Gospel Joy

Introduction

Well, good morning! If you have your Bibles and I hope that you do, go ahead and open them up with me to Philippians chapter three…Philippians chapter three…We’re continuing through our sermon series on the letter to the church of Philippi and I think this is our 12th week in this letter....and of course, we’ve titled this series, “Bridge Builders.” This is one of Paul’s great letters, one of his prison epistles, as he writes to the church of Philippi from house arrest there in Rome. And what we’ve seen so far…the main theme that we’ve really pulled out…is the idea of unity. Paul’s been charging this church in Philippi to unify themselves around the gospel and around the salvation they all share. And each of the elements we’ve looked at so far…it’s really shown us what it is that we’re unified in.

I think one of the biggest misconceptions in the modern-day church today is the fact that they think we need to be unified for the sake of being unified....Listen to me church, unity, as Paul’s already suggested in his letter, it’s important…but if you don’t understand the scope of our unity…then it’s pointless. We’re not unified for the sake of being unified…We’re not here just to make people happy. Guys, we’re here because of who Jesus is and what He’s made us to be. That’s been the main idea of Paul’s letter so far. And as we continue to move on....it’s really no different. He continues with this charge and this theme of unity. And this morning, as we kind of turn the corner into chapter three, all we’re gonna do is check out one verse. This one verse, I think its crucial for us understanding the salvation that God’s given us as His children and what our unity with one another should develop in us.

If you’ve been with us over the past couple months as we’ve walked through this letter, Paul’s given us this example of joy and he’s told us to rejoice with him over and over again in his circumstances…He’s told us to rejoice in what we’ve been called to. It’s been constant. And as we come to chapter three this morning, Paul really hunkers down with this idea of being joyful…of rejoicing. And because it’s such a major focus throughout his letter, I think it’s an important element to the point Paul’s trying to make about being unified. We have to understand joy…And the way he keeps addressing it, it’s like he’s saying we still don’t get it....we still don’t understand what’s he’s talking about. And so, this morning…we’re gonna look at the idea of having a gospel joy…how the gospel makes us joyful!

C.S. Lewis, he said this, “Joy is the serious business of heaven.” And Martyn Lloyd-Jones, “God’s people are meant to be people who are always rejoicing in the Lord.”

Listen guys, there’s something really unique…something really special about Christian joy. It’s what separates us from the rest of the world. Now many outside of the church, they assume the complete opposite about us…they believe we live in this antiquated life where we deny ourselves every pleasure…but nothing could be further from the truth. Our Christian life, it’s filled with unspeakable joy. The problem’s too many people define joy as happiness…The Latin root word for happiness, its where our word “fortune” comes from. When my fortunes are good, then my ability to be happy’s high. But when they’re down, happiness is impossible, right? Happiness is entirely based upon the circumstances of my life. And listen, you don’t have to be a Christian to be happy...it can be experienced by both believers and unbelievers…but happiness is always fleeting and temporary. Joy on the other hand, its different…it’s not the same as happiness because it persists even in the most difficult of circumstances…in weakness, in pain, suffering, even death...I couldn’t tell you how many people I’ve ministered to…people in some really dark situations…experiencing real grief, real pain…some of ‘em are even here this morning going through it right now....but guys, I can’t tell you how many people I’ve personally witnessed experience joy at the most difficult moments of their life…when everything else seemed hopeless, they were able to smile and to laugh…they were able to minister to others...There’s something different about them and those that experience all the same things but live in the world. It’s a super natural joy…And guys, we have to understand that joy…we need to experience that joy and discover that joy if we’re truly gonna be unified. Our joy’s one of the identifying marks of who we are…and it’s something that Paul keeps telling us to do with him, right? We should rejoice with him…we should be joyful with him…there’s unity there. And guys, we have to understand it.

And so with that…if you’re there with me in Philippians chapter three…Let’s stand together as we read what Paul wrote in verse 1. He says this, “Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord.”

