How many of you are disappointed that it's cold and raining instead of snow?
I am. I think there's more people this year looking for snow, warning snow, than I can remember in a long time.
And I'm on that list. I would have liked to see us.
And it's not too late. We've got a whole month of February to go.
Maybe it will. But I'm glad that it didn't prevent us from being here today.
If you think about what brings you joy, like snow, just about everything you think about,
you put on a list of what brings me joy.
You could also say, that's what makes me happy.
It brings happiness to me.
Almost everyone thinks of the words joy and happiness as synonyms.
Most dictionaries even do that.
Most dictionaries define joy along this line, a feeling of great pleasure and happiness.
We use that word joy in the English language very similarly, at least, if not identically, to the word happiness.
But that is not how Paul used the word in New Testament Greek.
The New Testament is written in the Greek language.
And while we use that word joy and happiness synonymously,
that is not how the word joy is used in the Bible and especially the New Testament.
Happiness is an emotional feeling, isn't it?
It's a feeling of delight.
That depends on what's happening to us and around us.
You know, we're happy when everything goes our way.
When you walked in this morning, people spoke to you, they smiled.
It brings a little bit of joy, a little bit of happiness, doesn't it?
When you feel good, you have that sense of joy, that kind of happiness.
But we know that every day is not that way.
Life is not always happy.
It just sort of comes and goes in our life.
I say all that to say, that's normal.
That's happiness.
That's joy as we use it in the English language.
Put that on hold now.
Christian joy.
The word joy that's found in the New Testament,
that we're going to be looking at today and throughout the book of Philippians really,
it is more of an attitude.
It's something more like a character quality than it is an emotion.
It's not without emotion, but that's not basically what it is.
Joy is similar to the qualities of contentment or peace in your soul.
Here's something I did not really bring out much last week,
and I want to emphasize it.
Christian joy is the inner sense of peace.
Of rightness that comes from knowing that I'm right with God.
I'm close to Him.
Things around about you may not be going well.
People may be disappointing you.
You may not be in the best of health.
But when you have that right relationship with God, you're just close to Him,
there's this sense of contentment.
There's just peace in your soul.
That's Christian joy.
It will not be found in any other person.
Other people can make you happy.
But they can't give you this kind of joy.
You're not going to find this in any situation, any circumstance.
No matter how well your job goes,
this kind of joy is not going to be found there.
It's going to be found only in our relationship with the Lord.
That's why Paul can write so much about it in the book of Philippians.
It appears from reading Paul's letters in the New Testament
that the church at Philippi was his favorite church,
or at least where he had the fewest problems.
And so he talks about joy and rejoicing more in this letter
than in any of his other letters.
But consider this.
Every time Paul dictated this letter,
every time he said the word joy or rejoice,
he was chained to the Roman soldier,
confined to the house he was renting.
He was under house arrest.
He was awaiting his trial before Caesar,
the most powerful man in the world at that time.
He didn't know what the outcome would be.
He didn't know if he would live or die as a result of that trial.
Yet he could talk about how he was rejoicing.
He found joy in his relationship with the Lord
in the midst of those circumstances.
I want you to turn in your Bibles, if you will,
to Philippians chapter 1.
We're going to begin again in verse 18.
And we're going to see how Paul was able to rejoice
in spite of his circumstances.
Now as we go through what's going to be verses 18 through 26 today and next week,
I want us to note three things that should make us,
if we're Christians,
at least some of the time,
have a sense of joy.
Now let's be real honest here.
There were days that Paul would have been down.
He's a human being.
He's not a God.
He's not the Son of God like Jesus.
Paul was a human being just like us.
He suffered.
He had his bad days.
And so there were days that he didn't really feel like rejoicing in the Lord.
No doubt, his real focus wasn't on how everything's right with God through faith in Jesus.
And you and I don't either.
There's some days that the last thing we think about is our relationship with God.
Let's just be honest.
There's some days that they're just miserable emotionally,
spiritually even,
or physically with our bodies,
or with other people and problems.
So when we go through this,
three things that should provide every Christian
with at least some sense of joy
at times in our lives.
The way I want to do this,
I want us to ask three questions.
Number one,
do thoughts that God will always take care of you bring you joy?
