"As the market goes, so goes my joy." Is that true for you? As the Dow Jones plummets, do your hopes crumble? It doesn't have to be that way. You can have joy instead of fear, but only if you know...

Joy Comes From Glory

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

PROMO

"As the market goes, so goes my joy." Is that true for you? As the Dow Jones plummets, do your hopes and dreams crumble too? It doesn't have to be that way. You can have joy instead if fear, but only if you know where joy comes from. Don't miss the next HAVEN Today with Charles Morris as he encourages us with a program called "Joy Comes From Glory."




As the market goes, so goes my joy. Is that true for you? If the Dow Jones plummets do your hopes and dreams go down with it? It doesn’t have to be that way. In fact, there’s a joy that gets even stronger the worse things get.

Swell

As the market goes, so goes my joy. Is that true for you? You could call in a counter-intuitive joy. It doesn’t fit, it’s contrary to what we expect someone to be feeling when everything’s going downhill. The markets plummeted yesterday, while treasuries soared as a safe investment, no matter the Standard and Poors moving the US ratings down a notch. Where in the midst of all of that bad news could this joy possibly be coming from? Have you ever seen that kind of counter-intuitive joy in someone who should have been worried or grief-stricken? Have you ever had it yourself? Do you want it? I do. And I know I the only place I can learn how to have it is in the Word of God. The Bible is full of examples of this kind of triumphing joy. The premier example is Jesus.

Welcome to HT, I’m CM sharing the GS that’s all about Jesus and a program called “Joy Comes From Glory” in a series this week called Reason for Joy. In the next few minutes we’ll look to find joy in God’s Word as part of a series this week called Reasons for Joy. We’ll hear music from Fernando Ortega album, an album that can help lead you to joy in uncertain times. And HT now opens with a song by Sovereign Grace.

Open - "Joy In My Morning" by Sovereign Grace off of their "Come Weary Saints" album

As the market goes, so goes my joy." Is that true for you? As the Dow Jones plummets, do your hopes and dreams crumble too? It doesn't have to be that way. You may not be worried about the financial pictures of the world or your country. You may be worried about something more personal. You may be hurting or afraid and in need of joy for some totally different reason. You can have joy instead if fear, but only if you know where joy comes from.

On the night before his death – a death he knew full well he going to suffer – Jesus was full of joy. And he said on that night that he was leaving his joy as an inheritance for us – for those of us who’ve put our faith in him. John 15.11 Jesus said, “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.

A little later he prayed to the Father and he brought it up again in his prayer, “John 17.13 “I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. This joy of Jesus is a special powerful kind of joy because it triumphs over our circumstances – our very worst circumstances. In the midst of suffering and bad times this joy of Jesus rises up and wins the day. It has power. It can lift us right out of our depression. I want it, Jesus! How does it work? Where does it come from?

The answer comes as you keep reading what happened after Jesus was resurrected. You see the joy of Jesus rising up in believers like Stephen as the stones were crushing him, or in Peter as he stood up to the Sanhedrin – the Jewish court -- and testified in the face of their anger. You see it in the church when famine and a terrible economy forced them to leave their homes in Jerusalem and they just keep testifying about Jesus. You see it Macedonia where poor believers gave out of their little to help those who had even less. Paul says, Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. (2 Corinthians 8: 2) You see in Paul and Silas when they’re locked in a prison cell.

“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody’s chains came loose. The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!” The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved — you and your household.”

Paul and Silas knew the power of joy. They were jailed and chained and they were singing. When the prison doors flew open they didn’t act like men eager to escape. They were perfectly happy where they were. They were so free from self-concern that they could show love even for their jailer.

How do you sing in prison? How do you sing even when you’re not in prison? How do you sing when the economy is crashing? What’s the secret to joy?

Thankfully Paul wrote a letter he wrote a few years later where he clearly explained the secret to this joy. He was in prison again – this time in Rome – and he was still singing. He was still full of joy. He wrote this letter to his friends in Philippi – the same city where he’d been beaten and put in jail. There was a church there that grew out of Paul’s preaching. I’m sure the jailer and his family were part of that body of believers – along with others who’d come to believe in Jesus. Paul had a very special love for this church – they’d been partners with him in his mission to spread the gospel.

When the church heard he was in prison they sent one of their members – Epaphroditus – to bring Paul a gift – maybe food, clothes, books. We don’t know. What we do know is that Epaphroditus got very sick and almost died. Paul knew his friends in Philippi had heard about this and that they were worried, anxious for news. So he writes them a letter and in it he explains the secret to joy. It boils down to this one very simple thing:

Put the glory of Jesus first.

If you make his glory your number one goal in life then you’ll be filled with joy regardless of your circumstances. There’s power in joy – the joy of the Lord is our strength. It lifts you above your circumstances and fills your heart with songs of praise. It sets you free from the bondage of self-concern. It frees you to love other people ahead of yourself. And the secret to joy is putting the glory of Jesus first.

Here’s how Paul explained it to his friends:

Philippians 1:15-26 Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly.

“It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. The latter do so in love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.

Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance. I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, so that through my being with you again your joy in Christ Jesus will overflow on account of me.”



