Our Joy is rooted in our connection to the message of the gospel...

This week, we are beginning a conversation that will last several weeks and answer the questions “How do we live a life that is marked by joy? And what is joy, anyways?” To answer these questions, we are going to look at a letter that was written to early followers of Jesus and has been preserved for us in our Bible today, we will discover a man who exhibited joy in a most unexpected place and who articulated several timeless truths about finding joy.

Yesterday, we looked at the opening of a letter that has been preserved for us in the New Testament of the Bible called the book of Philippians that was written by the Apostle Paul, who became the greatest missionary of the early church after to his encounter with Jesus Christ after He had been raised from the dead on the Damascus Road, which we read about in a section of a letter in the New Testament of the Bible called the book of Acts, in Acts 9.  After introducing himself as the author of this letter, the Apostle Paul introduces the recipients of this letter as all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi. These were followers of Jesus who were a part of a church that the Apostle Paul planted in 50 A.D. in the city of Philippi during his second missionary journey, which is recorded for us in Acts 16.

After extending his customary greeting of Divine favor and well being as a result of God’s activity in their lives, we see Paul begin his letter to the members of the church of Philippi with a statement that reveals for us a timeless truth when it comes to finding joy. So let’s look at that statement together, beginning in Philippians 1:3-5:

I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all, in view of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now.

You see, as Paul sat in prison awaiting trial, he wanted the members of the church at Philippi to know that “I thank my God in all my remembrance of you”. Paul consistently expressed his appreciation for the members of the church at Philippi as he made mention of the church to God in prayer. And it wasn’t that Paul mentioned the church at Philippi occasionally in his prayers.

Instead, Paul explains that he was “always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all, in view of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now.” In other words, Paul was consistently in prayer for the members of the church at Philippi. But what is striking was how Paul consistently prayed for the members of the church at Philippi. Did you notice that Paul stated that he was always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all?

In spite of the fact that he was in prison for proclaiming the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel; in spite of the fact that he was facing the possibility of death by execution; Paul prayed with joy.  Now a natural question that arises here is “How could Paul be experiencing joy when he was in prison? How could Paul say that he had joy in light of the circumstances he was facing? How could Paul say that he had joy when he was facing the possibility of death?”

To understand why Paul would say that he was experiencing joy, we first need to understand what joy actually is. You see, in our culture, we tend to view the word joy through the prism of emotion. We tend to view joy as coming from the heart. We tend to view joy as being connected and tied to our circumstances. We tend to view joy as being the product of our circumstances.

However, while we tend to view joy that way as a culture, that is not how the authors of the letters that make up the Bible viewed joy. That is not how the Apostle Paul viewed and used the word joy. You see, when the authors of the letters that make up the Bible used the word joy, this word referred to the experience of gladness. Joy is a mind-set, an attitude of delight in life that takes the long view and is not based, limited, or tied to external circumstances. Joy is a quality of life and not just a fleeting emotion.

And it is here that we see that Apostle Paul reveal for us a timeless truth when it comes to finding joy and cultivated a life that is growing in joy. And that timeless truth is this: Our Joy is rooted in our connection to the message of the gospel and a growing love of Jesus. Just as it was for the Apostle Paul, just as it was for the members of the church at Philippi, just as it has been for followers of Jesus throughout history, our joy is rooted in our connection to the gospel and a growing love of Jesus.

That is why the Apostle Paul could talk about experiencing joy while being in prison. That is why the Apostle Paul could talk about experiencing joy while facing the possibility of death. The Apostle Paul could talk about experiencing joy because the Apostle Paul understood that joy was not tied to or connected with one’s circumstances. The Apostle Paul understood that joy is a mind-set that produces a quality of life and not just a fleeting emotion.

And in Philippians 1:3-8, we see the Apostle Paul reveal for us the reality that our joy is rooted in our connection to the gospel. In verse 5, Paul explained to the members of the church at Philippi that his prayers for them were in view of their participation in the gospel from the first day until now. What is so interesting here is that the word participation here literally means to be in a close association involving mutual interests.

