You know, I have very little doubt that you have noticed. Ours is a very frivolous age, with lots of shallow, empty laughter, and very little real joy. It is C.S. Lewis's contention that this is not just true of society as a whole. but it's even in particular among evangelical Christians. Listen to how C.S. Lewis has stated it. Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered to us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday. Now that's the British term for vacation. At the sea. We are far too easily pleased. Most people stumble around in perpetual confusion. Darkness, really. As they seek genuine joy, they satisfy themselves with an occasional glimpse of light, an artificial light at that. Some of the light that they're attracted to is a consuming fire, and it destroys their lives. So I guess what I should ask about now, and I'm also gonna ask that you would deeply probe yourself as I ask this question. with deep honesty? Are you seeking joy from the wrong sources? Have you been allowing yourself to be content with far less than what God wants for you to experience? Take a look over this past week. What have been the sources of your joy? The big game involving your favorite sports team? It was a great win for Oregon over Texas Tech, wasn't it? Even if the Ducks go all the way and win the national title, how long do you think your joy's gonna last from that? One, maybe two weeks. What else brought you joy this week? A delicious meal that you savored for maybe an hour? Did you find joy from reading a book, watching a movie, maybe a favorite television program? Was there joy that you experienced because somebody paid you a genuine compliment? They recognized your intelligence or your skill at something. Maybe they showed appreciation for an effort that you put out. Okay, now ask yourself this. What dampened your joy this week? A lack of respect someone showed to you? criticism from somebody important to you, your financial situation, fear about your future, bulging waistline. Jonathan Edwards, before our country won its independence from England, wrote this enduring truth. The enjoyment of God is the only happiness with which our souls can be satisfied. Fathers and mothers, husbands and wives, or children, or the company of earthly friends, are but shadows. But enjoyment of God is the substance These are but scattered beams, but God is the sun. These are but streams, but God is the fountain. These are but drops, but God is the ocean. Now today we begin a new sermon series going through the book of Philippians. Philippians evokes a particular joy. It is the joy of Christ and the joy from Christ. It's a joy that effervesces. You're familiar with that term, aren't you, effervescence? It's like a sparkling soft drink poured into a glass that we all see on those TV commercials, bubbling and fizzing, that's effervescence. Only our available joy is real and it doesn't lose its fizz. It's a lasting joy that effervesces even in dark places. It's available for those in Christ. who stand together as they partner in the fellowship of the gospel. Now our studies in Philippians, I pray, will enhance our experience of this particular joy. Philippians is a book that reverberates Paul's joy on every page. We like this book. We all want to find joy in our lives. Has anybody here had too much joy lately? I didn't think so. Anything that will suggest how we can have more joy in our life is something we hone in on like forest ants on a candy bar. We like the book of Philippians, but let me tell you, many evangelicals have a hard time with it, not because of any doctrinal issue, but because it is one of the most distrusted books in the Bible. This is not something most of us would admit publicly. Philippians is part of the Word of God. But so many do mistrust it because Paul tells us to rejoice without explaining how to get rid of our pain and our problems. Listen, are you willing to trust a friend or a counselor who merely tells you, in the light of all the problems you have in your life, smile and be happy? Smile, I said, and be happy. No, probably not. And the reason is because we're all practical people, and to our way of thinking, Joy can only come when our problems go away. We would be screaming inside, tell me how to get rid of all this heavy load that I'm carrying. For a lot of believers, that's what joy is. It's the absence of negative factors in your life. When things seem to be going our way, then we could have joy, so we think. The presence of adversity prevents all possibility of there ever being any joy whatsoever. But I need to say something very important right now. Before we launch into the study of this marvelous book, if that is your take on how joy works, this book is going to be the biggest nothing burger to you. More than that, it's going to frustrate you and you're going to find yourself among the ranks of those who mistrust Paul's epistle to the Philippians. Only when you come to the truthful discovery that joy is not the lack of any problems will you find the means to an everlasting effervescence. even in dark places. Now, we are not going to study this book with an eye for gaining tips on eliminating discomfort from our life. Instead, we're going to study it and pick up along the way how we can walk in complete joy, even if we have immense trouble surrounding us. Paul, as he wrote this letter, was riddled with many different kinds of problems and frustrations which he didn't even seem to deserve. Now remember, please, he was sitting in a Roman prison cell when he wrote this book of the Bible. He had many enemies on the outside who claimed to be Christian. who were trying to do him harm. I want you to take a look with me, please, at Philippians chapter one. We're gonna jump down to verses 15 through 18. These are some of the circumstances Paul was facing as he sat in his prison cell. Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from goodwill. The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. 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. Wow, not only was he in this dank, dark prison, cold and dependent on others, his friends bringing him food and visits and so forth, But he had these people that were out there, his rivals, trying to do him harm. You can almost picture what was going on as they were out there. We can proclaim the gospel, but something obviously is wrong with Paul, who got shut up in prison. Can you imagine? Well, for Paul, joy was more than a fleeting emotion. It was part of his ingrained character. How could that be? Let me give you three reasons why it could be ingrained in his character. It was because he was, number one, confident that God was at work. Number two, that God was in complete control. And number three, that God allowed all things to occur for an ultimate purpose, His ultimate glory. Paul understood that joy doesn't depend on our circumstances, on our possessions, or on other people. Hear me on this, hear me here. Joy is an attitude of the heart determined by confidence in God. Joy is an attitude of the heart determined on confidence in God. Paul knew that he had no control over the struggles and the strife of life. But by yielding to the Spirit's work in his soul, Paul's trust and hope in God could guide him like an inner compass, keeping him on joy's course, regardless of how strong the gale forces of the winds blew. We could be the same. I'd have you consider with me this very sentiment that is expressed in a poem by Ella Wheeler Cox. This poem is entitled, The Winds of Fate. It goes like this. One ship drives east and another drives west with the self-same winds that blow. Christ is the set of the sails and not the gales that tells them the way to go. It's the setting of our heart. Joy is an attitude of the heart determined by confidence in God. As I said earlier, Philippians is a book that reverberates Paul's joy on every page. But I have to tell you this, I got to be honest here. That's not the main theme of this letter from Paul. You know, many pastors, many Bible teachers and commentators I was looking at this week, over the years they've titled Philippians as the epistle of joy. Joy is prominent. 16 different times it flashes. But there are a few other themes which seem to be more immediate as to the reason why Paul wrote this letter to the church at Philippi. Here are just a few examples of how joy just sparkles and it effervesces throughout this letter. It is all throughout. Verse one, or verse four of chapter one, make my prayer with joy, making my prayer with joy. Chapter one, verse 18, Christ is proclaimed, and in that, I rejoice, yes, and I will rejoice. 125, your joy in the faith. 22, complete my joy. 2, 17 and 18, even if I am poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I'm glad and rejoice with you all. Likewise, you also should be glad and rejoice with me. 2, 28, that you may rejoice. 2, 29, so receive him in the Lord with all joy. 3, 1, finally my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. 4.4. Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I say rejoice. 4.10. I rejoice in the Lord greatly. So it's all over. We're not going to be able to ignore this important subject as we study this letter. But instead of titling this letter, as many have, the Epistle of Joy, I think it would be truer to Paul's purpose in writing it for me to title it, The Fellowship of the Gospel. It's sort of an epic fellowship, similar to J.R. Tolkien's classic work, The Fellowship of the Ring. Now, at the risk of trivializing Paul's letter here, Paul and the Philippian believers shared a fellowship that I cannot help but see a similarity with Tolkien's fictional characters as they set out, bonded together tremendously. It was a fellowship of compatriots bound together with a great cause of vital importance. They were on an adventurous quest together. and it had dire consequences. Now, let me tell you, you will not understand this letter if you don't understand that. It's also an important matter to understand that the church at Philippi, I believe, was Paul's favorite church. Hmm? You had a favorite church? Well, I see evidence. I'll be pointing it out all throughout. Paul treats these believers differently, and this letter is written far different than how he writes to any of the other churches. We're going to see exceptionally warm and friendly expressions all throughout. And some big differences that we stop, it stands out sometimes like a sore thumb. Wow, this is the only place where Paul does that. I wonder why. And we do a little investigating and it becomes clear. He had a different relationship with the Philippians than what he had. with the other churches. Now the evidence is going to be seen throughout the letter and I want to show you right now just one of those evidences. It's the way that Paul opens this letter. It's far different than how Paul opens every one of the other letters to the churches around the Roman Empire. Here is verse 1, chapter 1, verse 1. It says this, Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi with the overseers and deacons. You notice anything missing that is found in all of the other letters to the churches? Paul doesn't need to assert his authority. In all the other letters, except this one, Paul points to his high office. of being an apostle. Now, he's still going to exhort them to take certain actions, but he's going to do it with exceptionally warm and friendly expressions. And he begins this letter in a very unique way in how he opens it. I want to show you the typical way that Paul writes. Here's how he writes in all the other ones. Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle. 1 Corinthians 1.1, Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus. 2 Corinthians 1.1, Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God. Galatians 1.1, Paul, an apostle, not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised him from the dead. Ephesians 1.1, Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus, by the will of God. Colossians 1.1. Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus, by the will of God. Now I can go on. I can show you the other letters. You get the idea, though. I could have gone on to show you 1st and 2nd Thessalonians. Those were the same as these examples I just gave. But Paul doesn't do that with the Philippians. And one has to ask, why? Why is it different how he opens this letter? I believe it's because Paul had a very special closeness, a particular joy-filled relationship with them. We're gonna see it several times in this letter. 2 Corinthians chapter eight, There's another place where we can see that, but this morning when I was having some time in this epistle, I came across another one and I kind of scratched my head and I thought, I wonder why I didn't see this ahead of time and include this. I just want to read to you here. I don't have it on the screen here, but this will give you an idea. This is later on in chapter four of Philippians that speaks of the special relationship he had with them. In Philippians 4, verse 14 and 15, he writes, yet it was kind of you to share my trouble. And you Philippians yourselves know that in the beginning of the gospel when I left Macedonia, Macedonia is the territory where Philippi is, when I left Macedonia, no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving except You only. Even in Thessalonica, you sent me help for my needs once again. Wow. They were the only ones who were financially helping Paul. Now, I started to take you to 2 Corinthians 8, 1 through 5. I'll do that now. These are the reasons why I'm saying he had a very special, heartfelt relationship with these Philippians. Here's some more evidence of it. Now he's writing to the church at Corinth, explaining the special relationship he had with them. In 2 Corinthians 8, 1 through 5, and remember, Philippi is in Macedonia. So he calls them Macedonians here. He's talking about the Philippian church. 2 Corinthians 8, 1 through 5. I want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia. for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints. And this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us." Wow. They were helpful in giving to the missions that Paul was raising funds for. And they were faithful in giving to the support of Paul while he was in prison. So because of the fellowship of the gospel, the sense that Paul and the Philippian believers had a fellowship of like-minded compatriots who were bound together in a great cause, Paul had a heartfelt need to pass along a few bits of exciting news. A very heartfelt thank you and a heartfelt exhortation in light of a church struggle, well, a fight, really, between two women who had the whole church dividing and taking sides. These people that were very special to Paul, you can imagine how heartsick he was to know what was going on. Here's my brief summary of Paul's entire letter. as I imagine it in today's lingo of endearing expression. Here is just an overall summary in a single paragraph here of how I think his lingo might have sounded in today's vernacular. Thanks for the money gift and for sending Epaphroditus to deliver it. Let me assure you that he's doing much better now from the illness he suffered in coming here and taking care of me in this unhealthy environment. As you know, he almost died. Oh, by the way, I'm hoping to send Timothy to you with news about my imprisonment. The court has heard my case and the authorities are deliberating now if they will put me to death. I don't think they will. Wow, isn't it great how I've been able to make the gospel known in very high places because of my being on trial here? All of this, even though some folks are out on the streets trying to make a name for themselves as preachers, at my expense, while I am stuck in confinement. But hey, the gospel isn't confined. Even they are spreading it. Wow, praise the Lord. What a mighty God we serve. It's come to my attention that two ladies are fighting among yourselves. Please get them to humble themselves. Have them follow the example of Jesus. You know, he had it all in heaven as God, but he unbelievably let that go for a little while, humbled himself, and came to earth in order to save us. Y'all should be doing that. If you were, Judea and Syntyche would not be fighting. Treat others as more important than yourself. Ignore the do-gooders who keep trying to get you off track by saying you have to follow Jewish rules to get to heaven. Well, I gotta go now. Oh, by the way, rejoice. Did you hear me? I said rejoice. Ciao. 