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Joy:

Joy in living, serving, suffering

Philippians 1:18-30

Introduction

Have you ever had those times of just

overwhelming joy? Times that there was so

much joy you couldn’t hold back tears.

These times are usually much, much

different then happiness. These times are

never about the kinds of things that are so

often advertised to us. These times, for me,

are not cars, or houses, or really any kind of

stuff.

These times for me are things like:

1. Watching my wife walk down the aisle

at our wedding.

2. Holding each of my kids for the very

first time.

3. Baptizing my oldest son.

4. Doing my son’s wedding a couple

weeks ago and thanking the Lord for

the blessing of a Godly Christian lady

for my son.

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5. My final college payment for my oldest

kid – tears of joy.

Transition: The Apostle has a similar

experience in what brings him Joy or causes

him to rejoice. It’s like he has to say it twice

in verse 18….

Philippians 1:18

What then? Only that in every way, whether

in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed,

and in that I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice,

(ESV)

Why does Paul rejoice? No matter what

the Gospel wins!! Either it wins personally

in his life, he dies and goes to be with the

Lord, or it wins here on earth and the gospel

is spread through the difficulty he faces in

his life.

Paul rejoices because:

I. We will be delivered.

Philippians 1:19

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for I know that through your prayers and the

help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will

turn out for my deliverance, (ESV)

Means of deliverance:

A. Prayer – Human participation.

B. Spirit – Divine work of God.

Main Point: God in His grace allows us to

participate in what He is doing and what He

is going to accomplish here on earth – what

an incredible invitation – and in this we/Paul

rejoice.

Second reason that Paul rejoices…

II. Right perspective: Life is a

temporary assignment.

Philippians 1:20-26

as it is my eager expectation and hope that I

will not be at all ashamed, but that with full

courage now as always Christ will be

honored in my body, whether by life or by

death. 21 For to me to live is Christ, and to

die is gain. 22 If I am to live in the flesh, that

means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I

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shall choose I cannot tell. 23 I am hard

pressed between the two. My desire is to

depart and be with Christ, for that is far

better. 24 But to remain in the flesh is more

necessary on your account. 25 Convinced of

this, I know that I will remain and continue

with you all, for your progress and joy in the

faith, 26 so that in me you may have ample

cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my

coming to you again. (ESV)

A. To live is Christ.

1. Fruitful labor (V. 22 - If I am to live

in the flesh, that means fruitful labor

for me.)

a. So, this certainly means fruit in

regard to the church and the

spreading of the gospel of Jesus

Christ.

b. This certainly means spiritual

fruit.

c. But let’s not forget the Biblical

perspective on work.

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d. Work is a God ordained good

thing.

e. We are created by God to work,

produce, and have fruitful labor

as an act of worship.

f. Laziness, consistently pulling

off the resources of others is not

a Biblical framework of a good

use of one’s life – God made us

for “Fruitful Labor” – and this

brings Joy.

2. Good for the church (V. 24 - But to

remain in the flesh is more necessary

on your account.)

a. Paul sees His life in context of

serving His church.

b. How many of us make life

decisions around our church?

c. Paul says, as long as God has me

here, I am here to serve the

church.

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3. Growth of others (V. 25 - Convinced

of this, I know that I will remain and

continue with you all, for your

progress and joy in the faith)

a. Similar to the last point – who in

your life are you investing in for

the gospel.

b. The Great Commission is that

each of us must go and make

Disciples?

c. Who are you discipling?

4. Fame of Jesus (V. 26 - so that in me

you may have ample cause to glory

in Christ Jesus)

a. Ultimately it is about people

turning their attention to Jesus.

b. Who cares if anyone remembers

you?

c. Who cares if anyone remembers

our name, what matters is will our

lives point anyone to remember

Jesus.