Thank you, you can be seated.

Listen, if you read Philippians…you’re gonna get saturated with the idea of joy! It runs all throughout this letter. And if you remember, Paul’s already talked about his own joy in chapter one, right?…Even though he’s in prison, even though there’s those that exploit his circumstances and persecute him…he’s able to rejoice in the Lord. And then as we moved on into chapter two, Paul continued that theme. Last week, he said, “Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me.” And then, even as we get into chapter four later on, Paul brings it up again…He says in Philippians 4:4, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!” It’s saturated with joy! And this morning’s no different, except now it’s an imperative…Paul’s giving us a command to be joyful. It’s really not an option as a Christian. We’re commanded to rejoice!

Obviously, as you can see, this idea, it’s pretty important to Paul, right? And I think because of that…because it’s important to Paul…it should be important to us....Listen, that’s why I wanna look at just this one verse this morning. And what we’re gonna do is we’re gonna break it down into four points. We’re gonna look at the nature of joy, the duty of joy, the source of joy, and then finally the means of joy. And then as we close, I’ll give you some practical ways that you can cultivate joy in your own life. But before we can do that, we have to understand what joy is and where it comes from and of course why Paul’s giving us this command…why it’s our responsibility, as Christians, to be joyful.

1.) The Nature of Joy

Paul says, “Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord.”

Listen, before we jump into our main topic this morning we gotten address how Paul opens up this chapter…He says, “Finally!” Almost as if he’s coming to close, right? But it’s like halfway through his letter. Listen, people pick on us preachers all the time…like we never know when to end a sermon...but guys, all we’re doing is emulating Paul’s example, right? He says, “Follow me as I follow Christ!” And so, that’s what we’re doing!

But in actuality, that word “finally,” it doesn’t mean Paul’s come to end in his letter. The Greek word there, it means moreover or furthermore, so then, now then…It’s basically signaling to us a new section in Paul’s letter. He’s turning a corner…And the first thing it wants ‘em to do is to “rejoice in the Lord!” He wants us to understand what it means to have a gospel joy. And not just understand it, he’s commanding them to do it…to rejoice.

And to understand that, we have to understand the nature of joy. The word “nature,” it simply means the qualities or the characteristics of something. So to understand joy, we have to understand the qualities or the characteristics of joy.

I think to really help us here…we have to flip around to other parts of Scripture to understand what Paul’s trying to get at. Galatians 5:22 and 23, “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” Now, of course, Paul wrote Galatians as well and in his letter to them, he says that joy and peace and patience and all these other things, they’re fruits of the Spirit, right? Meaning, in order to demonstrate these things…a person must’ve experienced salvation....they have to be regenerated. Which is why, going back to Philippians, Paul’s says, “Finally, my,” who? He says, “my brothers!” Meaning, he’s addressing believers…he’s making that very apparent here. He doesn’t want the reader to be confused. Joy’s restricted to those who are “brothers” or sisters, it’s restricted to those who’ve all experienced the same supernatural birth. This joy he’s referring to, its reserved exclusively for believers in Christ. That’s why he says in chapter 2, verse 12, “that the God who’s at work in you both to will and to work for his good pleasure,” and then says, “Rejoice in the Lord.”

Listen, the reason that’s important…the reason Paul keeps bringing this up…reminding his reader who he’s talking to…because it’s a reminder that salvation’s all because of God’s grace. Salvation isn’t something we deserve. We don’t deserve to be spared from God’s wrath. We don’t deserve to dwell with Him for all eternity…but yet He’s offered it to us…again not because we deserve it…but because He simply desired to give it to us. It’s all God’s grace. And listen, if salvation’s all about grace…and all these fruits of the Spirit are only possible with those who’ve received this gift of grace…then the nature of joy itself is grace. You understand what I’m saying? We don’t deserve joy. We deserve the complete opposite because the reason the world’s in the mess it’s in…the reason there’s evil and wickedness, it’s because of us…the last thing we deserve is any ounce of joy. But yet, as His children…as a saint…as someone who’s been set apart through Christ and His sacrifice…we can rejoice in the Lord. We can experience real, genuine joy.