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 in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now instead of asserting his authority as an apostle by the will of God, Paul humbles himself and uses the title servant instead. The term that he used really is more of an abject slave rather than a servant. A servant, especially household servants in Roman days often held positions of respectability in their society. They served as accountants, stewards of the entire home. They ran all the household affairs, many of them did. They taught their masters children, but a slave did not have the esteem like that. Paul, having been very humble with this title, is exemplifying the very thing he is going to exhort the Philippians to do themselves. Humble themselves. The church at Philippi was experiencing division. They had neither unity nor joy. What was the solution? Humility. And Paul initiates this necessary admonition in this unique greeting that is very exceptionally warm and friendly by demonstrating this principle of humility himself. And how does Paul refer to the members of the church at Philippi? He refers to them as saints. Now the biblical word for saint is not what the typical man on the street today might think if somebody were to call you a saint. What he means by this in the biblical concept is consecration. This meaning is very evident from the Old Testament when we collect all of the biblical evidence together where the Bible speaks of sanctification of objects. In Exodus 40, Moses is instructed by God to sanctify, to consecrate the altar and the basin in the tabernacle. Okay, so clearly the term consecrate, saint, same word for saint, consecrated one. set apart, they're all the same word, does not refer to any intrinsic change in those stones or the basin, but only to the fact that they have been set apart for special use by God. That's what it means. Jesus prayed for the disciples in John 17 saying this, in John 17, 19, and for their sake I consecrate, there's that word for saint there, I consecrate myself that they also may be, their word again, sanctified in truth. Now this doesn't mean that Jesus made himself more holy. That would be impossible because he was already perfectly holy, he's God. But it does mean that he separated himself for a special task, the task of providing salvation for us by his death. Now in the same way, the Bible teaches that those who are Christians have been set apart for special use by God. These constitute a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God who should show forth the praises of him who has called them out of darkness into this wonderful light. I just quoted 1 Peter 2.9. If you're a Christian, God has set you apart. God has consecrated you. You are a saint. You're set apart. You and I are part of the fellowship of the gospel. Since that we are like-minded compatriots with each other, we are bound together in a huge cause. Paul gently says this in his greeting, Philippians, you are saints, set apart in the fellowship of the gospel. bound together in a great cause, which has been distracted right now by your division and infighting that's taken place. Paul doesn't just mention all believers, all the saints, he does something else that he doesn't do in any other letter to any of the other churches. Here in this very same verse, he specifically mentions church leaders by their titles. He doesn't do that in the others. He says, oh, and the overseers and the deacons. All the saints, the overseers, the deacons. This is the only place he does that. We don't know what the issue was that was dividing the church. Paul didn't reveal what Udea and Syntyche were fighting about, but the overseers and the deacons, I'm sure, were responsible for correcting the problem and implementing the solution that Paul would be giving through this letter. In the early church, only a few terms were used to describe what were essentially two levels of leadership. Overseers, or elders, and deacons, also known as ministers. When an apostle planted a local church, a team of overseers, elders, was appointed in it to serve as the shepherds, the preachers, the teachers, the general decision makers of the church, the leaders. The ministers, the deacons, were appointed to assist the leaders in the work of ministry, and we read how that all developed in Acts chapter six. Now, the Greek word episkopos refers to overseer, and throughout the New Testament, it's translated in different ways, either as elder or pastor or overseer. Elder, pastor, and overseer represented one calling with the same responsibility to shepherd the flock. And notice here that Paul distinguishes. A deacon is not an overseer. And an overseer is not a deacon. They're too different as he makes that distinction here. Here in Philippians chapter one, Paul distinguishes two separate offices of church overseers and deacons. Now, when I grew up, I grew up in a Baptist church and we only had deacons. I don't think Baptist churches in the 1950s, 1960s had different offices, elder and deacon. Deacons were the overseers. Now, even though here is a scripture that indicates that there is a difference, I really do need to say what really matters is that no matter what the leadership title is, elder, deacon, trustee, presbyter, bishop, the only thing that really matters is that they see themselves only as an under-shepherd to the chief shepherd, Jesus Christ. Their only job is to implement the will of Christ, not their own. Take another look at verse two with me here. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. First greeting that Paul has for the Christians at Philippi is grace. And he used it, I believe, with the full Christian meaning, God's grace. The unmerited favor of God toward humanity. And again, you know as well as I do that the common person out on the street has a different understanding of grace than we in the church do. What God's meaning is for this word We imagine that God, sometimes a person on the street anyway, will imagine that God has been gracious to us because of our piety. God is kind to us because of our good deeds, our repentance, our virtue. But God doesn't love us because of that. He's not gracious to us because of those things. Paul says that God demonstrates his own love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5.8. Christ died for people who were hideous in his sight because of sin. We are like that. And if we're ever to understand the grace of God, we must begin with the knowledge that God has acted graciously toward us in Christ, entirely apart from our efforts. Now, grace is not the only word. In Paul's greeting to the Philippians, his second word is peace. I think it's fun sometimes just to marvel through the New Testament at the significant moments in the life of Jesus where the promise of peace occurs. The promise of peace to men occurs first at the birth of Jesus through the angels. Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests, Luke 2.14. The angels taught that We would know peace through him. Jesus speaks of peace to the disciples just before his crucifixion. Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled. Do not be afraid. John 14, 27. And then finally, peace is the first word that Jesus speaks to the disciples after his resurrection. As they are assembled in the upper room, he said, peace be to you. John 20, verse 19. Peace with God. Think of it. We are not naturally at peace with God. We're at war with Him, either passively or actively. And being at war with God, we are also at war with each other and ourselves. That's why we experience so much misery and why there is so much unrest in the world. And it is exactly what the church at Philippi needed to understand. God gives peace, perfect peace. How he does it is in Christ. He will give us peace if we come to him in Jesus. Now, most of this that I've been saying here largely applies to the unbeliever, but it applies to the believer as well. We've got to apply it to our everyday lives as Christians. Christians trust God for their salvation and the penalty of sin, but we also must trust him for a daily victory over sin and for his constant provision for all our needs. That alone brings the peace that passes human understanding. That's most likely what these two women in Philippi were neglecting. They were not trusting God for His constant provision for all their needs. And when we don't, we're not at peace with each other. Paul writes a little bit later on in the epistle, do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God, and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4, verses six and seven. Do you know this peace of God? or are you filled with anxiety? If you are, you need to trust completely in what God has already done for your salvation and learn how to lay all your requests before him. If you'll do that, the peace of God will guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus. In Paul's greeting to the Philippian church, he uses two words, he uses grace and peace. Now the order of those two words is tremendously important. Before there can be any genuine peace, there must be personal response to God's grace. Grace always comes before peace. Paul writes, grace and peace to you, not peace and grace to you. In God's order of things, God's hand is always there in grace before there's any spiritual blessing. Grace has to come first. It was important for the Philippians to be reminded of this. It's also important for us. Listen. If you are lacking grace, you will lack peace. If you are lacking grace, you will be lacking peace. Some churches have a lot of fighting and little peace because they're short on grace. You know what? The same thing holds true for our homes Where grace is in control, there will be no fighting. Where there is peace, the fighting stops. Grace means war is impossible. Peace means the war is over. What have you noticed so far emerging from today's quick survey in the opening two verses of Philippians? It's been my hope that you've noticed Paul's constant appeal for humility to regain joy without distraction. As we carry on being part of the fellowship of the gospel, this critical journey that we are on together. Now one last word. God will allow you to be as wretched and miserable without any joy as you choose. But if you choose joy, it is found where the world refuses to look. It is found in humility. It is not what we have, but what we use. Not what we see, but what we choose. These are the things that mar, or bless, the sum of human happiness. Not what seems fair, but what is true. Not what we dream, but the good we do. These are the things that make or break, that give the heart its joy or ache. Not as we take, but as we give, thoroughly humble as we live. The key is our heart, not the deeds we employ, for humbleness and spirit is God's way to joy. Would you pray with me, please?