Leverage Point #4 - Joy Comes Through Being in Christ: Philippians 1:12-18 - Philippians: Joy Leverage

You're listening to the road with Pastor Teacher Steve Holt.

Joy comes through being in Christ.

We cannot have joy without being in Christ.

He said, my chains are in Christ.

And the reason Paul could say, my chains are in Christ was because Paul was in Christ.

So Paul was in Christ.

That means that when if I get cancer, my cancer is going to be in Christ.

If I lose my job, the loss of my job shall be in Christ.

Now, if you're not in Christ, you can't say that.

But Paul could say that.

At The Road, our vision is to raise up whole-hearted disciples of Jesus Christ.

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We hope you are encouraged by today's message from Pastor Teacher Steve Holt.

C.S.

Lewis, the great Oxford Done and author of so many great books and apologetics and in literature, Chronicles of Narnia of being probably the most noteworthy, said, Joy is the language of heaven.

And when we look at Revelation 4 and 5, and we see the vision of what John saw in heaven when he had the doors open and could enter into heaven, it's really, really true.

Joy is the language of heaven.

So every time we get a hold of joy and we start living in joy, we're living in the language of heaven.

We're beginning to incorporate heaven into our home.

It's preparing you for heaven.

And so we've been in the book of Philippians and we're talking about this leverage point.

And I have a uh a seesaw-looking thing up here that we've been talking about, in that there's leverage points.

And this fulcrum right here, as you know, as it moves closer to a weight, is actually easier to lift on the other side.

And my thesis as we go through Philippians is that the more we allow the joy of Christ to move toward the weights and the issues and the struggles of our life by meeting them head on with the joy of the Lord, which is not always a feeling, it's also a deep conviction that we're going to walk in the joy of the Lord, then the easier it is to handle those issues in our life.

They lift a lot easier, the more we bring that joy in.

So if you're new to our church or you've missed the last few weeks, we've talked about in the first part of the book that joy begins in intimacy with Christ.

It all starts right there.

So if you're lacking or missing in the area of intimacy with Christ, you've got to dive back into that.

And I explained how we do that.

Then we talked about that joy comes through heart-to-heart connection with people.

That you and I were made for connection.

God made us for connection.

And the more you learn to grow in connection with people, even sometimes honory people, the more the joy of the Lord will characterize your life.

And then two weeks ago I talked about that the joy leverage of our life also involves dynamic love.

That we grow in love, that we don't stay in one place in our love, but we're growing in love.

Case in point for you men who do have wives that are on the advance right now, a chance for you this week to advance in love with them through loving them well.

Because a lot of people don't love us well.

Some of those meaningful people, they mean well, but they've never been loved well, and they don't know how to love well.

And so we get hurt, don't we?

And we go through battles of resentment and bitterness, and we have to fight that and grow in our love.

We can't make anybody else grow in their love, but we can ask God and we can surrender to the Holy Spirit for Him to grow us up in dynamic love.

So if you have your Bibles, let's turn to Philippians chapter 1, and we're going to pick it up at verse 12.

Philippians 1 · chapter mention

Philippians 1, starting at verse 12, very interesting turn in the letter of Paul to the Philippians in that he begins to talk about suffering.

He begins to talk about his imprisonment.

He says in verse 12, but I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel.

So that it has become evident to the whole palace guard and to all the rest that my chains are in Christ.

And I've underlined that.

So indeed preach Christ even from envy and strife, and some also from goodwill.

The former preach Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my chains.

But the latter out of love, knowing that I'm appointed for the defense of the gospel, what then?

Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached, and in this I rejoice, and yes, I will rejoice.

Can you imagine that?

That here is Paul, probably suffered as much as any missionary, being beaten times without number, shipwrecked, loss of friends, reputation in shambles.

At one time was one of the high rollers and high risers in Israel, and in Jerusalem in particular, had studied under Gamalael, which was one of the great professors of Israel, considered maybe the greatest teacher in Israel ever.

He was one of his prized students, and he gave all that up to follow Christ.

And then from that day forward, his life was hounded by the authorities that wanted to take him out.

And so his life was constant danger, constant turmoil, and yet he's rejoicing.

But look at what he says.

Starting at verse 12, he says this I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happen to me.

Now I'm not going to quote some of the bumper stickers that I've read, but it says things happen.

They do.

They happen to all of us.

Things happen.

Some of it's your fault, a lot of times it's not.

