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Joy in the Journey - Philippians Series
95 Plays2 years ago
In today's sermon, we will dive deep into the letter of Paul to the Philippians, a church formed by individuals from diverse backgrounds and socioeconomic classes. We will uncover the powerful message Paul had for the church at Philippi, filled with love and affection, as he never forgot his time with them. Our hope is that we too never forget the moments we spend together as a congregation and that we engage in meaningful conversations about our experiences in this church. Join us as we discover how the church is meant to be a place of joy, transformation, and the sharing of the gospel. We will explore the importance of unity and Christlikeness, acknowledging that no church is perfect, but our goal is to continually seek what God desires for us and actively engage in the work of the kingdom.
Timestamps:
00:01:49 Discovering word's meaning makes incredible sense. Philippians: context, purpose, and background important.
00:04:54 All followers of Christ are saints.
00:07:43 Paul encourages us to find joy amidst fear. In Philippi, he leads Lydia to Christ and confronts a demon-possessed girl and her handlers.
00:13:05 Discovering purpose, building ministry, and inviting leaders.
00:16:28 Jesus' story of love and pursuit. Church's potential for greatness and impact.
00:19:31 Church seeks God's vision for lasting impact.
00:22:30 Embrace differences, love, tolerate, and stay family.
00:25:54 Limited personal connection, love remains strong. Time constraints due to personal responsibilities.
00:28:10 Deep military and team bonds through missions.
00:31:46 Get your mind back on mission, be focused.
00:36:24 Build army effective, impactful, devoted to God.
00:38:13 Are we called? Yes, we are.
00:42:02 Holy Spirit unites; resist Satan's divisive tactics.
00:45:21 Children dying, young adults unaware, hunger persists.
00:46:52 Prayer for guidance, humility, and obedience.
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Transcript
Introduction and Importance of Bible Study
00:00:00
Speaker
If you've got your Bibles, flip open to Philippians. We're going to be beginning a new series today. If you've been around here any length of time, you know a couple of things. Number one, we like the Bible around here. Okay, that was an important statement. I got three amens, but we do like the Bible around here because listen, in this day and age, you can't always assume that churches like the Bible because some of them are trying their best to work around it.
00:00:31
Speaker
We worked through it, or we let it work through us.
00:00:35
Speaker
We're in Philippians. The second thing you'll know is that every time we begin a new series, I say, this is one of my favorite books. This is one of my favorite books. It really is. And I love it because of the message that undergirds every bit of it. One of the important things I encourage you to do, because my job is not just to teach you the Bible, it's to teach you how to understand the Bible so you can learn it for yourself, study it for yourself. One of the things I want to encourage you to do is to dig into the Word.
00:01:04
Speaker
The more you find yourself in the word, the more your life is going to be changed by the word. And the more you're going to become like the God of the word, you're going to become more like his character.
Historical Context of Philippians
00:01:15
Speaker
And what do I mean by being in the word? I'm not talking about a three or four minute devotional passage. I'm not talking about listening to a podcast, writing down the road. There's an entirely big difference between your reading the word versus your studying the word.
00:01:29
Speaker
And studying the Word pulls back layers in ways that you don't get just by a casual observance of the Word here and there. So I encourage you, dig in. If you don't know what that looks like, talk to one of our staff, one of our deacons. Anybody in the church that has a leadership position should be able to help guide you a little bit in how to take those next steps in really getting into the Word.
00:01:48
Speaker
One of the things I discover about the word, and I'm gonna spend too much time talking about this, but one of the things I discovered about the word is the more I dug in and peeled back the layers, the more it made such incredible sense for my life.
00:02:01
Speaker
and I began to apply those places in my life. So we're in Philippians. Let's talk a little bit about this because one of the things we know when we study any part of the Bible is we have to take it in its context. We need to understand where it's being written, why it's being written, who it's being written to, what's the purpose of the book or the letter in this case, and those are all very, very important for us as we understand it. So the book of Philippians,
00:02:23
Speaker
The story about what happened in Philippi, the town of Philippi, is in Acts chapter 16. So you might want to write that down, go back and read it. In Acts chapter 16, Paul and Silas are on missionary journey. They're going around, they're establishing churches all over this part of Asia. They have a desire to go to one location, but the Holy Spirit intercedes and says to Paul, no, you're not going there. We need you to go to Macedonia.
00:02:49
Speaker
Well, Macedonia is present-day Greece, okay? And in Greece, in Macedonia, was the city known as Philippi. When Paul and Silas arrived there, one of the things that Paul probably had to be asking himself is why this town and why now? Because Philippi was kind of, it was actually referenced in that day and age as Little Rome. It was very much a reflection of the Roman culture, the Roman people,
00:03:15
Speaker
That was partially because many of the soldiers and public officials of Rome when they retired were given plots of land in Philippi. So many of them retired there. They brought the culture there. It was such a secular culture. There really weren't very many Jews even there. In fact, it was such a small Jewish population. They didn't even have a synagogue in the town. Couldn't have enough people to make up a synagogue.
00:03:37
Speaker
So Paul arrives and we're going to look at the story. We're going to pull apart the story just a little bit. He arrived there at the urging of the Holy Spirit with this question of why here, why now? All right. Philippians. Oh,
Paul's Imprisonment and Message of Joy
00:03:51
Speaker
sorry. I forgot to say the rest of the story. And so where Paul's writing this story is actually in prison.
