Rejoice Over How God is Working in Your Life

experience a lot of joy in your life.

Do you often rejoice

about what's going on around about you?

You know, the Apostle Paul did.

He writes about it.

In fact, the letter that we're going through now

on Sunday mornings, the book of Philippians,

he used the words joy and rejoice

more in this letter than any other one

that he wrote that we have in our New Testament.

Now, I want you to think about this.

Paul talks about experiencing joy, rejoicing.

But at the same time, as he penned those words,

he was at all times chained to a Roman soldier.

He was at all times under house arrest,

at least for two years.

And he was awaiting trial before Caesar.

He didn't know what the outcome would be,

whether he'd be set free

or whether he would be condemned and executed.

Now, Paul talks a lot about having joy,

rejoicing in that context.

Well, that raises or should raise a red flag to us.

Paul's not using the word joy like we normally use it.

I mean, think about it.

Don't you mostly equate the words joy and happiness?

I mean, I use them.

Most people use them just in normal speech interchangeably.

You know, you wake up in the morning.

Your spouse looks at you.

Smile on his or her face.

What can I fix you for breakfast?

Brings joy to you, doesn't it?

Makes you happy.

If my boys came to me today and said,

we're going to cut down,

we're going to cut up those two little trees

on the edge of the property,

that'd bring a lot of joy to my soul

if they would do that.

We use that word joy and happiness

just without thinking they're the same.

Well, that's not how Paul uses it.

In fact, that's not the way the word is used

in the New Testament.

Paul obviously would not have been happy

about what was going on in his life

as he wrote this book.

At all times, chained to that soldier.

Couldn't leave the place he was renting

and not knowing what his future held

when he stood trial before the emperor.

In the New Testament,

the word joy is not used to describe

feelings of happiness.

Happiness is really an emotion of delight.

We're happy when the people

or the things around about us

are going our way.

People are smiling at us, doing for us.

Everything's going the way that we want it to.

Well, that doesn't always happen, does it?

Those trees on my property

aren't going to get cut up.

Your spouse is not always going to wake up

in the morning with a smile on his or her face

and look at you and say,

good morning, darling.

There's going to be a lot of times in our lives

when we are not happy.

We're not happy about the situation

that we find ourselves in.

And that's just life.

There's nothing wrong with that.

That's just the way life works in this world.

Happiness comes and goes in everyone's life.

It's not a good or bad, right or wrong.

It just is.

But Christian joy is different.

Christian joy is more than an emotion.

It is described in one place

as being a part of the fruit of the Spirit,

something the Holy Spirit works in us

and through us.

Joy in the Bible, in the New Testament,

is really more of an attitude,

a character quality than it is an emotion.

Joy is really the way a lot of commentators

like R.C. Sproul, for example.

They describe joy as being similar to contentment.

Really experiencing peace in your soul

because you know you're right with God.

You're one with Him.

Even the word or the idea of being thankful

goes along with this idea of Christian joy.

Now this means it is not dependent

on what's going on around about us.

We can have Christian joy

even when we are not happy.

And that's what I want us to look at this morning

in Philippians chapter 1.

Philippians 1 · chapter mention

We're going to begin in verse 19,

or rather verse 18.

Two weeks ago we saw in verses 12 through 18

that Paul found joy in knowing

that the gospel was spreading throughout the area

in spite of the fact that he was in prison.

In fact, he found joy in knowing

that through his being in chains

to those Roman soldiers,

you know, swapping in and out around the clock,

many of those soldiers in the guard,

Caesar's guard,

they were hearing the gospel.

He even found joy in the fact

that he was told there are people preaching

and they're doing it not with good motives.

They're doing it to make you jealous,

to make you envious.

They're out there preaching.

They've got the freedom

and maybe people are responding.

Good things are happening.

But they're doing it, Paul,

to sort of jab you

because you're here confined to this place.

Look now in verse 18,

in light of,

he's in prison,

but people are hearing

through his witness to the soldiers.

The gospel is being preached

even with poor motives.

He says,

What then?

Only that in every way,

whether in pretense or in truth,

Christ is proclaimed,

and in that I rejoice.

Now, let's read on

and see why,

or other reasons why,

Paul rejoiced.

Look in your Bible,

Philippians chapter 1.

Philippians 1 · chapter mention

Now we're in the middle of verse 18.

That's where a new paragraph begins.

Yes, and I will rejoice.

For I know that through your prayers

and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,

this will turn out for my deliverance.

