Where Is Your Joy?

Introduction

Good morning to everyone. To all the kids who are here. It means a lot to me to see you here. I know God is proud of you and pleased. Isn’t that amazing to think God looks at us and is proud and pleased? It’s gonna be a challenge for this morning. Can we be pleasing to our God? I want to say how thankful Kashka and I are to be with everyone here. The last time we were here was the very last Sunday before Benjamin decided he needed to be here too. So apparently the worship and the family atmosphere here was so strong that he decided eight weeks was not something he was going to wait for. Appreciate everyone’s prayers and thoughts, appreciate what Ken had to say.

And certainly I can speak even being here just twice this year. Deedra, we pray for you twice a year, too, living with Ken. If you look in Philippians chapter one, Philippians chapter one. There’s a lot that’s said in the scriptures about what it means to please God, what it means that God loves us. But sometimes we miss the fact that these are actually connected ideas. We talk about family, and family is important, but what does it mean to be a family? What are the benefits of family, not just some list, but how does that change and motivate who we are and how we live? Paul shows us a lot in Philippians, and we’re gonna focus this morning on one concept in particular, and that is joy.

Question for the morning is where is our joy as Christians? Philippians chapter one and verse three. I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all, in view of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now. For I am confident of this very thing that he who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. For it’s only right for me to feel this way about you all, because I have you in my heart, since both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers of grace with me. For God is my witness, how I long for you all at the affection of Christ Jesus, and this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve the things that are excellent in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ, having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God.

1. Paul’s Joy in Remembrance of You

You read Paul’s writing, especially in a book like Philippians, and you say, How is it possible that he has such joy? You notice in verses 12 through 14, he is pinning this letter that is just brimming with joy and love and outpouring for his brothers and sisters in Christ here. And you realize he’s doing so while imprisoned. In verse 13, my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the whole Praetorian guard and to everyone else. And we think about verse 12 and how Paul’s even able to say, Hey, I’m gonna make the best of this situation. And by the way, don’t you find it kind of scary to be the guard who is chained, shackled or watching Paul? Can you imagine how many times Paul preached about Jesus Christ and Christ crucified?

Ken always jokes about having different kinds of sermons you preach over and over. Can you imagine how many rounds this guard took from Paul? He made the best of any circumstance. Our question isn’t how to make the best of bad circumstances, though, because sometimes life is difficult. Our question is looking at this letter of joy that Paul writes, just notice what pops off, going back to verse 3 off of the page, as the way we have the inspired word. I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all, in view of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now. The solution from Paul and joy, and the reason that this shows such joyous feelings for Paul, and by the way, joy and happy are not synonymous.

We use them that way. But this isn’t a self-help sermon, this isn’t a self-help venue. This is about having joy. And the question would be, how and why did Paul have it? And you see it over and again. Do you see what word kept popping up, some version of it? You, you all, and your. Paul is in prison. He doesn’t say, by the way, I’m going to be super evangelistic. He covers that a little bit in verse 12. But he talks about thanking God and all my remembrance of you. That is, he is thinking of you fondly and often. I understand that just to a small degree. Cosk and I think of everyone here fondly and often. But I have to admit, Paul is probably better at sincerely remembering every soul he crossed paths with on his evangelistic journeys.

But you see, it doesn’t just stop there with I pray for you, verse 4, always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all. So whether literally or in a hyperbolic speech, he is praying very frequently and he’s thinking of them consistently. Verse 5, then, in the view of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now, what was the secret to his joy? It wasn’t just not thinking about being in prison. It wasn’t even just thinking about others. It was sharing in who? Sharing in the joy of Jesus Christ. It’s kind of bizarre to me sometimes, if you notice you meet people and you always kind of tend, you can tell where they’re from. Accents do that. We’ve learned a lot about that in Alabama, right, Ken?

And as you go places, you kind of get a feel for what someone acts like. What’s weird to me is that Christians sometimes have the most grumpy exterior. Have you ever noticed that? Sometimes you meet someone and they’re not smiling and they’re kind of grumpy, and you say, What are you doing? And they say, I had to go to church this morning. And you’re like, boy, I can’t wait to go there. As Christians, we should be excited that what a day this is to remember not just in a holiday form that there is something about family and giving, but that we are here to worship God. That should be exciting, not something that we check off the list or I don’t like that it turned out that way.