I want you to look at verses 18 through 20,
what we looked at last week actually.
And I want you to think,
do thoughts that God is always going to take care of me no matter what.
Does that bring you a sense of joy?
Of peace in your soul?
Because you're trusting Him.
Not that you feel good.
Not that you feel close to everybody.
But do you get this kind of joy?
Inner peace because I know God's going to take care of me.
Let's look at this.
Verse 18 that I left off the screen.
The last part says,
Yes, and I will rejoice.
For I know that through your prayers
and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,
this will turn out for my deliverance,
as it is my eager expectation and hope
that I will not at all be ashamed,
but that with full courage,
now as always,
Christ will be honored in my body,
whether by life or by death.
Paul describes one of the sources of his joy as,
look at this,
my deliverance in verse 19.
We saw last week the word deliverance here
is translated more often in the New Testament,
salvation.
See, Paul is writing in Greek.
And the translators use the word deliverance here,
but more often than not,
they're going to use the word salvation
when this word comes up in other places.
It's all according to the context.
That means Paul may be talking about,
may be thinking about as he writes this,
his deliverance from prison.
He's rejoicing because this will turn out
for my deliverance.
Or he may be thinking about,
this is going to turn out for my deliverance
into the presence of the Lord in heaven.
He may be thinking about his final,
complete salvation
when he stands before the Lord,
free from sin
and the difficulties that we experience in this life.
But either way, we don't know.
Either way, Paul found joy in knowing
that no matter what happens to me,
no matter what happens in my life,
God is going to take care of me.
I'm trusting Him.
Now, do you have that kind of joy
in your soul?
At least some of the time.
Well, you will if you have a relationship with God.
You will if you have a close relationship with God.
If we truly know God
as our Heavenly Father I'm talking about,
we will have confidence in His ability
to take care of us
by delivering us through our difficulties
or by delivering us from our difficulties
by bringing us into His presence in heaven.
Now, I know that most of us in this room,
we don't think about being delivered into heaven right now.
But you know,
if you're in prison,
chained to a Roman soldier,
going to be tried before the emperor,
you know I may die.
And so,
it's a real fact.
And so,
he finds joy knowing
that if that happens,
I'll be okay.
There may come a time in your life
where your health is so bad,
the pain is so bad,
that you'll be ready to die.
You'll pray to die.
And in that moment,
if it comes for you,
wouldn't it be great
that you have this sense of peace
that when I breathe my last
and close my eyes,
I'm going to open them again immediately
in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ
and there will be no more suffering,
no more pain.
Some of you in this room,
like me,
you've watched your parents
or your grandparents
get to that position.
And I hope you heard
from some of them
like I heard from my mother.
Never forget the way she said it.
She looked at me one day,
she'd been in the hospital,
didn't want to be in the hospital.
I've told you this before.
She looked at me one day,
she said,
I'm an old woman,
I've lived my life
and I'm ready to die.
Don't let no more doctors
do anything to me.
And we talked a little bit about that.
And she said that she did have faith
and trust in Jesus
that when she did die,
she'd be in His presence.
And she didn't want to linger on
and completely lose her memory
and use of her body.
And so,
while right this minute,
I don't know if any of us in here
can really identify
with the idea
of having this sense of peace,
that God may bring me
into His presence
anytime.
But in time,
we may be in a situation
where
we need that kind of
peace,
that kind of joy.
and we can
if we have a right
relationship
with the Lord.
Now,
if you don't have a clue
what I'm talking about,
you think to yourself,
I hear the words
but I'll understand it,
I've never experienced it.
I've never sensed
this sense of
peace and rightness,
this kind of joy
in a relationship with God.
That means
in all probability
that you're not a Christian.
You may have professed faith,
you may have been baptized,
but if you don't have
this sense of
rightness with God,
never experienced it at all,
it's just a foreign concept to you,
you can't be right with God.
You can't have a relationship
with Him rather.
And if that bothers you,
you don't want it to be that way.
Admit to God
that you don't know Him.
Turn from your sin.
Put your trust in Jesus
as your Savior and Lord.
calling Him to save you now.
And when you do that,
one of the first things
you ought to experience
is a sense of peace
with God
through faith in Jesus.
And also,
then start experiencing
the peace of God.