It's just called life in a hard world.

And demons are around, and people are around, and you make foolish mistakes, they make foolish mistakes, and things happen.

And we get betrayed, and we get ripped off, and we get sold out.

And that's the way it is.

And so we have this choice of either a victory lens that we look through or a victim lens that we look through.

I mean, it it's a it's courses in college you can take on victimology.

I mean, it is really, really popular to be a victim this day in age that we live in.

Peggy Noonan recently wrote an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal.

I quote her, we've been swept by social, technological, and cultural revolution.

The old longing for integration gave way to a culture of accusation.

You're a supremist, a misogynist, you're guilty of privilege, and defined by your color and class, we don't let your sort speak here.

Victimology in the dictionary is defined as, I quote, the possession of an outlook arising from real or imagined victimization that seems to glorify and indulge the state of being a victim.

We've made it a cottage industry to be a victim.

And Paul is not a victim.

He puts on this different set of glasses where he sees a victory through what he's going through.

Isn't that amazing?

Can't we learn something here?

When we start to do all our complaining, and I do it too, and I mean, and all the things that we drum up in our mind that somehow create a scenario where we're always the victim.

Paul, the most successful of all the missionaries in Asia Minor at that time, is in prison.

It makes no sense for the sake of the gospel from his vantage point.

But he looks at it as exactly what God's up to, and he sees victory in it.

And so he has a victory mindset.

Men and women, joy comes through a victory mindset.

That God's gonna do something here.

I don't know how, I don't understand, I don't have the power to do it, but God's gonna do it, and he's in control, and through his power, somehow, those closed doors are going to open at some point.

That's a victory mindset.

That's a victory view of life.

He even said to the Ephesians in the book of Acts, when they gather together and they say, Don't go to Jerusalem.

You're gonna be chained, you're gonna be imprisoned if you go to Jerusalem.

And then he says this, and see now I go bound in the Spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things which will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies that in every city, he says to me, that chains and tribulations await me.

So God has spoken to Paul and promised him that wherever you go, chains and tribulation await you.

Now that's the abundant life.

And then he says this, but none of these things move me, nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy.

Why?

Finish your race with joy, church.

Let's finish the race with joy, church.

Beloved saints, run the race with joy.

Make a choice to run the race with joy.

Because when you don't, we don't like to be around you anyway.

Ask your spouse, am I running the race with joy these days?

Take note.

Take note.

You can turn this thing around.

Many of you are running this race without joy, and it's a bummer, and it's just a treadmill, and you're just, and it's just so methodical, and you're obedient, and you're being faithful, and that is beautiful, and that is awesome, but why not sprinkle it with joy?

Why not wake up in the morning and decide, Holy Spirit, fill me with your spirit.

I'm gonna love you with all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength today.

Fill me with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, and gentleness and self-control.

I can't do it.

I surrender to you.

And then expect tribulation to come your way.

How do you like that?

Just expect it.

Life is H A R D exclamation point.

Life is hard.

And the problem for many of us has been too easy.

It's actually been too easy.

And because of that, we just can't believe when things don't go our way.

I like it when things don't go my kids' way.

Whether it's school, sports, academics, around the house, whatever, we have a discussion and we talk about it.

And and and they say that I say a lot.

I know what you're gonna say, dad.

And I don't shed a whole lot of tears for them.

We've never had to tell our kids to do their homework.

Seven kids.

We've never had to tell one kid to do their homework.

Not that I know of.

Because if you don't do your homework, you fail.

You fail, I don't fail.

You fail, that's fine.

Go fail.

And they flunked a few tests and missed a few practices because they didn't do their homework.

Don't do, don't ever, ever do the homework for your kids.

Bad idea.

Now we've helped them with their homework for sure.

My point is just to say that as we grow older and as we grow wiser, there's a joy that comes with an expectation that if it's hard, we're ready.

And then if it's not as hard as you thought it was going to be, rejoice.

But if you go at it like it's gonna be easy and everything's gonna go your way, and that it should go your way, I would call that many times victimology.

And we need a victory mindset in our lives, and with it comes joy.

And Paul had that.

Recent article, Scott Hamilton.

I've been watching the Olympics some, and so I'll read some of the articles when I miss things, and I like figure skating a lot.

Um the ice dancing is a little weird, but figure skating I really like.

Um anyway, Scott Hamilton, the legend in figure skating.