In fact, the Puritans and some of the reformers, when they would talk about these inward affections of the heart…things like love, and peace, and joy, and humility. They always referred to them as “graces.” They were things that man couldn’t really demonstrate on their own without the Spirit of God. Joys no different. We have to be reminded that joy’s something distinct from happiness…it’s something very different....it’s not something just anyone can have. It’s a reminder that joy’s actually the product of the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. It’s because of God’s grace. It’s not our right…How many of you guys have heard people say, “I deserve to be happy?” Like its a right or something....Guys, we don’t deserve joy or happiness. We don’t! And as children of God, we recognize that…we recognize the nature of our joy…and it leads us to rejoice in Him!

Listen, the word “joy,” which is the noun form that relates to the verbal form of “rejoice.” The noun “joy” “kara,” it means an experience of gladness. Meaning, obviously there’s an emotional component to it…it deals with how we feel, the affections of the heart. The word “rejoice” or “chairo,” it means to be in a state of wellbeing.

Tim Keller, he defines joy this way. He says, “It is delight in God for the beauty and worth of who he is.” He says, “The opposite of such joy is hopelessness or despair, but there is also a counterfeit, and the counterfeit is elation that rests in blessings, not the blesser, a joy that can be lost based on circumstances.”

Meaning, this joy, this Christian joy, it’s a grace of the Holy Spirit, it’s a fruit…the product of God’s work in our hearts and lives. It’s a joy rooted in Christ Himself…a joy that can only be experienced by the believer…and listen, it’s distinctive of the believer…and this joy’s not based on outward circumstances but instead, what’s occurred in our hearts.

And so, we rejoice in the Lord because the nature of joy is grace!

2.) The Duty of Joy

But look at this verse again....Paul says, “Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord.” it’s a command. It’s our duty to rejoice. Paul’s giving us an imperative to rejoice. And listen, it holds as much weight as, “You shall have no other gods before me,” or, “If you love me, obey my commandments,” or, “Go, therefore and make disciples.”

C.S. Lewis, he once said, “It’s a Christian duty for every man to be as happy as he can be.” Listen, not just happy, but as happy as he can possibly be, right? It’s a duty for the Christian, the duty of joy.

And listen, this idea…this command to rejoice…it’s not just with Paul. Of course, he says it over and over again in his multiple letters but it’s pervasive in Scripture…It’s all over the place. I think about the Psalms. In Psalm 37:4, it says, “Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires.” Or Psalm 100:2, it says, “Serve the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.” Listen, if you just went through all the Psalms and underlined every “joy,” or “rejoice,” or “gladness,” guys it would be overwhelming. It’s all over the place....Church, those are commands. It’s required of us as believers…we’re required to rejoice in the Lord…to find joy in Him.

I mean why wouldn’t we? Why would we struggle with this? He’s looked down on all of our greatest needs…He saw our burden…and He overcame all of it for us. He’s given us everything we could possibly ask for…why would we struggle with rejoicing in Him?

That word “rejoice,” notice it’s in the present tense. Paul’s telling these Philippians…he’s telling us…to always be rejoicing in the Lord, right? It wasn’t just about Sunday mornings or when the church came together, they were to rejoice always. They were to find joy in the Lord at all times. They were to rejoice in whatever circumstances they were facing. That’s been Paul’s point the whole time…even though his situation wasn’t that great, he rejoiced, right? He said to do all things without grumbling or complaining…but with rejoicing. Rejoice in the good times....rejoice in the bad times. We shouldn’t just be glad in prosperity, regardless of what others in our nation might say....We should rejoice in adversity as well, right? Rejoicing…the reason he keeps bringing it up…it’s because it should be our habitual emotion as a Christian. We should be joyful regardless of our circumstances. You understand what I’m saying?