This is the first step
toward experiencing
real Christian joy.
Now,
if you do know
what I'm talking about,
but
it's not been
your experience
very much
lately,
you know what I'm talking about.
You have to have
this sense of
just closeness,
rightness with God
that no matter what else,
no matter who else
was
not happy with me,
I really had this
joy in my soul,
peace in my heart,
but it's not there now.
Could it be that
you've drifted away
from the Lord?
Maybe you never
thought about it,
you didn't just
openly rebel,
but you just got busy.
You know,
life is such
we can just get busy.
There's so much
in most people's lives,
there's so much
going on
to take our attention,
take our time,
that we can just
do a lot of
good things
with people
that we are
responsible for
and drift away
from a close
relationship with the Lord
because we don't
continue it.
It could be
that you just
rebelled against God.
It could be
that you know
right now
you're not
where you used to be,
you don't experience
this kind of joy anymore
and you know
exactly why.
Well,
I want you to understand
the only way
you're going to
rekindle
that kind of
joy and peace
is to come back
to Him
on His terms.
That may mean
you need to confess
sin
and seek
God's forgiveness
because
you've rebelled
against Him.
It may be
that you just need
to sort of wake up
and realize
I've got to
rearrange some
priorities in my life.
I've got to start
spending some time
with God
to develop,
to cultivate
my relationship
with Him.
in His Word
and in prayer.
So you may need
to make some changes
in your life
that way.
It may be
that right now
this morning
the reason you're here
is to be encouraged
as a Christian
to renew
your commitment
to the Lord Jesus Christ
as the real
Lord of your life.
joy.
And if we will
live that way
joy will be
a byproduct
of having
a close relationship
with Him.
You know Paul
also rejoiced
over the way
that God
worked to take
care of him.
Last week
we looked at
two ways
that God
works in our lives
to take care of us.
I want to expand
on what we looked
at last week.
I was trying
to cover
more last week
and just
there's some things
I want us to look at
that's important
that we didn't look
at last week.
So here
let's look at it again.
God works
through people's prayers.
God works
in our lives
through other people's prayers.
Look at it again
verse 19
last part
of verse 18
Yes and I will rejoice
for I know
that through your prayers
this will turn out
for my deliverance.
Paul rejoiced
over the fact
that people
loved him enough
to pray for him.
He just
brought peace
to his soul
joy to his heart
to know that
other people
were praying for him
and that God
was working in his life
in response
to their prayers.
We saw last week
that it is vitally important
that we pray for
our Christian family members
Christian friends
people in this church
or church family members
in more ways
than just
their physical health
and well-being.
But that doesn't mean
we don't pray
for people's
health
or job
or school
or other situations
that they're
concerned about.
Over the years
my children
and grandchildren
have played
countless ball games.
I have
and will continue
as long as I'm alive
and have a mind
prayed for their safety.
God keep them safe.
Lord
don't let them
get hurt.
That's just something
that I
want to do.
That's nothing to do
with being Christians
or anything like that.
I just pray for their
physical
safety.
I'm going to say
something else
because
this service
is not being
recorded today.
We're not live
streaming.
We can't do that
in this room.
And so
this is the end of it.
It won't be on tape
anywhere.
I have prayed
for my children's
cat
to come home.
Now you know
that's a big step
for me.
I wouldn't admit
it on tape.
Let me tell you
this though.
my grandchildren
have two cats
and I like
those two cats.
You know why?
They are just like
dogs.
You call them
and they come.
They'll sit there
and let you pet them.
The best cat
is the one
that acts like a dog.
You know?
Well one of those cats
is named Bruno.
Bruno's a hunter.
Bruno stays
out in the edge
of the woods
and the edge
of the yard
in the woods.
He hunts.
He kills moles.
Bruno is a great cat.
Well one day
he didn't come home.
He disappeared.
And they told me
as sincerely
as I've ever prayed
for anything
I said
Lord please
bring Bruno home
safely
to those kids.
I prayed
I got out
and rode around
looking for the cat
and God
answered
a lot of people's
prayers.
Bruno
just
walked
home.
I don't care
truly
about cats
very much
but I care
about my
grandchildren
and I care
about what
they care
about.
