Remarkable Joy
Pete recalls that when he was a young Christian in Alabama, a guest teacher from Campus Crusade came to speak at his Wednesday night prayer meeting. The speaker said, “I’m so excited to be a follower of Jesus Christ.” This was the first time anyone had said anything like this in his church. Pete didn’t realize that God expects us to be on fire as a Christian. No one had taught him the verse that says, “Not slothful in business, fervent (white hot) in spirit, serving the Lord.”
Shortly thereafter, Pete was sharing with one of his baseball teammates about the gospel of salvation. He heard himself saying, “I’m so excited to be a Christian.” That’s when he realized that this verse described his joy in the Lord. God will open the eyes of our spiritual understanding the moment we realize that our joy and rejoicing is in Christ.
The book of Philippians is Paul’s epistle of joy. The word Joy is used nineteen times in this short letter. Happiness depends on outside circumstances. However, our Joy is in the Lord. Joy is our response from the heart of Christ in us the hope of glory. In the book of Philippians, Paul and Silas met a group of people who came to pray by the riverside. Lydia, a seller of purple fabrics believed Paul’s message and she and her household were baptized. She invited Paul and Silas to stay at her house while they were in Philippi.
Philippi was a Roman colony that was known for its salt mines. This colony was important because Rome paid its soldiers in salt. This is why wages are called a “salary” from the Latin word for salt.
In Philippi, Paul cast out a devil spirit from a young slave girl who was used by her masters to tell fortunes. When her masters realized that their means of income was gone, they went to the local magistrates, stirred up the crowd in the marketplace and had Paul and Silas thrown in jail. There they were beaten and put in stocks in the inner prison. Despite their mistreatment and imprisonment, Paul and Silas rejoiced with prayer, praises and hymns to the Lord. At midnight, a miraculous earthquake released the prison doors. The jailer, knowing that he would be tortured and executed for allowing the prisoners to escape, took his sword and was about to kill himself. Paul said, “Do yourself no harm. We are all here.” That night Paul and Silas led the jailer to the Lord along with his whole household.
Paul said in Philippians 1:3, “I thank my God upon every remeberance of you always with joy in my prayer for you in view of your participation with me in the gospel.”
God’s plan to redeem mankind from sin is revealed in Philippians 2: “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:” “Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: 8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”
God’s plan for redemption was for his son to become a servant, humbly submitting himself as God’s perfect sacrifice for sin on our behalf. Because of sin we were found guilty before God the righteous judge. We were worthy of condemnation unto death. However, Jesus Christ who was without sin, was made the perfect sacrifice for sin on our behalf that we may be made the righteousness of God in him.
Because of his sacrifice on our behalf, the purpose of our life is that we may be to the praise of the glory of God’s grace. Our joy is in the Lord, not in the things of earth. Pete’s wife Suzan often said, “Joy is not the absence of pain. Joy is the presence of the Lord.”
There are five thieves in Philippians that will steal our joy. In Philippians 1, one thief is circumstances. Paul’s circumstance was imprisonment. However Paul determined to live in the Joy of the Lord. He understood that regardless of circumstance, he would rejoice in the furtherance of the gospel. When Paul was imprisoned, they beat him and then said that they would release him. However, Paul said, “I don’t want to be released, I’d rather appeal to Cesar as a citizen of Rome.” Paul’s heart’s desire was to preach to Cesar in the heart of the Roman Empire.
Jesus said, whatsoever you shall ask in prayer, believing you shall receive. One of the things that Jesus was speaking of is Joy. The joy of the Lord is available through the power of the Holy Spirit.
If we’re in circumstances that have stolen our joy, this is an opportunity to repent. This opportunity is to turn from our focus on broken circumstances and to turn our eyes upon Jesus….look full in his wonderful face. Then the things of earth will grow strangely dim, In the light of his glory and grace.
Joy is a fruit of the spirit. Fruit is not the result of effort. Fruit grows when we’re planted by the river of living water. Jesus Christ himself is the water of life. He is the vine and we are the branches. As we abide in him we will bear fruit.
Where do you find your joy and gladness? Paul said, My joy is that I’m a drink offering poured out upon the altar in praise and glory to God.
As Paul said in Thessalonians, Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice! In everything give thanks,
That in all things we may be to the the praise of the glory of His grace!
Your brother in Christ,
Michael