Further, that word “rejoice,” it’s a verb in the active voice. Meaning, Christians, we have to take action to rejoice. We’re to take charge in this matter. We have this obligation to direct our minds and our hearts to rejoice in the Lord. We’re the only ones who can fulfill this. God won’t do this independently of our making this choice to rejoice in the Him. In other words, what Paul’s saying, “I command you to be always making every effort to be rejoicing in the Lord.

Again, “rejoice,” it’s in the imperative mood. It’s a command to be obeyed. It’s an act of the will in choosing to obey God. To rejoice in the Lord, its’ the responsibility of every Christian. We have to choose to rejoice in Him. Paul’s commanding us to rejoice. And listen, what that means…when we mope around about our circumstances, essentially we’re being disobedient to the Lord. We’re living in disobedience. Listen, there’s all kinds of reasons for us to be discouraged, right? There’s reasons for us to feel down…but there’s even greater reasons for us to rejoice. God never commands what He doesn’t make possible.

But listen, let’s look at this on the flip side…what happens if you choose to not find joy in the Lord? Well, it’s a pathway to idolatry....if you don’t rejoice in the Lord…what do you rejoice in? If you don’t find satisfaction in God, then what is it that will bring you joy? Guys, the very heart of idolatry, it’s to find satisfaction in something other than God…it’s to find joy in something in place of God. And listen, when your heart gives way to idolatry, it opens the flood gates to sin. And for those reasons, it’s our duty, it’s our responsibility to glorify God…Guys, we do that, we bring Him glory by rejoicing in Him. It’s our duty to rejoice in Him.

John Piper said this, “God’s most glorified in you when you are most satisfied in Him.” Church, the way to most glorify God in your lives, it’s to deeply enjoy Him…to be satisfied in Him.

And listen, when we obey this simple command…think about the tools we have to do ministry. Think about the ways it’ll push us towards holiness. Regardless of what happens, we’re always satisfied in the Lord and so it doesn’t matter what Satan throws our way....we’re gonna continue to just attack the gates of Hell. Matthew Henry said, “The joy of the Lord will arm us against the assaults of our spiritual enemies and put our mouths out of taste for those pleasures with which the tempter baits his hooks.”

And listen, for all those reasons, joy’s our duty. It’s a grace and it comes from the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives, and yet we have a responsibility to cultivate that joy. The nature of joy…the duty of joy.

3.) The Source of Joy

Thirdly, let’s think for a few minutes about the source of joy…or you could say the sphere of joy or the atmosphere of joy. Look at our passage again…notice the specific words that Paul uses here. He says, “Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord.” Rejoice in who? Rejoice in the Lord, right? In other words, it’s in the Lord that we find our joy.

You remember the theme we’ve kind of already looked at? The idea of our union with Christ? At the very beginning of this letter Paul said what? “To the saints who are in who? Christ Jesus, right? And next week, when we look at verse 3, Paul starts talking about boasting in Jesus…and then even further on…he begins to talk about himself, how he’s counted everything as loss that he might be found in Christ. He’ll say, “not having a righteousness of [his] own that comes from the law,” but the righteousness that comes from God through faith in Christ. Guys, a major piece of his letter’s to remind us that we’re all in Christ as believers. We’re connected to the vine…we’re His. And guys, to be in Christ, it’s essential for our joy. It’s what it means to be a Christian, to be in Jesus, to be united to Jesus....Joy comes from that. That’s the source of joy. The source in which joy’s found, it comes from our relationship with Jesus. And true joy, it’s a gift from God. It’s a gift that only He can give.

The psalmist in Psalm 4:7 said this, “You have put gladness in my heart.” And, “In Your presence is fullness of joy,” in Psalm 16:11. Paul even writes in Romans 14, “The kingdom of God is…joy in the Holy Spirit.” Guys, there’s not one drop of real, genuine joy that’s experienced apart from Him…because He’s the source of joy.

