The Joy Stealers #1
‘Skunks Chains, and the Joy of the Lord’
Philippians 1:13-21
Introduction:
A funny thing happened in Darlington, Maryland several years ago. Edith, a mother of eight, was coming home from a neighbours house one Saturday afternoon. As she walked into the living room, she saw five of her youngest children huddled together, concentrating with intense interest ion something. As she slipped near them, trying to discover the center of attraction, she couldn’t believe her eyes. Right dab in the middle were five baby skunks. She screamed at the top of her voice, ‘CHILDREN, RUN!!!” Each child grabbed a skunk and ran.
Life’s like that sometimes. You are going full steam ahead, with the wind in your sails, when you suddenly hit a sand bar. It is like confronting a room full of skunks. You just want to get out of the room. Maybe you are confused, angry, and discouraged. All you know is all of the sudden, your JOY is gone.
There are so many things that seek to rob us of Joy. Circumstances can shake our faith, people will discourage us, and things distract us from what God wants us to enjoy. To experience His abundant, overflowing joy involves a choice. God does not coerce us, nor does He seduce us.
I believe that one of the missing commodities of life today is joy. Turn on your television and even the sit coms are centered around making fun out of someone’s misfortune or something crude. The lead stories n the Kingston Whig on Friday were, ‘Health System Threatened’ and’ Fire destroys life’s work’. An examination of the paper found that there was really no good news to report. Even consider the weather report. Often you hear, Tomorrow will be cloudy with a 20% chance of rain’ When was the last time you heard a weather report say, ‘Mostly clear with 80% chance of sunshine’
I believe what the world needs is a ‘JOY infusion’. However there is confusion as to what joy really is. Even Christians have a hard time believing in joy. I have been to funerals that were more joyful than some churches I have attended. A few churches have mistaken joy for one of the 7 deadly sins. It is one f the fruit of the Holy Spirit though! God expects us to know his joy. What is joy?
Chuck Swindoll says that joy is “ a positive attitude we choose to express” . It is not pie in the sky. It does not come and go like the wind. Our circumstances do determine our joy. Where then does this joy come from?
‘It is a matter of attitude that stems from your confidence in God- The belief that He is at work, that He is in full control, that He is in the midst of whatever has happened, is happening or will happen.’
What does the Bible say about joy? In 1 Thess.3:8,9 we read that joy is associated with life;
For now we really live, since you are standing firm in the Lord. How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the JOY we have in the presense of our God for you.
The ground and source of our joy is the Lord Himself. Jesus declared that,
‘I am the vine and you are the branches, if a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit,
Paul later affirms the source of Christian joy in Philippinas 3 when he writes,
‘Rejoice in the Lord, I will say it again rejoice!’
Ironically our capacity for joy is directly relational to the depth of sorrow we experience. In John 16:20, Jesus encourages his disciples with His promise that,
‘You will weep and mourn while the world rejoices, you will grieve but your grief will be turned to JOY.’
These verses remind us first of all that God desires us to pursue and possess real, overflowing, contagious joy. Furthermore, this joy stems from our ongoing, unobstructed relationship with Jesus, and finally there are times in life we grieve. Perhaps it is the loss of a loved one, a job relocation, a sickness. You will experience normal times of grief. In fact you will feel as if you are all alone in your pain. That is just part of life. However, we are not meant to grovel in the pit of despair forever. God’s word promises us abundant life and joy.
God’s word is a biography of men and women who faced insurmountable odds to achieve victory and maintain their joy. They experienced pain but never let go of their contagious joy.
There once lived a man who became a Christian as an adult and left the security of his career to follow Christ. Persecution became his constant companion. He was misunderstood by his friends and maligned by his enemies. Nevertheless, he pressed on joyfully.
This man was a brilliant scholar, an eloquent public speaker, a fearless lawyer, religious theologian and a flaming evangelist/missionary. He once boasted in his attainments, but would later write, ‘I count it all as loss for the sake of knowing Jesus Christ and His power.
If there was anyone who had a reason to give in to despair and claim that he was a victim of his circumstances it was the apostle Paul. From his prison house in Rome, Paul writes one f the most joy filled letters anyone could ever read.
Most Bible commentators and historians believe that this was one of the last letters Paul wrote before being beheaded by Nero. How then could Paul maintain such a joyful spirit? The secret to his joy is found in verse 21. Paul was contented because Christ was central. When Jesus becomes central to our lives, he gives new focus to three of the most prevalent joystealers in all of life: Circumstances, people, and things.
1. He broadens the dimensions of our circumstances
In spite of his circumstances, Paul is confident, though a victim. Chains that were binding him could not shackle his joy. Read verses 12-14 and see if you hear someone who is wallowing in despair. This is what Christ would do for us. Our limitations become a challenge rather than a chore.
Paul writes of his circumstances as serving a greater purpose. He considers things most people would see as setbacks as progress. The colourful word Paul uses, speaks of ‘a group of pioneer woodcutters who would proceed an advancing army. They would clear the way through an otherwise impenetrable forest.’ Paul actually viewed his circumstances as God’s tool to advance the gospel in Rome. Notice Paul says that the gospel was being made known throughout the whole palace guard and furthermore, his imprisonment was helping to encourage those believers who were fearful The prison guard was a divine appointment for Paul to share Christ. As well, believers became increasingly bolder in their witness when they saw the strength and courage of Paul.
2. He delivers us from preoccupation with others
Paul was joyful inspite of what others are saying abut him. There were two groups of preachers in Rome. Those who preached of rivalry and jealousy, and those who were proclaiming the gospel out of pure motives and desires. Three were some ‘self seeking opportunists’ promoting themselves at Paul’s expense. Take careful note of Paul’s reaction.
WHAT DOES IT MATTER?! So what if some preach with wrong motives. Furthermore, some may be overly impressed with themselves and take unfair shots at me. Who cares? What really matters is this, Christ is being proclaimed, and that thought only intensifies my joy. All the other stuff I leave to God to handle.
To Paul, the preaching of the gospel and people being saved was more important than any personal grievances he had with people. He had learned to see things that were really important. Charles Swindol says that, ‘A large part of learning to laugh again is to be broad shouldered enough to let things be...to make room for differences...to applaud good results even if the way others arrive at them may not be our preferred method. It takes alot of grace to not be petty, but oh the benefits.’ Paul refused to be caught in a war of words. He did not call a lawyer. He knew who the real enemy was. As long as the gospel was being proclaimed, the enemy(Satan) would be defeated. Have you learned to leave the ‘other stuff’ to God to handle?
3. He calms our fears regarding the future
Paul remained hopeful regardless of the uncertainties of his situation. Paul was confident of his eventual deliverance. He was confident in the prayers of the Philippians on his behalf. He was also encouraged because of the present infilling of the Holy Spirit.
In the broadest sense, Paul was confident regardless of the outcome of his circumstances. So he has every reason to expect victory and deliverance. His mind is firmly fixed n this hope. In other words, his present circumstances were not the end of the story. Everything would turn out exactly as God directed
Refusing to be crippled by people’s unkind words, refusing to submerge himself in self pity, and refusing to take criticism and attacks personally, Paul remains strong, positive, and sure.
CONCLUSION
ILLUSTRATION: Rev. Lang and Taber, Alta.
The practical application of joy is made real through choosing to live in His joy. There are so many things that seek to rob us of joy. Circumstances shake our faith, people will discourage us, and things will distract us from what God truly wants us to enjoy. To expense is abundant, overflowing joy involves a choice. We choose the level of joy we want to live on. He does not coerce us nor seduce us.
Have you made your choice?
