WEBVTT 00:00:00.080 --> 00:00:02.399 Welcome to Gateway Churches Podcast. 00:00:02.560 --> 00:00:06.959 Wherever you're tuning in from, we hope you're encouraged by today's message. 00:00:09.279 --> 00:00:12.320 Hey, come on, let's put our hands together for Jesus today. 00:00:12.560 --> 00:00:14.000 Come on, you can do better than that. 00:00:14.080 --> 00:00:16.399 Let's put our hands together for Jesus. 00:00:18.399 --> 00:00:27.519 And I was thinking, um, I was thinking while we were worshiping and singing those songs, how grateful you are for our our teams here that lead us every week. 00:00:27.600 --> 00:00:28.879 I mean, the best of the best. 00:00:29.039 --> 00:00:29.679 Wow. 00:00:32.640 --> 00:00:34.240 But I was thinking about this. 00:00:34.399 --> 00:00:44.719 Um, I hope I never get over that it was the blood of Jesus that found me in a very sinful place and rescued me out of my sins. 00:00:44.799 --> 00:00:46.079 Can I I just want to say this to you? 00:00:46.240 --> 00:00:48.560 You never graduate the grace of God. 00:00:49.039 --> 00:00:53.359 You never get to a place in your journey of faith where you're like, oh, I've kind of got it now. 00:00:53.600 --> 00:00:56.000 If you do, that's a very scary place to be. 00:00:56.240 --> 00:01:06.319 We're all in this journey of growth and of becoming more like Jesus, but I never want to forget the moment that Jesus changed my life, rescued me. 00:01:06.480 --> 00:01:13.120 The Bible says he rescued me out of a pit, out of a miry clay, and that he set my feet on a solid rock. 00:01:13.359 --> 00:01:17.920 David said it like this: Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. 00:01:18.079 --> 00:01:21.200 And the first benefit of knowing Jesus is that he rescued you. 00:01:21.359 --> 00:01:24.879 And so I just wonder if Jesus has changed you and you haven't forgot about it. 00:01:24.959 --> 00:01:28.799 Would you clap your hands and thank God for that today? 00:01:32.719 --> 00:01:36.239 Never, never, never get over the moment that Jesus saved you. 00:01:36.480 --> 00:01:38.000 Never get over that moment. 00:01:38.159 --> 00:01:39.920 It's the greatest day of your life. 00:01:40.159 --> 00:01:42.400 And if you haven't taken that step yet, guess what? 00:01:42.480 --> 00:01:43.920 You can before you leave this place today. 00:01:44.000 --> 00:01:47.200 And we'll give you the opportunity to place your faith in Jesus. 00:01:47.680 --> 00:01:49.519 It's the greatest decision you ever make. 00:01:49.760 --> 00:01:52.319 We're beginning a brand new series today called Happy Bahalo. 00:01:52.480 --> 00:01:54.079 We're gonna be looking at the book of Philippians. 00:01:54.159 --> 00:01:55.599 We're gonna dive into that in a moment. 00:01:55.760 --> 00:02:01.040 But one thing I want to draw your attention to first is we're gonna be doing a Bible reading plan as a church family. 00:02:01.280 --> 00:02:08.159 Every location, every campus, all of our gatherings, and here's how you can get it is simply text happy to 71010. 00:02:08.400 --> 00:02:09.120 So get out your phone. 00:02:09.199 --> 00:02:11.120 This is you have permission, get out your phone. 00:02:11.199 --> 00:02:14.319 Um text seven ten, scan the QR code. 00:02:14.479 --> 00:02:18.240 Um if you if you don't do that, haven't got the texting thing down yet. 00:02:18.400 --> 00:02:22.560 If you're not sure of anything I'm saying, look for someone looks younger than you. 00:02:23.520 --> 00:02:25.520 Say help a brother out. 00:02:26.560 --> 00:02:34.719 And uh and when you once you pull that up, what you'll find is there'll be daily reading, and we're all gonna be reading the same thing together, so I hope you'll engage with it. 00:02:34.879 --> 00:02:37.919 And uh, we're gonna be reading through the book of Philippians over these next five weeks. 00:02:38.000 --> 00:02:41.360 So the team has put together a daily reading, then we're gonna use an acronym. 00:02:41.439 --> 00:02:47.120 And my goal is this I want to get all of us in the habit of spending time with the Lord every day. 00:02:47.280 --> 00:02:52.479 And let me tell you, if all you do is come on Sundays and get a meal, you're gonna be emaciated spiritually. 00:02:52.719 --> 00:02:55.360 You need to feed yourself every day of the week. 00:02:55.520 --> 00:03:01.120 And so we're gonna be using this acronym called SOAP, S-O-A-P, and it's simply this it stands for Scripture. 00:03:01.199 --> 00:03:03.680 So you'll read the scripture, then observation. 00:03:03.840 --> 00:03:06.960 What did you observe or what did the Holy Spirit say to you in the scripture? 00:03:07.120 --> 00:03:08.400 Then A is for application. 00:03:08.479 --> 00:03:10.080 What do I need to apply to my life? 00:03:10.159 --> 00:03:18.879 Um, because the word uh should change you, it should transform you, you should look different because you spent time with the Lord in his word, and then P is for prayer. 00:03:18.960 --> 00:03:20.319 Simply, you're gonna close in prayer. 00:03:20.479 --> 00:03:35.120 And maybe some of you don't have this discipline in your life, and I want to encourage you to get up 15 minutes earlier, take 15 minutes of your lunch break, um, sit in the car for 15 minutes after work, whatever you gotta do, find a time to get into the word of God every day. 00:03:35.199 --> 00:03:40.159 And I promise you at the end of five weeks that you will have heard God's voice as he speaks to you through his word. 00:03:40.319 --> 00:03:40.639 All right? 