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Transition: We need to constantly remind

ourselves that life is a temporary

assignment. We work hard towards the

things that God has called our hand too, and

we keep in mind that…

B. To die is gain (V. 21 – for me to live is

Christ to die is gain)

1. To be with Christ is far better. (V.

23)

BTW: This reminds us that when we die

there is no such thing as soul sleep. Paul

expects to be immediately with Christ, and

for that arrival with Christ to be incredible –

Far better than your best day, or best

moment on earth.

2. Being heavenly minded makes us

more earthly good, because no

matter the difficulty we remind

ourselves the temporary nature of

what we are going through.

Finally, Paul finds his joy in…

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III. Living worthy of the gospel.

Philippians 1:27

Only let your manner of life be worthy of

the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come

and see you or am absent, I may hear of you

that you are standing firm in one spirit, with

one mind striving side by side for the faith

of the gospel, (ESV)

A. Stand firm.

1. Not wavering in your faith.

2. Not wavering in your commitment

to Christ.

3. Not wavering in your commitment

to your local church.

B. Stand in unity.

1. One Spirit and one mind.

2. Working together on the vision

God has given us to spread the

gospel of Jesus.

C. Striving together.

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1. Striving implies hard work.

2. Striving implies working through

hurt feelings or difficulties.

3. I love the way the NIV phrases…

Ephesians 4:3

Make every effort to keep the unity of the

Spirit through the bond of peace. (NIV)

Illustration: Why to we applaud and

celebrate the couple that has stayed married

for 50 years or more – we recognize they

have done the hard work. We recognize the

value of honoring those commitments, and

the incredible impact those commitments

have on others. Work, effort, striving.

Main Point: We need to strive together in a

difficult environment, the elections, masks,

vaccine (People are going to have strong

opinions about getting it or not getting it).

As Christians we need to continually keep

the bigger picture in mind. That we are

striving together for the uplifting of the

gospel.

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Let me ask you something…. Is there

anyone in this church you need to make an

appointment with and have a cup of coffee?

If you are thinking of leaving a church, and

haven’t made the effort to work it out one on

one, guess what? That is on you.

Finally, Paul says…

D. Suffering together.

Philippians 1:29

For it has been granted to you that for the

sake of Christ you should not only believe in

him but also suffer for his sake (ESV)

1. Listen Church we can expect to

suffer as Christians, because we

are Christians.

2. Now that doesn’t build mega-

churches in America – but it is

true.

3. We can and should expect that

there will be difficult times,

because we are Christians and

we should do this together for

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the good of the gospel, and the

glory of Christ.

4. Throughout Church history, the

church has always thrived under

persecution.

Illustration: I read and article this past

week of a Pastor in India, where the police

threatened his son with false criminal

charges if he did not stop preaching the

gospel – that is persecution.

Main Point: We are called to suffer, and

sacrifice for the cause of the gospel. Part of

our lack of Joy in American Christianity, is

that we have closely tied Christianity to the

American dream, and we have forgotten the

Biblical reminder that suffering is a regular

expectation for a Christian.

Conclusion

Sam Wyche – “We are not Cleveland”.

Main Point: He was saying, we are

Bengals fans, we don’t act like Brown’s

fans.

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Joy is found when we live our lives in a

manner worthy of the gospel. Reminding

ourselves that life is a temporary

assignment. Whatever you are going

through is not eternal. To live is Christ, to

die is gain.

We live together in Community. Worthy of

the call of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We

stand firm, we stand in unity together. We

stand ready to suffer if needs be for this

temporary assignment God has given us to

exalt the glory and fame of His son Jesus

Christ.

Pray

Small Group Questions

Philippians 1:18-30

Articles Worth Reading related to this passage:

https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/strive-to-be-more-satisfied-in-god

https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/even-when-the-worst-happens

Commentary to help you navigate Philippians 1:18-30:

Matthew Henry on Philippians 1.

John Gill on Philippians 1.

Read Philippians 1:18-30 and discuss the text together.