As it is my eager expectation

and hope

that I will not be at all ashamed,

but that with full courage,

now as always,

Christ will be honored in my body,

whether by life or by death.

I want you to note that last phrase,

whether by life or by death.

As we go through this,

this whole section,

verses 18 through 26,

we're going to look at verses 18 through 20 today,

21 through 26 next week.

Paul doesn't really know

how this is going to turn out.

That's important to understand.

As you go on and read,

he has some strong feelings

that when he goes before Caesar,

he's going to be set free.

He's going to be able to continue his work.

He's going to be able to,

you know, help the Philippian Christians,

but he doesn't know for sure.

Only God knows the future.

And so he's just putting it in his hands.

These verses show us

that Paul was rejoicing

over how God was going to work out

his future well-being.

Here's the first point.

We can rejoice over the fact

that God will bring about our future

and ultimate well-being.

Look at it again.

Verse,

last part of verse 18 and 19.

Yes, and I will rejoice

for I know that through your prayers

and help of the spirit of Jesus Christ,

this will turn out for my deliverance.

We can have joy,

not happiness,

but joy if we'll keep in mind

God's always working in our lives

and he is going to bring about our future

and ultimate well-being.

Paul says he is rejoicing over the fact

that he's going to eventually be,

look at that word,

delivered from his imprisonment.

The actual word is my deliverance.

Now, the word translated deliverance here

is more often than not

translated with the word salvation

in other parts of the New Testament.

That raises the question.

When this and most of the major translations

use the word deliverance here,

when Paul talks about

this deliverance,

is he talking about being delivered

from prison,

getting out, having freedom,

or is he talking about

ultimate deliverance

and being in the presence of the Lord

free from all the stress

of life in this world?

Now,

Paul has been talking about

his imprisonment

in chapter one

already.

In fact,

he uses the word or phrase

my imprisonment

or some translations say

my chains

four times

in chapter one.

So it makes sense

that he's thinking about

his deliverance is going to be,

he's going to be set free

from prison.

But on the other hand,

in this section,

he makes it clear

that he knows

that death

is a real possibility.

Look at these verses.

Verse 20,

whether by life

or by death.

In verse 21,

to die

is gain.

Verse 23,

to depart

and be

with

Christ.

He knows

death's a possibility.

Well,

we can't resolve

this 100%

no matter what.

Either way,

Paul can rejoice.

Then one way

or another,

God is going

to take care

of him.

That's what

his thought is.

If he is found

innocent and set free,

he's going to continue

to serve the Lord

faithfully

and find joy

in that.

if he is found

guilty

and executed,

he will

immediately

be in the presence

of the Lord

and all of the

worries and stress

and suffering

he's experienced

will be a thing

of the past.

So he can look

at that

with joy.

Now remember

how we're using

the word,

how the New Testament

uses the word.

Paul finds

true joy,

contentment,

being at peace

in his soul.

All hell

may be breaking

loose all around

about you,

but you have

a sense of peace,

of contentment

in your soul

because you're

right with God,

you're trusting God,

you are in his

hands.

That's the kind

of joy

that comes

when we know

that God

is going to

take care of us.

no matter

what,

no matter how

he does that.

Now,

can you ever

rejoice like that?

Do you know

what he's talking

about?

Do you know

it from experience?

Do you have

confidence

that God's

going to bring

about your

future

and ultimate

well-being?

If you're going

through a difficult

time right now,

right this

minute,

are you

trusting God

with the

outcome

regardless of

what it might

be?

Regardless of

how difficult

it might

be?

You know,

if you knew

what was going

to happen down

the road,

it'd be easier

to do that,

wouldn't it?

But we don't

know.

No one

does.

It's just a

rarity in the

Bible or in

our lives

that we ever

know how our

difficulty is

going to turn

out in

advance.

If you're

dealing with a

difficult situation

right now related

to your job,

is it going to

continue?

Maybe there's

some family

issues you're

struggling with.

Maybe it's

your health.

And right

now,

it could go

either way.

You just

don't know.

You can't

see.

Well,

don't expect

God to show

you how it's

going to turn

out.

I personally

think it's a

waste of your

breath to pray,

Lord, help me

to know what's

going to happen.

That's just

not the way

God works

most of the

time.

That's not

the way it

worked out

for Paul.

He has a

feeling what's

going to

happen.

But he

doesn't know

for sure because

he keeps on

talking about

he may die.