00:03:40.800 --> 00:03:41.680 Everybody in on that? 00:03:41.759 --> 00:03:42.879 Come on, we're all gonna do it together. 00:03:43.039 --> 00:03:44.080 Yes, we're all do it together. 00:03:44.319 --> 00:03:45.280 Awesome. 00:03:45.759 --> 00:03:48.159 Well, let's pray together and then we're gonna get into the word of God. 00:03:48.319 --> 00:03:54.400 Father, we love you, we honor you, we thank you for your presence in this place, and our hearts and minds are open to you. 00:03:54.560 --> 00:03:55.360 Speak to us today. 00:03:55.439 --> 00:03:59.599 We haven't come to do church, we've come to hear the voice of the Lord. 00:03:59.840 --> 00:04:03.919 So speak to us today, Holy Spirit, and we'll never be the same we believe because of it. 00:04:04.000 --> 00:04:04.879 In Jesus' name. 00:04:04.960 --> 00:04:06.639 And everybody said a big amen. 00:04:07.520 --> 00:04:08.000 Amen. 00:04:08.159 --> 00:04:10.560 So, how many of you here you're road trippers? 00:04:10.639 --> 00:04:12.800 You like to get in the car and take road trips? 00:04:13.199 --> 00:04:13.599 All right? 00:04:13.759 --> 00:04:15.439 How many of you hate road trips? 00:04:15.520 --> 00:04:16.720 I'll raise my hand on that. 00:04:16.879 --> 00:04:20.319 All right, if it if it's more than a few hours, I'm not coming. 00:04:20.560 --> 00:04:21.600 I just gotta be honest. 00:04:21.759 --> 00:04:26.959 Like there, there's a cutoff, and I'll FaceTime you, and you're like, what if it's someone's marriage? 00:04:27.199 --> 00:04:29.519 FaceTime is one, I mean, it's just like you're there, right? 00:04:29.600 --> 00:04:33.199 I mean, it's we do online church, we do like just I hate road trips. 00:04:33.279 --> 00:04:35.120 I think it's because I grew up doing a lot of road trips. 00:04:35.199 --> 00:04:48.480 We never lived, my dad was a pastor, he'll be in heaven 10 years this coming October, and uh, we always lived away from family, and so our vacations were going to see family, and uh they were in North Carolina and South Carolina. 00:04:48.560 --> 00:04:55.040 My mom and dad, my mom's from North Carolina, my dad's from South Carolina, and um, they grew up on farms, and uh that's where I spent my summers. 00:04:55.199 --> 00:04:57.360 I spent my summers harvesting tobacco, everybody. 00:04:57.519 --> 00:05:01.360 My mom and dad thought at 13 years old I needed to learn what a work ethic was. 00:05:01.519 --> 00:05:02.800 So I was 6 a.m. 00:05:03.040 --> 00:05:06.560 in a barn working, uh, making$35 a day. 00:05:06.720 --> 00:05:10.399 I gave, you know, my tithe to the Lord, and then I thought I am rolling. 00:05:10.560 --> 00:05:12.720 I'm 13 years old with 35 bucks. 00:05:12.879 --> 00:05:14.240 I'm just crushing it right now. 00:05:14.399 --> 00:05:29.680 Um, but we took these road trips, and uh, and you know, this was back in the day where safety wasn't, I guess, as much of a concern because we'd put pillows in the floorboard and I would lay like in the floorboard because I had two older sisters, which makes me the baby boy and the favorite of the family. 00:05:30.319 --> 00:05:31.439 Come on, all the mamas. 00:05:31.600 --> 00:05:34.800 You can't say amen if your children are here, but you know it's true. 00:05:35.040 --> 00:05:45.680 And so I would I would lay in the floorboard, but I I remember looking out on these hot, straight, flat Carolina roads, and I would see a water puddle out in the distance. 00:05:45.839 --> 00:05:46.800 Have you ever seen this? 00:05:46.959 --> 00:05:48.160 I would see this water puddle. 00:05:48.240 --> 00:05:53.839 I later learned that it's the this the effect of heat being close to the asphalt, and it's not really real. 00:05:54.319 --> 00:05:59.120 But uh and my little seven-year-old mine, eight-year-old mind, I would think, we're about to catch up with the puddle. 00:05:59.279 --> 00:06:02.000 So I'd play this game in my mind of how can I get to the puddle? 00:06:02.079 --> 00:06:04.639 And the closer we got to the puddle, the more the puddle would move. 00:06:04.720 --> 00:06:06.879 And the closer we got, the more the puddle would move. 00:06:07.040 --> 00:06:08.160 If you're with me, say amen. 00:06:08.560 --> 00:06:12.319 And I later learned in life what we all know is that is a mirage. 00:06:12.639 --> 00:06:15.439 It's an illusion, it's a false reality. 00:06:15.519 --> 00:06:17.120 It's not even really there. 00:06:17.600 --> 00:06:22.480 And as I was thinking about this series, Happy But Hollow, I thought, isn't life like this? 00:06:23.439 --> 00:06:32.879 That often the thing we're pursuing or the thing that we're chasing in life, because we're all we're all in pursuit of something, often it's a mirage. 00:06:33.040 --> 00:06:35.040 Have you ever noticed how the line moves? 00:06:35.199 --> 00:06:36.079 Here's what I mean. 00:06:36.319 --> 00:06:40.959 Do you remember if I could just graduate high school, then that would be it? 00:06:41.120 --> 00:06:42.959 Like, that would be the arrival, right? 00:06:43.120 --> 00:06:50.319 And then it then you graduated high school and it didn't make you feel the way you thought you would feel, and then you thought, oh, well, it's got I've got to graduate college. 