The Joy of Christian Living

Welcome to this week's message from the Church at Chelsea Westover.

Our core values are vibrant worship, intimate fellowship, fulfilling service, and clear biblical truth.

We pray that this message changes your life.

Let's tune in to today's message and see what God has in store for you.

Philippians chapter 3.

Philippians 3 · chapter mention

What a tremendous study we've seen in chapters 1 and chapters 2.

We've been talking about the radiancy of our Christianity, the joy of our Christianity.

In fact, in chapter 1, we saw the secret of this radiant living.

In chapter 2, we saw the standard for this radiant living.

And now in chapter 3, we're going to look at the satisfaction for this radiant living.

It's awesome.

In fact, Paul starts out in chapter 3, verse 1.

Finally.

And I love that.

In other words, he's saying, okay, I'm not stopping.

I'm not through yet.

Kind of like Pastor Danny, when I'll say, okay, I need to wrap it up.

And then I don't wrap it up.

You know, but I just follow Paul because in several Paul's epistles, he'd say, and now as I conclude, and then all of a sudden it would be a quotation mark, and he would preach two more chapters.

So every once in a while it gets that way.

But he says, finally, hey, hey, we're not wrapping this up yet.

Because we've seen the secret.

We've seen the standard of this joy.

We've seen this secret and this standard of this radiant living.

But now I'm going to show you how you can be absolutely, completely, totally satisfied.

Wow.

Now, wait a minute.

You didn't get that.

I said, Paul said, now, hey, you've seen the standard, you've seen the secret.

Now I'm going to, hey, this joy and this radiant living also is total satisfaction.

You have complete peace and joy.

Now, who would not want that?

Would you want that?

Raise your hand.

Everybody.

I mean, because we live in a world that tries to steal our joy.

Satan tries to discourage us so that we can experience that fullness of God's joy.

And by the way, God didn't say that, hey, you had to be happy all the time.

Paul did not say in this chapter, you got to be happy all the time.

But what he did say was you need to rejoice in the Lord all the time.

Amen?

There's a major difference there, folks.

Because the happiness is usually determined on our circumstances.

If they're good, we're happy.

If they're bad, we're sad.

Whereas rejoicing comes from that inner contentment, that inner definition of what joy really is, and I'm going to give that to you in a minute.

That regardless of whether the situation is good or the situation is bad, you can rejoice in the Lord always.

Again, I say, rejoice.

So, finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord.

In this one exhortation, the apostle gives us three things.

He gives us the doctrine, the discipline, and the delight of this Christian joy.

So let's begin by looking at number one, the doctrine of Christian joy.

Rejoice in the Lord, he says again in verse one, the experience of Christian joy.

Now listen, it's based on sound doctrine, sound teaching.

It's not based on circumstances, it's not based on what you do, it's based on who he is.

Can I get an amen?

Amen?

That's it.

And so Paul said, till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, and to doctrine.

In fact, look at what he said in verse 3.

He says, Paul adds, rejoice in Christ Jesus.

And then in verse 8, look at what he says, count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Jesus Christ his Lord.

Psalms 33.1.

Listen to what it says.

This is exciting.

When we have that inner peace, that inner joy that comes, and we're going to look at that, which comes from the doctrine of God's teaching.

Here's what it says in Psalms 33.1 that will be evident in our lives.

Look at what he says.

Rejoice in the Lord, all ye righteous.

Now watch what he says.

For praise is comely.

Now, for some of you that's got a different translation, it will say, Praise is natural.

In other words, praise is a way of life for the Christian, for the upright.

You can't help but praise him.

Amen.

You can't help but rejoice in him.

Ladies and gentlemen, when you get up in the morning, this is the day the Lord hath made.

I will rejoice and be glad in it.

Amen.

That's what he says.

So it's so exciting to see that.

And it's so real when we see that Paul, the apostle, is saying that Christian joy can only be known through the Lord.

In fact, notice what he says here.

And this is exciting.

He said some were teaching that joy was to be found in Judaism.

Look at verse 2.

And he says, Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision.

In other words, those who think they are the true circumcised.

That's what he meant there.

Beware.

Hey, now Pastor Danny tries to be as sweet as I can when I'm preaching.

But the truth's the truth.

Amen.

Notice what Paul calls false teachers.

He calls them dogs.

Hello.

Wouldn't you love for me to get up here and just say you a bunch of dogs?

Oh no, we wouldn't love that.

But what he was saying, hey, he was calling out the false teachers.

One thing about the Apostle Paul and every good minister, we don't have to be politically correct because when there's something wrong, it's doctrinally wrong, it's biblically wrong.

We need to stand up as your shepherd, protecting you, and say, this is wrong.

Amen.

This is the wrong teachings.

And we see that he said, Listen, we've got false teachers that are coming in the church at Philippi.

He had false teachers creeping in.

He had disunity trying to creep in.

So Paul is addressing these issues in his letter that he's going to send back to the church at Philippi by Ephroditus.

So now notice what takes place here.

Notice what else he said.

He said, not only some were teaching that joy was to be found in Judaism, verse 2.