That’s exactly why Jesus in John 17, while He’s praying to the Father the night before His crucifixion…He says, “But now I am coming to you [speaking to the Father here], and these things I speak in the world that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves.”

Guys, think about that for a second. He says the reason He’s come....the reason He did everything He did was so that we could have His joy fulfilled in us. In other words, the very joy of Jesus becomes our joy. His joy’s fulfilled in us. That’s what it means to rejoice in the Lord…it means to have Him as the source of our joy…the object of our joy.

Listen, have you ever been in a situation where you’re in a room or in a building, and all of a sudden there were these fumes from a chemical? It’s kind of choking out the oxygen, and you just find yourself almost desperate for breath. Or have you ever been underwater for too long and you need to come up for air because you need to breathe? That’s the kind of desperation that we need for Jesus, because Jesus is the oxygen, the atmosphere…the source of our joy.

Paul says to rejoice in the Lord Jesus because of all He’s done for you, because of all He is to you. He’s your prophet, your priest, your king; He’s your substitute, your Savior, your Redeemer. He’s died for you, He’s raised for you, He reigns for you, He’s coming back for you! Rejoice in Him. He is the source of our joy.

The psalmist said, “You make known to me the path of life. In your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore,” Guys, all of that, it’s fulfilled for us in Jesus. It’s in Jesus’ presence that there’s fullness of joy. It’s the source of our joy.

4.) The Means of Joy

And then finally…the means of joy. If we understand the nature of joy and the duty of joy and of course the source of joy…then how, right? How do we do it? How do we live this kind of life? How do we cultivate that kind of joy in our hearts and in our lives so that we’re growing in our delight of God…in our gladness of God?

Listen, real quick, I just wanna lay out six things I think Scripture tells us about that. I’ll kind of throw out the text and give you the reason quickly. I just wanna show you how Scripture connects some our disciplines and our responsibilities in the Christian life to joy.

Alright…you listening quick? Let me give you these applications.

Number one…abiding. Remember what Jesus said in John 15? The illustration He uses about the vine and the branches? He says, “I am the vine, you are the branches,” and then He goes on, “Abide in me.” Guys, as a branch, unless it abides in the vine, it can’t bear fruit, meaning you can’t bear the fruits of the Spirit unless you’re abiding in Him. He says, “Without me you can do nothing.”

And so, how do we do that? He says in verses 9 through 11, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love...” And so, obedience is part of this abiding. “...just as I have kept my Father’s commands and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be full.”

Again, as Jesus lays out plainly here…it all comes down to your union, your relationship, your being in Christ. In order for your joy to be full, you have to live in an ongoing, constant union with Jesus. You have to abide in Him. That’s number one.

Another part of this...is believing....that’s number two. Romans 15:13, “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Paul says it’s in believing that God fills us with joy. In other words, you have to be trusting in His promises…believing in His word…you have to be trusting in Him Himself. It’s the reason the idea of eternal security’s so important. It’s by believing in Him and His promises that we’re filled with joy.

Number three…meditating…and not just meditating for the sake of meditating but meditating on the Word of God. Remember what the psalmist in Psalm 1 said, “His delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.” Or Psalm 19:8, “The precepts of the Lord are right, making the heart glad; the command of the Lord is radiant, making the eyes light up.”

Guys, if you wanna be happy in the Lord, you’re gonna have to be in His Word. You’re gonna have to be reading it…It’s why I’ve been pushing KNOT Groups so much. You’re gonna have to be meditating on it. That’s how you’ll learn to delight in Him as the psalmist says. The Word of God leads to joy.

And so, there’s abiding, there’s believing, there’s meditating…number four…repenting. Martin Luther said this, “The whole life of the Christian is to be one of repentance.”