Now if you grew up in church, you probably heard this word, which is koinonia, thrown around a lot. However, this word koinonia, means more than just having a pot luck fellowship after church. This word conveys a deep seeded connection and community.

Paul had this deep seeded connection and community with this church and that deep seeded connection and community was due to their mutual and ongoing connection to the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel. This morning, it is the gospel that produces genuine and authentic community. And it is what God has done for us through Jesus life, death, and resurrection, that serves as the foundation of the experience of joy.

As Paul received word in Rome about the church at Philippi’s ongoing spiritual growth, the churches ongoing and growing connection with the gospel produced an attitude of delight that took the long view of God’s activity in spite of his current circumstances. We see Paul unpack that reality in what he says next in verse 6-8:

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. For it is only right for me to feel this way about you all, because I have you in my heart, since both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers of grace with me. For God is my witness, how I long for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus.

Here we see Paul reveal for us the reality that the joy that he had when it came to church at Philippi’s ongoing connection with the gospel was rooted in the confidence that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. As a result of the connection that both Paul and the members of the church at Philippi had when it came to the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel, Paul was sure that what Jesus had begun to do in their lives would be brought to completion in their lives. Paul had a confident certainty that Jesus would finish what He had started.

And that confident certainty led Paul to have a mind-set that produced an attitude of delight in life that was rooted in an eternal perspective that Jesus was at work in the midst of their circumstances and would finish the work that He had started in their lives. Paul had a quality of life that was not based on a fleeting emotion but on the evidence of Jesus activity in His life and the lives of the members of the church at Philippi. And because of that reality, Paul could look past his current circumstances with a mindset that was focused on the reality that Jesus would finish what He had started.

Then, in verse 7, Paul explained to the members of the church at Philippi, that his joy was based God’s transformational intervention and activity in their lives as they partnered together in the kingdom mission that they had been given. From the core of Paul’s being, Paul was of the opinion that Jesus was at work and would finish what He had started as Paul and the members of the church of Philippi partnered together. Paul explained that he had every right to feel that way as a result of three different ways that the church at Philippi had partnered with Paul.

First, the church had demonstrated their partnership with Paul while he was in prison in Rome. The members of the church at Philippi had supported Paul emotionally as well as financially while Paul waited his day in court. Second, the church had demonstrated their partnership with Paul in defending the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel. The members of the church at Philippi had supported Paul as he defended himself against those who would attempt to discredit the message and teachings of Jesus. And third, the church had demonstrated their partnership with Paul in establishing the gospel. The members of the church at Philippi had supported the Apostle Paul’s efforts to share the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel throughout the known world.

And as a result of the joy that he was experiencing as a result of their partnership, in verse 8, Paul communicated his desire to be present with them so that they could continue their partnership in the kingdom mission that they had been given by Jesus and that was fueled by the love of Jesus.  You see, the Apostle Paul desired to continue to experience an attitude of delight in life that took the long view and that was driven by the love of Jesus and not external circumstances.

Paul desired to experience the joy that came about as a result of the connection to the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel that produced a true partnership in genuine and authentic community. And in the same way today, as followers of Jesus, our joy is rooted and grounded in our ongoing connection to the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel.

A connection that is based on our rescue from our selfishness and rebellion so that we can live in relationship with God and in genuine and authentic community with others. A connection that is based on the certainty that Jesus will finish what He has started. A connection that is based on our partnership in God’s transformational intervention and activity in the world with other followers of Jesus. A connection that results in an attitude of delight in life that took the long view and that was driven by the love of Jesus and not external circumstances.

But not only is our joy rooted in our ongoing connection with the message of the gospel. We see Paul reveal another root that produces joy in the life of a follower of Jesus. We will look at that second root on Friday…