We should be excited for one another. That there is love in my heart that goes past my circumstances and thinks about what Jesus is doing in the lives of everyone that I know and care for. That’s a distinctly different vision than what America puts forward, which is if you love God, He’s going to take care of you in the sense that you’re going to have everything you ever dreamed of. That’s not what Paul’s thankful for. He’s thankful for others. He’s thinking about others, and he’s doing so again in verse 5, how and why? In view of your participation in the gospel. He understood the tie that binds them all. They shared in grace and Jesus. Verse 6 again, I am confident of this very thing that he who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.

For it’s only right for me to feel this way about you all because I have you in my heart. Since both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers of grace with me. For God is my witness how I long for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. If we see the word you over and again in verses 3 through 5, what comes out in verses 6 through 8? In Christ, because of Christ, in God. Again, verse 6, until the day of Christ Jesus. Verse 8, for God is my witness how I long for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. He is obsessed with this connection. And sometimes I wonder if we’re not quite joyful as people, because we know Jesus died for our sins, and we know God is there, and that’s wonderful, and we know other people have some good things going on.

But we’re kind of used to it. It’s kind of kind of old news, isn’t it? We know on Sunday we’re going to come and worship, and it should be this momentous occasion, and what a wonderful time to step out from the world that we’re always complaining is so evil and so wicked. We come to church with people who are such lights in the world. We’re challenged to be that, Philippians chapter 2. But we’re used to it because we do it this week, and Lord willing we’ll do it next week. And we do it on Wednesday nights, and we have gospel meetings, and it’s just kind of something we do. Paul doesn’t let any of the blessings of God grow stale or tired or cumbersome. He views them as an opportunity to connect with others.

And that’s, of course, centered around God’s great plan that was perfected only in Jesus. Jesus, who was crucified, as we remember this morning, buried and rose again. All of Scripture points to the cross. It points forward in prophecy, it points backward in sermons in the New Testament. And we are just so used to it because we read it and we hear about it so much. Is it possible that one reason I might struggle with joy is because I was very excited to become a Christian, but then months happened and years happened. 2020 happened, that was the year that lasted a thousand years somehow. And I don’t quite feel that joy and that zeal. And when I don’t feel that joy for what God has done in me, how can I show that to others evangelistically or others in my church family?

If I’m not joyful for what God has done, how can I be thankful for what He’s doing in you? We’re gonna talk more about that in a couple minutes. But we see Paul is just absolutely filled with joy. This are just some of the instances of joy. Look with me as we’re gonna go down these bolt lists. Verse four one more time. Always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all. Verse 18. What then? Only that in every way, whether than in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice. Verse 25. And convinced of this, I know that I shall remain and continue with you all for your progress, and joy in the faith, so that your proud confidence in me may abound in Christ Jesus through my coming to you again.

Chapter 2 and verse 2. Make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Chapter 3 and verse 1. Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things again is no trouble to me and is a safeguard for you. And yes, in the last chapter, chapter 4 and verse 10, I rejoiced in the Lord greatly. But now at last you have revived your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned before, but you lacked opportunity. Paul’s a joyous person, isn’t he? Am I marked by that joy? Again, joy is not happiness. We often think about the smiling, right? Christians should be smiling, Christians should be happy. That’s true. There is no reason to invite someone evangelistically to come to a Bible study that you are bummed about or looking like you are bummed out about.

That is not effective in any venue. But Paul’s joy is not about smiling everywhere. Jesus lived in this world and he faced very tough things. Jesus was angry. Jesus wept. Jesus was in pain. He faces all of these emotions. He faced all of these circumstances, and it becomes very odd to read into the New Testament, Jesus smiling the entire time. He’s calling people scribes and Pharisees hypocrites. While he is crying in agony, while he is praying, it’s possible he had a smile or some or all of those occasions, but doesn’t it seem doubtful that 100% of the time he had a smile on his face? We need to be realistic. What is motivating Paul is not about being smiley. It’s about having confidence in God. That God is offering every good thing.

