At this time I invite you to turn to the book of Philippians. We're continuing our series there looking at the message or theme of joy. We've been considering this for a few weeks now and we ultimately started this series simply because of events and circumstances that would easily draw our attention away from joy or lead us to complaining or some other perspective. And so this letter is really useful in light of Paul's context to set before us just we're true joy, we're real joy, we're lasting joy, lies. And so this morning we're going to consider the idea of the joy of community and reflect on that as we look at verses 27 through 30 this morning. Just for a little context I'll begin with verse 19 of Philippians chapter 1 and this is found on page 1349 of the Bibles there. Let's listen carefully to God's word. Paul writes, For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ. and to die is gain. But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor, yet what I shall choose I cannot tell, for I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. Nevertheless, to remain in the flesh is more needful for you, and being confident of this, I know that I shall remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy of faith, that you're rejoicing for me, may be more abundant in Christ Jesus by my coming to you again. Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs. That you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind, striving together for the faith of the gospel, and not in any way terrified by your adversaries, which is to them a proof of perdition, but to you a salvation, and that from God. For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for his sake, having the same conflict which you saw in me, and now here is in me." Remember the grass withers and the flower falls, but God's Word abides forever. One individual was in the context of an adult Sunday school class, not here. And as they were talking about the idea of community, this individual said, I really don't want more community than we already have at this church. What I like about this church is that no one judges you for not being more involved or attending regularly. If we had more community, people would expect too much from me. Is this what your thought, opinion, impression of community is? Is it the idea that the greater community that we have among the church, then it means that I have to be present at every Sunday or every time the doors are open, I'm expected to contribute a particular amount, to sit on at least one committee, to be a part of some sort of fellowship group, make sure I attend all the fellowship meals, give meals in support to congregational members who are sick or in need, and therefore you go, why be a part of that community? After all, who has time or energy for that? If the burden of community is viewed simply by the expectation of all the stuff that I have to do, then I'm with you. Who really wants community like that? In fact, I think part of the reason we even struggle with it is because we desire for a sense of anonymity. We want this idea that even when we're in the midst of people or a crowd, that we would rather be able to meet one another on our terms. And so when we show up and we just wanna be hidden, We pursue that. And yet then we're in the times where we say, yep, okay, I'm willing to connect, or I'm willing to be here, I'm willing to do this. I'll choose when and where and how I want to love, and then when I don't want that, I'm gonna pull back and simply get back into my anonymous position. There's an aspect in which That desire for anonymity only supports the idea of community. Why? Because your anonymity is in the context of a group. You don't want to be anonymous so that you're a hermit. You don't want to be anonymous so that you then aren't with individuals. You want that sense of a wall or a barrier, but still in the context of people. Let me put it to you this way. How often do you eat alone in a restaurant? Or how often are you willing to go and see a movie alone? For some of you, you go, sign me up, no big deal. I'm all over that. But others of you go, oh, that's kind of weird. Here I am sitting down in this group of all other people. Most of these other people are in the context of twos or threes or fours, and I'm here by myself. Or show up to the movie theater, ticket for how many? Oh, just one. What's your frustration or struggle with that? It's the idea of, well, I'm in this community, but I'm alone. And so it's the idea that even by expressing this sense of anonymity, you still want it in the context of community. And what it confirms is that we were not made to be alone. Even as you say, I want to be by myself, I want these things individually, but I'll express it in the context of a group, goes to show that in the core and fabric of your being, you still need that sense of belonging in a place. If what I'm saying makes sense, nod your head. We won't get to the point where we'll actually speak out loud in church. Are you following? It's in light of this tension or this idea that Paul here at the end of Philippians chapter 1 really notes community. He's going to jump into it more or further in chapter 2 by noting that in the context of community, we do it as one members, not seeking out for ourselves, but looking out for others, following after the example of the Lord Jesus. But in order to establish that call of togetherness and following after the Lord, he notes just this sense of community. And what I want us to see this morning is that in this sense of togetherness, there is a real aspect of joy. And there's really only one point to the sermon, but there's four sub points. So that means there's five points, I guess. But the main thrust of this is that there is a joy of community because of what the community is, of what you belong to. The fact that you are a citizen of Christ's kingdom. And that the outflow of being a member of the Church means that there is then a continuous commitment in a cooperative collective whereby you show the compassion of Christ, and Christ in turn gives you a comforting confirmation. Now, two things. There's a lot of C's, and I said it really