Poured Out for Christ: Finding Joy in Sacrificial Service - Phil 2.17-18

Good morning. What a great blessing it is to be worshipers of the only Lord

and God, Jesus Christ, the King of kings and Lord of lords.

My name is Pastor Simon Flynn, and here at Dillingham Moravian Church,

we delight in making disciples for Christ as we learn God's Word together with you.

As I was researching for this sermon, I spent a lot of time reading biographies

of missionaries and past saints who lived lives of great faith in the midst of great adversity,

i realized that the more i read and learn about the lives of those who have

abandoned their lives to god the more i want to be like them,

to have their joy and hardship their surrender and perseverance to serve god no matter the cost.

Eric Liddell was one such person. He was a successful athlete,

but fame and honor didn't sway him from what he knew was his life calling,

to preach the gospel in China.

Eric was born in China to missionary parents.

He attended school in London where he trained and became known for his athletic abilities.

He went on even to compete in the Olympics, but remained true to his convictions.

In 1925, Eric returned to China and used his skills to minister and influence

many young Chinese for Christ.

He was then captured by the Japanese during World War II And passed away of

an inoperable brain tumor during his imprisonment,

His death left a great empty place in the lives and the hearts of many people

who he had spent his life serving His final words?

And this is what I want you to hear It's complete surrender.

I share this true story about Eric Liddell to point out that the life of faith

in Christ is about complete surrender to God.

And as we surrender our lives, we become sacrificial offerings of service to the Lord. Let's pray.

Father God, we are grateful for this opportunity to hear your word, to hear your truth.

Teach us, use your Holy Spirit in us so that we may worship in this cycle of

preacher preaching and those who are hearing that your word is interacting with us all,

through the power of your spirit.

Lord, if there's anything in our hearts that is blocking us from hearing your

word today, please remove those blockages.

Break down the walls that we have inside us so that you may make your home in

us and that we may live totally devoted to you.

In your precious Son's name, Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.

Last week in our series, through Paul's letter to the Philippians,

Paul taught that believers in Christ are to live life without grumbling or quarreling

with other believers and with unbelievers because it leads to division and is

a terrible witness for Christ.

Additionally, Christians are called to live as innocent children of God,

free from blame before God and others, being light for Christ in the midst of

a perverse and crooked generation.

Lastly, as runners in the race of God, followers of Christ are to hold forth

the light of the gospel, through our speaking and actions, so that the people

of this dark world may be able to receive the life of God.

And today we are going to continue on in Paul's letter in Philippians 2, verses 17-18.

Philippians 2:17–18

But even if I am being poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrifice and

service of your faith, I rejoice and share my joy with you all.

You too, I urge you, rejoice in the same way and share your joy with me.

There are two main points that I want to show you from this passage this morning.

The first truth is that as Christians, we are to be poured out as a drink offerings,

upon the sacrificial faith of other Christians.

I have used this illustration before, but a number of years ago,

my wife Abigail and I journeyed down to Nashville, Tennessee to attend Keith

and Kristen Getty's SING conference.

And one of the guest speakers of that conference was Joni Erickson-Totta.

Now, I have to explain to you that when I went to that conference,

I was deeply concerned and worried, perhaps obsessed, about a number of personal

and family issues that we were dealing with.

Yet when Joanie came out on the stage And I saw her sing an old hymn.

But the greatness of the Lord was such great enthusiasm and joy to the Lord,

as if she was singing for Jesus alone. I began to weep.

See, Joni is paralyzed from the neck down. She can wave her fingertips,

move her neck and head, but that is about it.

She also suffers tremendous pain continuously.

And throughout all of that suffering and inconvenience, she is one of the most

joyful people that I have ever heard of.

She's also extremely accomplished.

And has a worldwide ministry called Joni and Friends.

I share this with you because God, working through Joni, ministered to me and

showed me that even in the challenges we were going through,

God was our only hope and joy.

Like Paul described in Philippians, Joni became a drink offering poured out

upon the faith or sacrificial faith of others, including me in that conference,

igniting hope in our hearts, affirming that even in suffering,

God can work through us to grow others up in Christ.

