Looking For Joy In Our Serving

Philippians: Finding Lasting Joy

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.” Philippians 2:3-4

Where do you find joy in your serving? Do you get warm fuzzies when you put a smile on someone’s face? Do you feel fulfilled when you place a hot meal in someone’s hands? Does your heart bubble over when you secretly provide for someone’s needs?

Or does happiness only come when all your friends know that you served in the soup kitchen on Thanksgiving day? Do you feel powerful when you make a big donation at a charity event? Do you feel accomplished because your time and money spent serving helped your business?

Every time we serve we need to ask ourselves the basic question, “Why am I serving?” I’m going to say something that might be a hard pill for our culture to swallow, so brace yourself ladies. Our joy does not come from only doing things that make us happy. Our lives are not fulfilled from serving ourselves. I realize that the older we become the more we see life as a blink of an eye and we do not want to waste the rest of our lives doing things that do not make us happy. I get it. When my husband survived cancer, we said we were not going to waste our days. We were going to do things that brought us joy. Well, doing things that bring you joy can be seen in many ways. How do we want to find our joy?

Describe your feelings when you serve someone else.

Where are you called to serve?

Philippians 2 reminds us of Christ’s humility. The chapter begins by stating the fact that as Christians we have encouragement because we are united with Christ, we have comfort in His love, the Spirit dwells within us, and we are made tender and compassionate. Paul does not question that we have all these gifts because we are believers. It is a known fact that because we have all this, our thoughts should be like Jesus’. The Greek word for this is sympsychos and it describes sharing the same attitude or mind-set, the mind-set of Jesus Christ. If we pronounce that we are followers of Jesus Christ yet do not act like Him then the gospel message loses credibility among unbelievers.

Take a minute and look at the diversity at your church. There are many different ethnic backgrounds, different careers, different political views, different social views, different views on what a family should look like, and different financial availability. These are topics that could cause selfishness, pride, or jealousy to stir in us and lead to dissension in our church. Paul is reminding us and the people of Philippi to not allow this to happen. We have to let go of our arrogance, pride, and inflated egos. The world tells you that you are number one, that no-one should come before you and your desires, thoughts, and beliefs. We have gotten so consumed with doing only what we want that it is creeping even into our churches and our serving. We can pick and choose which side of the news we want to listen to, we can opt out of sitting through commercials, we pick our friends on social media like we are picking which flavor of gum to buy, and if we are honest with ourselves we even choose when it is family-time and me-time. Everything revolves around what “we” want. There is no room for that when you are a part of the body of Christ. Trust me when I say that, as I write this, I feel like I’ve been punched in the gut! I find myself seeing my selfishness in broad daylight. Being a part of the body of Christ has responsibilities. We have a responsibility in our churches and that is to stand in unity on the firm foundation of Jesus Christ.

List specific ways your church establishes unity in its body?

Is there someone in your church you need to reach out to today and embrace their differences?

Now we are getting to some of my favorite verses. Reread these verses and really let them sink in.

“Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.

And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Philippians 2:6-11

In some translations, verse 6, says that equality with God is not something to be grasped. The Greek word for grasped used here is harpagmos which means robbery or something to be seized by force. This is the only place in the Bible where this word appears so it is difficult for theologians to interpret the true meaning. One commentary says this, “Paul may be saying that Christ did not consider equality with God, which He already possessed, something to be exploited for selfish gain. Alternatively, Paul could be saying that Christ did not consider the state of being equal to God to consist in acts of grasping and taking. Either way, Paul’s emphasis is on Christ’s humble attitude and refusal to act selfishly despite His equality with God.” When you think about this it is quite profound. As humans we think we are entitled to so much and use our entitlements and our titles to gain what we want. Jesus, who actually could achieve any desire He had and deserved it all, did not feel entitled to use His power. Where then has our society gone wrong? Why do we feel so prideful when our example is so humble? Verse 7 says that Jesus made Himself nothing or emptied Himself. The Greek word used here is kenoo and refers to Jesus pouring Himself out. As verses 6 and 8 bookends this phrase, it implies that Jesus laid aside His rights as God in order to become the world’s servant. The man that was given the name above every name; Lord (kyrios), Yahweh, Jesus (iseous); and exalted alongside God humbled Himself and became our servant. These verses end by stating that the entire universe will worship and submit to this Servant’s sovereignty. Jesus, our humble yet mighty Lord, will forever rule the world. That has to be one of the most comforting and powerful truths we will ever hear.

What stands out to you in verses 6-11 and why?

Now we get real about our serving…no grumbling. Aaahhh, I think I’ll run now. Verses 14 and 15 say, “Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Warped and crooked? Yep, sounds about right. Every time I hear the word grumbling I am reminded of the Israelites. Their grumbling was so intense that it made history in the Bible. They are known for their expression of discontent and failing to recognize and acknowledge God’s provision. They were punished by God and wandered the wilderness for 40 years, until the entire grumbling generation had died. I would say grumbling against the Lord and work done for the Lord are pretty serious.

So, if we are to not grumble so that we are blameless, what exactly does blameless mean? Another word for blameless is innocent. It means to be free from or not deserving blame; guiltless. We are to shine like stars in the sky, reflecting God’s character through our conduct onto the world. Stars are defined as any of the heavenly bodies, except the moon, appearing as fixed luminous points in the sky at night. Believers stand out against the darkness of the world and reveal the transformative power of the gospel. We are fixed on Jesus’ foundation and shining bright in the world. The brightness that stands out the most is our character that radiates the character of Jesus.

I think it’s safe to say that we have all grumbled when doing forms of service. This is the perfect time to evaluate your character toward the type of serving you are doing. If you find that all you are doing is grumbling then maybe you are doing the wrong kinds of service work. Maybe God has called you to do one thing and you are doing another. God calls us to step out in faith even if it is uncomfortable but doing God’s work should be something that fulfills us and grows our relationship with Him. We are not called to do everything. We are all blessed with unique talents, gifts, and passions.

What about serving makes you grumble?

Ask God to lead you to the service work that He created you to do. Ask Him to reveal your talents and gifts so that your service work can be an extension of who you are.

Paul ends chapter 2 by showing us examples of himself, Timothy, and Epaphroditus as servants of God’s people and work. We see words in these last two paragraphs such as cheer, genuine, confident, co-worker, soldier, messenger, care, eager, glad, joy, and honor. These are words that describe the service work that these three men did and the character they had towards their work. Look carefully at verse 28. Paul says, “Therefore I am more eager to send him, so that when you see him again you may be glad and I may have less anxiety.” Paul uses the word anxiety! A man that appears to be so confident, faithful and equipped in what he is doing for the Lord still has anxiety. Does that make you feel better about how you’re feeling right now? It sure makes me feel better. There are going to be unknowns, doubts, fears, and anxiety when we are serving and doing God’s work. But if we allow our faith to be stronger than our anxiety, mountains can be moved. Do not doubt where God is leading you. Find encouragement is your fellow believers and allow God to move you in the direction that is according to His will. He has the power to literally move you where you are to be if you surrender completely to Him and step away from your own desires. Our own happiness and desires are not what brings us everlasting joy. Joy is found in the power and humility of a servant’s heart.

Do you have anxiety when you serve? What makes you anxious?

Ask God to help you rest in where He is leading you and to have faith that He is equipping you.