And by the way, Judaism was, here's what they said.

Oh, you can be saved if you get circumcised, if you follow Moses' law, the Torah, the first five books of the Bible, if you follow all the Jewish rituals and ceremonies.

Now you can be saved and be baptized.

That was false teaching.

Ladies and gentlemen, not by works of righteousness which we've done, but according to God's mercy, He saved us.

Amen.

Titus 3:5.

Titus 3:5

There is nothing you can do to deserve your salvation.

Jesus did it all because you didn't deserve your salvation.

He took the penalty.

He took the sin upon himself.

So that was a, this is what they were teaching.

Beginning to teach in the church.

And then others were, verse 15, we see they were teaching perfectionism to be perfect.

There's not one of us that can be perfect.

I got news for you.

All our righteousness is as fifty rags.

Isaiah 64, 6.

None righteous, no not one, none that understand it, none that seeketh after God.

Romans 3:10.

Romans 3:10

Amen.

And then notice what else he says.

And then others were teaching, verse 18 and 19.

They were teaching, I could use their word, Attonianism, but really in today it means humanism.

They were teaching humanism.

In other words, man is really his own God.

Man can be anything he wants to, and he can continue to be perfect and perfect until one day he becomes a God.

Hello.

That was wrong.

This was going on or starting to be brought into the church at Philippi.

Paul knew that.

So Paul's attacking it directly.

And then he goes on and he says.

But then Paul says, But rejoice in the Lord anyway.

Always, only in the Lord can you hey joy be found.

Only in the Lord can this joy be found.

Now let me give you this definition of joy.

I've worked on this definition all week.

This is my definition after reading everything, looking at the word of joy.

Here it is.

You may want to write this down.

I didn't put it on there for you.

Find a place to write this down.

Biblical joy produces a deep confidence.

Biblical joy produces a deep confidence in the future.

Woo, that's good.

Hey, we need that confidence in America today.

Can I get an amen?

So here it is.

Biblical joy produces a deep confidence in the future that is based on trusting in God's purpose and power.

Let me repeat it again.

Biblical joy produces a deep confidence in the future that is based on trust in God's purpose and God's power.

Psalm 16, 11, thou shalt show me the path of life.

The psalmist is talking to God.

He says, God will show me the path of life.

Now watch what he says.

In thy presence, this is Psalm 16.11.

In thy presence is the fullness of joy.

At thy right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Wow.

Wow.

You know this verse.

Proverbs 3, 5, and 6, trust in the Lord.

If you know it, quote it with me.

Trust in the Lord with all thy heart.

In all thy ways, lean not on thy own understanding.

Thank you.

In all thy ways acknowledge him.

And what?

He will direct thy paths.

So here's what he's saying.

That future, that confidence of the future is based totally on God's power and God's direction and God's provision and all that God is.

Wow.

That's good.

That's real confidence.

That's the confidence that the doctrine of Christian joy produces.

So the joy comes, and I want to give them to you.

Look, here's how where that comes from.

First of all, it comes from the joy of justification.

It's being found, look at verse 9.

And be found in him, not having my own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.

In other words, he says, it's none of those things that I did.

Paul, listen, when you go back and look at verses 5, 6, and 7, Paul could have gloried in his humanistic accomplishments.

Very easily.

Why?

Because look at verse 5.

He was circumcised on the eighth day.

Hey, he was the stock of Israel.

He was a true Jew.

He was of the tribe of Benjamin, the best tribe.

And then he goes on, he says, Hey, hey, I was a Hebrew of the Hebrews.

In other words, he held the high seat in the synagogue.

He was one of the smartest, most revered Pharisee.

And by the way, now, even though Pharisees were kind of legalistic, one thing you have to realize about them, they knew the word.

They knew it knowledgeably wise.

They didn't know it heart-wise.

Big difference.

Amen.

But they knew the word.

That's what's wrong with a lot of, hey, people today.

They know the word with head knowledge, but they've not allowed the, hey, the Holy Spirit to literally come into their lives and their heart and radically change them and create in them a new heart, a new relationship with an awesome God.

So, and by the way, those people that know the word, those are the ones that like to argue the word.

I'm serious.

But I got news for you.

The Lord sees not as man sees.

Man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks on the heart.

1 Samuel 16, 7.

Amen.

My son, give me your heart and let your eyes observe my ways.

Amen.

Proverbs 23, 26.

So we see that remember the old song.

Well, the younger folks don't, but us older folks.

Rock of ages.

Woo! Clip for me.

I love that third stand.

Nothing in my hands I bring simply to the cross I clean.

It's not about anything I do, it's about everything he did.

Amen.

That's true salvation.

That is the joy of justification.

It was not Paul's, hey, hey, it was not his social class, which he was in the upperty.

Hey, it was not his financial success.

He was born in a very wealthy family.

Hey, it was not his intellect.

He had a PhD.

It was not his political prowlessness.

He was a, again, the Pharisee of the Pharisees, very politically minded.

He was wealthy.

He was intellectual.

He was the best of the best.