The legend in the past 21 years has faced stage four testicular cancer, followed by three brain tumors, one every six years since 2004.

He's living with a brain tumor right now.

Recently said he would never forget what his wife Tracy said to him during a pep talk.

Quote, Joy is not the lack of suffering or fear, it's how you choose to handle suffering and fear.

It finally hit me that it was true.

So when the tumor returned for an encore in 2016, Hamilton said, There was no why me anymore.

Quote, I figured I needed to go through this with joy, he said.

It was just such a muscle that I needed to build, like the muscles I built in skating.

What a great outlook, what a victory mindset he took on.

Paul says, but I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel, so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard and to all the rest that my chains are in Christ.

Here's our fourth leverage point.

Here's our fourth leverage point from Philippians.

Joy comes through being in Christ.

We cannot have joy without being in Christ.

He said, My chains are in Christ.

And the reason Paul could say, my chains are in Christ was because Paul was in Christ.

So Paul was in Christ.

That means that if I get cancer, my cancer is going to be in Christ.

If I lose my job, the loss of my job shall be in Christ.

Now, if you're not in Christ, you can't say that.

But Paul could say that.

My chains are in Christ.

And let me tell you, the whole palace guard understood that because you know how it worked.

Do you know how it worked in Rome?

That guard was chained to his prisoner.

So there was this shift about, who knows, and maybe every eight or ten hours, new guard chained to Paul.

He goes, Hey Larry, what's up?

Let me tell you what happened to me on the road to Damascus.

And now for the next eight hours, they have to listen to Paul, tell his story about Christ.

And you know how many are getting saved?

Probably like all of them.

They can't escape.

Their chain here, Paul's chains are in Christ, and that guard is chained to Paul.

There must have been a lot of discussions in the coffee room.

Who's got Paul today?

We have a gentleman in our church who's gone through five years of cancer treatment.

And the cancer just keeps coming back.

But his cancer is in Christ.

Your marriage can be in Christ.

Your loss of a job can be in Christ.

Your disease can be in Christ.

But you have to be in Christ.

What does it mean?

What does it mean to be in Christ?

Well, it doesn't mean like coats in a closet.

It's not like your coat is in the closet or your shoes are in the shoebox.

It's the idea of an organic relationship more like a vine and a branch.

That's what it means to be in Christ.

And Jesus gave a whole chapter in describing this idea of abiding in Christ.

It's such a powerful term that Paul used it in the New Testament 164 times.

164 times.

Paul never uses the term Christian.

Jesus never used the term Christian.

Only three times is the word Christian even used in the New Testament.

Paul never uses it, Jesus never used it.

But Paul says 164 times about being in Christ.

I think if Jesus were here, I think if Paul were here, he wouldn't recognize the term Christian.

He would recognize the term, are you in Christ?

And so what does it mean to be in Christ?

Colossians 3.3 says, For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

So when you got saved, church, you died.

You died to you so that you might come alive in Him.

You died to you and came alive in Him.

Organically connected, Jesus says, I am the vine, you are the branches.

He who abides in me and I in him bears much fruit.

For without me you can do nothing.

I mean, I love that.

I just love John 15 because I'm writing a foreword for a book right now for my brother who's written a book called Finish.

Finishing Well.

The title of his this is his third book called Finishing Well.

I'm doing the forward, and I was I've just been working through the book, and then I've been just kind of transposing it to Scripture, and I'm realizing, you know, Jesus is fixated on results.

He's fixated on getting fruit out of all of us.

He really wants you organically connected to him so that you bear fruit.

That you experience eternal life now, not just when we die.

That we would experience eternal life now.

Eternal life now is bearing fruit now.

It's joy now.

It's love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentlemen, self-control now.

That's how we become overcomers.

And so he says here, abide in me and I abide in you.

By this is my Father glorified that you bear much fruit.

First he said, bear fruit, now he says, bear much fruit.

So you prove to be my disciples.

As the Father loved me, I've also loved you, abide in my love.

If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love.

That is what it means to be in Christ.

It also means, see, here's ten things.

Here's ten things that it means to be in Christ organically.

Number one, in Christ Jesus you were given grace before the world was created.

2 Timothy 1.9.

He gave us grace in Christ Jesus before the ages began.

Number two, in Christ Jesus, you were chosen by God before creation, you were chosen by Him.

Ephesians 1 4.

God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world.

Number three, in Christ Jesus, you're loved by God with an inseparable love.

Romans 8.