2. We Struggle With Joy Because Life Is Hard

So it doesn’t matter if Paul’s in prison, because God still reigns. It doesn’t matter if people are calling out his name and criticizing him and trying to steal his disciples. Only it matters that God is proclaimed and that God reigns and that Jesus has died for their sins. So we have to ask the question on a practical level this morning why do we struggle with joy if Paul had it in such leaps and bounds ahead of where I want to be? If he is so joyful and so joyous, what is so hard for me? Well, one of the reasons it’s difficult is because life is difficult. Life is hard. And I know everyone just thought, wow, what a profound point this morning. Life is hard. Could close up and say, All right, go to lunch, everybody, enjoy the day.

Look at Matthew chapter 13, though. We think about life as hard. Jesus faced so many tough moments. Job faced tough times. And sometimes, when it’s somebody else, we say, Hang on, God can use this to his glory. Paul does that some. Sometimes people are just doing the wrong thing. Judas betrayed Jesus. And I understand that led to the cross. But that was not a happy occasion. What Judas did with the rest of his life is not a happy occasion. Job faced all kinds of struggles. And he ended up having a pride struggle because of it. Not everything that happens is going to be good or swell. In Matthew chapter 13, we have the telling and the explanation of the parable of the sower. In Matthew chapter 13, notice the different types of soil, but not just for the sake of the word of God, but how you think of ourselves here.

In verse 19, when anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road. And the one on whom seed was sown in the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy. Yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary. And when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away. The one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word and the worry of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word and becomes unfruitful. The one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and brings forth some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.

Luke’s explanation of the parable the sower is that the good soil is that of a good and honest heart. We all want to be the good soil. But the reality is if you look at three of the soils, it’s not just something that’s rough within the soil. But notice what’s happening in verse 19. When anyone hears the word and does not understand it, who comes along? The devil comes away and snatches it. The devil is out there. We see that with Job. We saw that with Jesus. There is a force out there, the Bible calls him Satan, and he is coming to make your life difficult and hard so that you don’t rely on God. The irony, of course, is that should push us closer to God.

But he wants us to dwell on the fact that, like Paul, baby, we’re in prison. My life right now is I’m stuck in a pit. I’m stuck in a jail. There’s just nowhere for me to turn. It’s just rough. And sometimes that’s happening because it’s my fault. And other times it happens because someone is doing this to me. I understand the parable of the sower is about these soils, and they should render our hearts. And so perhaps this is a closed off heart. Either way, who is doing the snatching in verse 19? These are Jesus’ words. The devil. The evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. Sometimes we have to be aware that these things are out there. Verse 20 the one in whom seed was sown in the rocky places, this man who hears the word immediately receives it with joy, yet has no firm root in himself.

When affliction or persecution arises, his faith falters. What is the image in earlier Matthew chapter 13? The sun beats down on the soil that has no root, and that seed just dies. Affliction and persecution, maybe that’s from doing things we shouldn’t do. But the irony of the scripture is often life is hard because I’m a Christian, not in spite of it. You see the difference? Sometimes we think maybe if I would just be better, if I would just be a stronger Christian, if I just had more faith, I would get through this tough time. That’s not what the Bible teaches. The Bible teaches God will get me through these hard times because there is persecution and affliction, and it’s coming for me because I follow after Jesus.

And if that’s a surprise again, look to the master. Did Jesus do anything wrong? Was his faith weak? Did he not understand the connection to God? Did he not have joy or love for others? Of course he did. And yet the world hated him because of it. They came for him, they watched him, they tricked him, they trapped him, they baited him, they crucified him. And he was perfect and blameless. Sometimes we have to acknowledge the reality, we struggle with joy because life is hard. But the question isn’t, is life hard? It’s how do I respond to the difficulty? Jesus kept on doing the right thing. He lived for the Father’s will. Even knowing he was going to die in John chapter 13, he does one of the grossest things in the New Testament.

The Old Testament has all the blood everywhere, and as someone who likes to be clean, that is just gross. Not my kind of thing. But in the New Testament, in John chapter 13, if you turn and you look there, right before he’s about to be crucified, Jesus does the most intimate thing that you can imagine. He gets on his hands and knees and he washes the disciples’ feet. But he doesn’t just wash Peter or Matthew’s feet. He washes the feet of Judas. And we think, how is it possible? Why would Jesus wash the feet of the one who’s going to betray him? You say, well, maybe he doesn’t want to out him as the betrayal. Nope, Jesus identifies Judas multiple times. That’s not the problem. Jesus, in the first five verses of John chapter 13, is aware that he is here for a specific mission, and he’s about to go back to God.