He was a Hebrew of Hebrews.

And he came to the position that when Jesus Christ met him on the road to Damascus in Acts chapter 9, he realized that none of these things that I've done matters.

Acts 9 · chapter mention

It's all rubbish.

All that matters is my relationship in Christ.

Wow.

Wow.

That's what I love about this church.

Doesn't matter.

Doesn't matter who you are, what you got.

Jesus loves you.

And hey, hey, and we're equal at the foot of the cross.

When you walk in this door, you're going to be loved.

Everybody's going to be loved.

We love you and you love us and we're family.

Can I get an amen?

That's what's so unique about it.

Loving God and loving people.

Serving at home and abroad.

That's it.

And so we see Paul had earlier developed this whole subject in Romans chapter 5, verses 9 through 11.

Romans 5:9–11

Listen to what he says.

Much more than being now justified by his blood.

We shall be saved from wrath through him.

For if when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his son.

Much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life, Jesus' life.

Now watch what he says.

And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement, the reconciliation.

So we can rejoice because we're made right with God by His justifying grace.

Can I get an Amen?

Nothing else, folks.

Lady came to her pastor and she is very upset, crying, and she said to her pastor, there must be something wrong in my life.

I just don't have that joy.

So the pastor said, Well, Susie, can I ask you a few questions?

Sure, Pastor.

Number one, the minister asked, Are you saved?

She said, Yes.

I'm saved.

Secondly, he said, Do you know the Lord?

She kind of looked and said, Yes, I know the Lord.

And then he asked a third question.

Are your sins washed away?

She kind of said, Pastor, yes.

And then all of a sudden, here's what he said.

Boy, this is good.

He said, Well, Susie, are you glad for it all?

She paused.

Are you glad for it all?

She saw his point and answered, Well, I certainly ought to be.

Amen.

I certainly ought to be.

Ladies and gentlemen, I'm about to have a spell.

If you are here this morning and you are saved, you've been bought by the blood of the Lamb.

You are sanctified, set apart for God and Him alone.

He's in you.

You ought to have some joy.

You ought to have some joy.

Amen.

You ought to have some joy.

Amen.

Man, that is it.

You ought to get excited.

You ought to get up every morning and say, Woo! I'm saved.

I'm not going to hell.

Hello.

Amen.

That's enough to make anybody shout.

Amen.

So, that is so true.

But notice the second thing this joy seen in.

Not only the joy of justification, but secondly the joy of sanctification.

By the way, Paul said, Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.

2 Corinthians 9, 15.

And that unspeakable gift is what makes us joyful.

It's incomparable, it's inexpressible beyond words.

It's indescribable what Jesus did for us.

Amen.

Amen.

But notice number two the joy of sanctification.

Look at verse 10, 11.

That I might know him and the power of his resurrection, the fellowship of his suffering, being made conformable unto his death, if by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.

The apostle mentions here of the resurrection in verse 10, and this refers to knowing God, first of all, and his power.

It's more than just knowing of it, it's an experience.

You have experienced a life transformation through the power of the Holy Spirit of God.

He has taken up residence in you, so you just don't know Jesus about Jesus.

You know him personally.

Big difference.

Amen.

Scribes and Pharisees knew about the Messiah, but they didn't know him inwardly.

They knew him outwardly.

They knew of him.

So that is so important that we understand it.

And then he says it involves knowing Christ not only as Savior, but as sovereign Lord.

As sovereign Lord.

To be brought under his authority and lordship is sheer joy.

Look at Romans 14, 17.

For the kingdom of God, oh, I love this, is not meat and drink, but what?

But righteousness and peace and what?

Joy in the Holy Spirit.

God sets us aside.

He places the Holy Spirit in us, and he sets us aside for his purpose, for his cause, and for what God's called us to do.

You have a beautiful plan.

Hey, God has designed for you personally.

And God wants you to fulfill it, and Satan wants you to run from it.

So that's why the battle is constantly going on.

Amen?

That's why you have the false teachers.

They're drawing you away from Christ, not toward Christ.

Always, always.

Let me tell you a false teacher.

They'll always talk about them instead of him.

Let me repeat that.

They'll always talk about him instead of them instead of him.

Always.

And they'll always say, and here's what you ask them, alright?

Do you believe Jesus is God?

They'll never really give you a concrete answer on Jesus being God.

They believe he's a good man, he's a good teacher, he was a rabbi, but they don't believe that he was really God.

They don't.

And then ask them what they do with the Word of God.

Do you believe the Word of God is written by God?

They'll never concretely say they believe that the Word of God was written by God.

But I got news for it, it was.

Amen.

All scripture is given by the inspiration of God, and it's profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man or woman of God may be totally equipped and complete to do God's work.

2 Timothy 3, 16, 17.

So here we see that the joy of sanctification, you've been set aside.

It's the Romans 12, 1 and 2.

That's what it is.

I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your body as a living sacrifice, wholly acceptable unto you, which is your reasonable service.

You won't be conformed to this world, but you'll be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

Now, watch.

Renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good, acceptable, and perfect will of God.