Paul in Philippians 2, verse 17 wrote, But even if I am being poured out as

Philippians 2:17

a drink offering upon the sacrifice and service of your faith.

I want you to see what Paul was getting at here in verse 17.

The word that Paul used for poured out is from the Greek word spendamai,

used of a drink offering given as a sacrifice to God.

The concept of a drink offering comes from Numbers 28, verse 6-8, where Moses recorded,

Numbers 28:6–8

It is a continual burnt offering which was ordained in Mount Sinai as a soothing

offering, an offering by fire to Yahweh.

Then the drink offering with it shall be a fourth of a hymn for each lamb.

And in the holy place you shall pour out a drink offering of strong drink to Yahweh.

And the other lamb you offer at twilight, as the grain offering of the morning

and as its drink offering, you shall offer it an offering by fire,

a soothing aroma to Yahweh.

According to one commentator, the drink offering was wine poured out at the foot of the altar.

Sometimes it was over the sacrifice, accompanying burnt fellowship or grain offerings.

The underlying purpose appears to be ensuring that what was offered to the Lord

constituted a complete meal, meat, grain, and wine together.

More theologically, if the sacrifices represent God's food, then the libations

represented God's drink, and God would not drink wine with His bread until His

people entered the promised land.

Drinking wine symbolizes rest and celebration, so the drink offering functioned

as a sabbatical offering, something the Lord would accept only after defeating

His people's enemies and granting them rest in their land.

In the New Testament, Paul drew on this imagery when describing his own suffering,

stating that he was being poured out as a drink offering for Christ,

just as the libation was poured out at the altar.

So he was prepared to pour out his blood sacrificially.

So what Paul was saying in Philippians 2 was that like a drink offering that

was poured out at the altar of God along with the rest of the sacrifice,

Paul was also ready for his own blood or his own life to be poured out sacrificially for the Lord.

Paul understood that he may not have much time left. The Romans could come and execute him.

Paul was not only ready to be a drink offering to the Lord, but he rejoiced in it.

Remember that drinking wine denoted rest and celebration.

However, wine was also symbolic for joy, especially when used for the drink offering.

It's not that Paul found joy in the suffering and in his martyrdom specifically.

Rather, Paul found joy in who he was doing it for, for the Lord and for those whom he served.

You see, Paul also knew on the other side of death, because of Christ's sacrifice

of pouring out his own blood, he, Paul, would find rest in celebration in the

presence of God Almighty.

Paul used the same language in 2 Timothy 4, verses 6-8.

2 Timothy 4:6–8

For I am already being poured out, and here it is, as a drink offering.

And the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight.

I have finished the course. I have kept the faith.

In the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness,

which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day,

not only to me, but also all who have loved His appearing.

There's something else I want you to understand. In Philippians 2,

Philippians 2:17

verse 17, Paul explained, but even if I'm being poured out as a drink offering,

and here's what I want you to see, upon the sacrifice and service of your faith,

The drink offering was not the main sacrificial offering. The lamb and grain

offerings were the main parts of the sacrifice.

The drink offering was secondary. However, the drink offering completed the sacrifice.

The apostle may have saw himself as part of the sacrifice that completes the

Philippian church's sacrifice to the Lord.

As F.F. Bruce wrote, this, meaning the drink offering, was added last and completed the sacrifice.

And if one thing remains to make that offering, meaning the life of the Philippian

church, perfectly acceptable, Paul is willing that the sacrifice of his own

life should be that one thing.

Notice that Paul humbly viewed the Philippians as better than himself.

They were the more important offering in his mind.

You see, due to Christ's sacrificial death on our behalf, the physical sacrifice

of the lamb and the burnt offering of the grain and a drink offering of wine

or olive oil are no longer needed.

Christ was the sacrificial lamb of God. And yet as Christians,

we are called to make our lives as spiritual sacrifice unto the Lord.

In Romans 12, verse 1, Paul commanded, Therefore I urge you,

Romans 12:1

brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice

acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.

Paul was stating in Philippians 2, verse 17 to the Philippian congregation that

Philippians 2:17

it was their lives of faith-filled service and sacrifice to the Lord.

That was to be their spiritual offering up to God.

And what Paul meant was that he was offering up to God the sacrifice of his

own suffering and inevitable martyrdom as an example.