00:06:50.480 --> 00:06:54.560 And then once you graduated college, it was like that that didn't do it for me either. 00:06:54.639 --> 00:06:59.279 And then it's like, oh, I gotta get married, and and then you got married, and and that's wonderful. 00:06:59.360 --> 00:07:00.480 That did it, right? 00:07:01.759 --> 00:07:05.279 But love you, babe. 00:07:05.680 --> 00:07:06.639 That was it. 00:07:08.240 --> 00:07:14.480 Then you have children, and then it's like, oh, well, if I could just build the career, and how many of you know that the line keeps moving? 00:07:14.560 --> 00:07:25.839 It's oh, if I could just make that much, then you make that much, and then it's like, oh, actually, it would be a little bit more if I could make that, or if I could start the company, then you start it, and then it's like, oh, but that didn't do it either. 00:07:26.000 --> 00:07:36.399 And if I were to sit down over coffee with you, I bet that you and I couldn't even put language around this arbitrary feeling that we're trying to have, but we're all chasing it. 00:07:37.519 --> 00:07:39.439 And we can't even really define it. 00:07:40.000 --> 00:07:42.800 And I would say this is what culture sold to us. 00:07:43.279 --> 00:07:51.040 They've sold us a mirage that you'll be happy if you could get into this vehicle, that you'll be happy if your body looked this way. 00:07:51.199 --> 00:07:53.920 Some of you are like, Well, I think I would be happy, right? 00:07:55.519 --> 00:07:58.399 Money can't bring happiness, but it can bring a lot of fun, right? 00:07:58.480 --> 00:08:09.279 So it's like, I would be happy if I could get here, but it's a mirage, and the line keeps moving and keeps moving, and we get there and we're like happy for a moment, but then it fades over time. 00:08:09.439 --> 00:08:15.519 And I want to propose, and I think it's what Paul is gonna tell us in Philippians, is that God offers you a different way. 00:08:15.759 --> 00:08:20.879 That there's a better way to live this life, and it is with an abiding, sustaining joy. 00:08:21.040 --> 00:08:26.879 And this joy is only found when you find your life completely in Christ. 00:08:27.680 --> 00:08:29.600 And that's what we're gonna learn in this series. 00:08:29.680 --> 00:08:34.240 And if you're new to church, I kind of want to give you up to speed a little bit on the book of Philippians. 00:08:34.320 --> 00:08:35.200 It's in the New Testament. 00:08:35.279 --> 00:08:42.240 The New Testament's the second half of your Bible, and uh, in this book, I uh and also what I'm trying to do is help you know how to study the scripture. 00:08:42.320 --> 00:08:51.600 So I'm gonna tell you who wrote it, I'm gonna tell you who he wrote it to, I'm gonna tell you the context of it, and this is how you approach in your own Bible reading a book of the Bible as you go through it. 00:08:51.679 --> 00:08:53.519 And so it's written by the Apostle Paul. 00:08:53.600 --> 00:08:55.440 If you're the note-taking type, you can write this down. 00:08:55.519 --> 00:08:57.440 If not, go ahead and write it down anyways. 00:08:57.600 --> 00:08:58.240 It'll help you. 00:08:58.399 --> 00:08:59.759 It's written by the Apostle Paul. 00:08:59.840 --> 00:09:14.480 He's not one of the 12 disciples, but he is one that he would say he's grafted in later because he had this Acts, Damascus Road experience with the Lord where the light shone and you know he was blinded, and he said, you know, Lord, what do you want from me? 00:09:14.559 --> 00:09:21.919 And then he spent three years learning and developing and training, and then he launched into ministry and he wrote more than half of the New Testament. 00:09:22.080 --> 00:09:30.159 He went from a persecutor of Christians to one of the greatest preachers and apostles of the New Testament church, and this is the apostle Paul. 00:09:30.240 --> 00:09:34.639 And so he planted this church in a city called Philippi. 00:09:34.720 --> 00:09:35.840 Everybody say Philippi. 00:09:36.559 --> 00:09:38.240 Philippi is in northern Greece. 00:09:38.399 --> 00:09:41.919 This may not mean much to you, but that's where it's located. 00:09:42.159 --> 00:09:49.519 And the the way it got planted is very interesting because it was the result of what's called the Macedonian call. 00:09:49.759 --> 00:09:55.440 So Paul is out doing these missionary journeys, which means he's a, I call Paul a serial church planter. 00:09:55.519 --> 00:09:58.799 You know, there's serial entrepreneurs that they just start company after company. 00:09:58.960 --> 00:10:00.480 This is Paul, he's a serial church planter. 00:10:00.720 --> 00:10:05.759 And so he plants churches, then he raises up leaders, then he goes somewhere else, and he plants a church, and he raises up leaders. 00:10:05.840 --> 00:10:15.120 And these are the letters of the New Testament that we have, is he's writing back to the churches he planted, and he's sometimes encouraging them and sometimes correcting them, you know. 00:10:15.279 --> 00:10:20.639 So, like the church in Corinth had a whole lot of craziness going on, so Paul did a lot of correcting in that letter. 00:10:20.720 --> 00:10:25.679 And in this one, they're suffering persecution, so he's doing a whole lot of encouraging in this letter. 