Amen.

That's what it is.

Giving Him lordship of your life.

You know, a lot of people get saved and they say, Whoo! I got that done.

I'm not going to hell now.

Let me go live my life.

Hello.

I'm going to tell you something.

You just made a fleshly decision.

You didn't make a spiritual decision.

It doesn't work.

Because, see, the Bible says, therefore, if any man be in Christ Jesus, he's a new creation.

You, hey, you put off the old man and you put on the new.

Can I get an amen?

The old goes off, the new comes on.

And the new is not my will, but thy will be done.

That's what it is.

It has to be a radical change.

It's a radical change.

Change.

Hey, Paul was on the road to Damascus to kill and persecute to bring havoc to the church.

But when he met Jesus on the road to Damascus, he had a life-changing experience.

Boom! He was, you're talking about being slain in the spirit, he's slain in the spirit, folks.

That's one of the true slaying of the spirit.

He hit the ground.

And when he came, he went down a sinner, he came up a saved man.

And you know what he said when he came up?

Lord, what would you have me to do?

Lord, what will you have me to do?

Not, hey, whoo, thank you, Lord.

Now I can go on about my business.

Got that over with.

Check it off.

Here with my bucket list, I'm saved.

No, no, no, no, no.

No.

It's that joy of that transformation.

And then you receive resurrection power.

Do you realize?

Here's what I get so disgusted with all of us that are Christians.

We live more in the flesh than we do in the spirit.

Hello, come on.

Help me here.

We have resurrection power.

The same power that raised Jesus from the dead lives in me and you.

Wow, can you get that, church?

Listen, hey, it's the power to conquer all the trials and temptations that come our way.

That hath no temptation taken you but such as is coming to man.

But God is faithful and just who will not suffer you to be tempted that you are able, but with that temptation, make a way to escape.

We've got power over every trial, over every temptation.

We do.

And then secondly, we have the power.

Hey, he gives to a man a new life and the power to live that life.

You were once in darkness, but now your light in the Lord walk as children of light.

Ephesians 5.8.

We have power to live that Christian life.

And then I love this: the power to raise men from the dead.

That's all we got.

Hey, folks, if you're a Christian, you're not gonna die.

Hello.

Amen.

Your body is, but you're not.

To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.

2 Corinthians 5.

Hey, this old body, by the way, the way I'm feeling now, some days, I'll be glad when I get my new body.

Hello.

This thing wears out a little bit.

Had my first knee surgery and my all that stuff, and and uh I'm not gonna say that.

But somebody said, Preacher, you're getting old.

And my first thought, well, I'll whip you.

But I didn't say that.

No, I didn't, I didn't, I didn't.

I'll show you how old I am.

No, but I didn't, I didn't, I didn't.

I was thinking about it.

Oh, I was thinking about it, but I didn't.

The joy of sanctification.

The reason I was I thought, hey, he may whip me, so I might better not deal with there.

The joy, then the third thing is the joy of glorification.

We have the joy of justification, sanctification.

Paul says now we have the joy of glorification.

Folks, that's why that lady that went to her pastor, when she said, Woo, I ought to be.

Because the joy of glorification, the joy of sanctification, the joy of justification.

And the joy of this glorification is in verse 20 and 21.

For our conversation is in heaven.

Woo! Our citizenship is in heaven.

Can I get an amen?

You don't live here, you're just a pilgrim passing through.

You don't live here.

We're going to heaven.

Your mansion, you got a mansion in heaven.

For hey, you believed in God, also believe in me.

In my father's house are many mansions.

If it were not so, I would have told you.

I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself.

That's where I am, ye may be also.

Woo! I got a mansion.

Say it with me, church.

I got a mansion.

Come on.

I got a mansion.

You're just passing through.

Here, we're just pilgrims.

We're not going to be here long.

Hey, we're not going to be here long.

The key is to get excited about your future home.

Paul's saying, hey, this doesn't matter.

I'm in jail.

He's in jail saying all this, getting excited.

He may be fixing to be adjecuted as executed, but he's saying, I'm rejoicing.

Why?

Guess, hey, they think they're going to get rid of me when I, if they kill me, I'm going to be with Jesus.

That's one of the best things they could do for me.

I'll just get there a little quicker.

Amen.

But then he turns around and he says, but I'm not dying.

I'm not dying.

Till Jesus says I'm dying.

Till God says it's my time.

Amen.

Now I think we ought to eat right most of the time.

I'm going to have me some.

No, not doughnuts today.

I got some of Granny's peanut butter cake?

Oh, yeah.

No, but I was thinking about that dressing.

Whoa.

Now, if y'all don't save me, at least a bite of that dressing.

I'm going to be upset.

In the flesh, I'll be in the flesh.

But hey, we're supposed to do all that, but let me tell you something.

If you're faithful to the Lord, you'll be doing all of what you're supposed to be doing anyway, trying to anyway.

You're not going until he gets through with you.

Now, you can short circuit it by not living for him and living like you ought to.

Hey, you want to live instead of like he wants to, and then he'd say, Well, go ahead.