So that as the Philippians heard of Paul's faith, the Holy Spirit would grow

the Philippians' resolve to serve Christ even more sacrificially.

And the result would be that their offering would be more complete.

The question for us as Christians today is, how do we live our lives in service

and sacrifice of our faith?

I see two ways that we can answer this question.

First, we must realize that our life is not our own. We are slaves of Christ,

and our purpose is to be spiritual offerings to God as we abandon our rights,

wants, and needs for Christ and His mission.

Oswald Chambers wrote, You are not your own. You were bought with a price.

If I had a sense of indebtedness, I know that I'm not a superior person,

but a slave of Jesus Christ.

This is the part I want you to focus on.

Quit worrying about yourself and be spent for others as a slave of Jesus.

That is the meaning of being made broken bread and poured out wine for Him.

Secondly, in the body of Christ, as we live by faith in Christ,

serving each other, we are spiritually helping each other please God more.

We must also understand that other believers in Christ are called to offer their

lives as living sacrifices as well as us.

And thus, we are to humble ourselves as slaves of Christ, to do all we can to

help other Christians, especially those we have discipled, in their life ministries or offerings to God.

Again, this is not about salvation, but rather about pleasing God together.

There's another truth that we can learn from this part of verse 16,

and that is that to demonstrate faith in Christ, we must serve God and others sacrificially.

For faith to be genuine, it must work.

In James 2, verse 21-22, James wrote, Was not Abraham our father justified by

James 2:21–22

works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar?

You see that faith was working with his works, and here it is.

As a result of the works, faith was perfected.

You see, as we demonstrate our faith with service and sacrifice,

our faith grows and becomes closer to being perfected.

The second truth that Paul was teaching the Philippians and us in this passage

is that as Christians, we are to share our joy that we receive through faithful

sacrificial service to God.

Over the years that I have pastored here in Dillingham and the villages around,

God has given me extraordinary joy to see many of the people that I have discipled

or ministered to growing in the Lord.

I've done many weddings over in the village of Manicotic, and every couple that

I know of that I brought together in marriage under the Lord are doing well

together. Most of them are walking with the Lord.

Also gives me joy to see many of our young people in our church growing up,

serving the Lord here in Dillingham and elsewhere.

God grants me joy to see God working the lives of the members and attenders

of the church and our ministries as God is growing us closer and closer to Him.

This concept of God giving us joy as we see those we have discipled surrender

more fully to Christ is one of the concepts that Paul was teaching the Philippians.

In Philippians 2, verse 17 and 18.

Philippians 2:17

Paul wrote, but even if I am being poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrifice

and service of your faith, and here it is now, I rejoice and share my joy with you all.

You too, I urge you, rejoice in the same way and share your joy with me.

There are two principles I want to show you from the last part of verse 17 and from verse 18.

First off, God in Christ gives us joy as we abide or stay in the state of trusting

Christ's love so that we can rejoice in our sufferings.

To rejoice means to enjoy a state of happiness and well-being, to rejoice, to be glad.

What Paul was teaching the Philippians and us is that believers are called to

stay in and enjoy the state of joy or true happiness that God has given us.

Rejoicing is a command that we must obey no matter if times are easy or comfortable

or whether we are suffering and going through difficulties.

Paul was not referring to salvation here, but about the joy of staying in the

love of God, the joy of being completely abandoned to God, offering his life

for Christ who loves him so dearly.

The second principle I want to bring to your attention in Philippians 2, verse 17,

Philippians 2:17

We are to rejoice in discipling other believers to live a life of faith-filled

service in all circumstances, including in pain and suffering.

Not only did Paul rejoice in his suffering for God, but Paul also found immense

joy in being able to help the Philippians make their offering of obedient sacrificial service to God.

In verse 18, Paul urged the Philippians to rejoice in their own sacrificial service.

Even while suffering, and to share with him the joy God gave them through that service.

How then can we apply these verses to us in Christ today?

There are two applications that I see. First off, while we trust in Christ's

love, we are to rejoice in our sufferings because God can use our trials to

help others grow in the Lord.

Often when we serve others, it makes us happy.

While being physically happy has some benefits, our motivation for serving others

as Christ believers is to please and love God.