00:10:25.759 --> 00:10:26.879 If you're with me, say amen. 00:10:27.440 --> 00:10:27.759 Okay. 00:10:28.000 --> 00:10:32.159 And so Paul planted this church as a result of a Macedonian call. 00:10:32.240 --> 00:10:39.279 He was trying to go to Asia Minor, but the Holy Spirit prohibited him, and then he got a vision of a man from Macedonia saying, Come help us. 00:10:39.440 --> 00:10:52.799 And so that's when Paul went to the region and he went to this city of Philippi and he started gathering the core team, which was a market gypsy, um, a troubled teenager, and a depressed security guard. 00:10:54.559 --> 00:10:56.159 Great group to start your business with. 00:10:56.960 --> 00:10:57.919 Are you following me? 00:10:58.080 --> 00:11:03.039 Like, not a good core team, but how many of you know that God can use anybody and do anything through anyone? 00:11:03.200 --> 00:11:04.399 Aren't you grateful today? 00:11:04.559 --> 00:11:07.360 That none of us are outside the reach of the grace of God, right? 00:11:07.519 --> 00:11:13.039 And so that's how he started this church and he built it up and built leaders up in it. 00:11:13.279 --> 00:11:18.799 And then he decides to, you know, raise up leaders and then he moves away to go plant another church. 00:11:18.960 --> 00:11:23.679 Well, at the time of Paul writing this, he is under house arrest. 00:11:24.080 --> 00:11:30.399 So he's writing these words in Philippians about joy, everybody, and he's under house arrest. 00:11:30.720 --> 00:11:32.559 So just let that settle in for a moment. 00:11:32.639 --> 00:11:42.399 I mean, some of us we lose our joy when someone cuts us off on 114, which also has another name that I don't know what it is, but they all have a couple of names. 00:11:42.639 --> 00:11:43.200 All right. 00:11:44.159 --> 00:11:48.639 And so he's under house arrest, and this is the house arrest referred to in Acts 28. 00:11:48.799 --> 00:11:54.879 It's not him in a dungeon, it's but he's being guarded daily by these guards, and he can't leave the house. 00:11:55.120 --> 00:12:00.799 And Paul, in the middle of this, the overarching theme of the book of Philippians is this joy. 00:12:02.559 --> 00:12:07.120 In other words, what Paul's trying to communicate to us is joy is not circumstantial. 00:12:08.240 --> 00:12:10.240 That there's something deeper to that. 00:12:10.399 --> 00:12:17.360 That happiness can come and go, and it can fade based on the circumstances of your life, and if things are going the way that you want them to go. 00:12:17.519 --> 00:12:38.720 But God offers a sustaining joy, and then out of that idea of joy, there's these sub-themes and things we'll visit throughout this series, this collection of messages is this idea of perseverance, and this idea of unity in the body of Christ, and this idea of resilience in your faith. 00:12:38.879 --> 00:12:41.679 But all this springs from this place of joy. 00:12:41.759 --> 00:12:52.240 And here's what Paul is trying to help us understand that the Christian faith lived out successfully does not get lived out of duty, but it gets lived out of delight. 00:12:53.039 --> 00:12:57.519 And some of you, you white knuckle your faith because it's duty. 00:12:57.600 --> 00:13:08.320 Well, that's what I'm supposed to do, and and I'm gonna check the box and do the religious thing, and you feel like you fall off the wagon, then you're back on the wagon, because it never became delight for you. 00:13:08.639 --> 00:13:15.200 It never became I'm in love with Jesus and Jesus has rescued me, and now I live this out of delight. 00:13:15.360 --> 00:13:17.200 I don't have to serve, I get to serve. 00:13:17.360 --> 00:13:19.279 I don't have to give, I get to give. 00:13:19.440 --> 00:13:21.360 I don't have to pray, I get to pray. 00:13:21.519 --> 00:13:24.080 I don't have to be in church, I get to be in church. 00:13:24.240 --> 00:13:26.399 Look what Jesus has done for me. 00:13:26.559 --> 00:13:27.919 It is a delight. 00:13:28.320 --> 00:13:33.759 How do you think it would go over with Tammy if I was like on our anniversary, June 12th? 00:13:34.960 --> 00:13:38.320 My birthday's July 12th, so June 12th was strategic. 00:13:39.679 --> 00:13:41.759 How many of you know you never forget your birthday? 00:13:42.000 --> 00:13:44.480 So all I have to do is back up 30 days. 00:13:46.720 --> 00:13:55.519 But if I came to her and was like, here's some roses, and I'm gonna take you to a five-star restaurant, and she was like, well, just thank you, that's wonderful. 00:13:55.840 --> 00:13:56.720 And I were to go. 00:13:56.799 --> 00:13:57.120 Nope. 00:13:57.200 --> 00:13:59.679 I read the husband manual, this is my duty. 00:14:00.720 --> 00:14:02.399 How do you think that would go over? 00:14:03.279 --> 00:14:05.519 I doubt we would be going to dinner that night. 00:14:06.720 --> 00:14:07.120 Why? 00:14:07.200 --> 00:14:09.840 Because she wants me loving her out of delight. 00:14:10.639 --> 00:14:12.799 She wants me serving her out of delight. 00:14:13.440 --> 00:14:15.919 She wants me expressing affection out of delight. 00:14:16.080 --> 00:14:27.440 How do you think it makes the Lord's feel when we're like, shut up to church, I've read the manual, gave my tithe, I've read the manual, volunteered, I've read the manual. 