Good Morning Beloved,
Welcome to worship this Lord's Day
We'd like to welcome our beloved brothers and sister in Germany, France, Netherlands, United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and United Arab Emirates.
You are all such a blessing! Please know that we are keeping you all in our prayers.
I believe that the attitude of many Christians, that we have in church and in our daily lives has a significant impact on how people perceive Jesus. If all they see is scorning, frowning faces, pointing fingers in condemnation and judgment, what will they think of Jesus? After all isn't He our example? Why would anyone be attracted to that? I don’t know about you, but that's not the Jesus that I know! My Jesus loving, compassionate, forgiving. And even though He never turned a blind eye to sin, He confronted it without condemnation.
In John 8:1-7, Jesus confronted and silenced the religious leaders, condemning them rather than the woman who committed adultery. "But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people were coming to Him; and He sat down and began to teach them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery, and having set her in the center of the court, they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in adultery, in the very act. Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?” They were saying this, testing Him, so that they might have grounds for accusing Him. But Jesus stooped down and with His finger wrote on the ground. But when they persisted in asking Him, He straightened up, and said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her."
Christ exposes our sin, not to condemn, but by grace draw us to Himself, convict us and restore us. All in the power of His transforming love.
Beloved, I believe our attitudes toward others, both believers and non believers alike, is an outward reflection of Jesus' work in our lives. The truth is, there are so many things that seek to rob us of Joy. Our circumstances can shake our faith, people will discourage us, and the things of this life can all distract us from what God wants us to enjoy. However, His abundant, overflowing joy is a choice. God does not coerce us, He does not lure and seduce us. And, I believe that one of the missing commodities of the Christian life today, is joy.
Let us bow our heads in prayer.
Heavenly Father,
Father, we're so grateful for the powerful truths, the life changing instruction in Your Word. So rich, such valuable insight. Thank You for the fellowship, with all of our brothers and sisters from all around the world. Thank You for prompting their hearts to join us. Thank You for the honor and great privilege of being called to proclaim Your Word to such beautiful souls.
Father, I pray that You would bind it to our hearts, that amidst our own personal struggles, we may not forget the needs of others and become complacent in following Your command of the Great Commission, sharing the gospel, in making disciples.
As we prepare our hearts and our homes to celebrate with family, the joyous occasion of Your birth, remind us not forget the needs of those, who are less fortunate than ourselves, and it become our passion. Help us to pursue the supreme joy of a life in Jesus Christ, Your Son.
Paul later affirms Jesus as the source of Christian joy in Philippians 4:4 when he writes, "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!" Ironically our capacity for joy is directly relational to the depth of sorrow we experience.
Jesus offers us encouragement with His promise in John 16:20, "Truly, truly, I say to you, that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; you will grieve, but your grief will be turned into joy."
Jesus remind us that God desires us to pursue and possess real, overflowing, contagious joy and this kind of joy can only come from our unobstructed relationship with Christ. We all experience times of grief, whether its the loss of a loved or we feel abandoned, going through our trials and it seems as though no one cares. Like it or not, its part of life. However, we are not meant to grovel and complain, wallowing in self-pity.
In verse 13, Paul writes "so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard, and to everyone else, that my imprisonment is in the cause of Christ."
Here he talks about his imprisonment, Paul is a prisoner, not because he committed a crime, but he preached Christ, because he believed in Christ. In Acts 28:17,
He had done no wrong he was delivered a prisoner into the hands of the Romans. Acts 28:17
Verse 14, "Most of the brothers in the Lord have gained confidence from my imprisonment and dare even more to speak the message fearlessly." Here Paul says, because of my imprisonment, the majority of the brothers have grown in confidence in Christ and have more courage. The Greek word pleionas means "majority," they started to see how God was using Paul to advance the gospel. They began to see Paul's effectiveness, they saw how God was protecting him, it gave them even more courage. While imprisoned, Paul's life had continued to touch the lives around him, all for Christ. The impact of one man's life was impacting the whole church. WOW, what a legacy!
Verse 20, "My eager expectation and hope is that I will not be ashamed about anything, but that now as always, with all boldness, Christ will be highly honored in my body, whether by life or by death."
What Paul is saying is, "I'm confident in the promise of Christ, that if I'm faithful to Him, He'll be exalted. And that if I'm never ashamed of Him, that He'll never be ashamed of me.
Jesus says in Matthew 10:32-33, "Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven."
In Closing...
Beloved, God’s Word is a biography of men and women who faced insurmountable odds to achieve victory while maintaining their joy. They experienced excruciating pain but they never let go of their contagious joy.
If there was anyone who had a reason to lose all hope, give in to despair and claim that he was a victim of his circumstances, it was the apostle Paul. From a prison cell in Rome, Paul writes one of the most joy filled letters ever known to man.
Most Bible commentators and historians agree 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, when he penned those remarkable by which he lived, "For me, living is Christ and dying is gain."
Beloved, Paul was contented because Christ was central. When Jesus becomes the core of our lives, he gives new focus to three of the most prevalent joy stealers in all of life: Circumstances, people, and things.
He broadens the dimensions of our circumstances.
In spite of his circumstances, Paul, though a victim, is confident. The prison chains that were binding him could not shackle his joy.
Anytime you're in the midst of a struggle, wanting to feel sorry for yourself, I'd like to invite you to read verses 12-14 and see if you hear someone who is wallowing in self-pity and despair. Beloved, 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 colorful 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.
Christ also delivers us from preoccupation with others! How many of us, occasionally need a good dose of that medicine? Paul was joyful in spite 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. There were some self seeking opportunists promoting themselves at Paul’s expense.
I'd like you to note Paul's response in verse 18, "What does it matter?" So what if some are preaching with wrong motives. Furthermore, some may be
overly impressed with themselves and take unfair shots at me. Who cares?
What really matters is, Christ is being proclaimed, and that
thought only intensifies my joy. I don't concern myself with all of that other stuff, I leave to God to
handle. I'm just going to keep preaching Christ!
To Paul, the preaching of the gospel and people being saved was more important than any personal grievances that he had with people. He had learned to see things that were really important.
A huge part of learning to laugh again, is to let things go, make room for differences and to applaud good results, even if the way others arrive at them is not our preferred method. Beloved, it takes a lot of grace to not be petty, but oh the benefits. The apostle Paul refused to be caught in a war of words. He did not call a lawyer and file a lawsuit. He knew who the real enemy was. As long as the gospel was being proclaimed, Satan would be defeated.
Have you learned yet, to leave the "other stuff" for God to handle?
Because if you leave the "other stuff" to Him, He will calm your fears regarding the future.
Paul remained hopeful regardless of the uncertainties of his situation. He may not have known what would happen next, but Paul knew Christ, therefore, he was confident of his eventual deliverance. He was confident in the prayers of the Philippian believers on his behalf. He was 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 devastated by people’s unkind words, refusing to submerge himself in self pity, and refusing to take criticism and attacks personally, Paul remains strong, positive, confident and sure.
Beloved, our joy is made real through choosing to live life in His joy.
I don't know about you, but I choose JOY!
May it be so..
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen