Joy in the Gospel | Philippians 1:1-11
What gives you joy? There is a difference between being happy and having joy. Everyone is chasing happiness. Happiness can be found when the stock market is up, the vacation is booked, you are feeling good and looking good, you go to your favorite restaurant, or your team wins on Saturday. Happiness is often tied to relationships, if the people they love are close, safe and happy, then you are happy. But if momma ain’t happy or your kids aren’t happy, then the happy is gone. But here’s the problem: all of those things can change overnight. Markets crash, vacations end, teams lose, you get sick, stuff happen and people disappoint. What gives you joy? Not just a moment of happiness, but a joy that lasts. Happiness depends on what happen, it is often circumstantial; but joy is deeper. The world can experience happy but only followers of Jesus experience true joy. Joy is found only in a right relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Joy is based on the permanent circumstance that was paid for by Jesus on the Cross and the empty tomb. For believers, we can always have joy because of what Jesus did and we should choose joy every day because of it. This series is a call for us to daily choose joy rather than bitterness, anger, jealousy, pride, and fear. The world can no not take my joy because the world did not give me joy; Jesus did. So every day I can choose JOY!
Of all of Paul’s letter, his letter to the Philippians is just different. It is more of a letter of friendship and encouragement than anything else, 10 years after he planted them. In his other letters, he is dealing with issues in the church. Corinthians, stop sleeping with your stepmother. Galatians, stop listening to false preachers. Thessalonians stop freaking about about the second coming. He’s writing from jail: he’s not writing this from the Ritz, but from prison being guarded 24/7 by Roman guards. Every 8 hours he was chained to a new soldier. He has been beat up, ship wrecked, snake bit, travel worn and maybe almost blind. But despite is all, Paul is calling the church to have joy in all their circumstances because of the gospel. The word joy or rejoice is found 14 times and the word “gospel” is used more in this letter than any other Paul writes. As believers, we can have joy as partakers of the gospel and partners in the gospel, standing on the promises of the gospel.