00:14:27.919 --> 00:14:30.480 No, that's never what Christianity was supposed to be. 00:14:30.720 --> 00:14:34.879 It was supposed to be this loving God that poured out his grace and rescued us and saved us. 00:14:35.039 --> 00:14:38.159 And out of delight, I can't help but serve him. 00:14:38.559 --> 00:14:40.000 I can't help but love him. 00:14:40.399 --> 00:14:42.799 I can't help but tell my neighbors about him. 00:14:43.200 --> 00:14:48.799 I can't help but be in love with Jesus for all that he's done for me. 00:14:48.960 --> 00:14:51.200 Come on, clap your hands if you believe that. 00:14:54.399 --> 00:15:08.480 So this is the context of the book of Philippians, and here's the Apostle Paul, and he's pinning these few first words, and even in the first few sentences in Philippians chapter 1, verse 3 through 6, he says this, I thank my God every time I remember you. 00:15:08.720 --> 00:15:15.919 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with that next word, everybody shout it out, I pray with. 00:15:17.039 --> 00:15:18.320 I pray with joy. 00:15:18.480 --> 00:15:22.799 Once again, in prison, in chains, because he's preaching the gospel. 00:15:22.960 --> 00:15:41.279 And he says, When I think about you, this church that I planted, these people I love, when I think about you, I pray with joy, and I pray that way because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began the good work in you will carry it out unto completion until the day of Christ Jesus. 00:15:41.440 --> 00:15:49.039 This isn't part of the message, but can I just encourage some of you that if God got you started on the journey, God's gonna finish it on the journey? 00:15:49.519 --> 00:15:50.879 We're all on a journey. 00:15:51.039 --> 00:15:54.000 You're gonna make it to the destination, he'll complete the work. 00:15:54.320 --> 00:15:58.799 I don't know about you, but I don't know that my first words to the church would have been, I thank my God for you. 00:15:58.879 --> 00:16:03.039 I said, I think my first words would be, can you figure out how to break me out of here? 00:16:05.120 --> 00:16:07.279 But he said, I thank God for you. 00:16:07.519 --> 00:16:09.919 And I'm praying with joy in the middle of this. 00:16:10.080 --> 00:16:17.440 Did you know 19 times the word joy or rejoicing is in these four short chapters of this book of Philippians? 00:16:17.679 --> 00:16:26.080 It's known as the epistle of joy, it's also known as one of the prison epistles, and also Ephesians, Colossians, and Philemon are also the prison epistles. 00:16:26.240 --> 00:16:31.600 So he wrote four letters while in prison, and it's known as the epistle of joy. 00:16:31.759 --> 00:16:37.919 If anybody had the right to call it the epistle of depression, come on, somebody. 00:16:38.159 --> 00:16:39.759 It was the Apostle Paul. 00:16:39.919 --> 00:16:41.679 I mean, he's just trying to do the right thing. 00:16:41.840 --> 00:16:42.639 Have you ever felt that way? 00:16:42.720 --> 00:16:44.879 You're trying to do the right thing and all the bad things happen. 00:16:45.519 --> 00:16:51.279 He's just trying to do the right thing, trying to live for Jesus, trying to preach the gospel, live out his calling, fulfill his mission in the earth. 00:16:51.519 --> 00:16:59.679 If anybody had to be like, this is horrible, it's so hard, I can't believe God's doing this to me, what is happening in my life. 00:16:59.840 --> 00:17:05.759 If anybody had the right to do that, it was Paul, but in the middle of it, he chose to write about joy. 00:17:06.319 --> 00:17:09.359 And I think joy should be a marker of a believer. 00:17:10.319 --> 00:17:12.160 It should be a marker of our life. 00:17:12.319 --> 00:17:13.680 It's not personality-based. 00:17:13.759 --> 00:17:15.279 Well, I'm just kind of more pessimistic. 00:17:15.519 --> 00:17:16.160 No, no, no. 00:17:16.400 --> 00:17:25.599 You need to be filled with the Spirit, because the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, space, kindness, goodness, gentlemen, right? 00:17:25.759 --> 00:17:28.000 It's joy that should be a marker of a believer. 00:17:28.160 --> 00:17:28.880 Can I tell you something? 00:17:29.039 --> 00:17:33.920 I believe that joy in your life is one of the most powerful testimonies you can have. 00:17:34.480 --> 00:17:40.559 Because just because you're a believer doesn't mean you're exempt from experiencing life just like those who are unbelievers. 00:17:41.039 --> 00:17:48.960 But when you experience life and the pain of life and the hardship of life, but you do it with joy, it communicates something to the world around you. 00:17:49.200 --> 00:18:03.039 When there is joy in the middle of pain, when there's joy in the middle of suffering, when you live with joy, even though you got the phone call that you didn't want to get the diagnosis that you didn't want to hear, you live with joy. 00:18:03.119 --> 00:18:12.160 It communicates something to the world around you about what in the world do you have that I don't have because you have joy as you walk through this. 00:18:12.640 --> 00:18:13.680 So why don't we have it? 00:18:13.759 --> 00:18:16.640 I think there's three barriers in our lives to joy. 00:18:16.799 --> 00:18:18.559 And Paul, I think, shows us in chapter one. 00:18:18.799 --> 00:18:20.079 I want to want you to write these down. 00:18:20.160 --> 00:18:23.359 If you're the note-taking type again, write down this title, Barriers to Joy. 00:18:23.440 --> 00:18:26.160 If you're not, go ahead and write down barriers. 00:18:26.480 --> 00:18:27.759 Y'all with me, everybody? 