00:03:56
Speaker
This is what makes this story so remarkable. He is writing from a prison in Rome 11 years later after he's planted the church and gone on some other journeys. He's thrown into prison. He's writing this letter and he's encouraging the church at Philippi and all the way through this letter is encouragement towards joy from a Roman prison. Pretty interesting.
00:04:19
Speaker
And what Paul's trying to remind them and what he's trying to remind us 2000 years later is joy is not determined by our circumstances. Joy is determined by the foundation we have in the unchangeable character of the living God. So Philippians chapter 1 beginning in verse 1. We got a lot to cover this morning. I hope you're ready to listen attentively and intentionally. Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, including the overseers and deacons. I want to make a quick note here.
00:04:48
Speaker
Paul, right here, notes for us the three different offices of the church. There are elders, there are deacons, and then everybody else who is a follower of Christ is called a saint. Did you know you are a saint today? Now, some of you are going, but that's not what my husband says. That's not what my wife tells me when they're wrong, because if you're a follower of Jesus Christ, you are a saint. And what this also says is that if you are a follower of Jesus Christ, you're not exempt from anything that's about to be said here this morning.
00:05:18
Speaker
OK, so do not let Satan come to you in the next few minutes and begin to talk to you and go, oh, yeah, that applies to everybody else. Now, none of us actually say that, but we have a tendency to kind of let that sleep seep into our thinking. And it causes us to believe that everybody else should be listening to this. But my situation is different. Paul is sitting in a prison in Rome, writing about joy. And he says, you hang on to your joy.
00:05:47
Speaker
Verse two. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I give thanks to my God for every remembrance of you. Always praying with joy for all of you in my every prayer because of your partnership in the Gospel from the first day until now. I am sure of this, that he who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Indeed, it is right for me to think this way about all of you because I have you in my heart.
00:06:17
Speaker
and you are all partners with me in grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. For God is my witness, how deeply I miss all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. And I pray this, that your love will keep on growing in knowledge and every kind of discernment.
00:06:36
Speaker
so that you may approve the things that are superior and may be pure and blameless in the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God. Grove Hill is on a journey, and much like the mission of Paul, the work of Paul, we are somewhere between point A and point B.
00:06:59
Speaker
Philippians is a timely book for us right now because just as Paul is sitting in prison going, hey, I don't know what's next for me. I don't know if I'm going to be put to death. I don't know if I'm going to stay in chains. I don't know if I'm going to be released to continue the work that's going on. I don't know what's next, but I do know that regardless of what's next, I can have joy in that season.
00:07:18
Speaker
So my encouragement to you is we don't know what's next. We're on a journey just like Paul was, but as a church we can, we must, we should have joy because joy is one of the most attractive things to the world that the gospel of Christ offers.
Relating Philippians to Modern Church Challenges
00:07:33
Speaker
And the world right now needs a little joy.
00:07:36
Speaker
It's a little anxious. It's a little fearful. It's a little full of anxiety about all the things that are going on around us. Everything in the news tells us to be afraid, discouraged, to be down, to be depressed, and Paul would scream across the ages to us and say, hang on to joy. It is worth fighting for. So let's talk a little bit about the story of what happened here.
00:08:00
Speaker
goes into Philippi with Silas and he finds a lady by the name of Lydia who is a very wealthy businesswoman. She's actually at the river with a bunch of women having a prayer time together. And he goes down and he has the opportunity to share the real gospel of Jesus Christ because at this point she did not know who the gospel was based on and she leads Lydia to Christ Jesus.
00:08:20
Speaker
Shortly after that, he runs into a slave girl who is demon-possessed. And this demon-possessed girl has the ability to predict the future. And because of that, she has a couple of men who are kind of like her handlers. They're making all the money off of her as she's predicting the future for these people. Well, she comes along behind Paul and Silas, and she begins to harass them. So Paul does what every man wishes he could do to any woman who harasses them. He silences her. All right? That was a joke.
00:08:50
Speaker
Getting a few glares from some women at this point. But what really happens is he casts out this demon that gives her these abilities. But here's the beautiful thing that we see here in this moment. This is the first church established on the life of Jesus Christ in the continent of Europe. And the first two followers of Christ are a wealthy businesswoman and a slave girl with no background to speak of. And this is a reminder to you and I today that the gospel can save anybody.
00:09:20
Speaker
There is no one beyond the reach of the gospel. There is no one beyond the hope of Jesus Christ. There's no one who does not need the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ. Now, we've all had those moments where we were kind of like Paul. The door gets shut in our face because we think, wait, I know this is where God wants me to go. I know this is where God wants me to be. And God says no. And so we're caught in that moment going, OK, why are we here, God?
00:09:46
Speaker
I was thinking about that as I was preparing the sermon because six years ago, Lisa and I were at that place. We have been commissioned by the church at Station Hill to go and plant the church. We were confident that College Grove was the place. It's a fast-growing town. We knew that's where we wanted to be. We even started having Bible studies up there to begin the church. And we came back and sat down and had conversations about, okay, what's our strategy here? Who are we going to reach? And suddenly God said, no.