We all have

to deal with

our present

difficulties,

our present

circumstances the

same way,

one day at a

time.

Here's a good

thought.

We can.

You and I

can.

We don't have

to be super

saints like

like an

apostle Paul.

A few weeks

ago,

Lisa, my

wife Lisa's

older sister,

her husband

died.

He was 67

years old.

He was

diagnosed with

a lung

disease three

or four years

ago that they

said was

fatal.

there was

nothing that

really could

be done to

prevent it

from destroying

his lungs.

On top of

that, he

developed lung

cancer and

had never

smoked.

Well, he

went through

this process.

He went

through chemo.

He went

through a lot

of processes,

but over

time, his

physical

condition

deteriorated.

His lungs

stopped

functioning.

About

three or

four months

ago,

he shared

something on

Facebook

that's sort

of like

what Paul is

sharing here

about confidence.

you see, his

name's John.

John was a

Christian, but

John was a

regular guy

kind of

Christian, like

us in this

room.

He was

actively involved

in his church.

He taught

Sunday school.

He was a

deacon.

He worked

what you call

a regular

job.

If he was a

member of our

church, he

just fit in,

fit in in any

Sunday school.

class.

Blend in.

People would

like him.

He'd laugh

a lot.

A regular

guy, dying

from a lung

disease and

lung cancer.

And he put

something like

this, I'm

paraphrasing this,

on Facebook.

It was read to

me because I

am not on it.

But he said

that he had

complete assurance

of his salvation.

He had his

faith in Jesus

Christ.

He appreciated

people's prayers

and concern.

He basically

gave an

explanation of

the gospel.

He said, in

effect, I'm

right with God.

I have no

doubts.

And I want to

encourage you,

if you're not a

Christian, to put

your faith and

trust in Jesus.

He was telling

the world,

telling everybody

that he knew,

that he kept up

with, that he

kept up with him,

I'm okay.

I have the

utmost confidence

that God's going

to take care of

me, that my

ultimate end is

in his hands

and whatever

it is, and

most likely he

knew, I mean,

it's death.

He was okay

with it.

He was ready

and he was a

witness to other

people.

That's what Paul

is really trying

to show us.

We can have

joy, not

happiness, but

joy, inner

peace, a sense

of contentment

with the way

it is.

If we're God's

children, we

can be confident

he's going to

bring about our

ultimate good and

future well-being.

But here's what we

need to understand.

God defines for

us what our

future well-being

is.

God tells us how

he's going to

bring it about.

Look at this.

God works all

things for our

good, Romans 8,

28.

And we know

that in all

things, God

works for the

good of those

who love him,

who've been

called according

to his purpose.

God works in

Paul's

imprisonment,

in your

difficulty,

in your

concern.

concern.

He works for

ultimate good.

But then,

God tells us

what that ultimate

good is.

The very next

verse, Romans 8, 29.

For those whom

he foreknew,

he also predestined

to be conformed

to the image

of his son.

God's goal

in all of life

is to develop

Christ-like

character in

us who are

Christians.

God's

ultimate

good

for each

one of us

is to develop

Christ-like

character in us.

It is not

that we all

be healthy

or wealthy

or have

an easy

life.

It's not

that everybody's

even going to

have a long

life or an

average life.

Now, let me

say,

sometimes

God,

just out of

his grace,

will make

us healthy.

Some of you

in this room,

you've always

been healthy.

Some of you

have never been

in a hospital.

rarely ever

gone to the

doctor.

You thank

God.

That's just a

blessing.

Sometimes God

does that.

Sometimes he

makes some

of his people

wealthy.

And if you've

been faithful

to God

in the way

that you've

worked and

saved and

invested and

given,

and he's

made you

wealthy,

thank him.

It's a

blessing.

Some people

life's just

sort of easy.

You have

good health,

you have a

good job,

you have a

good family,

everybody loves

one another,

nobody just

rebels,

bad things

just haven't

happened in

your life to

this point.

Thank him.

It's a

blessing.

But at the

same time,

that is not

God's ultimate

goal for you.

God's ultimate

goal is that we

develop Christ-like

character and

for most people

it's through

hardship,

it's through

difficulty,

it's through a

life that's not

easy,

it's through not

having everything

you want,

not being

wealthy,

not being always

healthy.

What we've got to

learn to do as

Christians is to

let God determine,

I mean he does

determine it,

we've got to

accept what God

determines is for

our ultimate

well-being to be.