00:18:29.359 --> 00:18:34.559 Three barriers to joy, and we see these in chapter one of Philippians. 00:18:34.799 --> 00:18:38.480 Barrier number one is this, it's how you see it. 00:18:38.960 --> 00:18:40.240 What do you mean, how you see it? 00:18:40.319 --> 00:18:42.720 I think how you see life, how you see it. 00:18:42.880 --> 00:18:45.039 Paul said this in Philippians chapter 1, verse 12. 00:18:45.200 --> 00:19:02.160 Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually, Paul says, you know, and I grew up in East Tennessee, so it would have been like, what had happened was, has actually served to advance the gospel. 00:19:02.559 --> 00:19:06.319 Does anybody remember the dress that broke the internet in 2015? 00:19:06.960 --> 00:19:07.599 Anyone remember? 00:19:07.680 --> 00:19:08.400 Okay, some of you don't remember. 00:19:08.480 --> 00:19:09.279 I'll explain it to you. 00:19:09.440 --> 00:19:10.559 There was a dress that broke the internet. 00:19:10.799 --> 00:19:24.880 Somebody posted this dress on Facebook, and if if you had a certain color perception in your in your eyes, literally, you saw black and blue, but some people saw gold and white, and they would fight you over it. 00:19:25.119 --> 00:19:28.480 They'd be like, no, this dress is gold and white, and somebody, no, it's not. 00:19:28.559 --> 00:19:29.519 I don't know what you're looking at. 00:19:29.680 --> 00:19:30.640 It is black and white. 00:19:30.880 --> 00:19:43.920 Matter of fact, there was like neuroscientific studies done on this dress and how our eyes see color perception because some people were convinced it was black and white, and some people were convinced that it was, or black and blue, and some people were convinced that it was gold and white. 00:19:44.000 --> 00:19:48.160 And it just shows that some of us look at things differently. 00:19:49.359 --> 00:19:54.240 The apostle Paul is said, what has happened to me has actually. 00:19:55.519 --> 00:19:59.039 In other words, he's not negating the reality of his situation. 00:19:59.440 --> 00:20:01.920 He's not denying that he's in prison. 00:20:02.160 --> 00:20:03.599 He's not glossing over. 00:20:03.759 --> 00:20:06.559 Faith is not glossing over what you're going through. 00:20:06.799 --> 00:20:09.839 Faith is not making it look better than what it really is. 00:20:10.160 --> 00:20:25.359 Faith is addressing the reality of it, but going also, this may be the reality I see, but there is a supernatural reality that maybe I don't see where God is working, and I'm gonna trust God in the middle of what I'm walking through. 00:20:25.519 --> 00:20:30.160 He doesn't deny the fact that he's in prison, and he doesn't deny the fact that he's in chains. 00:20:30.400 --> 00:20:32.799 He just says, but what's actually happening? 00:20:33.359 --> 00:20:35.440 It's all about how you see it. 00:20:35.920 --> 00:20:40.000 And joy in your life will be determined on how you see it, and you get to choose it. 00:20:40.160 --> 00:20:42.799 Some of you, you live on the Eeyore side of life. 00:20:44.480 --> 00:20:46.640 I'm inviting you to the Tigger side. 00:20:47.680 --> 00:20:50.240 Can I get a better amen in the house of God? 00:20:52.799 --> 00:20:58.799 Some of you, life happens, and the littlest thing in life, and it ruins your whole day. 00:20:59.119 --> 00:21:02.720 The littlest inconvenience, the littlest like discomfort. 00:21:02.880 --> 00:21:10.000 I'm not even talking about the major things that really cause anxiety in our life, but the littlest things come along, and it's like, well, what is God doing to me? 00:21:10.079 --> 00:21:11.599 And why isn't this working out? 00:21:11.680 --> 00:21:13.359 And life is so difficult for me. 00:21:13.599 --> 00:21:16.160 If that's how you want to see it, then that's what you'll get. 00:21:16.799 --> 00:21:18.960 But you could look at it and go, no, no, no. 00:21:19.119 --> 00:21:22.240 Actually, I think God is up to something in the middle of this. 00:21:22.400 --> 00:21:26.480 It would be five years prior to the book of Ephesians that Paul would write Romans. 00:21:27.279 --> 00:21:33.920 I think Paul had a little insight when he was under house arrest, going, Oh, yeah, I told them in chapter eight, they didn't have chapters, you know that, right? 00:21:34.799 --> 00:21:35.920 Okay, just checking. 00:21:36.160 --> 00:21:38.160 I told them for our sake. 00:21:38.240 --> 00:21:45.519 I told them in chapter eight that my God works all things together for the good of those who love him and are the called according to his purpose. 00:21:45.680 --> 00:21:52.400 I wonder if Paul was in prison going, I know I'm in prison, but actually, God is up to something. 00:21:52.640 --> 00:21:55.200 God is working all things together for my good. 00:21:55.359 --> 00:21:57.119 Paul had a different mindset. 00:21:57.680 --> 00:21:58.720 And can I tell you something? 00:21:58.799 --> 00:21:59.680 Your joy is an insight. 00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:02.000 Inside job, not an outside job. 00:22:02.640 --> 00:22:04.720 It begins with your mindset. 00:22:05.279 --> 00:22:08.640 It begins with how you see it and you choose how you see it. 00:22:08.880 --> 00:22:11.200 God's not going to make you see it a different way. 00:22:11.519 --> 00:22:14.960 God's not going to grab your brain and shake it and make, you know, that'd be wonderful. 