And I think
it was very
important
to pray that
Bruno come
home that day.
And so I want you
to hear me
clearly.
Pray about
everything.
Pray for people's
physical
well-being.
Their job
situation.
Their school.
but
your family
your friends
me.
We all
need
the prayers
for our
spiritual
well-being
more.
So I want
to encourage
you
people you
pray for
pray that
God will
work in
their life
if they're
Christians
to help
them to
grow
mature
to become
more like
Jesus.
Pray for
their spiritual
protection.
They'll be
able to
resist
temptation
things like
that.
As you
pray about
other
things
if there's
people in
your life
that you
know you
really care
about they're
not Christians
pray for
their salvation.
I want
to encourage
you do
that yourself
and encourage
other people
to pray for
you that
way as
well.
You know
I'd like
for you to
pray for
me
Monday
through
Saturday
that I'll
be able
to study
and
know
and develop
the message
that our
church family
needs to
hear and
when you
wake up
on Sunday
morning pray
that I'll
be able
to
communicate
it in a
way that's
understandable
and that people
can actually
apply to
their lives.
Pray for
me that
way.
Ask people
to pray for
you in ways
that you
have needs
to be
prayed for.
No second
way God
works in
our lives
God works
through his
indwelling
Holy Spirit.
He says
yes and I
will rejoice
for I know
that through
the help
of the Spirit
of Jesus
Christ this
will turn
out for my
deliverance.
Paul rejoiced
over how God
worked his
power, God's
power in
him and
through him.
The Holy Spirit
is really and
truly the
spiritual power
source for
every Christian
for you and
me.
I want us to
think about how
the Holy Spirit
works in our
lives.
This is
something totally
new from what
we looked at
last week.
Something that
I think is
very important
that we need
to be praying
about for
ourselves and
for other
people.
First, the Holy
Spirit indwells
every Christian.
You know that.
If you've been
coming to this
church for any
length of time
you know that I
mention that a
lot because the
only way we can
live faithful
Christian lives is
in the power of
the Holy Spirit.
We can't do it
on our own.
Christian life
cannot be lived
by just doing
your best,
trying harder.
That's not
Christian growth.
Christian growth
is when God
works in us
and through us
through His
Holy Spirit.
Helping us to
think.
Helping us to
know what to
do, how to
do, that kind
of thing.
Well Paul says
it is impossible
to be a
Christian and
not be indwelled
by the Spirit.
Look at this
from Romans 8.
Anyone who does
not have the
Spirit of Christ
does not belong
to Him.
It can't be any
plainer than
that.
Every Christian,
God regenerates
us, brings about
a new birth by
the power of
the Holy Spirit
and the Holy
Spirit indwells
us from that
point on.
Now, the Holy
Spirit indwells
every Christian
at all times,
but there are
times when a
Christian experiences
the Spirit's
presence in
greater power
power as Luke
tells us in
the book of
Acts.
Luke is the
author of
Acts.
I want you to
look at some
examples.
Peter, he
experienced
greater power
when he
testified before
the hostile
Jewish council.
They were
telling him,
you don't
preach anymore.
Threatening his
life and the
other apostles.
Look at what
Scripture says.
Then Peter,
filled with the
Holy Spirit,
said to them,
the Holy
Spirit indwelled
Peter already.
But at that
moment, it was
sort of like a
new, fresh
filling, empowerment
of the Spirit to
say what needed
to be said to
those enemies of
the gospel.
Later on in that
same chapter 4 of
Acts, a large
group of Christians,
not just the
apostles or leaders,
a large group of
Christians, received
power after a
prayer meeting.
Look at this.
And when they
had prayed, the
place in which
they were gathered
together was shaken
and they were all
filled with the
Holy Spirit and
continued to speak
the Word of God
with boldness.
See, this was a
crisis time in the
life of the church.
The leaders were
being arrested, put
into prison.
A little bit
later on, killed.
And in that
prayer meeting that
you can read about
earlier in chapter
4, they were
really serious
asking God to
work in their
midst to help
them and God
answered their
prayer by filling
those church
members in a
new and fresh
way with the
Holy Spirit to
enable them to
actually share the
gospel themselves.
God's promise.
Not be afraid.
Not hold back.
But to share the
gospel or to speak
the Word of God
with boldness.
Next one, Stephen.
Stephen received the
power to die a
martyr's death for
his testimony from
Jesus.
Look at this.
Testimony about
Jesus.
Look at this.
Acts chapter 7.
But he, Stephen,
full of the Holy
Spirit, gazed into
heaven and saw the
glory of God and
Jesus standing at
the right hand of
God.
See, Stephen was in
a very hostile
environment.
And he preached the
true Word of God
and they didn't like
it.
And they picked up
stones to stone him,
to kill him, to
execute him.
And God filled him
afresh with his
spirit to enable
him to stand there
and look him in the
eye and die as a
faithful Christian
witness.
Paul.
He was empowered to
confront an enemy of
the gospel, Elimus,
the magician.
It says, but Saul,
who was also called
Paul, filled with the
Holy Spirit, looked
intently at him, that
magician, and said,
you son of the devil,
and other choice
words to that enemy
of the gospel.
I'm pointing out all
these examples to say,
all these people,
these were Christians
in whom the Holy Spirit
dwelled before these
situations.
But the Spirit of God
gave them greater power,
greater courage,
greater insight,
just that when they
needed it, to face
their special trials.
We need, all of us
in this room, we need
to develop the habit of
asking God to fill us
afresh with his spirit
and empower us, equip us
during our times of need.
We all need that kind
of help at various times,
don't we, to resist
certain temptations.
Every one of us in
this room, if we're
Christians, we have
certain temptations
that are stronger,
more powerful over us.
You may think to
yourself, I fail more
than I want anybody
to know in this way.
The next time you're
tempted that way, I
want to encourage you,
ask God, Lord, fill me
afresh with your spirit.
Give me the ability
to keep my mouth closed.
Give me the ability
to walk away.
Give me the ability
to not continue
thinking this way.
Give me the ability,
your God, to not sin
against you in this way.
Ask God to do that.
Sometimes you have a
difficult decision you
need to make.
Ask God, Lord, fill me
afresh with your spirit
and give me the wisdom
to understand what's
going on, to see the
facts, to know the best
way to make the right
decision.
Don't pray for a
feeling.
Some people think
about praying for
guidance and you go
about how you feel.
That's not right.
That's not good.
Ask the Holy Spirit
to give you wisdom,
to understand better,
to have better insight,
to find better
counselors, whatever,
to make the wise
choice, not the
feeling choice.
sometimes you're going
to need, like them,
you need courage to
face opposition.
Sometimes there's
people, maybe people
in your life at work,
at school, they resent
you being a Christian.
They don't like you
because you're a
Christian.
You're sort of tempted
to sort of shy away,
avoid them, compromise,
not really take a stand.
Ask God, Lord, help me
to give me the power
that I need to stand
firm, to not back down,
not be intimidated.
Maybe you need special
powers and times to
share the gospel with
a certain person.
You want to, you've
been thinking about it,
maybe you've been
praying about it.
Say, Lord, help me.
Give me what I need
right now to share the
gospel with this person.
We all need to pray
for ourselves this way.
We need to pray for
our Christian family
members and friends.
They would experience
the Spirit's special
power during their
times of need.
Let's look at one
more.
Paul rejoiced over
the way God enables
us to stay faithful.
Look at this.
God works through
our faithful efforts.
Verse 20,
As it is my eager
expectation and hope
that I will not be
at all ashamed,
but that with full
courage, now as
always, Christ will be
honored in my body,
whether by life or
by death.
Paul rejoiced over
the thought,
God is going to
enable me to
remain strong,
to stand firm.
He uses that word
in his letters
quite a number of
times.
As he stood before
Caesar at his trial,
he was just confident.
I'll be able to stand
strong because God's
going to enable me to
do that.
The charges against
Paul, the charges
are going to be
brought before that
emperor.
We're all related to
the Jewish opposition
back in Jerusalem.
You can read about that
in Acts chapter 21
through the end of Acts.
Acts 21 through 28.
But the Jewish
leaders oppose Paul
in his preaching the
gospel to the Gentiles.
And so, that's going
to be brought up
before Caesar as Paul
stands there.
And a part of his
defense is going to
be, he's going to
explain the gospel.
He's going to explain
what he was preaching.