Joy is definitely Paul’s subject in this letter. He describes three things that are happening to him – bad things. And each time he says he’s rejoicing. It’s a counter-intuitive joy – it doesn’t make sense. And yet Paul is overflowing with joy and he wants his friends in Philippi to understand exactly why. It all has to do with his #1 priority.

The glory of Jesus is Paul’s goal in life. That’s what he cares about. That’s what he wants, what he’s craves, with of all his heart. He wants people to see Jesus. He wants Jesus to be known, to be lifted up so the world can see his majesty. He wants the glory of the cross to fill the world. He wants to see people put their trust in Jesus and bow their knees and call him Lord. And he wants those who love Jesus to love him more and to give him more and more glory.

What Paul is doing in this letter is laying out the paradigm for joy. He’s using himself and his situation to demonstrate how joy can triumph in our life regardless of our situation – in even with falling markets and economic insecurity.

He makes it clear a few paragraphs later that he expects the Philippians to follow his example – to have the same priority he has – the glory of Jesus.

In other words, this desire for the glory of Jesus isn’t meant to just be the goal for apostles and preachers and missionaries. It’s meant to be the goal of every believer. The glory of Jesus is what we live for. When his glory is our passion the result will be joy – a powerful joy. Joy will give us wings – it’ll set us free.

So, here are the three things that are happening to Paul.

1. Paul is in chains

In other words, he can’t do what he does. He lives to preach – that’s who he is – an apostle – a messenger carrying the good news of Christ to the world. I don’t know what Paul had on his to-do list – we know he wanted to carry the Gospel on from Rome into Spain. But suddenly all that momentum was called to a halt and there he sits.

And yet he rejoices. He rejoices because God has taken his situation and used it for the glory of Jesus. “I want you to know brothers that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ.”

Amazingly, the word about Christ continued to spread even though Paul had his hands tied. In the very power center of the Roman empire the gospel was advancing. Later in this letter Paul mentions that there are even believers in the household of Caesar.

Maybe you know what it’s like to suddenly be stopped -- to not be able to do what you do – maybe through job loss or illness. But if the glory of Jesus is your number one goal then you can rejoice. The Lord can use your circumstances to bring glory to himself. He can do it in amazing ways we could never plan. We can rejoice because the Lord uses just those hard scenarios to make the name of Jesus like a neon sign – shining out to the world. And he does it through us – through our love for him and our trust in him.

2. Paul’s competitors are taking advantage of his situation.

Paul wasn’t competing with other preachers. But there were other preachers who were competing with him – who were glad to see him put out of commission.

As he put it, “Others preach out of envy. They are motivated by rivalry, not sincerely, hoping to stir up trouble for me.”



Maybe they were like the “super apostles” Paul writes about in 2Corinthians 10-13. They were competing with Paul, claiming they were better at speaking, that they had a stronger Jewish heritage and that they could work more astonishing miracles. They put him down because of all the suffering he was all going through – they didn’t understand that suffering and triumph go together.



It was like they were in a race with Paul to get the prize of being the greatest preacher. With Paul in prison they could pull ahead and leave him in the dust. And what was Paul’s response? “I don’t care. As long as Christ is preached, I will rejoice.”



Christ doesn’t even have to be glorified through him for Paul to rejoice. Even if he’s glorified through someone else’s preaching – someone who’s been goading Paul, who’s been trying to put him down, who’s happy to see him in prison. Still Paul will rejoice.



There’s such tremendous power in making the glory of Jesus our number one priority. No matter what happens to us we can rejoice -- because the Lord’s gospel is still going forth – to every nation on earth. And soon he’s going to come again and “at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father”. I’m quoting from Paul – from something he says a few verses later.



Paul can rejoice because he sees that reality coming and that’s what matters to him. And we can set our hearts on the very same thing and we can rejoice regardless of what’s happening to us.



3 Paul doesn’t know if he’s going to live or die

He’s knows it’s very possible that he’ll be tried and executed for his faith. He rejoices because he’s confident that the Holy Spirit will be supplied to him. The Spirit will give him power and he won’t break under the pressure. Christ will be exalted in him.

Then he muses out loud about these two possibilities: life or death. First he says “for me, to live is Christ.” That’s the bottom line fact of his life – it’s all Jesus. Jesus is his life. Jesus is his joy. So, if he dies, he gains.



But then he says he thinks he’ll probably live – because it would be better for the Philippians. If he dies, they’ll be sad. But if he lives, if he’s released and able to come see them again, their joy in Jesus will overflow.



I think most of us – when we read this verse – focus in on Paul’s joy in death. He rejoices in death because he’ll gain more of Christ – and that’s true of every one of us. But Paul not only gives his reason to rejoice in death – he gives his reason to rejoice in life.



He gives us a reason to live and sometimes we need a reason to live. What Paul says is that believers can rejoice in living because living means fruitful labor. That’s how Paul puts it. As believers in Jesus, we can live to serve Jesus – to see him glorified. We can live for other people like Paul lived for the Philippians. And when we do, we can count on it bearing fruit. It won’t accomplish nothing because the Holy Spirit is at work. The Lord will use it. He’ll bring glory to himself through it. And that’s a reason to live. That’s a reason to rejoice in being alive.

That’s a reason to claim the blessing of the Lord.

Close - "Aaron's Blessing" by Fernando Ortega, "Come Down, O Love Divine" album

PRAYER if needed