A Different Kind of Joy

Greeting

Welcome & promote Sons Night tomorrow. Last day to register is today. We’re closing it tonight.

Prayer for the message

Image

Every now and then my wife and I will have the chance to get a way to a nice restaurant that puts a lot of thought into the experience of their meal. It’s the kind of place that you show up and you know that you are not going to just order one thing because the portion size is so large that it’ll literally be your only meal of the day.

The portions are smaller by intention. Because they want you savoring different kind of offerings.

And, I think, because they want more of your money.

But sometimes you roll with it because it’s a special night and you’re there for it.

Recently, for our anniversary, we went to a restaurant and it was like that.

There are appetizers, and then there is a salad, and then there is the main course, and you know that the dessert is going to be amazing, so you leave a little room for that as well.

In that same way, Paul is going to write to us in Philippians 4 and he takes us on a literary journey, where he stacks thoughts on top of thoughts, with each one bringing clarity and articulation to the previous thought.

And so he has this structure in his writing where he gives us his proclamation. You’re going to see it in a moment, but there’s this proclamation. And then he follows that with some instruction to support what that proclamation looks like. Then he gives them an example of what this looks like by drawing on his own experience. Then, he brings it all together - the proclamation, the instruction, and the example, and he points it right back to them to tell them that you can do all things through Christ.

Subject

And that is our subject for today as we conclude this series on Philippians.

It’s been a study on joy. It’s been a study on going counter cultural in many ways with our thoughts and our feelings.

It’s this belief that we know hard times are coming, but we go through hard times differently than the world does.

It’s said in the Bible, “we don’t weep like the world weeps.”

Need

And all of that sounds amazing… until it doesn’t seem to work.

There are moments when you hear a series like this and you think to yourselves, “I’m with you! Amen, Pastor! Let’s go!”

But then there are moments of loss, grief, sadness, and heart break, when if someone were to tell us these things we’d ask them to go away. Our pain is too deep. The hurt is too much.

And we will all be there at some point in our life. And when we do, we’re going to need what Paul is cooking up for us today.

A Different Kind of Joy

With that in mind, I’d like to preach on this thought I am calling a different kind of joy.

Text

I am going to take you through the text like we are sitting down to have a meal at a fine dining restaurant.

Command - Stand Firm

Philippians 4:1 NIV

Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, dear friends!

His Command starts with the word ‘therefore’, so you always have to ask yourself what is it there for?

The command to stand firm is a command based on the previous thought thatPaul connects in the previous verse, Philippians 3:20

Philippians 3:20–21 NIV

But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

Paul is saying that this world, and all of it’s trouble, will pass away, and we’re waiting to get to our permanent home.

How many of you know that the Kingdom of God is your home?

How many of you are living like Kingdom is your home?

That’s the command - Stand Firm.

We stand Firm because we have a Savior.

We stand firm because He is going to put everything under His control.

We stand firm because these temporary bodies will one day become glorious bodies.

Paul roots our need to stand firm not in who we are, but in who Christ is.

If you are sick, we are commanded to stand firm.

If you are going through a hard time, we are commanded to stand firm.

If there’s a lot going on in life… does that give us a reason to stop coming to church and hide from our brothers and sisters? No, we’re committed to stand firm.

We don’t serve God only when we get our way, but we serve God because He is good and His mercy is everlasting towards us.

[Pause]

Tell your neighbor, “Stand Firm”

Instruction - Standing Firm

Then, what Paul does is he Instructs the reader by giving us examples of what it looks like.

Aren’t you grateful for some direction? Let’s read through it.

Philippians 4:5 NIV

Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.

That’s the first way - be a gentle person.

Not an angry person.

Not a Christian looking to pick a theological fight with everyone who doesn’t agree with them.

But, a gentle person who lives in such a way that it is evidenced to all.

Don’t buy into that nonsense, “I don’t care what people think about me…”

You should care.

It shouldn’t drive every decision you make, but you should be totally aware of how you are being thought of by others.

John 13:35 NIV

By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

Even Jesus taught us to care about what other people think about us because it is a representation of Jesus. We are his ambassadors, so what kind of ambassador are you?

Philippians 4:6–7 NIV

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

The next thing he tells us is to not be an anxious person, but instead be a person of prayer.

We don’t live unbothered, but we are not anxious. We are people of prayer. We stand firm because when life makes other people anxious, it doesn’t do that to us, becuase we run to the Father in prayer.

Do you want to know what it looks like to stand firm?

It looks like a person on his knees.

To the world it looks like a position of surrender, but in Christ, this is a position of power!

There is a God that I serve that fights my battles. There is a God that goes before me. There is a God that is all around me.

And the more I am familiar with this, the more I am familiar with His peace. The peace of God is going to guard my heart and my mind.

Philippians 4:8–9 NIV

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

Lastly, we are going to think about what we are thinking about.

We aren’t going to allow ourselves to be consumed with the things that consume this world. But, we are going to be constantly thinking about things that are noble, right, pure, lovely and admirable.

If you are constantly putting things in front of your eyes and into your ears that are NOT these things… are they really helpful?

Think about the opposites of these words - dishonorable, things that are wrong, things that are impure, things that are ugly, things that are despicable…

I think we have to be very careful of what feeds our souls.