You get sick, you're on your own.

Hello.

You lose your job, you're on your own.

Hello?

You run away from me, you're on your own.

I told you, follow me.

Let me be your Lord.

Let me direct you.

And you'll have life and have it more abundantly.

Amen.

I'm going with him.

I love you, but I'm going with him.

Amen.

I'm with him.

I'm going with him.

Amen.

So that's it.

That's it.

The joy of glorification.

He says, hey, our censorship's in heaven, from whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall change our vile body.

Woo! That old vile body, I told you I wanted a new body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.

The Lord Jesus is coming again, and when that event takes place, we shall be changed into his likeness.

Evangelist Gypsy Smith was preaching in a large crusade downtown Dallas, Texas.

And the black churches and the white churches back in the civil rights time had come together.

They were trying to make a statement.

Praise the Lord.

And the boy Gypsy was just a preacher.

And all of a sudden, this precious black lady raised her hand.

Said, Pastor Gypsy.

Yes, ma'am.

What color do you think Jesus was?

Or what color will we be when Jesus comes back?

He paused for a minute.

He said, Well, I can tell you what the book says.

Beloved, now are we the sons of God?

It does not yet appear what we shall be.

But when he shall appear, we shall be like him.

For we shall see him as he is.

And the whole hey, revival erupted.

We're going to be like Jesus.

It's not about color.

Amen.

It's about our hearts.

Can I get an amen?

It's about our hearts, folks.

I don't see color.

Jesus never saw color.

And you can't be a, hey, you can't be a Christian and be prejudiced.

I know you don't, some of you don't make.

I'm sorry.

You can't be a Christian and be prejudiced.

The book says, He that says he loves me and hates his brother is a liar and the truth's not in him.

Teach that word.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Are you with me, church?

And that's what I love about our church: a place for every race.

We don't see color.

We see hearts.

Amen.

We see hearts.

What a joy it is.

What a joy it is.

So we're going to be changed.

We're going to be like him.

Well, notice the second thing.

Not only do we see the doctrine of this Christian joy, but we see the discipline of this Christian joy.

Look at verse 4 in chapter 4.

Rejoice.

Go over a page.

Rejoice in the Lord always.

Again I say rejoice.

Now here Paul calls for discipline in two respects.

1 Thessalonians 5.16, he said, rejoice evermore.

In fact, we see the word rejoice used three times.

Philippians 3.1, Philippians 4.4, and 1 Thessalonians 5.16.

Rejoice in the Lord.

That's what he's talking about.

Now, here Paul calls for the discipline of two respects.

Number one, the discipline of the maintenance of this joy in the Lord.

The maintenance of joy in the Lord.

The maintenance.

So if we're going to keep this joy in our hearts radiant, if we're going to keep this joy in our hearts full, there's a maintenance that we have to do.

And we see this.

We're to be joyful not only on Sundays.

Can I get an amen?

We're to be joyful not only on special days.

Can I get an amen?

We're supposed to be joyful every day.

Every day.

So how does that take place?

Here it is.

The secret of maintaining this joy is in the preposition.

Now look at what he says.

Rejoice, underline it.

In.

In the Lord.

So if it's the key preposition is in, rejoice in the Lord, this calls for the personal, under your next little blank, the personal application of the Word of God.

In other words, you can't just read the book.

You got to live the book.

Can I get an Amen?

We got a lot of people that read it, listen to it, but don't do it.

Hello.

Hello.

Amen.

And so look at what he says.

This is so powerful.

It is so powerful.

The secret of maintaining such joy is personal application of the word of the Lord.

I want you to see what he said in writing to the Colossians.

Paul said, in fact, well, look at verse 1.

He said, Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord to write these same things to you.

Hey, to you.

To me indeed is not grievous, but for you it is safe.

In other words, he says, I'm going to tell you the same thing again that I told you in chapter 1.

I'm going to tell you the same thing again in chapter 4 that I told you in chapter 3 that I told you in chapter 1.

In other words, I'm going to keep telling you the same thing until you get it.

Amen.

We are stubborn.

No, excuse me, we're not stubborn, are we?

We're hard-headed.

Is that a better word?

My grandmother used to call me Danny Boy.

You are so hard-headed.

I said, Yeah, I guess I am.

But but hey, hey, listen.

It's the same thing.

Over and over.

Paul said, you gotta get it.

You gotta get it.

This is so important.

Listen to what he said in Colossians 3.16.

This is so awesome.

Let the word of Christ dwell in you.

What does that say?

Ritually.

In all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another.

Now, watch, in psalms and hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

By the way, that's a good way right there to even with music.

That's my music verse right there.

You want music, you want what kind of music we want and what we play here and what we do here.

We want music that exalts Jesus Christ and draws us to Christ and teaches us about Christ.

Can I get an amen?

That's it.

That's it.

Now, whatever flavor you put on it, that's up to you.

We all have different flavors.

Each generation has their own music, and our goal around here is to try to hit each generation with some music you like.

Can I get an amen?

That's not the easiest thing to do, by the way.

So pray for us.

