might even move past. But I thank You for reminding
us of the need for joy especially joy in ministry and in your service. Help us to get over the fact
that life is difficult and mundane, tedious and frustrating. Help
us to see the glory in serving You. Help us to be mindful of
the joy that ought to be ours at that very thought, regardless
what the cost. Lord, we thank You and praise
You for this day that You’ve given us. this opportunity that
we have to serve you. We pray that you would be glorified
in it. In Jesus name, Amen.