3. Our Neighbors Aren’t Joyful

He had love for others. That kind of sounds like Paul’s example, doesn’t it? He is obsessed with, preoccupied with his standing in God and what God can do for others. Sometimes we struggle with joy because our neighbors aren’t joyful. Sometimes we look around and things are going really well for others, or they aren’t going well, and we’re used to that vortex, and we’re kind of pulled down with them. Look with me in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. In 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. Turn there, we kind of stay away from this passage sometimes because it uses the word rapture in some translations. So we are talking about a time when God is caring for his Christians who have already passed. But in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, this wasn’t necessarily written for that purpose.

It was written for Christians who were struggling with the idea that if Jesus came again in their lifetime, as we’re awaiting today, that maybe those who had already died would miss out. And Paul says, no, God has a plan for them. But notice what that plan entails. 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 and verse 1. Finally, then, brethren, we request and exhort you in the Lord Jesus that you receive from us instructions how you ought to walk and please God, just as you actually do walk, that you may excel still more. For you know what commandments we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, your sanctification, that you abstain from sexual immorality, that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not unlessful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God, and that no man transgress and defraud his brother in the matter because the Lord is the avenger in all these things, just as we also told you before and psalmly warned you.

Verse 8: Consequently, he who rejects this is not rejecting man, but the God who gives his Holy Spirit to you. Verse 13. We do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep that you may not grieve, as do the rest who have no hope. For we believe that if Jesus died and rose again, even so, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. Couple interesting things here. Is Paul suggesting that because God will take care of Christians who have passed away and those who are living, but there’s no real strong reason to follow the commandments? Not in the slightest. There is a strict expectation that a Christian does do what God says. But they don’t do what God says as long as everyone else is playing ball around them, as long as everything’s going well, as long as everyone agrees.

Verse 13, we don’t want you to be uninformed by those who are asleep, that you may not grieve, as do the rest who have no hope.

First distinction is between those who are living and those who are dead. Paul says, to answer your question, those who have died, they’re not going to miss out on Jesus. He knows who they are. They’re going to come to him. Jesus is going to call all of his saints, those who are dead, those who are alive. But there’s another distinction at the very end of verse 13. Did you see it? He don’t want you to grieve. We shouldn’t be grieving as Christians over death. Why? Because the world who is apart from Jesus has no hope. The distinction is those who have hope and those who don’t. If the world throws its biggest dart at you, and it takes your life, we have hope. And we have hope because the resurrection is true.

In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul would say, Without the resurrection, our faith, our hope is in vain, but it is not because Jesus did die. And he was resurrected. And so there’s nothing that should face me. I should always be thankful that the point here is that Christ redeemed my soul and I can be saved. Now this gets tricky because sometimes you look at the world right now and you watch skies falling news all the time, you think everyone is going to die and everything is terrible. That’s half true. Just about everyone is going to die unless Jesus specifically calls us again and he comes, and it’s the moment. Talking about like a thief in the night in chapter 5. But how do I respond to that?

Oftentimes when it comes to a political conversation, there’s just two sides. There is the Republican side and the Democrat side. It really doesn’t matter where you fall on it. And there’s some issues that bleed into the Bible text like abortion that we need to stand up for life on, undoubtedly. But there’s also other issues that we would say certainly are in a gray area, for example, like student loan debt. It’s one thing to think that student loan debt should be forgiven or that it shouldn’t be forgiven. But what I found fascinating and sad was so many people were mad, not that someone disagreed with them, but that they would share out loud that they disagreed with them. Have you noticed how far we’ve gotten down the rabbit hole on this?

It used to be we could exchange ideas and think. Now I am angry. It is ruining my day that someone else online who I may or may not even know has an opinion that I don’t like. And what does the media do with this? What does the devil want us to do with this on our social media accounts? He’s gonna suck us in and make us look about it, think about it, and dwell on it. And just, if I could just type in the answer, I could convince them that I am right. Has that ever worked? Rarely. I can’t believe there’s so many people out there who think like this and who would reason like that. Does that make anything better? We need to spend far more time thinking about how Christ died for me and for you.