00:10:12
Speaker
And I was like, OK, wait a minute, God, this honors you. This is a need. There's got to be an opportunity there. And slowly, God opened our eyes to a little town known as Chapel Hill. Now, so here's the funny thing about this. This is the full extent of knowledge that I had of Chapel Hill. I had once with some friends spent the night camping at Henry Horton State Park and had eaten at the country diner. That was it. OK.
00:10:40
Speaker
So when the opportunity, the divine opportunity that came along where Barbara and I ran into each other up in Franklin one day and she said, how would you feel about planning a church in Chapel Hill? I went, hmm, let's talk about it. And I was scared to death that first night when I came down here to talk to the deacons, not because of the condition of the building or even Chapel Hill. Those six demons came out of that door right there looking like zombies ready to devour me.
00:11:06
Speaker
And I was like, what in the world is this all about? And I had the most incredible conversation by the time the night was over with. It was obvious that God was up to something because I had six brothers in just a matter of moment that were ready to work together. And so Lisa and I are asking this question, what in the world is going to happen? Why here? Why a skating rink? Why this little town? What we didn't know, what God did know was that he was placing us in the middle of one of the fastest growing belts of Tennessee.
00:11:33
Speaker
Did you know that over the next 10 years, it's predicted that the belt of town from Columbia over in the West, swinging around through Chapel Hill, Unionville, Eagleville to Murfreesboro is supposed to grow by 50,000 people? 50,000 people. Now stop. You're doing what you're not supposed to do. You're doing what you're not supposed to do because you're saying we don't want to grow like that. It's going to happen.
00:11:59
Speaker
And as I told them when we first came here, that first night with those Deacons, here's the thing. There's a wave of growth coming. You can choose to swim against the current or you can build a better surfboard and learn how to ride it. And we chose to build the surfboard because guess what?
Church Growth and Spiritual Role
00:12:16
Speaker
God's literally bringing. Oh, yeah. We've got this opportunity because God is bringing the nations to us right here.
00:12:26
Speaker
I mean look around you, there are people from California, from Minnesota, from New Jersey, from Michigan. There are people from other places in the world that are moving to this part of Middle Tennessee. There are some of you, I've heard your stories, you go, I was just driving through Middle Tennessee and came across Chapel Hill and I went, I've never heard of this place, it's cute, right? Some of you could stand up and give that testimony right now and you said, okay, I'm gonna stop, I'm gonna settle here. I don't know why, can I just tell you why? Because God is up to something.
00:12:55
Speaker
I've had people at the state offices of the Tennessee Baptist Convention go, why is God bringing people to your little skating rink? And I said, I don't know, but that's the fun part of the journey. We're asking those questions. I wish I had the time to sit here today and tell you over the last three weeks alone, the conversations I've had with people who are part of this congregation who are going, I didn't know. I didn't know what God was up to when he brought me here, but now I know because I have a passion for this and I want to build this ministry at this church.
00:13:25
Speaker
I know that God had something in mind because He put me here and all of a sudden now the opportunities are coming for me to serve and I want to be a leader for this church and I want to serve this church and I want to be a part of what God is doing. And God is bringing leaders to this church right now in a way He never has before. In fact, in January, I announced this last Sunday night, in January, I'm challenging some of you men to be praying about this because we're going to start a leadership academy for young men in our church.
00:13:52
Speaker
Why? Because the Church of Jesus Christ is going to need new leaders. Always. And if God forbid I fall off this stage tomorrow dead, there better be somebody to step up and take the mantle and run this place. Because this church is not about me, and guess what? It's not about you. It's about the glory of the God we serve. And as long as there is a God, which by the way, for those of you who don't know, it's forever. As long as there is a God to worship, there will be something for us to do to serve Him.
00:14:20
Speaker
And we've got to be ready to do it. I'm sorry. I'm taking way too long on that part. But here we go. So Paul goes along. He casts out the demon. The woman is saved by the power of the gospel. And that makes her handlers really mad because suddenly they've lost their source of income. So they have Paul and Silas thrown into prison. And what right away happens is that Paul and Silas break into a worship experience.
00:14:43
Speaker
They start singing and praising and praying out loud. The ground begins to shake, the chains fall off, the jail cell opens up, and the prison guard, because he's Roman, knows, oh no, these guys have escaped, and I'm going to have to be put to death, because that's what Roman soldiers have done to them when they let prisoners go. And just as he's about to kill himself to save the Roman emperor of the trouble, Paul screams at him and says, whoa, whoa, whoa, buddy, we're still all here singing and praising God. Why don't you come join us?
00:15:12
Speaker
And the guard goes and he looks at him and he says, this is an amazing thing. I want to know what you have.
00:15:18
Speaker
and the Bible says that Paul shared the gospel with him and he accepted Christ and his entire household was saved with him. We've seen that here in this church. We've seen some young men come to Jesus Christ and next thing you know we're baptizing their wives and their children along with them. That is an incredible story and that's what happens. So the church at Philippi is born with a wealthy businesswoman, a slave girl that has no background to speak of, and a Philippian jailer.