I. What is the theme of this passage?

In this passage Paul speaks of suffering well for the cause of the gospel and the glory of Christ.

His ability to suffer well follows from a deep communion with the Lord. This deep communion

with the Lord is evidenced by his longing to be in eternity with Jesus while understanding that

his earthly ministry is out value to the Philippian believers. Matthew Henry said in his

commentary on this passage:

“We see here the care the apostle takes to prevent their being offended at his sufferings. He was

now a prisoner at Rome; this might be a stumbling-block to those who had received the gospel

by his ministry. They might be tempted to think, If this doctrine were indeed of God, God would

not suffer one who was so active and instrumental in preaching and propagating it to be thrown

by as a despised broken vessel. They might be shy of owning this doctrine, lest they should be

involved in the same trouble themselves. Now to take off the offence of the cross, he expounds

this dark and hard chapter of his sufferings, and makes it very easy and intelligible, and

reconcilable to the wisdom and goodness of God who employed him.”

II. What challenged you in this Scripture?

This is a personal application question.

III. In what ways does this passage help you savor Christ more?

This is a personal application question.

IV. How is this passage calling you to further obedience in your walk with God?

We should greet suffering with God-centered hope. Paul used his suffering as a tool whereby the

gospel was advanced. God is calling you to use your various troubles as a means by which you

declare the Lordship of Christ over your body and circumstances. Therefore do not waste your

suffering.

V. How can this passage of Scripture shape your prayer life?

Our prayers can be shaped significantly by this passage. We can pray and ask the Lord to help us

face troubles well. We can pray and ask that the Lord will make us more eternally minded. That

is to say that we will see our circumstances through the lens of eternity. We can also pray for our

brothers and sisters throughout the world that are presently suffering for the cause of Christ.

VI. What are three practical takeaways from the sermon you listened on this passage?

Small Group Questions Joy In Living, Serving and Suffering

Phil 1:18-30 September 27, 2020

*You do NOT have to answer or discuss every question. Feel free to just pick a few. These are meant to guide you in truth. If you are having trouble answering a question, ask your small group leader to help you. They are committed to helping you develop as an authentic follower of Christ.

The COMMUNITY QUESTION:

1. Name some of your favorite places you’ve visited in the states and in the world.

Into the WORD/APPLICATION:

Here are some suggested sites in order to dive deeper into God's Word: blueletterbible.org, desiringgod.org/articles/all, biblos.com, ccel.org, logos.com, connect.ligonier.org, thegospelcoalition.org/channel/bible-and-theology. 1. Read the scripture verses listed above and discuss the following

questions together. What is the theme of this passage?

2. What challenged you in this Scripture?

3. In what ways does this passage help you savor Christ more?

4. How is this passage calling you to further obedience in your walk with God?

5. How can this passage of Scripture shape your prayer life?

6. What are three practical takeaways from the sermon you listened on this passage?

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Coastal Yorktown | September 27th 2020

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IN RESPONSE TOTODAY ’ S SERVICE . . .

I’d like to know more about accepting a relationship with Jesus.

I. We will be D E L I V E R E D .

II. R I G H T P E R S P E C T I V E : Life is a temporary

assignment.

A. To L I V E is C H R I S T .

1. F R U I T F U L L A B O R .

2. Good for the C H U R C H .

3. Growth for O T H E R S .

4. F A M E of J E S U S .

B. To D I E is G A I N .

III. Living W O R T H Y of the G O S P E L .

A. S T A N D F I R M .

B. S T A N D in U N I T Y .

C. S T R I V I N G T O G E T H E R .

D. S U F F E R I N G T O G E T H E R .

09.27.20 | PASTOR SHAUN BROWN

Philippians 1 : 18–30

I N L I V I N G , S E R V I N G , S U F F E R I N G

I’M INTERESTED IN:

I’d like to know more about becoming a member of Coastal.

I’d like to know more about Baptism.