Pray for Benji, all our music musicians and all.

Because we want to try to have music.

But hey, regardless of what flavor it's got, it's got to exalt him, it's got to teach us about him, and it's got to, hey, uplift him.

Amen?

Amen?

There it is.

That's so good.

It's a personal application.

Listen, Acts 17, I think I put it up there.

Acts 17, 11.

And the Berean Christians were more noble than those in Thessalonica, Thessalonica.

Here, here's why.

Or Thessaloniki is really the way you pronounce it.

These words, hey, they were more noble than those in Thessaloniki in that they received the word, watch, with all readiness of mind, and search the scriptures, say it with me.

What's that word?

Daily, whether those things were so.

See, the application of the word of God in our lives is directly related to the fullness of the Spirit in our life.

Can I get an Amen?

You can't be spiritually filled with the Holy Spirit if you're not allowing the Holy Spirit to fill you with his word.

Woo! That's good.

Somebody say that's good.

That is good.

That's the key.

That's the key.

D.L.

Moody was asked.

He held up a glass and he said, How do I get the air out of this glass?

And some said, Well, you get a pump.

You get the eh.

Well, a pump would have caused the glass to explode.

We know that.

So after several answers, you know what D.

L.

Moody did?

He had his glass sitting right there.

He just went under the pulpit, picked up a picture of water, and started filling the glass.

And then when the glass got to the top, there was no more air.

He said, That's like the Holy Spirit of the living God that's in you.

You gotta let him fill you.

You gotta walk with him daily.

You gotta be in the word daily.

You gotta obey the word of God daily.

You gotta pray daily.

You gotta seek him daily.

And as you are seeking him through the word and through prayer and through obedience and in church and doing what you're supposed to do, the Holy Spirit is controlling every room in your life.

The tragedy is most of us a lot of times are grabbing and we'll let him control maybe one or two rooms, but we don't want him controlling this room.

I handle this one.

Amen.

But he wants to fill all rooms.

He wants to be the controller of everything.

Amen.

That's good, preacher.

The Bible says, I have written unto you, young men.

1 John 2, 4.

I have written unto you, I love this one, young men, because you are strong, and yeah, and watch what he says, and because the word of God lives in you, beginning, he said, I've written unto young men because you are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and watch, and you've overcome what?

The wicked one.

It's our offensive weapon to destroy Satan.

Get thee behind me, Satan, for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and for him only shall thou serve.

Jesus quoted that three times on the Mount of Temptation in Matthew 4.

Wow.

This is mine in Susan's favorite verse.

It's her verse, Jeremiah 15, 16.

Thy words were found, and I did eat them, and thy words were unto me the joy and rejoicing of my heart, for I'm called by thy name, O Lord God of hosts.

I quoted that verse from the pulpit, and she fell madly in love with me.

Part of that's true, yeah.

She said, No one's ever quoted that verse.

He knows my verse.

Woo! He's something.

I added that.

I added that part.

Oh, the word.

And then notice the other thing.

It's so beautiful here.

Jesus said in John 15, 11, this is one of the most powerful verses for this point about the joy, the discipline of Christian joy.

These things have I spoken unto you that my joy might remain in you.

Now watch.

These things have I spoken unto you that my joy might remain unto you.

So see the connection?

The word in you produces the joy in you.

He says, that your joy might remain in you, and that what?

Your joy might be what?

Oh, there's that, there's that water picture again filling you up.

The more word, the more filling.

Well, let me let me say it a different way.

The more obedient to the word, the more filling.

Come on, let me let's say that again.

The more obedient to the word, the more filling.

Amen?

That's the key.

If you're willing and obedient, you should eat the good of the land.

But if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword.

Isaiah 19 and 20.

So we see the maintenance of the joy in the Lord.

One, personal application, and then number two, personal appropriation of the Spirit of the Lord.

In other words, allowing the Holy Spirit to really control you.

Look at what he says in Ephesians 5, 18.

Be not drunk with wine where it is excess, but be filled with the Spirit.

Be filled with the Spirit.

Now watch this.

This is gonna be good now.

I'm gonna show you something here that's gonna rock you your socks.

You got socks on Melvin?

Yeah, you do.

All right.

Be not drunk with wine where it is excess, but be filled.

There's that word.

Now watch.

Look at verse 19.

Speaking to yourselves.

Now, does this sound familiar?

Psalms, hymns, spiritual songs, singing, and making melody in your heart to the Lord.

Haven't you just heard that?

Doesn't it sound like Colossians 3:16?

Colossians 3:16

Identical.

Identical.

So there's one conclusion.

As the Holy Spirit takes the word of God and fills you up, you can't help but sing, shout, hey, shine, amen, sparkle for the glory of God.

Amen.

Woo! It just comes out.

Somebody asked the other day, said, hey, is he always like that?

Yeah, yeah, when I'm awake.

Now when I'm asleep, I'm not.

But but but the word, well, most of the time I'm up.

I'm not that way all the time, because every once in a while the flesh gets in there, and I hadn't been in the word enough like I should, hadn't memorized enough, and then I can get fleshly.