fast. So, I don't know if it's seven C's, but it's a lot of C's. I'll say it slowly. Paul's point is that you get to be a part of Christ's church. That's the main thrust here. And as a citizen of the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, we then see that there is a continuous commitment. It doesn't just come and go. It's always there, must always be there. That this commitment that you have in Christ's church is a cooperative collective. It's not individual isolationism. It's a cooperative collective. And that as you are together, continuing in this commitment to Christ's kingdom, Christ in turn shows you tremendous compassion. And then consequently, he confirms this in your life. So let's look through some of these things. The point here is the joy of simply being able to be a part of the Lord Jesus Christ and His community. Look at verse 27. Let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit with one mind, striving together for the faith of the gospel. Paul notes that your conduct is to be worthy of the gospel. Now, when we initially hear this idea of conduct, we are starting to think about outward type stuff. For example, you have the code of conduct. This is what it means or how you'll behave or how you'll live regarding your workplace or how you're at school. I remember when I was a kid, in elementary school and you got your report card, they would talk about, you know, the various classes. And then something else we were graded on was conduct. I don't remember how I was evaluated in that, you'll have to ask my mom. But I'm sure it was wonderful. But this idea of conduct here actually is the idea of citizenship. The basic word here is rooted in the idea of a city. And what Paul is ultimately noting to the church at Philippi is that you have a particular group that you are a part of, and as a consequence of being part of that group, that's going to then be reflected in you and through you. One author, he noted that this idea of being a citizen was just simply to live up to who you are. What are the expectations as being a Christian? What does it mean to belong to the Lord Jesus Christ? What does it mean to be a member of His church? That's ultimately what should be reflected. Now, as the church at Philippi hears this, and I think Paul intentionally sets it out in this manner in order to play off of their political context. The church at Philippi was a part of the city that was the lead city of Macedonia. They actually belonged to the Roman Empire, which made them distinct from cities that were around them. And even though they were 800 miles away from the city of Rome, they still had a sense that who they belonged to was Rome. And therefore, they had the benefits of being Romans. They weren't taxed. They had various laws that were enacted. They always had access to the culture of their city. But it then manifested in how they went about their lives as citizens, how they dress, the fact that they spoke Latin and not the language that was predominant around them. They had Latin names. They had Roman culture. They showed themselves to be, although separate, we are Rome. And Paul is encouraging the church and us as well To remember who you belong to. To know your identity. And that it's found in Jesus Christ as a resident of heaven. Turn over to Philippians chapter 3. Philippians chapter 3 verse 20. Paul says it pretty explicitly here. He says, for our citizenship is in heaven. from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Pretty clear, right? You're a member of the heavenly kingdom. Consequently, it has an impact in our lives. Notice I said it was a, sorry, that's jumping ahead. This is something that is called for in our lives at all times. It really notes that as we belong to the Lord Jesus Christ, we simply can't allow it to be turned on when we want it to be turned on. Let me put it to you this way. You're a citizen of the United States of America, correct? Do you ever stop being a citizen? Well, I guess you can go and renounce your citizenship. But apart from that action, do you ever stop being a member of the United States of America? Let's say that you were to leave this place and you went over to Europe for one year, two years, five years, ten years. But at no point in time you renounced your belonging to this particular country. Do you ever then stop being a citizen? No. It's present in the way in which you live, it's noticed in how you talk, it's noticed in what you think about, how you go about your day, the things that interest you, the things that you pursue. How does that help inform then your being a citizen? who belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ. And how do you intend to go about representing that in your actions, in your purpose, in your intention? Paul helps us see how to consider some of these things because he tells us then as citizens of Christ's kingdom, there is a continuous commitment that is present. Notice what he says, conduct, may your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ. The continuous commitment that we have as citizens of Christ's kingdom is ultimately to the value, benefit, and glory of God's gospel. We recognize that we have the privilege of citizenship in Christ's kingdom because of the good news that God saves sinners. And this drives us, it gives us our foundation, it gives us our focus, it gives us our hope, it gives us our sense of purpose. it gives us what we identify in question answer one of the of the catechism where we say what's our only comfort in life and in death that i both body and soul and life and death am not my own but what belong to my faithful savior jesus christ with his precious blood is fully satisfied for all my sins redeem me from all the power of the devil and so delivers me that without a that without the will of my father in heaven not a hair can fall from my head that's the gospel And Paul here is assuring us. that there is this good news, and that as we have embraced, believe, and cling to this message that God saves sinners, that through His grace, He has overcome our miserable condition by sending His Son, who then lived in our stead, who then suffered in our stead, who then died