00:22:15.039 --> 00:22:17.599 Some of you are like, could he do that with my children? 00:22:19.519 --> 00:22:21.119 God doesn't work that way. 00:22:21.440 --> 00:22:23.119 You choose how you see it. 00:22:23.519 --> 00:22:27.920 This is why Paul told us in Romans 12, too, that we're to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. 00:22:28.000 --> 00:22:34.000 In other words, what science has shown is that there are narrow pathways that are developed in your mind over habits of thinking. 00:22:34.079 --> 00:22:44.960 And some of you, it's harder for you to see things through the God lens because you grew up in such an environment where everything was bad, everything now, and you created a habit and you have a generational thing going on in your life. 00:22:45.039 --> 00:22:48.880 And it may be harder for you to break this, but by the power of the Holy Spirit, you can. 00:22:51.279 --> 00:22:53.119 And I'm not saying you gloss over things. 00:22:53.200 --> 00:22:56.960 I'm just saying what Philippians 2.5 says, that we're to have the mind of Christ. 00:22:57.039 --> 00:23:03.039 I'm just saying what Proverbs, I think, 23, 7 says, as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. 00:23:05.519 --> 00:23:08.400 That means that you don't see through this, you see through this. 00:23:09.680 --> 00:23:11.440 How do you think through your heart? 00:23:12.079 --> 00:23:13.599 That doesn't even make sense. 00:23:14.480 --> 00:23:17.759 Unless you don't see through these eyes, you see through this eye. 00:23:20.240 --> 00:23:26.559 And this eye, the eye of your heart, can get so clouded by pain and trauma and issues in your life. 00:23:27.519 --> 00:23:34.799 That you have to train and be transformed by the renewing of your mind, the word of God can give you a different lens to look at life. 00:23:37.119 --> 00:23:40.960 You know, Paul's in prison, he's like, the enemy thinks he's gonna shut me up. 00:23:41.039 --> 00:23:41.920 Why don't I write letters? 00:23:42.000 --> 00:24:03.599 I'll write them to the church in Ephesus, and I'll write them to the in other words, Paul's like, I'm gonna get something accomplished in here because actually what is happening, can I propose to some of you that maybe the struggle that you're walking through right now, if you could get a zoom out a little bit, open your aperture a little bit, and go, maybe God is developing a new level of faith in me that's gonna produce new fruit in the next season of my life. 00:24:03.759 --> 00:24:07.279 I'm not saying it's wonderful and I'm not saying we're like, well, thank God for the pain. 00:24:07.359 --> 00:24:14.240 I'm just saying in the middle of life's pain, maybe we would look a little higher and go, God is working in the middle of this. 00:24:14.400 --> 00:24:16.319 God is for me, He's not against me. 00:24:16.480 --> 00:24:18.160 He demonstrated that on the cross. 00:24:18.240 --> 00:24:21.200 And if it's not good yet, it's not God yet. 00:24:21.680 --> 00:24:24.160 Come on, put your hands together if you believe that. 00:24:27.839 --> 00:24:31.200 So a barrier to you having joy is how you see it. 00:24:32.079 --> 00:24:36.400 Barrier number two is this what you're living for. 00:24:38.240 --> 00:24:42.000 What you're living for can become a barrier to the joy in your life. 00:24:42.640 --> 00:24:53.279 Look what Paul goes on to say in chapter one, in verse 15, he says, This it is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry. 00:24:53.440 --> 00:25:01.519 So the context is Paul is in prison and he's writing letters, but he's not out doing the ministry like he did once did. 00:25:01.599 --> 00:25:07.519 And there are people on the outside that are preaching the gospel, but their motive is wrong. 00:25:07.759 --> 00:25:15.359 They're doing it out of envy, they're doing it out of rivalry, and then others are continuing to preach the gospel, and he says, but they're doing it out of goodwill. 00:25:15.599 --> 00:25:17.279 And the latter do it out of love. 00:25:17.440 --> 00:25:29.279 The one doing it out of goodwill, they're doing it out of love, knowing that I'm put in here for the defense of the gospel, but the former, the ones preaching out of envy and rivalry, they preach Christ out of selfish ambition. 00:25:29.759 --> 00:25:31.119 Not sincerely. 00:25:31.359 --> 00:25:34.960 Supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I'm in chains. 00:25:35.119 --> 00:25:36.559 And then this is his response. 00:25:36.799 --> 00:25:38.319 But what does it matter? 00:25:38.640 --> 00:25:47.039 The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached, and because of this, I rejoice. 00:25:47.359 --> 00:25:49.759 Yes, I will continue to rejoice. 00:25:50.000 --> 00:25:52.000 So Paul's under house arrest. 00:25:52.160 --> 00:25:58.640 There are people that are preaching Christ with good motives, but there are preach people preaching Christ with bad motives so that it stirs up more trouble. 00:25:58.720 --> 00:26:02.000 So Paul's in trouble, and there are people trying to stir up more trouble for him. 00:26:02.160 --> 00:26:03.519 Have you ever felt that way in life? 00:26:03.839 --> 00:26:06.319 Like I've got enough trouble without you adding too much trouble. 