But if the word's controlling me, whoo, look out, Katie, bar the door, charge.

Amen.

Amen, folks, church.

That's the key.

If you catch this, it'll change your life today.

This is a life-changing message.

This will change you.

You won't be what you used to be.

You won't be controlling you, the Holy Spirit, through the power of the word and prayer will be controlling you.

Change your life.

This is the way to abundant life.

Guaranteed.

Guaranteed.

Guaranteed.

I had an illustration here.

I found this, and you got to hear this.

This was so cute.

A little girl said she thought her principal, Robert Rainey Scotland, was his name, went to heaven every night because he was so happy every day.

This same man wrote this profound quote.

Joy is the flag which is flown from the castle of the heart when the king is in residence.

Woo! Is that not good?

Ha ha ha! Woo! That's good.

Little girl said, Whew, I think my principal goes to heaven every night because he's happy every day.

Would that be a testimony for all of us in the mornings when our children get up and we're so happy?

They would say, My mom and dad, they've gone to heaven every night because they're so happy every morning.

Oh me.

I can't say amen on that one.

I gotta say, oh me, can I get some help?

Oh me.

But wouldn't that be life-changing?

Wouldn't that be life-changing for CCW?

You know why I go to CCW?

They're just happy.

I think they go to heaven every night.

On Saturday night, they all go to heaven because on Sunday morning they're so joyful and they're so happy.

Woo! Wouldn't that be awesome, folks?

Man.

The joy of today should be greater than yesterday's joy, and the joy of tomorrow greater than that of today.

Number two, the manifestation of the joy in the Lord.

We had the maintenance of that joy.

Now look at the manifestation.

Look at how it comes out.

Verse 4 rejoice again in chapter 4.

Rejoice in the Lord always.

And again I say, rejoice.

The joy of the Lord should always be.

Seen in our lives.

We ought to be radiant Christians.

There is no better human experience of this radiant joyfulness than the apostle Paul himself.

I want you to see this and we'll be wrapping it up.

Seven things I saw in Paul I'd never seen before.

I knew it was, but I'm actually digging it out of the book.

Seven things that produce this joy in Paul.

Number one, we see the joy in prayer.

Chapter 1, verse 4.

There was joy in his praying.

As he knelt to remember the needs of the church at Philippi, his heart was filled with gratitude and joy.

And folks, when you're praying for others, there's nothing more joyful.

And especially when we were praying for Benji's little girl Mackenzie to watch God take those intestines, and they were more inside than out as they were thinking, and it's shrinking every day.

That is joy.

The joy that God answers our prayers.

In fact, he says, If you, hey, if my word abide in you and you abide, I mean, if I abide in you and my words abide in you, you shall ask what it will, and it shall be done.

And he goes on and says, so that my joy may be full in you.

John 15.

Wow.

Secondly, it was joy in persecution.

Uh oh, verse 18.

Though Paul cites, hey, hey, Paul's critics sought to add affliction to him.

They were just lamb blasting him.

They were, I meant, we're talking about Christians.

These other, we knew that there were 26 other pastors and leaders of Christianity there in Rome.

They're just lamb blasting him.

I meant, he's in jail.

He could maybe fix it and be executed, but look at what he says in verse 18 in chapter 1.

Woo! What then, notwithstanding every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached, and I then do rejoice, yea, and I rejoice.

I don't care what they say about me, long as Jesus Christ is preached, I'm rejoicing.

Now that takes a lot of Christ's likeness.

And then he goes on and he says, verse 25, I have joy in progress.

In other words, God's doing something.

Look at what he says in verse 25 in chapter 1.

It's unbelievable.

And having this confidence, I know that I shall abide and continue with you and for your fathers of joy and faith.

You know what?

He was so excited, even though he's in jail, he's hearing of the faithfulness of the church.

It's exciting when I see you grow.

It's exciting when we grow together.

It's exciting when we see lives change, people baptized.

It's exciting to see us growing in the grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

It's exciting.

And then he said, chapter 2, verse 2, there's joy and purpose.

We got a purpose.

What is our purpose?

Loving God and loving people.

What is our purpose?

Hey, clear biblical truth, fulfilling service at home and abort, uh home and abroad, vibrant worship, intimate fellowship.

We've got a purpose.

We just don't meet to meet.

We meet to grow each other up in the Lord.

There's a purpose.

There's a name.

There's a one-mindedness.

We're like-minded.

Can I get an amen?

Hey, next, is it next Sunday that we're doing?

I mean, next Saturday we do the Covenant's class.

The 23rd.

Okay.

23rd.

All of you that's interested in being a member, the covenant class will be the 23rd.

Let me tell you what we do.

We go through who we are, what we are, so that we can be like-minded.

We can be on the same page.

Can I get an amen?

That keeps those false teachers out.

Amen.

That's part of our job.

Hey, you don't, hey, if you don't believe the way we believe far as the word of God, if you're not on the same page, if you don't have the same purpose, if you don't have the same aim, if you don't want to reach this community with the gospel, everything we do, every decision we make, if for the purpose of winning people to Jesus Christ, you're in the wrong place.