in our stead, who then rose again in our stead, that we in turn are reconciled, redeemed, justified, and have hope. of eternal glory. And the moment that we have embraced Jesus Christ with a believing heart, we then are taken out of a miserable, worthless kingdom to then be citizens of Christ. And this commitment that we then have continues. Because notice what he says. He says, Be those who show that you know, understand, and believe the gospel so that what? You stand fast and you strive together in the gospel. There's the commitment. It's this standing. It's this idea of being rooted or clinging or secured or established in what the Lord has done. to then identify you as those who belong to Him. Paul, in dealing with this church in Philippi whose city context was retired and active soldiers of Rome, he uses another military term here. He talks about the idea of a formation of soldiers that are side by side, shoulder to shoulder. Noting that they have a common purpose and a common goal and they stand together accordingly. They have that sense of solidarity and unity. It's the beauty of what we heard from Psalm 133 when the psalmist says, behold, how wonderful, how beautiful, how pleasant it is that the people of God dwell together in unity. And notice Paul says that this togetherness is in one spirit. Oftentimes this gets interpreted as, well, one intention or one purpose. But I don't think that's what Paul is noting here. I think he's actually noting that our togetherness is by the power of God's Spirit. As we heard from Psalm 133, that the idea of the oil that poured down over the priest was a picture to God's people that the priest engaged in his work, not by his own power, but by the power and strength of the living God. As his presence was with him, so he then would go forth with his task. God has done an even more wondrous work for us in that He's not just given us the presence of His Spirit, but He's given His Spirit to dwell inside of us, to actively work within, so that He then sanctifies us and strengthens us, makes us like unto the Lord Jesus Christ. And Paul here then is reminding the church, and in turn us, that as those who belong to the Lord Jesus, we're together. And yet this being together is empowered by God's Spirit for a purpose. And this purpose that he's given us is that we would be together in faith and not afraid of what's happening. This sense of togetherness takes us really to the idea of being a cooperative collective. Notice here, it's not the idea of one. It's funny how a while back the U.S. Army had their slogan, an army of one. Do you know how contradictory that was? This idea of this soldier by themselves is going to then stand the weakness of the army if it were all individuals would be lost immediately. How can one guy by themselves go and do anything? It had to be them all together. And yet oftentimes we see ourselves in the church as that army of one. And yet Paul says, no, you come together as a cooperative, as a group that is in harmony, empowered by the Spirit, engaged in the mind in accordance with the Scriptures, but unified with one pursuit. There's a story of a team building activity that a business group did a while back. They called their employees to come together, gathered them in one large room, gave each of them a balloon and said, blow the balloon up and write your name on it. Put it down on the floor. Most people were able to accomplish that task. And so they were able to then get on to the next point. And the next point that they were told is in this room, as they had their balloons that had their names on it, they added a bunch more balloons into the group. So the individuals were called to come back and told, everyone go find your name. So here you have all these professionals in this room, digging through balloons, trying to find the balloon with their name on it. After about 15, 20 minutes, not one person had found their balloon. So they were all sent back out of the room, and they were then told to come back in, and they said, simply find a balloon with a name on it, and when you do, give it to that individual. Guess what? Within five minutes, the entire group had succeeded in the task. What's the point? They were much more efficient when they were willing to share with one another than trying to do it alone. It's a good lesson for the church. Paul notes that we work together for the faith of the gospel. He doesn't call us to be armies of one. He doesn't call us to simply go it alone. He doesn't call us to work by ourselves, but instead to recognize that there is this collective that we are a part of. And that group has a benefit, a use, a purpose, a service. to strengthen us as people who belong to Jesus Christ in our commitment to Him to go about glorifying and honoring and praising the head, Jesus Christ. Well, I said that in this there was a sense of compassion that we have as well, that as citizens of Christ's kingdom, we have this acknowledgement that Christ has shown us compassion. How do we see this? Look with me in verse 29, for to you, it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for his sake. Christ making you one of his people has given two things to you. It's acknowledged as a work of compassion or a work of grace because the language here, the idea of being granted, the root word there is the same root for the word grace. Unmerited favor. Receiving all sorts of things that You haven't worked for, you haven't earned, you don't deserve. Christ bestowing it to you. What are they? The first thing is just simply the fact that you believe. God graciously enabled you to believe, for by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves." It's a gift of God. Not just simply the gift is God giving you a gift, but even the ability to believe, even the idea that you would choose Him is only because God enabled you to do so. He breathed life into you so that you who were apart from Him could look by faith and see the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ has made you a part of his kingdom by giving you a substance to hold to. But notice what else Paul notes to suffer for his sake. Ouch. Not just ouch because it's suffering. It