00:15:46
Speaker
What a beautiful image of the church. Various backgrounds, various socioeconomic classes. It was an amazing experience, and Paul never really got over it. So much so that 11 years later he wants to write these people and tell them how much he loves them, how much he misses them, and how deep his affection was. And can I just tell you, just like Paul did not get over that experience, I hope I never get over the last six years with you guys.
00:16:19
Speaker
What a journey it's been. For those of you who knew this congregation, take somebody around you to lunch and say, tell me what's been going on at your church. Let him brag on Jesus for a little while. Let him tell you the story of a God who cares so deeply that he pursues you to the ends of the earth. Let him tell you about a word that's so rich for our lives that it changes who we are inside and out and gives us an outlook that we never had before, a perspective we never could have possibly had on our own.
00:16:48
Speaker
No matter what happens next at Grove Hill Church, we cannot deny that God has filled us with joy. He has filled us with great things and great opportunities. Can I tell you there's nothing quite like the church when the church is being the church and doing what the church is supposed to do. God has given us a front row seat to some amazing things. And I don't think he's really gotten started.
00:17:17
Speaker
I feel like there's much more to do. I want to continue to see lives changed. I want to continue to see marriages healed. I want to continue to see addictions broken. I want to continue to see people being sent out to share the gospel. I want to continue to hear about life change because that's what this is all about.
00:17:37
Speaker
Paul takes the time to write them. He says, I want to thank you. I want to thank you for everything you've done. I want to tell you how much I love you. I want to tell you how deep my affection for you is. And I just want you to hear this in this part right now. Quit writing. Quit doing whatever you're doing. Stop looking at your phone. Quit looking at your spouse and look at me. I love you guys. I love you with all my heart. I am so incredibly blessed to be in this place.
True Peace and Joy in Christ
00:18:04
Speaker
Take my wife to coffee.
00:18:06
Speaker
because she drinks it, I don't. And ask her, how's your husband? And she will tell you, he is living in his sweet spot. This is where I want to spend my life because you guys get it. But I'm warning you, the day you stop getting it, I'm going somewhere else. Oh, you'll break my leg? Wow! Okay, I love most of you a lot.
00:18:38
Speaker
I don't know how to recover from that. Listen, he continues to exhort them towards Christ's likeness. That's what he's talking about when he says, I believe that God's going to continue this on to your completion. Every one of us who follow after Jesus Christ are on a journey that we call sanctification. It's this process where we're becoming more and more like Jesus. You're not there yet. I'm not there yet. We won't be there until the day Christ comes.
00:19:01
Speaker
But we're on a journey together, so we need to be together in community, encouraging each other, exhorting each other, cheering for each other. That's what this is all about. He continues to warn them about false teachers. He challenges them about things that they are facing and that they will face. And he reminds them of something I want you to hear from me today. No church is perfect. No church is perfect. If you find a perfect church, don't go because it'll stop being perfect the day you get there. Okay? That's the reality.
00:19:31
Speaker
Our church is not perfect, but it's healthy. But I want it to get healthier and healthier and healthier. I want it to continue to seek what God desires for us. I want us to continue to pursue the vision He has given us. I want us to continue to do the work of the kingdom because that's the only work that will ever last and the only work that will ever matter.
00:19:52
Speaker
Paul wanted them to know that no matter the circumstances that they went through, that true joy and unity is found in Christ Jesus alone. That's the only way you'll ever find real peace in your lives. This is the theme verse of Philippians. For me to live as Christ and to die is gain. And if you're reading along through this book with us as we're doing this series, I encourage you to commit that verse to memory.
00:20:16
Speaker
for me to live as Christ and to die as gain. You see, when you get that perspective in your life, what you understand is that everything on this planet does not matter. It doesn't matter if you have a job tomorrow and you're going, oh, tell the bill collectors that. But it doesn't. It doesn't matter tomorrow.
00:20:34
Speaker
what house you live in. It doesn't matter what car you drive. It doesn't matter how many promotions or demotions you've gotten in your life. It doesn't matter if you won the national championship. It doesn't matter if you won the World Series. It doesn't even matter if you won the state championship in high school. What matters is your relationship with Jesus Christ. Because it's the only thing that's eternal. It's the only thing that's eternal. And I just gotta say this to you. Many of you here today have no joy in your life because you're pursuing all the things that don't matter.
00:21:03
Speaker
You are pursuing all the things that don't matter. You're going, well, no, Jesus is a priority in my life. Oh, is he really? Tell me about how he's a priority in your life as you pursue everything else that God puts on you or that the world puts on your schedule. The world's going to continue to show you all kinds of things that are attractive. Madison Avenue spends billions of dollars a year telling you what you need to make you happy, to make you fulfilled, to make you at peace. And none of it works. None of it.
00:21:32
Speaker
So if you're looking for joy, don't look any further than Jesus Christ. Don't look any further than a relationship with him. So Paul begins to talk to them in this letter, these first 11 verses about three ways that the church at Philippi had brought him joy. The first one in verse two is this, joy and grace and peace. Grace and peace. You see, some people encourage you along the journey. Some of them are a challenge to you along the journey.
00:22:00
Speaker
The latter ones are called EGRs, extra grace required. Right? Let's be honest, if we really are a family, which the Bible says we are, are we going to get on each other's nerves? I'm not naive. I know there are days you go home and go, that pastor is driving me crazy. That pastor cannot preach a sermon under 35 minutes.