Guys, for many of us…we think that’s a one and done deal. We asked for forgiveness at the moment of salvation and because we’re not Catholic we don’t need to confess our sins anymore. Guys, there’s a crucial place for repentance in our lives. We have to acknowledge our sins and turn from them. We have to constantly remember who we are and turn to Jesus…We have to acknowledge the sin in our lives because its that sin that blocks our joy.

Any of you guys read David’s psalm in Psalm 51? After he committed adultery with Bathsheba he wrote, “Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.” Guys, if joy’s lacking in your life…then it’s either one of two things…one, you’re not in a union with Christ and you don’t have the source of joy…or two, sin’s blocking that joy from taking root in your heart and you need to turn from it.

Number five…gratitude…we have to constantly thank God! That needs to be reflected in our prayer life. We need to thank Him for both the big blessings in salvation but also in the small blessings, the ordinary blessings…what we might call the creature comforts, right? He’s created all that for us…so we rejoice in Him…We thank God for those things and let that lead us into a deeper joy in Him. We see the psalmist do that in Psalm 104.

And then finally…we have to hope in Him…especially in what’s to come. Even in the midst of suffering, in our pain, we have to look ahead to what God’s doing and will do.

Romans 5, Paul says, “Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings...” We rejoice in hope, we rejoice in our sufferings, “knowing that suffering produces endurance, endurance produces character, character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”

In other words, even in the midst of our sufferings, we’re looking ahead…we’re looking to the future, we’re looking to this new world that God’ll create, the new heavens and the new earth, when Jesus comes again and He makes all things new. That’s the source of joy. That’s a means, a way of cultivating joy in the Lord.

Closing

Guys, it’s all these things…it’s abiding, and believing…it’s mediating, repenting, thanking God, hoping in Him…that cultivates joy in our lives.

Let me ask you this this morning....what’s your happiness level right now? Where’s your joy level at? Think about your basic disposition, your basic attitude over the last seven days…have you been rejoicing in the Lord instead of moaning and groaning or complaining? Are you basically a happy person? Would the people around you define you as that? Are you satisfied in God? Are you joyful?

Guys, as you think about those questions would just bow your head and close your eyes with me?

Listen, sometimes…it’s hard to be happy, right? Life can really throw some curve balls at us sometimes. And listen, you might be thinking, “Pastor Steven, you just don’t know what I’m going through right now…you don’t understand....I’m dealing with some real depression right now…and it’s just out of my control.” Guys, I’ve shared with you some of my struggles in the last year…I’ve been depressed…I’ve struggled with it…I’ve had to talk to people about it. I get it…but listen, it doesn’t control me…It’s not who I am. It’s just something I struggle with.

And because there’s a power that dwells in me that’s stronger than anything else known to man…I can overcome that just like anything else in my life. I just have to chose to live through the Spirit and not the flesh…Now, does that mean that I don’t get depressed sometimes? No…absolutely not! Listen, some of you, after I shared that with you months ago....you thought, there’s no way he struggles with that…there’s no way he understands…he’s always happy…he could never understand what I’m going through…Guys, my joy’s not defined by my circumstances…its not defined by the condition of my heart or even what’s going on inside of me…my joy’s defined by a person. And that person’s name…is Jesus. The same Jesus that died for me…the same Jesus that rose for me. If He can do that…if He has the power to overcome the sin in my life…He certainly has the power to bring my life joy if I choose to walk in it.

Guys, are you gonna choose to be joyful? Are you gonna choose to let the Spirit in you take root and bloom? Your joy defines who you are as a child of God and it dictates how successful you can be in advancing the kingdom of God. There’s nothing that the Spirit of God can’t overcome in your life. Are you gonna be joyful?

Paul says, “Finally, brothers, rejoice in the Lord.”

[Prayer]

Listen, whatever it is God’s putting on your heart this morning. Would you respond to that? Would you be obedient to the leading of the Spirit? Listen, Wendy’s gonna play, I’m gonna step to the back, this is your time..between you and God.