And let’s talk about the Redeemer that is Jesus. Let’s talk about the resurrected Savior that gives us hope. That’s an argument worth having. That’s a life worth living. That’s what matters. And if my neighbors aren’t joyful, I should expect that. It is expected in Paul’s writing that those who don’t know Jesus have no hope. That’s the key. If I have Jesus and I’m lacking in joy, it’s not a Jesus problem. Who does that leave? It leaves me. I get too caught up in worry what other people are thinking, or how they disagree, or how the world’s not just the way I want it, and I’m not thinking enough about how I can live the way God has told me to. And that’s a problem. The devil is laughing from his seat.

4. Not Confident in My Salvation

He doesn’t even have to move anymore because he’s got us in his grasp when we focus on issues that don’t matter. We are so preoccupied with people who disagree with us that we don’t talk about what actually matters, that there is life and hope only in one source in Jesus. I think it’s easy to point outward, though. I have to point inward here. Two more reasons I might struggle with joy before some solutions. It might be that I am not joyful because I’m not confident in my salvation. My salvation is inextricably connected with God’s grace. That’s what the scripture teaches. In 1 John 5 and verse 13, these things are written so that you may believe in the name of Jesus that you may know that you have eternal life.

How can we have eternal life? Look with me in Ephesians chapter 2. Ephesians chapter 2. Maybe I lack joy, not because I’m looking at others, maybe because I have a faith problem. Ephesians chapter 2, verse 8 and 9. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not as a result of works, that no one should boast. Well, what’s the problem? Why do I need grace in the first place? What is this faith in this accepting of grace doing? Well, verse 1, you were dead in your trespasses and sins in which you formerly walked, according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.

Among them we too all formerly lived in the lust of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God being rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions made us alive together with Christ. By grace you have been saved. Again, verse 8. For by grace you have been saved through faith, not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.

Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. 1 Peter chapter 3, baptism now saves you. And it is astonishing to me that I’ll open up a very scholarly work. And someone will look at a sentence that says, Baptism now saves you, and argue in paragraph after paragraph and page after page. It just does not mean baptism now saves you. It cannot mean, as Peter said in Acts 2, as inspired by the Holy Spirit, you are baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. It can’t mean what it obviously says. And I hope everyone in this room thinks that that is ridiculous. That we would read what the Bible says, a man would write pages upon pages on how it can’t mean what it clearly says.

Likewise, though, I sometimes read and hear in circles closer than the scholarship I read about baptism disagreements, about how Ephesians 2, verse 8 and 9 cannot mean what it says. What does it say very plainly? For by grace you have been saved through faith. It has to mean something. And if I have to spend so much time explaining what it doesn’t mean, who am I more alive? Jesus who accepts God’s commands and lives it out no matter what? Or the men who will go to any length to twist and jerk away from what God has clearly said. I want to add a one-time caveat, and we’ll finish our conversation this morning. Matthew chapter 7, verse 21, Jesus says, not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven will enter.

He says in John 14 and verse 15, if you love me, you will keep my commandments. Nothing we are talking about this morning, nothing in Ephesians 2 by Paul, nothing that Jesus says will counteract what he has previously said. That is true. And so is Ephesians chapter 2, for by grace you have been saved through faith. Here’s why this matters. Because maybe I’m struggling in my joy as a person, as a Christian, in my faith, which by the way is the conduit for grace to reach us in Ephesians 2 and verse 8. Because I doubt God’s power. If I am not 100% confident, again, 1 John 5 and verse 13, you may know you have eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. If you don’t know you have eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord, we are not the biblical Christian we’re supposed to be.

Now there’s room for growth to get there, but I have to ask the question why do I doubt? Why do I not have a secure faith when the Bible says I must and I should? It can only be one of two reasons. Salvation is a singular sport. Jesus died on the cross for my sins. So the problem is with me, and I’m doing the things I know I shouldn’t, in which case, what’s the solution for that? Knock it off. Or I have a problem with God. I don’t doubt that he can save, or I don’t think he would save even me. It can’t be the second one, because when you read Ephesians 2, verses 1 through 7, that picture of who God extends grace towards is an ugly picture.