00:22:22
Speaker
That pastor tells too many stories. That pastor doesn't tell enough stories. That pastor thinks he's funny and he's not. That pastor is this. That pastor is that. And you all have these desires, these preferences, these biases. And guess what? I'm not changing a doggone thing for you. Because that's not who I was created to be. And you know what I'm gonna do? I'm gonna love you just like you are. And I'm gonna put up with you just like you've got to put up with me.
00:22:51
Speaker
Now, here's the challenge. As we grow more and more like a family, we're going to get on each other's nerves more and more and more. Right? You put people in a house together, do they get on each other's nerves sometimes? Why can't you pick up your underwear? You're a 45-year-old man. Right? Those moments happen. But do you stop being family? No. No. Family's all about saying, you know what? I get it. You're a goofball. I love you anyway.
00:23:20
Speaker
I get it. You don't do everything the way I do. It's okay. We are family because we are involved around the things that really, really matter. We focus on the things that really, really matter. Philippi was no different than us. But Paul says to them, I am thankful for every single thing we have experienced together. Look at verse three. He says, I give thanks to my God upon every remembrance of you, every remembrance, the highs and the lows.
00:23:50
Speaker
Why? Because the Lowe's serve their purpose. The Lowe's remind us that we need to get to the end of ourselves and come to the beginning of God and depend on Him fully for what we are about to do. We can't do this church thing without Him. If we don't have God in our midst, if we're not pursuing God's will, if we are not totally sold out to serving Him, you know what we are? We're a social club. We're a social club.
00:24:15
Speaker
But that's not who we are. It's not what we've been created to be. It's not what we've done these first six years. And my prayer is that it never ever becomes our focus, that we are always about serving the living Lord. Even in the lows, Paul says, I pray for you with joy. Can I ask you a question? Can you honestly testify to that this morning in your life? Think about the one person in this church who annoys you the most.
00:24:44
Speaker
Y'all are like shocked. You're going like he really wants me to go there. Yeah, I want you to go there Maybe somebody in your D group your life group somebody sitting next to you Maybe somebody on the stage dressed in a brand new Grove Hill shirt. I don't know You pick your person and I want to ask you this question legitimately before God. Do you pray for them with joy? Because guess what happens When you begin to pray for the annoying person in your life with joy, you can't be annoyed with them anymore
00:25:13
Speaker
God starts to change your heart to say, you know what? That's not a big deal. It's just not. They're a brother in Christ. They're a sister in Christ. There are many more things about them that I love, many more things about them that are important. I'm just not going to waste my time.
00:25:32
Speaker
I'm going to tell you something right here, and I'm going to speak for my wife if I'm not telling the truth. Cut me off. Give me the signal. We love you very deeply, and as this church grows, the biggest heartache that the two of us have is that we can't spend time with every single one of you the way we'd love to.
00:25:49
Speaker
I mean, there's some of you we love, well, not some of you, all of you we love dearly. But some of you we know on a deeper level just because maybe we've been in a life group together or maybe we've served in a ministry together. Unfortunately, some of you I only know by face because I get to hug your neck in the hallway, coming down the hallway. But it doesn't mean I love you any less. And in those seasons where you're going, well, why doesn't the pastor come see me all the time? I would love to, but there's 600 of you.
00:26:17
Speaker
And at some point I have to take care of a dog, three cats and a chicken. Oh wait, a bunch of chickens. And I also have a wife that I need to love on and I have four kids that I have to take care of and five grandkids that I want to see and I have things I want to do. There's not enough time or enough of me to go around and that's why we need each other. And that's why this church isn't built around me or Lisa because we're not the focus of this church. The focus of this church is the glory of God.
00:26:46
Speaker
and exalting Him. And that's why Paul says, I love this, that we're together, we're on this. This counters the entire thinking that the world has given us. The world tells us you need this or that or whatever to be happy. And Paul in chapter 3, we'll get there eventually, but Paul says this, I've tried every bit of it. He even goes so far just to list his resume. Here's the things I've done. Here's the things I've been a part of. And you know what he says about every bit of it? He says it's dung. It's manure. It's rubbish.
00:27:16
Speaker
It's the stuff you take out and throw on the burn pile out back. That's what Paul thinks of all the things that the world has to offer. Can I just tell you that when you get to that place, what you will find is join unspeakable and full of glory.
Unity and Mission of the Church
00:27:32
Speaker
And that's what God desires for us. Secondly, he says there's join the partnership, join the partnership. Verse five, he says, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now,
00:27:46
Speaker
They have been together in this journey. In fact, he uses the Greek word here, koinonia, which means fellowship. Now for most Baptists, when you say fellowship, they think chicken and casseroles. But this goes way deeper than that. This is intimacy. This is deep bonds together. The only way you get those kinds of bonds, the only way you create those kinds of relationships is around a common mission. Ask any one of the men or women in this church who served in the military.
00:28:14
Speaker
The deepest relationships, the fraternity of brotherhood comes because they serve on a mission together. And even 30 years later, they'll call those guys their best friends, people that they would die for. Ask any athlete who's played on a legitimate team and they'll tell you, because we worked together around the mission of trying to win games and win a championship, we developed a relationship that you can't develop in other ways because there's a common mission. How many of you have ever been on a mission journey?