And I don't mean that ugly.

I really don't.

But we've got to be like-minded.

How many times?

I think it's eight different times, Paul says like-mindedness in this four short chapters.

Like-mindedness.

Being on the same page.

Who we are, what we are, what we are, who we are.

And then he goes on and he says, Oh, the joy in verse 16, chapter 2, the prospect.

You know what that prospect was?

The prospect of standing before Jesus Christ and seeing that he's received, receiving the crown of rejoicing, the soul winner's chant crown in 1 Thessalonians chapter 2, for all that God used him to bring all those people that Philippi to Christ and watch them grow.

1 Thessalonians 2 · chapter mention

He says, one day I'm going to get to stand before Jesus at the beam of judgment seat and hear him say, Well done, thou good and faithful servant.

You with faithful over few things, I'm going to let you be ruler over many.

Enter into the joy of the Lord.

Wow.

And then his passion.

Verse 4.

I'm at chapter 4, I'm sorry, in verse 1.

His passion.

He had passion.

And then the last thing, his joy and prosperity.

Chapter 4, verse 10, how the church had so supported him, taken care of him.

Woo! Man.

What?

Joy.

Well, when the doctrine's right, and the discipline's right, I end with this.

The delight will be there of Christian joy.

Look at Mary.

Look at Mary in Luke chapter 1.

Luke 1 · chapter mention

Remember Mary?

She had just been visited by the Holy Spirit.

And told, she was told.

Now listen, don't miss this.

She was told she was fixed to have a baby.

Now wait, there's a problem.

She didn't know a man.

Hello.

That's a problem.

Would you not say that's a problem?

Come on, church, say that's a problem.

I mean, you're pregnant and you've never had sex, that's a problem.

Okay?

But I want you to see how she handles this.

This is so powerful.

Look at what she said.

Verse 37.

For with God nothing shall be impossible.

That's the exhortation.

And then verse 38, and Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord.

Now watch what she says.

She says, First of all, I submit to you, Lord.

There's that Lordship.

There's that sovereignty, Lordship.

I submit to you, Lord.

Now watch.

This gets good.

Be it unto me.

What does he say?

According to what?

Thy word.

And the angel departed from her.

And then look at verse 46.

And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced.

And God, my Savior.

Number one, it's the sweet, it's the sweetness of the Spirit we see.

The delight is the sweetness of the Spirit in our lives.

It's the sweetness.

It's that that love, joy, peace in the Holy Spirit.

The kingdom of God is, hey, it's not earthly stimulants, but it's righteous stimulants through the power of the Holy Spirit through the word.

Secondly, not only is it the sweetness of the Spirit, it satisfies the soul.

Oh, yeah.

Look at it.

Rejoice in the Lord always again.

I say rejoice.

Verse 4 in chapter 4.

He satisfies the mind with the truth.

Hello.

He satisfies our mind with the truth.

Can I get an amen?

Sanctify them through thy word.

Thy what word is truth.

Hey, then, hey, the heart, he satisfies the heart with love.

The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit.

And then his will gives us liberty.

Now the Lord is that spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there's liberty.

Then the last thing, it strengthens the body.

For the joy of the Lord is my strength.

Every medical journal I've ever read talks about people that are dissatisfied, people that are angry, people that are bitter, people that have discontent, how it brings on stress, it can bring on, hey, heart attacks, it can bring on strokes.

But at the same time, those same journals says, when there's joy in the heart of a person, when there's joy, in fact, I gotta give you this verse.

There it is.

Put it up there, Jeremy.

Proverbs 17, 22.

It's on your book.

As a merry heart doeth good like a medicine, but a broken spirit dries the bones.

There it is.

There it is, folks.

Don't you miss that.

Hey, what does he say?

A merry heart's like medicine.

And how do we have a merry heart?

By allowing the Holy Spirit to come into our lives and take the Word of God and fill us with His truth.

Then we have medicine.

Wow, did you hear me?

That's medicine.

That is medicine.

If you abide in my words, hey, no, if you abide in me and my words abide in you, you should ask what it will and it shall be done.

John 15, 3.

Wow.

Wow.

So this morning, do you have the joy of the Lord?

Do you really have the joy of the Lord?

Are you allowing the Holy Spirit to control your life, or are you controlling your life?

It's one or the other.

Remember what we said last week in Philippians 1, verse 21, for me to live is Christ, to die is gain.

Philippians 1:21

For me to live is Christ.

And then what do we say in Philippians 2 21?

All seek their own things and not the things of others.

So we are either seeking the things of Christ, or we're seeking our own things.

Which is you'll never have the joy if you're seeking your own things.

But when you're seeking his things, these things have I spoken unto you that my joy might be in you, and that your joy might be full.

That bless will be full.

John 1511.

Thanks again for tuning into this week's message.

We pray that your life has been changed.

If you would like to find out more about us, visit us on our webpage at thechurch at cw.com.

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Send us an email at office at the church at cw.com.

We hope you have a wonderful day and again, God bless you.