And unfortunately for me, that’s a self-portrait. That is who we are. Sometimes we struggle with joy because we don’t have confidence in our salvation that Paul had. And because we, by the way, rightly don’t trust ourselves to be good enough. When you look at Romans chapter 5, verses 6 through 10, notice what Paul writes there. In verses 1 and 2 of Romans chapter 5, he’s dealing with Christians, and he’s trying to remind them, hey, stop sinning. Just because you’re a Christian doesn’t mean you go back and get more of that. He’s going to address that directly in chapter 6. But he says in verse 1 and 2, I am standing in the grace of God. And then he reminds them about how wonderful Jesus’ sacrifice is.

And notice what he calls the Christians in Romans chapter 5, verses 6 through 10. In verse 6, weak and ungodly. In verse 8, sinners. And in verse 10, enemies needing to be reconciled to God. Verse 6, for while we are still weak at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly. Verse 8, but God demonstrates his own love towards us, and that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. That self-portrait is not very flattering, is it? I am described, we in this room are described as weak, ungodly, sinners. And verse 10, enemies in need of reconciliation to God. I shouldn’t trust myself. If I’m looking at my salvation and saying, I’m just not good enough, that’s a correct portrait. That doesn’t mean don’t have self-discipline.

That doesn’t mean don’t cut out sin and start pursuing righteousness. But it does mean that if I’m making salvation about how good I am, that is going to be a losing battle. And God told us that from the beginning, and yet we keep trying. Have you ever told yourself that January is a week away? This year I’m going to be fit. This year, Ken’s gonna be the only one eating that bluebell ice cream. At last, about for the ones with great self-discipline, two days. Maybe a day for me, maybe an hour. You get out that elliptical machine, you’re like, all right, I can do this. I can do this. I’m gonna go an entire album, I’m gonna stay on. The entire soundtrack, I’m gonna be on.

Like, uh, maybe half, maybe, maybe, maybe six songs. You know what? This is a long song. This is a four-minute song. I’m just gonna get through the song, and I will come back tomorrow. And you know what happens tomorrow for most people, never comes. Sometimes we fight a battle that’s bigger than us. But this isn’t a battle we’re left where God goes, well, you just can’t do it, so I either pluck you up and save you or you do it on your own. That’s not true. God constantly helps his people. You look in the Old Testament when the Israelites were in Egyptian captivity, what hope did they have to conquer Egypt? That’s a big zero. They had no shock, no hope. But what was the difference?

But God. God had promised them that he would deliver them out of captivity into the promised land. And so, what did he do? He worked plague after plague after plague. Ten of them. They still had a problem. Because they’re going to the Red Sea and the Egyptians are coming after them and they are stuck. And God did what through Moses? Parted the Red Sea, right? Think of that cheesy 1960s animation of that Red Sea parting. It’s amazing. We think God did all that saving, and yet Hebrews 11, the great hall of faith, look with me there. Hebrews chapter 11 sees it a little bit differently. It gives us the other side of the coin. How is it that God is saving me, yet I have to do something?

How is it that God doesn’t just pick me? How is it that I even have a shot? In Hebrews chapter 11, we understand in verse 6, without faith, it is impossible to please him. You must believe that he is, and that he is a reward of those who diligently seek him. So what does this faith look like? This faith that Paul says in Ephesians 2 is the key to accepting God’s grace. Hebrews chapter 11, notice with me in verse 29. By faith they passed through the Red Sea as though they were passing through dry land. And the Egyptians, when they attempted it, were drowned. Now not everyone is a master storyteller. Ken is a master storyteller. He always does that very well. There’s my once-a year compliment for Ken.

I’m gonna leave that unstained. I am not that way. I am okay, there were some people and they did this thing and it was done. And we got the nuts and bolts of the conversation. The Hebrew writer here, as inspired, makes this sound really good. Do you know what Hebrews 11, verse 29 would say to a nuts and bolts person? The Israelites walked. That’s what they did. When you say they passed through the Red Sea on dry land, they didn’t separate the walls of the Red Sea. God did that. They didn’t do anything miraculous, they didn’t trudge through sludge. It says they walked on dry land. We’re doing that. We do that all the time. And yet Hebrews says it’s by faith. Isn’t that amazing? Maybe I’m lacking joy because I don’t realize God’s doing the hard part.