00:26:06.480 --> 00:26:07.599 Can I get a better amen? 00:26:09.039 --> 00:26:13.839 And this is where Paul is in the middle of it, and he says, but what does it matter? 00:26:17.119 --> 00:26:18.079 I think that's amazing. 00:26:19.039 --> 00:26:21.119 He's not twisted out of shape about it. 00:26:22.160 --> 00:26:26.319 He's not like all you know, anxious and can't eat about it. 00:26:27.039 --> 00:26:28.480 He said, What does it matter? 00:26:29.119 --> 00:26:30.880 Because Christ is being preached. 00:26:31.279 --> 00:26:37.119 In other words, here's what Paul is saying is that I'm living for something that is bigger than me and bigger than now. 00:26:38.000 --> 00:26:42.240 And it is the preaching and the proclamation of the gospel to the known world. 00:26:42.319 --> 00:26:46.880 And as long as that is happening, if they're trying to cause trouble for me, I'm good with it. 00:26:46.960 --> 00:26:49.200 And if I'm in chains, I'm good with it. 00:26:49.359 --> 00:26:53.200 All I want at the end of the day is that Christ would be preached. 00:26:53.279 --> 00:26:56.559 And if he's preached, what does it matter what is happening to me? 00:26:56.720 --> 00:27:03.039 What does that matter if my life is convenient or my life is comfortable, as long as the gospel is being proclaimed? 00:27:03.119 --> 00:27:07.680 And listen to me, when you live life about you, that is too small of a vision. 00:27:09.839 --> 00:27:14.079 If you are the journey you are on, the destination is emptiness. 00:27:15.279 --> 00:27:22.000 And the destination is anxiety, and the destination is depression, and the destination is brokenness and regret. 00:27:22.160 --> 00:27:32.960 But if you can begin to live your life for a bigger vision than you, and something larger than you, and something bigger than now, this isn't all there is, everybody. 00:27:38.400 --> 00:27:39.680 I'm about all that. 00:27:40.720 --> 00:27:42.799 But I'm not living just for this. 00:27:44.079 --> 00:27:49.119 I'm living for a well-done, good and faithful servant. 00:27:49.519 --> 00:27:51.200 Enter into your reward. 00:27:54.240 --> 00:27:56.400 That's what we gotta be living for. 00:27:58.640 --> 00:28:03.119 In other words, Paul is saying, I'm living for purpose in my life. 00:28:04.160 --> 00:28:05.759 I'm living for meaning. 00:28:06.720 --> 00:28:09.119 And I would ask you, what are you living for? 00:28:10.400 --> 00:28:12.640 Are you living for Monday through Friday? 00:28:15.119 --> 00:28:17.839 Are you living to the vacation? 00:28:18.720 --> 00:28:20.480 Are you living for the escape? 00:28:22.079 --> 00:28:24.240 What is it you're really living for? 00:28:26.160 --> 00:28:33.759 Because if you're the center of your universe, joy will be a mirage that you'll never catch. 00:28:35.519 --> 00:28:37.599 It'll constantly escape you. 00:28:38.400 --> 00:28:44.000 But if you're living for something bigger, then you'll find joy no matter your circumstance. 00:28:44.640 --> 00:28:54.640 Matter of fact, Victor Frankel, who did a lot of work with Holocaust survivors, found this to be true in his book, Man's Search for Meaning. 00:28:54.720 --> 00:28:59.680 He wrote about how that there's this idea of what he calls an existential vacuum. 00:28:59.839 --> 00:29:05.279 And it is the feeling of emptiness that comes from lack of purpose. 00:29:06.240 --> 00:29:20.559 See, Frankel discovered that those who who not only survived but thrived after the concentration camps, that they didn't buy into Freud's idea, which is life is all about pleasure. 00:29:22.400 --> 00:29:28.319 And that if you could just have enough pleasure, then you will thrive in life and have success in life. 00:29:28.400 --> 00:29:33.759 And he didn't buy into another thought of the day from a guy named Adler, and that is power. 00:29:33.839 --> 00:29:38.559 If you get enough power in life, then that's how you really find success and thrive in life. 00:29:38.799 --> 00:29:48.720 What Victor Franco found is those who survived in the concentration camps and even thrived after they came out of them found meaning in the middle of suffering. 00:29:49.759 --> 00:29:54.960 In other words, they lived for something that was bigger than them and bigger than now. 00:29:56.000 --> 00:30:02.799 And I'm just telling you today that you've got to attach your life to something that is bigger than you and that it's bigger than now. 00:30:02.880 --> 00:30:11.599 And I would propose that you are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus, to do good works, which he decided determined beforehand for you to do. 00:30:11.759 --> 00:30:25.359 In other words, your purpose is bigger than your job, it's bigger than this momentary thing, it's bigger than your education, that your purpose is a part of God's purpose in the earth, which is what Paul's purpose was, which was for the gospel to be preached. 00:30:25.519 --> 00:30:32.640 This is why he could say in Philippians 1.21, for me to live is Christ and to die is gained. 00:30:33.279 --> 00:30:35.519 What do you do with a guy like that? 00:30:36.799 --> 00:30:39.920 Who says, if you let me live, I'm just gonna preach Christ. 00:30:40.160 --> 00:30:42.400 But if you kill me, awesome. 00:30:44.640 --> 00:30:48.319 Because I get to be in the presence of the one who I've been serving, anyways. 00:30:51.039 --> 00:30:54.960 There's joy when you can have that switch in your heart. 00:30:56.319 --> 00:30:57.200