And in loving God, our focus must be the persons or person that we are serving,

that we're helping, bringing God's comfort to.

As we serve others in Jesus' name and sacrifice our needs and rights for theirs,

God in turn gives us His joy.

God gives us joy because our faith worked out in sacrificial service towards

others, pleases God, and in return He gives us more joy.

I want to make it clear here that joy is not happiness, which is momentary and fleeting.

Let's look at John 15, 9-11, where Jesus commanded his disciples,

Just as the Father has loved me, I have also loved you.

Abide in his love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love,

just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love.

These things I have spoken to you so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be made full.

Joy is in the assurance that no matter the circumstance, that because of what

Christ has done for us, God is pleased with us.

That He loves us, which in turn caused us to obey Christ's Word,

to rejoice always in all situations.

Joy is in the faith-filled knowledge that we are living in the knowledge of

the love of God for us, no matter if we're suffering or we're persecuted.

Joy comes in response to our faith in the love of Christ. Then we obey.

But that's not the end of the cycle. The more we obey and sacrificial serving

others, the more God gives us His joy.

Don't you see what a wonderful cycle this is? Secondly, I want you to see that

God's joy doesn't just affect us personally, but rather joy is meant to be shared

with others, especially other Christians.

And as we share with others the joy of what God is doing through us,

they in turn take part in our joy and then can share with us what God is doing

in their lives through them, and our joy grows.

It's this wonderful cycle of God's joy that keeps on going round and round.

This is one of the reasons that I like testimonies of what God is doing.

It brings me joy to see what God is doing in the church in Dillingham and the

villages, especially those whom God has discipled through me.

What a blessing it is to hear and see what God is doing in and through others.

Many of the testimonies that I have heard over the years have been out of some

seriously challenging situations.

And yet God has brought those Christians to live with joy in what God was doing

amidst the suffering and trials.

As the author of Hebrews wrote in Hebrews 12, verses 1-2,

Hebrews 12:1–2

Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us,

laying aside every weight and the sin which so easily entangled us.

And here's what I want you to hear right here. Let us run with endurance the

race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith,

who for the joy set before him endured the cross,

despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of God.

Or as James taught in James 1, verse 2-4, Consider it all joy,

James 1:2–4

my brothers, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of

your faith brings about perseverance.

Let perseverance have its perfect work, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

However, I also want to point out that rejoicing amid suffering is one of the

best evangelistic tools there is.

People in the world or in Satan's kingdom of darkness do not understand how

Christians can go through suffering with joy and without complaint.

It's so radical to them. It's foreign.

Being truly happy when suffering takes so much.

Power and courage and patience and self-control, that the Holy Spirit uses that witness,

of the Christian's joyful suffering to reach into the hearts and minds of others,

to lead them to question everything they believe to be real.

The Holy Spirit then draws the person to realize they need a Savior from there

to want to have what the persecuted and joyful Christian had, to want Christ.

From there, they'll put their faith and trust in Christ as their only Lord and

follow Him for the rest of their lives.

What have we learned from our passage today? The first truth that God has taught

us is that as slaves of Christ, our purpose is to be spiritual offerings to

God, rejoicing in suffering as God uses our trials to help others grow and please Him.

And as we share God's joy with others, they share in it, and our joy grows together.

Therefore, let us pour out our lives for God and one another,

trusting Him to turn our sacrifice into shared joy. Let's pray.

Father God, we thank You for the merciful love that You have bestowed upon us

in Jesus. Thank You for being so good to us.

Help us, Lord, by Your grace and power that we may be.

Joyful sacrifices. May we serve those around us in your name.

May we be sweet offerings of soothing aroma to you.

Lord, we pray that you would help us to help other believers in their offerings

to you as we are witnesses and as we share the truth of God to them as well.

Use us all in the church of Christ. Grow us, O Lord, so that we may be truly

offering up our lives in the temple of God, which is your church.

In your precious Son's name, Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.

I'll leave you with this blessing from Romans 15, verses 5-6.

Romans 15:5–6

May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony

with one another, in accord with Jesus Christ, that together you may with one

voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Have a wonderful Sunday. May the Lord bless you all.