Where does joy come from? Probably most of us would say that we are joyful when something good happens to us or someone we love. That would be a mistake. The source of our joy does not come from circumstances. Such thinking results in up and down Christians - dependant on the whims of the moment for whether you are in the depths or on the heights.
Paul gives us the keys to joy here in chapter 3. He says:
Be joyful yet watchful - of those that would lure you to have confidence in your ability or your pedigree.
Have no confidence in yourself - but have all confidence in the Lord - to know Him (all of Him - joys & sorrows) and to join with Him in this process of making you like Him.
Watch as your example, not those who are against the cross, but those who have gone before you killing the flesh, but giving life to the Spirit.
1 Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you.
Paul just got finished talking about himself and Epaphroditus - both ill or in danger. You could really get discouraged hearing this - maybe this "serving the Lord" thing isn’t so great - it leads to sadness. "Not so!" says Paul. Instead he says: REJOICE!
Paul is saying "you have cause for rejoicing because you are in Jesus!" That fact changes how we view life and how we experience life.
In the next chapter Paul is going to say "Rejoice in the Lord always, and I again I say rejoice." How can that be when so much bad comes at us? Because our bedrock is our relationship with Jesus.
Romans 8:37-39 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
And notice how Paul says that it is a safeguard for him to write to them again about these things. Circumstances have a way of building up on us - like slowly getting your feet buried in the sand next to the ocean - and we forget about the joy and concentrate instead on the rising sand. We need reminders like this all the time!
So we’re going to look at 2 things not to get joy from - and 7 sources of joy. Paul gives us this reminder - to be joyful - as a "safeguard." It’s a safeguard from despair, discouragement, delusion, and deception. Does it mean we will never be sad? No. It means that no matter what happens you have something to lean on.
Joy means "calmly happy." I’m not talking about always having a smile on your face and laughing and joking and "Praise God everything’s GREAT!"
In fact, James tells us to weep with those who weep. We are not Stepford Christians. What we’re talking about is your foundation - what do you lean on, what informs your life and your experience. There is a calm happiness knowing that no matter what terrible circumstances you face, you are held fast in the mighty hands of God.
John 10:28-30 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand . 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one."
First - where not to look for joy:
You won’t receive joy from legalism
2 Watch out for those dogs, those men who do evil, those mutilators of the flesh. 3 For it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh- 4 though I myself have reasons for such confidence.
Judaizers. Legalists.
The true circumcision is that of the heart (Romans 2:29) by the Spirit - as you repent and believe.
We WORSHIP the Spirit - GLORY in Christ, put NO CONFIDENCE in the flesh.
- Worship by the Spirit is another way to put it - because we believe God’s Spirit comes into our hearts and we cry "Abba" - a new relationship
- Glory in Christ - or "exalt" in Christ - He did it all, we did nothing
- Our flesh is legalistic righteousness - don’t depend on it!
Legalism brings temporary joy - you accomplished something so God ought to love you more. But that only lasts until your next mistake. Circumcising your heart - that you know in your flesh dwells no good thing - then glorying in Jesus’ righteousness for you and in you by His Spirit - that is permanent joy.
You won’t receive joy from your accomplishments
If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless.
Getting joy from legalism will never work because you can never obtain happiness from legalism because you will never be good enough. If anyone could have it was Paul - he was the pinnacle of his day but it led him in the wrong direction. Accomplishments act like a drug - numbing us to our need for relationship with God and joy that comes from Him.
Doing things for God and at His bidding is great - that’s not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about doing things just to do them - so they make you feel good. That leads to emptiness.
So how do we get joy?
Joy comes from letting go of self appraisal
7 But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ
Whatever gains you had in this world through wealth, beauty, education, or power - are 1) not going to get you anywhere in God’s kingdom and 2) are nothing compared to the greatness of Jesus Christ. We have to let that sink in because it is the opposite of what the world screams around us.
Paul suffered loss of all this greatness when he came to Jesus - it is a loss - grieve and move on! Paul called it rubbish - this is a kind term for dung, refuse, or waste.
Mark 8:36-38 What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? 37 Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?
Joy comes from faith in Christ
9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ-the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.
1- Rightness comes from God - not from you.
2. We access it simply by believing that what God said is true.
Joy comes from knowing Jesus
10 I want to know Christ
The word "know" here is personal and experiential. Knowing about Christ or knowing things about Him won’t get you anywhere. You have to know Him personally.
How does that happen? By realizing you are imperfect, that Jesus died on the cross on purpose - that you died there with Him, and were also resurrected with Him. By making Him your Savior and your Lord - you know Him.
Then you move on to get to know Him more - how? Two ways:
Joy comes from realizing you are resurrected from yourself
and the power of his resurrection
You know him by seeing the power of His resurrection in your life - changing you, healing you, using you.
Joy comes from sharing in Christ’s sufferings
and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.
There is a part of knowing Jesus that means to share in suffering. All the apostles including Paul died for knowing Jesus. You may not die in that way - but every time you suffer unjustly whether sickness, trial, or persecution - then you know Jesus a little bit more. It is a sweet and incredibly deep knowledge - but forms bedrock for the Christian to make it though life.
12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for
which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
(12) See, there is a partnership - Christ took hold you - now like a man reaching up to the one who is plucking him out of the storm - we grasp on as well.
(12) Forget the old stuff and strain towards what’s ahead - being perfected into Jesus’ image.
(14) What is this "win the prize?" Does it mean that we might try but fail? No - it is a summons to the victors stand. As a kid I remember going to swim meets and being so joyful when I got to go to the medal stand.
Jesus earned the medal - all you have to do is stand up and receive it when we get to heaven.
2 Corinthians 5:10 says we must all stand before the judgment seat of Christ - that is when the Roman emperor overseeing the games would confer prizes - that’s what we to look forward to - not a frown but a smile on God’s face.
15 All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. 16 Only let us live up to what we have already attained.
There is no "holier than thou" - which apparently had crept into the Philippians’ church.
"Live up to" is a military term that means "keep in line." We may be in different stages of our Christian maturity but we all depend on Jesus for it all.
So Paul says we can benefit from those who are more mature - not by comparing ourselves to each other but from learning from each other.
Joy comes from watching others do well in the Lord & observing those who reject
17 Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you. 18 For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things.
You can really know if someone is worth following if they live the example of servant-leadership.
Self seeking behavior, self aggrandizing motives- these are signs of someone NOT to imitate.
Paul said in:
1 Corinthians 11:1 Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.
So find joy in seeing what God is doing in others and imitating it - but also find joy in waiting for the day when we will be released!
Joy comes from waiting for the take-off
20 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 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.
You know that time when you are sitting in the airport gate - waiting for them to call your flight? That’s what it should be like for us. We are waiting for God to get on the loudspeaker and say "Now boarding all rows for Heaven" and when we get on board we will be transformed so that all the old dead junk that’s been holding us down all this time will just disappear and we’ll be glorious!
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