00:28:43
Speaker
Okay? You can testify to this experience. You go away on a mission journey to Belize or South America or East Tennessee and you go with people that you've sat next to in church for years and you don't even know their name. And you come back from the mission journey and suddenly your best buddy is exchanging phone numbers and pictures, right? Why? Because the mission brought you together. And guys, the more we keep the mission before us, the more we keep this vision before us of what God desires for us, the more united we become and the more focused we become.
00:29:14
Speaker
Paul is grateful for this partnership so much so that he uses the words joy and joyful 16 different times and he uses the word attitude 10 times and he's saying check yourself. Check yourself. Paul's not saying be joyful just for the sake of joyfulness. He's saying be joyful for the sake of the gospel because that's what you're called to. That's what you're called to do.
00:29:37
Speaker
Now, if you take notes in your Bible, go to verse 6, underline it, highlight it. It's really important here. He says, I am sure of this, that he who started a good working you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Did you know that the church was not man's idea? It was God's. It was God that inaugurated this work. It's God that called us this work. Some of you may go out in town and say, hey, I would love to invite you to Pastor Ridley's church. This isn't Pastor Ridley's church.
00:30:05
Speaker
And I know what you mean when you say this, but you say to your friends, I'd like for you to come to my church. It's not your church either. It's God's church. And the day it stops being God's church is the day that it begins to fall apart because we're not built around the right mission. One of my great joys has been watching God build this church from scratch.
00:30:27
Speaker
It's God's and until Jesus returns, I pray that we are going about the business of glorifying God and making and sending disciples. This is why it's essential that every single one of you understand what it means to live sent. To live sent. You see, some of you are sitting there thinking, well, wait a minute, isn't that what we pay the staff for? We pay the staff to do this work and the day you start to believe that is the day you become a consumer.
00:30:56
Speaker
You become a consumer. That's not biblical. When you look at Ridley and say, he's the one that's supposed to tell us what the Bible says, no. No, I'm supposed to teach you about the Bible, and I'm supposed to teach you how to find the Bible and how to study the Bible, but you're supposed to go to the Bible yourself. When you start looking at Kyle and saying, Kyle's going to raise my teenagers for me, that's not Kyle's job. It's your job to raise your kids.
00:31:20
Speaker
It's not how the New Testament tells us to do the work of the church. I've been in the church for 38 years in the profession of the ministry. And one of the things I see all the time is people who complain about the temperature and people complain about the tempo of the songs and people complain about the color of the paint or the lack of paint. People complain about the chairs. They'll complain about everything. And one thing I have discovered is that the reason people do that is because they have nothing else worthwhile to put their energy towards. Why? Because they've gotten their mind off the mission.
00:31:51
Speaker
So can I just tell you, if you get your mind off the mission, get it back where it needs to be. Don't become a divisive factor in this congregation because you distract us from the purpose why we exist.
00:32:03
Speaker
The Bible says very clearly, and if you're not sure about this, come sit with me and I will point it out to you where it says this. The Bible says it's not my job to do the work for you. My job as your pastor is to shepherd the flock, to lead you towards Christlikeness, to pray for you, to communicate God's word to you, to bring you what nourishes you and equips you for service so that the body is built up for the work of the kingdom. You are not a consumer, you're a participant.
00:32:30
Speaker
You're not a consumer, you are a participant. And if you're not serving, you're being disobedient. Not a lot of Amen's there. Let me say that to you again. You're not a consumer, you're a participant. And I want you to understand that because if you've been in this church six weeks and you're a member of this congregation and you haven't decided yet where you're supposed to serve, it's time for you to start asking that question. Why? Think about an army. Because the Bible says we're an army of God, right?
00:33:01
Speaker
We are an army of God and we're here to carry out his mission. How many armies you know have a cheering section? Not a one. How many armies you know have a booster club? How many armies you know have armchair quarterbacks? No. Why? Because every single position in the army matters.
00:33:23
Speaker
Some are feeding the army. Some are clothing the army. Some are doing directions for the army. This is how we're going to get you there logistically. Some of them are commanding the army. Some are carrying the guns for the army. Some are flying the planes for the army. Some of them are predicting the weather for the army. They're all doing their job. Why? Because an army that has people who are sitting around doing nothing is no army at all. It's a fan club. And Jesus doesn't need fans. Jesus does not need fans. He needs followers.
00:33:55
Speaker
So my job is to equip you. Even Paul himself said, I'm a co-labor. I'm a co-worker in this. I'm not your job doer. I'm not the one who's going to carry this out. My job as your pastor is not to entertain you. Do not come to me on Sunday afternoon and rate my sermon on a scale of four to five stars and tell me how much my sermon is. Do not tell me that was a good sermon because I don't need good sermons. I need sermons that are obeyed.