I know it’s easy to watch something on YouTube because your algorithm shoved it into your face, but you control your eyes, not your phone. Because what you see becomes what you think.

Standing Firm means that we think about the right things so that we can put it into practice.

Description

Now we need to get to the main course… we’re going to pull on just a couple of verses here and apply them.

Philippians 4:11 NIV

I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.

Why is Paul saying this?

Because the church in Philippi started sending him prayers and resources.

He’s thanking them for thinking enough about him to put their thoughts into action.

This is why we do more than just give of our time to our church, but we give of our resources to the Kingdom of God because we care enough to do it. We don’t try to argue our way out of being generous, and then at the same time, we say how much we love and care for this place.

That’s another sermon for November, but if you want to know what is leading Paul to say these things, that is why.

But his posture is - I have learned to be content.

Now, we have to teach on this because the Western Church has no idea what it means to have Godly contentment.

We are an aspirational country and our values are rooted in, “you can get out of this whatever you put into this.”

And truthfully, I love this value when it comes to things like your work, your education, and your way of living.

I also think that this affects much of how we work for God’s Kingdom as well.

Where it does not work is when it comes to the grace and mercy of God.

We cannot work to earn or to deserve that.

That is a free gift.

But, here is the point that I am driving at…

In our culture of working hard to earn things, we often times view contentment as settling.

“I didn’t win, but I am content with how we did.”

“I didn’t get the promotion at work, but I am content with how I did.”

That is not Godly contentment.

Godly contentment, the kind that Paul is talking about, is rooted in the belief that “He is God, and I am not.”

Godly contentment looks like, “If I were in charge, I would do it this way. But because I am not in charge, and He is in charge, we are going to do it His way.”

Do you see the difference?

It’s not settling, it’s you being wise enough to know that God knows more than you do, so we’re going to do it His way because His way is better!

I know some of you think you know more than God…

Do you want to know how I know that? You don’t pray about anything.

You don’t stop to ask God if this is what he wants for you.

You make so many important decisions without prayer, and then when things come crashing down you finally ask, “God, where are you?”

And God is like, “I didn’t think you wanted me…”

But Godly contentment is rooted in this belief that because God has me, I’m going to do it His way every day.

And if anyone knew this, it was Paul.

Let me just give you an example from his life… he wanted to go to Rome to preach the gospel. It was a strategic location because at the time of Paul’s life “All roads led to Rome.” Meaning, he could center his ministry there and the Gospel can find any place in the world because all rods lead in and out of there.

So Paul made it his mission to get to Rome.

Does anyone know how Paul arrived at Rome?

In handcuffs…

Not as a free man, but as a prisoner.

But did that stop him?

He turned his prison into a pulpit and preached the gospel to everyone!

Paul would have preached the gospel to a mouse if he could get it stick around long enough.

Paul was content. He wrote this letter to them while under arrest because he was content.

[Transition]

Then we get the single most tattooed Bible verse in the Bible.

Philippians 4:13 NIV

I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

Again, Paul is talking about enduring prison when he wrote this verse.

He wasn’t talking about hitting home runs, throwing touchdowns, and throwing down a slam dunk.

He’s saying I can do this prison thing because I am content with where God has me.

So let’s break this down… I can do all things through Christ.

Say, “through Christ.”

That’s the key - we can’t do all things through our selves, or through our own efforts. We can only do all things through Christ.

Our lives fully surrendered to Christ and our lives fully content in what He has for us, that’s what will give us strength.

We our strong when we are surrendered to God’s will in our life.

That’s the key. That’s what Paul has been leading his readers in this letter.

Stop trying to do things your way, and start doing things His way.

Don’t buy what this world is selling…

You don’t have to do it by yourself - but you can do all things through Christ who gives you strength.

Nehemiah said - the Joy of the Lord is your strength

Paul said - when I am weak, that’s when He is strong

So when I’m full of joy - God gives me strength. And when I’m weak - God still gives me strength.

So no matter where you are or however you are, we get our strength through Christ.

Conclusion

Now, here is the key - we’re talking about operating through Christ.

In order to do that, we need to first be In Christ.

Ask your neighbor, “Are you In Chrst?”

How does Paul explain:

Galatians 3:26–27 NIV

So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.

You see, the Holy Spirit, he functions as Christ in us.

But we are In Christ when we have been baptized into Christ.

And that’s what is happening today in all of our services. We have people making a decision to change citizenships. I may be living in this world, but I am not of this world. I am In Christ.

I made the decision to wash away the old me when I stepped into those waters, and coming out of those waters will be the New Me. I am a New Creation. I am Born Again.

Now that I am being born into a new family, I get a new name, and I now live In Christ.

Let’s put it together now… because I am In Christ, I can do All Things Through Christ.

Call

We have a number of people today making that decision and let’s do this Lighthouse, let’s send them out of here with a big round of applauds.

We celebrate you!

We are so pumped for you!

Now, we are prepared to baptize some more of you as well.

The Christian faith is a faith of invitation. We invite you into the family of Christ. We welcome you into the family of Christ.

Some of you need some new family. You need a new identity. You’ve not lived your life In Christ, but you know that things have to change if you are ever going to experience real change.

So if you would like to join this group today, we have room for more of you.

We’re going to pray, and then we’ll do one worship song before sending you out to join us in celebrating all of these transformed lives.