And when we

will, if we will

develop the

spiritual maturity

to accept that,

like Paul,

like my

brother-in-law

John,

we will be

able to rejoice

that God is

working in our

lives to bring

about our

future and

ultimate well-being

regardless of

what that might

mean.

Not being

healed,

dying,

it happens.

There's something

else we see in

that Paul,

in Paul,

that we need to

learn to rejoice

about.

Look at this,

we can rejoice

over how God

brings about our

future and

ultimate well-being.

Read these verses

again with me.

Yes, and I will

rejoice, for I

know that through

your prayers and

the help of the

Spirit of Jesus

Christ, this will

turn out for my

deliverance.

I want to stop

there for right

now.

Paul is rejoicing

in the process that

God uses to bring

about our future

well-being.

Look at that

process.

God works through

the prayers of

His people.

Look at that.

Paul, the great

apostle, the one

in whom God

worked to give us

scripture, he says,

for I know that

through your prayers

this will turn out

for my deliverance.

In our first study

of the book of

Philippians, back on

January the 3rd, we

looked at how Paul

explained God

sovereignly works in

our lives from the

beginning to continue

and to the end to

bring about our

salvation and His

good work in us.

It's in Philippians

1, 6.

It's not on the

screen.

He says, and I am

sure of this, that

He who began a good

work in you will

bring it to

completion at the

day of Jesus

Christ.

Paul taught more

about the sovereignty

of God in his

letters than any

other New Testament

writer.

But Paul equally

believed in our

responsibility as

Christians to be

faithful to God, to

cooperate, to obey

Him.

This verse shows

that Paul believed

strongly in the power

of prayer.

Paul, on many

occasions throughout

his letters, asked

for and expected

other Christians to

pray for him.

You hear, listen to

this.

Paul believed that

God worked His

sovereign plan through

the prayers of His

people.

We need to be asking

people to pray for

us as we go through

our difficulties.

We need to pray for

our difficulties.

We need to pray for

our difficulties.

We need to pray for

people who are going

through their

difficulties.

But listen to this.

We need to pray for a

whole lot more than

physical healing or

physical deliverance from

a problem.

We need to pray for

ourselves and for other

people to develop that

Christ-like character, to

become spiritually mature.

We need to pray for

people, your children,

your grandchildren,

people in your Sunday

school class, your

Christian friends.

Pray for them to be able

to have strong beliefs,

real convictions, and

stand firm on them in

every situation.

And never compromise,

never back down, never

be ashamed of the truth

that God makes clear in

His Word.

And we need to pray for

one another and seek

prayer.

We need the prayers that

we'll be faithful like

this until God calls us

home.

That we'll finish the race

all the way.

Is that how you're

praying for your family

members?

I want to tell you,

this is a totally true

statement.

The whole time I've been

married and had

children, I have prayed

more for my wife and

children, now daughters-in-law

and grandchildren.

I've prayed more about

their spiritual well-being

when you put it all

together than have their

physical well-being.

I've prayed more for

our church family,

our spiritual well-being,

your spiritual well-being,

more than the other

things.

Now, I certainly pray for

my family concerning all

kinds of things, including

physical situations.

I've prayed long and hard

about specific circumstances,

asking God to change, to

bring about this or that

result.

I've prayed that for some

of you.

Specific things about

physical things,

situations.

But even more than that,

like Paul, we need to learn

to pray for spiritual growth,

spiritual maturity.

I want you to pray that for

me.

I really do.

I want you to pray that for

every leader in this church.

They want you to do that as

well.

One other thought along this

line, don't ever give up

praying for your unsaved

family members and friends.

If you haven't gotten it yet

or haven't done it yet,

read my article in the

newsletter this week.

It tells the story about a

man and his wife who prayed

for his father-in-law for

32 years, witnessed to him in

all kinds of ways, got other

people involved.

And it was only after 32

years that that man showed

any interest and by God's

grace eventually was saved.

We cannot give up.

God works through our

prayers and look at this.

God works through the Holy

Spirit.

He says, for I know that

through your prayers and the

help of the Spirit of Jesus

Christ.

In the New Testament, the

Holy Spirit is called by

different names.

Sometimes he's called like

this, the Spirit of Jesus

Christ.

Sometimes the Spirit of

Christ.

Sometimes the Spirit of God.

Paul's emphasis here is not

on the name of the Holy

Spirit, but on his power.

It's the Holy Spirit living

within us as Christians.

He's the one that supplies

us with the spiritual strength

that we need.