00:34:20
Speaker
Not because they're my commands, but because directions from the Spirit of God leading us through into scripture are telling us how to live life. If I stop preaching the scripture, fire me and go find somebody who will. But as long as I am preaching the scripture, quit telling me how good the sermon is and go do it. Go do it. Quit questioning the why or the how, because if God spoke it and says, thus sayeth the Lord, then there shouldn't be any question. Remember, we've talked about this here before, the Hebrew word Shema,
00:34:48
Speaker
means obey and listen because the Hebrew people always assumed that when you listened, you obeyed. That was the next logical step. There was no debate, there was no compromise, there was no negotiation. You just did what the Lord taught you to do. Your responsibility is to give back what God has given to you. Serve, give, pray, go. We all must do our part
00:35:17
Speaker
And I take great comfort in believing that God will be the one who completes this great work in you. All right, gotta move a little faster. Join affection, verses eight and nine he says, for God is my witness how deeply I miss all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. And I pray this, that your love will keep on growing in knowledge and every kind of discernment. This is not a superficial motion that Paul is talking about. There's something that happens between a shepherd and his flock.
00:35:43
Speaker
And I got to tell you that I love you guys with the same kind of affection that Paul describes. And my desire is that you will never, ever, ever stop growing. And he's specific, and this is the prayer I pray for you, he's specific about what he wants them to grow in, the knowledge and the discernment of God. I want you to get so smart about the Bible that when somebody punches you in the gut, it spills out of you.
00:36:09
Speaker
I want you to know the Bible backwards and forwards so when somebody comes up to you and says, hey, I don't understand your faith, you don't go, but you look at them and say, hey, let me take you to coffee. I'll be glad to tell you from beginning to end, from Genesis to Revelation, why this matters to you.
00:36:25
Speaker
I want to build an army that's so proficient, so effective, so incredibly zoned in on what God wants for them that people around this town are talking about. Oh my word, have you heard what's going on at Grovefield Church? Have you heard what God is doing in that body? Have you felt what they're trying to do in this community? Has your life been impacted by them yet? If not, hold on, they'll be here soon.
00:36:51
Speaker
What Paul is really trying to say to them is, please don't settle for anything less than Jesus. Please don't settle for anything less than Jesus, because nothing else will satisfy you.
00:37:03
Speaker
So very quickly, let me share this with you. These are five challenges we're gonna come across in Philippians, and these five challenges are things that I think we face as a church, and this is your marching orders for the day. This is where I think God has led us this morning, and I think if we take these things seriously, we will ramp up and become an even greater church than we are right now. I do not believe that God has even remotely finished with us. I believe the very best is yet to come with all my heart. Number one, living sin is costly, but Jesus is worth it.
00:37:33
Speaker
Leaving sin is costly, but Jesus is worth it. It's going to cost us to release some of our people to go start churches. I told you I love all of you dearly, but it's time for some of you to get out of here. It is. It's time for some of you to go. Some of you are instantly panicking going, wait a minute, who's going to teach that class? Who's going to be that deacon? Who's going to lead that ministry? That's not your concern. It's God's.
00:37:59
Speaker
If God calls me out to go somewhere, guess what? He's got somebody else in store to come in my place. And if I don't move, I'm standing in the way of somebody else's obedience. Oh, by the way, I'm being disobedient myself. So some of you today don't need to come up here and get at this altar and pray. Some of you need to go home, gather your family around the coffee table and say, it's time for us to pray. Are we the family that's supposed to be going?
00:38:23
Speaker
Are we the family that's supposed to go to Lewisburg and help start a new church? Are we the family that's supposed to go to Eagleville and start a new church? Are we the family that's supposed to move to Brazil and start a new church? Are we the family that's supposed to move to Chicago and start an inner city ministry? Are we the family that's supposed to go out to the West Coast and try to do something there to bring those people back from the edge? Are we those people? My prayer, almost on a daily basis, is, God, yes, we're those people.
00:38:54
Speaker
Yes, we are. Yes, we are. Because if you're a follower of Jesus Christ, he's calling you to something. It's not a matter of what. I mean, if, excuse me, it is a matter of what. It's not a matter of should I be that person. It's a matter of where you are supposed to go. For some of you, that's going to be means stepping up, becoming a deacon in this congregation, becoming an elder in this congregation, being a teacher in this congregation, starting a ministry in this congregation.
00:39:21
Speaker
For some of you, it's going to mean literally walking out of these doors saying goodbye to people you love very dearly and saying, you know what? If nobody had ever gone out of the city of Jerusalem, there would not be a Grove Hill church today. But 2000 years ago, some guys said, you know what? This matters too much and I will go and I will face death to make sure that the seeds of the gospel are planted and praise God because of them. You and I have the opportunity to know Jesus. Now it's our turn.
00:39:48
Speaker
I love what we have going on here, but our God is ascending God. Unless you forget that, remember John 3 16. For God so loved the world he gave. And not only did he give, he gave his very best for us. He didn't hold anything back. So in recent weeks of people have asked me conversations. We've been talking about church multiplication. People are going, do you want to send out some of our best people? Well, absolutely. I don't want to send our junk people down there.
00:40:17
Speaker
No, I want to send our best. I want to send our brightest. I want to send our hardest workers. Why? Because I want the church to succeed, not Grove Hill Church, the Church of Jesus Christ. Second of all, we must fight for joy in Christ Jesus. It's easy to get discouraged and overwhelmed in this world, doesn't it?