hurts, it's hard, it's difficult. But ouch because it goes against, I think, American Christianity. What's the bill of goods that the evangelical church typically sells or promotes? Come to Christ and what? Things are going to be so much better, right? You'll just have what you need. You ever heard how the idea of Christianity or salvation is like a life insurance policy or fire insurance policy? It guarantees that you then can avoid or escape hell and all these wonderful promises that are yours. And that is true. But there's more to Christianity than just that. It's the fact that we're going to have to give or being identified with the Lord Jesus means there's going to be difficulty and hardship. Paul tells us that those who live godly in Christ will be persecuted. Jesus assures us that just as they responded in a particular manner to me, so they will do the same to you. And yet this is a gracious work of Christ to be identified with him, even to suffer for his name. The church in Acts rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer disgrace for God. How is it that one can see that the path of Christianity, the path of the cross, the way of difficulty, the way of suffering can actually be a way of joy and a path of celebration? Think about what Christ does. Think about what He gives in the midst of hardship. Number one, He simply provides the assurance of salvation. Christ tells us in John 15 that He comes to the believer to whisper before them the promise of His overcoming. so that they may be assured that greater is the one who is in you than he who is in the world." And by that statement of promise, Christ then assures the one who is undergoing hardship on his behalf, or under his name, or under the banner of his kingdom, that he truly belongs to his Savior. Christ promises that not only does he give him a future hope, but also that he is with him, that he is there, that he understands and he says, look, as they treated me, so they're treating you. They're treating you because this is how they treated me. And I am with you and I uphold you and I guide you and I strengthen you. And I am ever present need and time of help. I have not abandoned you nor left you, but I am with you. And so even as Christ has granted this hard path, he says, it's a path I've already walked, and it's a path I'm with you on, but it's a path that I will also then reward. Jesus doesn't simply say, well, good job, you made it through, and that's great, and there's nothing for it, you just did it. But he promises rewards. forevermore, not just the reward of His presence and not just the reward of being with Him, but actual things that He will grant so that you in turn may see these things and go, Christ, they're yours anyway, because this is what you did in me. And you know what? It's also a means that He uses in order to win others. Sometimes Christ, among His citizens, causes them to go through great challenges, so that through the wondrous testimony and display of faith, others may see it. They may see conviction, they may see courage, they may see a willingness to endure, and consequently say, there's something about that individual to be willing to endure such things on behalf of Christ. Who is this one? Think about what it does just simply to yourself. It matures you, James tells us. It strengthens your reliance upon God. It allows you opportunity to minister to others, and it keeps your pride in check, Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 12. Truly, we have to look at suffering, even on behalf of the name of Christ, as a real grace. Remember, this comes from the pen of Paul. who had already endured, who had already told the people of Philippi, whether I live or I die, it's all about making Christ look greater and drawing attention to His name. And so whether I'm with you or I'm absent, so you do the same. Which then is a real comfort, isn't it? The comforting confirmation. Is that even through all of this, Christ beautifully, wondrously, and gloriously allows the sense of community to bring real joy. Why? Because he testifies that we belong to him, that we are under his banner. He shows that the work that he began in us will continue until the day of Christ. And he enables us then to go forward in that commitment. He allows us to see that it's not just alone or by ourselves, but it's with a group of others who have the same purpose and same desire and moving ahead to the same goal. And that spurs us on, encourages us. And lastly, it testifies of the fact that Christ has bestowed these things in our life, not only the belief but also the suffering, the struggle, the confirmation that we are part of His kingdom. gives us a real sense of joy, of gladness, of that recognition, that longing that is present within us at the beginning, that even though it looks at the sense of a community and a group and on the one hand says, I don't know, yet on the other hand says, I absolutely know because it's within my inner being. that I want to be a part of that thing, which isn't just simply identity, but identity in the Lord Jesus Christ, in a true and lasting joy. Let's pray. Our Father in heaven, as we reflect on this joy of community Please cause us to see the true benefit and blessing that is there, that is not only being worked in our lives spiritually, but also then is present outwardly and provides a wondrous work, not only to us, but to others who see it. And as we reflect on this, cause us to see the privileges that are ours as a member of Christ's kingdom. the privilege to be a part of His church, to be a part of His people, to have an eternal hope, cause us also to take inventory of our lives so that we would not take for granted the hope of the gospel, and we in turn would consider our words and our thoughts, even our desires, our priorities, our purposes, and if we truly have joy in Christ to pull away from anything that would dishonor Him, Cause us also to remember who we represent and seek in any and every way by your spirit to always honor him. Teach us these things. Encourage us in these things. Cause us to desire these things more and more as we pray, saying, Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.