God’s separating the sea, he’s making the land dry so that I can walk. That doesn’t mean sit down at the basin and go, God’s gonna save me, I don’t have to cross. Any Israelite who sat on that side of the Red Sea was gonna get killed by the Egyptians. And yet Hebrews chapter 11 says there is something we need to do, but compared to God’s saving grace and mercy, it’s pretty embarrassing, isn’t it? God parted the Red Sea, Israel walked on dry land. I can do that. We can do this because God is doing the miraculous lifting. And so maybe I can find grace and trust it more. Maybe I can find and embrace joy because I realize devotion has never been about perfection. There is a difference and there is a strong distinction.

Look in 1 John chapter 1. In 1 John chapter 1. As we live our life, we have to understand God wants something from us. And he wants us to be 100% devoted to Him. We are called in Matthew 5 to be perfect as our Heavenly Father is perfect. But notice the distinction here in 1 John 1 and verse 5. This is the message we have heard from him and announced to you that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him and yet walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his son cleanses us from all sin.

If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. Now a reminder: 1 John is written to Christians. So he’s telling Christians twice in verse 8 and 10. If we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar. Those are strong accusations. I’m afraid this has been taught a lot as there’s two paths. There’s the light and the dark way, and we teach it as if it’s the same as Matthew 7, the narrow way that leads to life and the broad way that leads to destruction.

That’s not what he’s talking about because Matthew 7, Jesus isn’t talking about what to do when you’ve sinned to make it right. You notice in verse 9? If I’m a Christian and I have sinned, do I have hope? Yes. Hope only where? Same place Paul always found it, same place Jesus always lived it. In Christ Jesus, according to God’s plan. What is the mechanism for forgiveness in verse 9? If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just or righteous to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. I’m afraid sometimes that we’ve taken this to mean there is the light path and there’s the dark path, and I’m here on the light path because I’m a Christian, and then I go into I4, and boy, I do not miss I4.

And I’m driving, and someone cuts me off, and I am rude in my driving, I am rude in my speech, and now I’m over here on the dark path. And until I say that special prayer, I can get back on the light path, and we’re just hopscotching our way through life. Is that the biblical picture that Paul would live? Do we think Paul was perfect even after his conversion? I highly doubt it. And so what is it mean to be joyful and to be secure as a Christian? Does it mean to say, well, God’s just going to save me? At the end of verse 7, the blood of Jesus is just going to cleanse me. That’s it. No. Verse 9, if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins.

A Christian, when they do wrong, owns it and does better. If someone were to come forward this morning to be baptized, wouldn’t that be a joyous occasion? And we say, yes, because they are being saved. That means they’re being saved from a life of sin. Wouldn’t it also be a joyous occasion if the prodigal son came forward? A Christian who had been living in sin? And they came forward to confess their sins so that God would forgive them. Wouldn’t that also be an amazing joyous day? Yes. Because that’s what Christians do. The difference between Christians and people of the world is not just the hope in Jesus, it’s how we address that hope. When I, as a Christian, fail, and I will, verse 8 and 10 make that clear.

5. Focus on What We Do Have

I will confess that sin and trust God to give that forgiveness. I don’t just sit there like the Israelites in front of the Red Sea waiting for the Egyptians to kill me. By faith I cross on dry land. I recognize that I am called to do something. I am called to make the change. That is what Christians do. Someone who comes forward and prays for forgiveness is doing exactly what God wants. That is the light path. Which path are you on this morning? Sometimes we focus on what path we’re on, and we only look at our feet instead of the end destination. We need to focus on what we do have rather than what we don’t. Look back in Philippians. Philippians chapter 1. We’re not going to reread the parts that we have, but we’re going to look at some of the verses we left off on.