00:40:35
Speaker
I mean, you watch the news, it's going to change any minute, it's going to give you something to be frustrated about, discouraged about, whatever. I confess there are some days in my life even where I sometimes am a wreck because I get a little overwhelmed by the world around us. But look at this promise in Psalms, chapter 5. It says, but let all who take refuge in you rejoice. That's you if you're a follower of Jesus Christ. You take refuge in the living God. He says, let them shout for joy, how long? Forever. Your joy can't be taken from you if you really follow Jesus Christ.
00:41:05
Speaker
Keep on reading because there's a guarantee to this. It says, may you shelter them. Who's the you? God. God, your joy is guaranteed by God because what? God fights for your joy. He defends your joy. Let me keep going. He says, may those who love your name boast about you for you, Lord, bless the righteous one. You surround him with favor like a shield. Your God is fighting for you. So on those days when you get discouraged, take your eyes off the things of this world and get them back on God.
00:41:35
Speaker
He is unchanging. He is forever. He is all-powerful, all-knowing. Nothing about Him has ever been subpar. So when you're discouraged, it's not because He has changed, it's because you've gotten your perspective off of Him. And you need to get it back on Him so that He can restore the joy of your salvation. Number three, we must contend for unity in the Spirit. You know, we don't create unity. We don't have the ability to do that. The Holy Spirit creates unity.
00:42:04
Speaker
And he does that as you and I submit our desires to his leadership. So in seasons of change, when things are changing, where there are changes going on, Satan loves to use things like gossip, fear, and speculation to get a foothold in this body.
Spiritual Warfare and Community Impact
00:42:19
Speaker
Do we have any changes around here? Like on a daily basis, it seems like. Which means there are a thousand little cracks in our church where Satan is trying to insert himself. Would you please not let him?
00:42:33
Speaker
Would you please intentionally battle against the enemy? Would you be reminded that every single day you wake up, you are at spiritual warfare? And be reminded that if you don't remember that, you've lost the day already. We have to continue to fight for unity. Jesus brings life so that we may circle around it and seek it together and be on mission together.
00:43:01
Speaker
Fourthly, we must be generous like the Macedonians. There are three different churches, Philippi is one of them, that are recorded in 2 Corinthians that literally begged for the opportunity to give. They begged, even though things were hard for them, even though things were difficult, in those hard times, they begged for the opportunity to continue to support the church financially. So my encouragement to you is let's be generous with our time. Let's be generous with our talent.
00:43:30
Speaker
Let's give exceedingly abundantly beyond what we think we're capable because our God is a giving God. So let's give our treasures and let's give our testimony. You have always been a good church. You have been a incredibly giving church. Today, I think before the day is over, we will approve the largest church budget in history. And again, it's a budget that's built on sending and going and giving and spreading the gospel. So don't stop.
00:43:58
Speaker
Don't stop going, don't stop sending, don't stop praying. And if you have not yet started giving to the church, it's time. It's time because you owe God that much and more. Lastly, we must give the world a picture of the coming kingdom of God. When people see Grove Hill Church, I want them to see a little picture of Jesus.
00:44:28
Speaker
When they see you coming wearing those noxious green shirts with the dots on them, with the little GH, I want them to go, oh, here comes that Grove Hill bunch, those Jesus followers. When there's a need in this community, I want people to naturally think, hey, call Grove Hill, they'll be there to minister. And when there's a tragedy in this community, I want people to see Grove Hill people showing up to love and to serve and to care for those people.
00:44:51
Speaker
I want people to hear about Grove Hill Church and see Grove Hill Church. I want them to see all those things. Why? Because when you are a pure reflection of Jesus, the world gets blessed because of your presence. Here's what I don't want, guys. I don't want one more person to die without Jesus. I don't want to have to do another funeral for somebody where I can't look their family in the eye and say, we know we'll see them again.
00:45:21
Speaker
I don't want children in Palestine to die tonight without knowing the gospel. I don't want young adults in Israel to die tonight without having the chance to hear that there is a hope in a Messiah who has already come and died for them. I don't want kids in downtown Nashville to go to bed hungry tonight because you and I didn't care. I don't want people in India that we're praying for to not know the gospel
00:45:52
Speaker
because you were too busy to get up and go. God has called us to something, guys, and it's not for us to get comfortable. It's not for us to grow numbers here. Numbers matter to God. He's got a book in the Bible called that, by the way.
00:46:17
Speaker
But they don't matter in the sense that he needs bigger. I can draw people here. I can roast a pig and people will show up, right? I can do a lottery and say you must be present in the wind and get a thousand people here next weekend. It's not about gathering numbers. It's about growing and sending believers. But sending's the key. You are not saved so that you can sit here and soak and enjoy it in. You are saved so that you can be sent to a world that needs Jesus.
00:46:46
Speaker
and the day we stop sending, my prayer becomes God forgive us. Will you pray with me? We love you and we thank you and I really don't know what else to say other than what Paul has challenged us with this morning. What a powerful message to remind us that this has never ever been about us. It's always been about your glory. So help us to obey this morning.
00:47:14
Speaker
to ask the hard questions about whether or not this might be me that you're speaking to, it might be us that you're calling, it might be my family that you're redirecting. Help us to Shammah.