He's going to explain
the resurrection of
Jesus.
And the emperor
couldn't care less.
So he needed
God's enablement
to do that
in what's going to
be before the most
powerful man in the
world who will
probably be angered
that such a religious
matter was brought
before him and took
his time.
Look at verse 20.
Paul is confident
that God is going
to provide what he
needs to honor the
Lord no matter what
happens.
He describes himself
as having eager
expectation and hope.
Eager expectation
means intense
expectation that
something is going
to happen.
The word hope in
the New Testament
always means
confident expectation
not wishful thinking.
You know, a lot of
us hoped it would
snow this weekend.
Cold temperatures,
moisture, but it
didn't.
That's not biblical
hope.
Paul fully expects
that he will not be
ashamed, but will have
full courage to explain
the gospel of Jesus
Christ when he
defends himself for
that emperor.
Here's what the
important thing we
need to understand
is.
Paul's real goal
is that he
honored the Lord.
Whether he lives or
dies, that's not the
number one goal.
Certainly he doesn't
want to be executed.
But he is most
concerned that no
matter what, when I
go before that emperor,
I want to honor the
Lord whether I live
or whether I die.
That needs to be our
goal as well.
Now thankfully, none
of us are concerned
about the possibility
of facing death over
our Christian faith.
There are Christians
throughout the world
who are right now.
You've probably read
about Christians being
killed in Nigeria and
other places in Africa,
in China, other
places because of their
faith.
Be thankful we don't
have that kind of fear.
But are there some
things, some situations
when you are tempted
to sort of back away,
not take a stand as a
Christian out of being
ashamed to be associated
with Jesus or being
afraid of what might
happen because you are?
Do you ever fear being
made fun of?
being left out?
And so you sort of
back away.
Are you ever ashamed to
be too closely identified
with Jesus?
Because you don't want
people to think you're
some kind of religious
nut?
Or because you don't
want to stand out too
much from the regular
people of this world
who are not Christians.
See, you know what
scenarios sometimes
come up where you
have a temptation to
be ashamed, back away,
or you're just afraid.
God will supply us with
the power to stay
faithful and to truly
honor Him if we will
ask Him and then if
we will use the
ability that He gives
us, the resources that
He gives us to do it.
Even though we have
these temptations, we
can be confident
witnesses of the Lord
Jesus Christ, you and
me.
You can do it in your
circle of friends, of
acquaintances.
Jesus Christ, you can
do this and not be
ashamed or afraid to
be identified with
Jesus.
But that will only
happen when you make
honoring the Lord, not
disgracing His name, the
number one priority of
your life.
Think about it.
in that work situation,
among those certain
friends at school, are
you more concerned that
you honor Jesus Christ,
that you don't disgrace
Him, or that you don't
get laughed at or left
out, or call some kind
of religious nut.
God will supply us with
the power that we need
to stay faithful and
honor Him if we'll ask
and if we'll use it with
the understanding that my
goal is to honor the
Lord.
Do you want to experience
heartfelt joy, such
heartfelt joy, that
unhappy circumstances
won't touch it, won't
destroy it?
If you do, then draw
close to God.
Stay close to Him.
Spend time with Him
every day in His Word.
Talk to Him in prayer.
Talk to Him throughout
the day in prayer.
Christian joy can only
be experienced by living
in close fellowship with
our Heavenly Father and
with our Lord Jesus
Christ.
That's true.
That's a fact.
God.
So you decide.
Am I going to be a
Christian who truly
rejoices no matter what
my circumstances are?
Let's pray together.
Father, show us now how
You want us to respond to
this message.
Create within us, we
don't already have it
here, God, a strong
desire to experience
Christian joy.
True peace within our
souls.
Because we're right with
You.
We're close to You.
We're serving You.
We're loving You.
We're honoring You.
Father, so move, work in
us to make it clear how
that will occur in every
life.
Show us what sins to
confess, what priorities
to change.
Show us how we need to
pray.
Show us how we need to
obey You.
Show us, dear God.
Help us to make the
commitments to live in
close fellowship with You.
Now let's just all continue
to pray, listen to the
Lord and respond to Him in
the next few minutes.
And leave here ready,
able to experience
Christian joy in your
life.