He supplies us with wisdom,

with guidance.

He's the one that works in us

to enable us to develop

Christ-like character.

He's the one that gives us the

spiritual strength and

sometimes physical and

emotional strength to

persevere, to be faithful,

to not give up.

You know, in Romans chapter 8,

Romans 8 · chapter mention

Paul even talks about how the

Holy Spirit helps us to pray.

Sometimes when we're too weak or

we just don't know how to pray,

He intercedes for us.

That's going on right now in

your life.

If you're a Christian, the Holy

Spirit lives within you.

And Paul also says in Romans 8,

that the Holy Spirit doesn't live

in you, you're not a Christian.

We can think of Him as our

resident teacher,

our equipper, our energizer,

our encourager.

We can't live the Christian life

on our own.

It is impossible.

But the news is we don't have to.

God has put His Spirit in us.

All we need to do is choose to

cooperate with Him.

Cooperate as He works.

Think about it like this.

We need to learn to be sensitive

to the actual presence of the

Holy Spirit.

Be aware of His convicting,

His encouraging,

and then obedient to His

leadership.

For example,

if you're a Christian,

haven't you at times

just been made aware

that something that you were

thinking,

something you were feeling,

something you were wanting to say

was just wrong,

and you shouldn't do it.

That was the Holy Spirit

causing you to realize

don't act on that thought.

Don't fulfill those desires.

Close your mouth.

Don't say it.

But you have to cooperate

with Him

and do what He's saying.

The Holy Spirit also does

positive things.

He makes us aware

of what's right.

Sometimes something that needs

to be said

to encourage somebody.

Something that we actually

need to do

to please God.

And what we need to do

is when He prompts us

to do something,

say something,

we need to do it

as part of being obedient

to His leadership.

The Holy Spirit will guide us

in the way that we think,

the way that we feel,

things we want to say,

things we want to do.

Sometimes He'll check us.

Don't.

Sometimes He'll prompt us.

That's right.

But what we have to do

is we're sensitive to Him

doing this.

We have to then obey Him.

God works in our lives

through the prayers

of other Christians,

through the power

of the Holy Spirit.

And then,

we're going to look at this

next week,

but I will just show this.

God works through

our faithful efforts.

That's in verse 20.

That'll be a part

of what we look at next week.

Everybody really wants

to be happy, don't they?

I mean,

if you don't want to be happy,

something's wrong with you.

I'm serious.

You got a problem

if you don't really want

to be happy.

And if you don't want

to be happy,

I can't help you.

You need somebody

that's a real counselor.

If you don't have the desire

to be happy

and make other people happy.

But the truth is,

we want to be that,

but no one is always happy.

Because happiness

is based on our circumstances

being what we want them to be.

Life's just not that way,

is it?

We can't always be happy,

but we can always experience joy.

We can be content.

We can be at peace

with God

no matter what's going on

around us.

We can be joyful people

by trusting God

to work in our lives

for ultimate good

and for our eternal well-being.

Ask God to help you work.

Ask God to work in your life

that way now.

I want to encourage you

to do that.

Or if you would say,

you know,

I struggle like everybody else,

but I do experience

a lot of Christian joy.

Thank God.

Thank God for that gift.

If you're not experiencing

the kind of joy

we're talking about,

ask other Christians

that you know,

that you have confidence in,

to pray for you this way.

It's far more important

for you to ask somebody

to pray for you

to have joy,

to develop Christian character,

than it is for them

to pray for you

to get well

from some kind of sickness.

By God's grace,

we can experience joy

in this world,

even in the midst

of a pandemic,

and all the uncertainty,

and all the unhappiness

that it brings.

In fact,

let's just bow right now

and ask God

to help us

to experience

Christian joy and more.

Would you join with me?

Dear God,

help us to see right now

what needs to take place

in our lives

to experience

this joy,

this contentment,

this peace in our soul

that Paul

experienced

and prayed for others

to experience.

Help us, Father,

to seek that from you.

Help us, Father,

to request

that kind of prayer

from other Christians.

And Lord,

help us to cooperate

with the Holy Spirit

as He works in us

to enable us

to be more joyful.

Father,

help us all right now

to know what we need to do

than to make the confession,

the commitment,

or whatever it is

we need to do.

And just with our

heads bowed,

eyes closed,

and attitude to prayer,

let's all do that.

Seek

to respond to God

as He speaks to us

so that we can

be Christians

who experience

real joy

in our lives.

Amen.