Notice we remember from verses 3 through 8 that Paul is focused on others. He’s focused on their faith. He’s focused on Jesus. But in verse 12, now I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel. Verse 14, that most of the brethren trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear. Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ from envy and strife, but some also from goodwill. The latter do it out of love, knowing that I’m appointed for the defense of the gospel. The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition rather than from pure motives, thinking to cause me distress in my imprisonment. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed in this I rejoice.

Yes, and I will rejoice. As Christians, we need to focus on what God has done. And sometimes we take that to mean we have this beautiful building. We have the wonderful air conditioning. And boy, do I love air conditioning and heat. I am with you. That’s not what we’re supposed to dwell on. How can Paul be so joyous in a time of selfless ambition when people are cutting him down on purpose? Where he is imprisoned and he’s going to die and knows it. Because he’s focused on the redeemer. He’s focused on the fact that he can be redeemed. Social media doesn’t matter when I can be in heaven with God. My bodily weakness, my sickness, my family struggles, my strife, my nights in the hospital, my everything doesn’t matter when I can be with Jesus.

6. Find Joy in Being a Blessing

Think about what you do have. Think about what Christ has done. That’s where joy is found on what I do have and where I’m going. Not the cage that Satan or I have put myself in. Stop staring at the bars and start looking at the redeemer. Paul did that. It will work for you and I. Two more points of lessons yours. Find joy in being a blessing. Maybe your life is really hard, and you go, okay, well, life is hard, and that doesn’t really make me feel better to know I just gotta suffer for 50 years and then die, and that’s it. Well, first of all, talk to Job. Jesus’ life didn’t end all happy. He was crucified, and then he was resurrected. That was good for us, but that was painful for him.

Sometimes that is the call. But notice in James chapter 1, verse 2 through 4, there is sometimes a different way to look at this. In James chapter 1, verse 2 through 4. Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance and let endurance have its perfect result that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. Now, Kashka does not like this example, but it does work. When we’re all having our feasts for the holiday, and you sit down, you’re gonna look at that plate, and you’re gonna see rolls and meat and dessert, and you’re gonna see vegetables. And you have to know, you have to endure those trials. Because it is good. It is for the perfecting of your body.

God wants us to focus on even in the face of trials, how it can perfect our faith. Isn’t that amazing? Verse 2 explicitly says, consider it all joy. There’s our word. When you encounter various trials, we prefer to avoid any in all conflict and pain. 2 Corinthians chapter 1, verses 3 through 7, Paul would say, When you have faced such an affliction, what can you do with it? You can help someone else later who’s facing that same struggle. Maybe you are struggling. Maybe life is hard. Maybe the devil’s coming and he is trying to snatch your soul away, and you’re staying strong, but you’re thinking, why and what am I supposed to do with this? Paul shows you the answer. 2 Corinthians 1, verse 3 through 7.

Conclusion

Help someone else who is facing that same struggle. Show them they’re not alone. Show them that you can do this. Maybe show them that we can do this together, arm in arm, hand in hand. God knows what we’re facing and he has a plan for it. We need to dwell on God’s precious saving gift. It doesn’t matter how sick I am if Jesus died for me. It doesn’t matter how tough what I’m facing is if I know Jesus died for me. We can be redeemed. We can be redeemed as we sing how we should love to proclaim it. Where is my joy? Sometimes we let the devil take it from us, but too often I give it away. The facts of Jesus dying on the cross, being crucified, buried, and resurrected in accordance with the scriptures, have been unchanged for centuries.

God’s word has promised us for centuries that He loves us, He’s offering His grace to be accepted through faith, and that we can have our sins forgiven if and only if we devote our life to Him, connecting with that singular moment in history that matters the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. So where is our joy? It’s at the right hand of God in heaven. How can we access that? If you’re not a Christian, recognize if you sit at the end of the Red Sea, the Egyptians will get you. How do we walk by faith across dry land? You believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Look to him, follow after Him. Confess Him as Lord. That means He is King, His way goes.

Repent of your sins and be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins in the name of Jesus Christ. Maybe you’re a Christian and you struggle with that, knowing I have eternal life. The problem’s never going to be with God. It might be with me, but we can make it right. If you confess your sins, he is faithful and righteous or just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we can help you at all, there’s no reason for doubt. A biblical Christian will have security. We can help you with it if you’re struggling, but do so now as we come forward to sing the invitation song.