I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Number four, in Christ Jesus you are redeemed and forgiven for all your sins.

In Christ Jesus, we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, Ephesians 1.7.

In Christ Jesus, number five, you are justified before God, and the righteousness of God in Christ is imputed to you.

Number six, in Christ Jesus, you've become a new creation and a son of God.

Number seven, in Christ Jesus, you've been seated in the heavenly places even while you live on this earth.

Number eight, in Christ Jesus, all the promises of God are yes and amen for you.

Number nine, in Christ Jesus, you're being sanctified and made holy.

Number ten, in Christ Jesus, everything you really need will be supplied.

Philippians 419.

My God shall supply every need of yours according to the riches and the glory of God in Christ Jesus.

Man, I want to be in Christ today.

I don't want to be in Steve.

I want to be in Christ today.

So in Christ, our suffering takes on a whole new meaning.

Verse 14, and most of the brethren, most of the brethren, important point, most of the brethren in the Lord, having become confident by my chains, are much more bold to speak the word of God without fear.

Isn't a testimony powerful?

Isn't it were many of you here when a couple months ago we just had a testimony Sunday and we did worship and testimonies and worship?

None of that was orchestrated.

I just felt led by the Holy Spirit to do it, and I didn't know who was going to share it.

We didn't have one testimony plan.

And I mean, you could feel the faith in the room rise because we heard other people's testimony and it gives us courage.

We need courage, church, don't we?

That's why we go to the movies.

That's why we watch the Olympics.

That's why we talk about our favorite star or our favorite athlete or our favorite whatever, because usually it has something to do with courage.

We want more courage.

We need more courage.

It's a testimony.

It's a test.

Someone passed a test and it became a moony.

If you test, go through the test, overcome through the test, it becomes a test I in the middle, I your testimony.

We need that.

It overcomes the dragon, it says in Revelation 12, the word of our testimony.

Courage.

So Paul is giving courage to the saints.

And then he says, but some preach Christ even from envy and strife, and some also from goodwill.

The former preach Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my chains.

But the latter out of love, knowing that I'm appointed for the defense of the gospel, what then?

Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached, and in this I rejoice.

Yes, I will rejoice.

So not everyone is excited about your life.

Not everyone is excited about your Christian life.

Not everyone is excited about some of the choices that you make to follow Jesus.

So welcome to the territory.

That's the territory that we live in, that's the water we swim in.

And yet we have to ask the question as we follow Christ, is our lives such a testimony that the gospel even goes forth with those people that don't like us and speak ill of us, even those who call themselves Christians.

Because in so doing, that's how our chains become in Christ.

Because when we baptize our hurts and we baptize our pains in Christ, something supernatural happens and God begins to use your testimony.

He begins to use your life in a supernatural way that couldn't have happened any other way.

Because not everybody's excited about our lives.

I've always been a fan of Margaret Thatcher.

I'm old enough now to remember when she was prime minister when Ronald Reagan was president.

And she said of critics, if my critics saw me walking over the Thames River, they would say it was because I couldn't swim.

Some people feel that way about some of you.

I know some people feel that way about me.

Someone once said, caring about what people think of you is useless.

Most people don't even know what they think about themselves.

Lou Holtz, the great Notre Dame football coach, said, Don't tell your problems to people.

80% don't care.

And the other 20% are glad you have them.

But Teddy Roosevelt really hit the nail on the head.

One of the great quotes, many of you have heard it from me.

It's probably my favorite quote.

It's not the critic who counts, it's not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.

The credit belongs to the man who's actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs, who comes up short again and again, because there's no effort without error and shortcoming.

But who does actually strive to do the deed?

Who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spins himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails, while daring greatly.

So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who have neither known victory nor defeat.

Men and women, joy comes through being in Christ.

When we are in Christ, there's a sense within us and a conviction that grows that God is sovereign.

When we're where God wants us to be, things that happen to us that hurt us or pain us, we can say God's in control of that.

He's gonna work those together for good.

When we're in Christ, we bear fruit for the kingdom of God.

We will be used by our character and our life to help change our world.

And when we're in Christ, we learn to live with the maxim that power within me is greater than any power outside of me.

Church, the power inside of you can be greater than the powers outside of you.

And when the enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy, actually, it builds you up to be a better person, a stronger person, a more surrendered person.

You've been listening to The Road with Pastor Teacher Steve Holt.

We hope you have been blessed by today's message.

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