WEBVTT 00:00:00.239 --> 00:00:10.800 Well, I am super excited about today because today we are starting a brand new series, and this is going to take a couple of months because we're going to go through the entire book of Philippians. 00:00:10.960 --> 00:00:13.199 And if you're new to his hands, this is sort of our MO. 00:00:13.359 --> 00:00:16.399 Last year, we went through the entire book of Matthew. 00:00:16.480 --> 00:00:17.760 It took us the entire year. 00:00:17.920 --> 00:00:24.000 The year before that, we did a series where we went through the whole story of Scripture, like Old Testament all the way through. 00:00:24.239 --> 00:00:25.039 That was a lot of fun. 00:00:25.120 --> 00:00:27.839 We've gone through the book of Romans, the book of Ephesians. 00:00:28.320 --> 00:00:30.480 I love to teach through Scripture. 00:00:30.719 --> 00:00:38.320 And mainly that's because, you know, I'm 42, so I've lived some life and I have some observations that might be helpful. 00:00:38.640 --> 00:00:42.880 But God's word is more than just helpful observations. 00:00:43.359 --> 00:00:44.560 It's his revelation. 00:00:44.640 --> 00:00:49.359 It is God's revealed truth, and it is truth that you can build your life on. 00:00:49.520 --> 00:00:52.079 There are things in Scripture that we could never know. 00:00:52.240 --> 00:00:58.880 Things about ourselves, things about the world, about God, about how life can be that we would never know if God hadn't shown it to us. 00:00:58.960 --> 00:01:04.640 And so rather than just share life observations, uh, I want us always to be in the Word. 00:01:04.719 --> 00:01:07.120 And if you're part of this church, you will learn Scripture. 00:01:07.200 --> 00:01:11.760 That is something that we will commit to because I'm trying to learn Scripture day in and day out. 00:01:11.840 --> 00:01:14.879 I want you to do the same, and it blesses us tremendously when we do. 00:01:14.959 --> 00:01:19.840 Now we're calling this study of the book of Philippians unbreakable joy. 00:01:20.640 --> 00:01:22.239 Unbreakable joy. 00:01:22.480 --> 00:01:28.719 You really can't take any one book of the Bible or letter in the New Testament and give it a theme. 00:01:28.959 --> 00:01:35.599 Every single one is just jam-packed with so many different layers of truth and theological stuff, practical stuff. 00:01:35.840 --> 00:01:44.560 But if you had to with the book of Philippians, if you said, hey, you have to pick a singular theme to describe Philippians, joy would be it. 00:01:44.799 --> 00:01:48.640 I'll just read you a couple quick verses that go throughout the first few chapters. 00:01:48.719 --> 00:01:49.760 It's only four chapters long. 00:01:49.840 --> 00:01:51.519 It's not a very long letter. 00:01:52.239 --> 00:01:58.000 Philippians 1 4, whenever I pray, I make requests for all of you with joy. 00:01:58.560 --> 00:02:06.799 Philippians 1.18 says, the message about Christ is being preached either way, so I rejoice, and I will continue to rejoice. 00:02:07.120 --> 00:02:15.840 Philippians 2 17 and 18 says, I will rejoice even if I lose my life, pouring it out like a liquid offering to God, just like your faithful service is an offering to God. 00:02:15.919 --> 00:02:18.719 And I want all of you to share that joy. 00:02:18.879 --> 00:02:23.280 Yes, you should rejoice, and I will share your joy. 00:02:23.840 --> 00:02:25.039 Philippians 3.1. 00:02:25.520 --> 00:02:27.599 This might just be the theme verse of everything. 00:02:27.759 --> 00:02:33.360 Whatever happens, my dear brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord. 00:02:33.680 --> 00:02:34.639 Rejoice. 00:02:35.120 --> 00:02:40.560 Philippians gives us a blueprint for how to have real joy in our lives. 00:02:40.639 --> 00:02:49.199 And I've spent a lot of time this last week sort of reflecting on some of the things that I have allowed in my life to be a source of joy for me. 00:02:49.360 --> 00:02:54.400 And there's a big difference between enjoying something and letting it be the source of your joy. 00:02:54.639 --> 00:03:08.639 There's so many things in life that we are meant to enjoy, but sometimes we get things out of order, we we get our priorities mixed up, and things that we're just meant to enjoy, like it's a nice extra thing in life, it's a blessing, they become the thing that we need in order to feel joy. 00:03:08.800 --> 00:03:09.919 And that can be really dangerous. 00:03:10.000 --> 00:03:14.479 You have to be very careful what you're putting your joy in or what you allow to be the source of your joy. 00:03:14.560 --> 00:03:16.319 I'll share a few silly ones in my life. 00:03:16.400 --> 00:03:19.759 And the first in-I'm gonna say this first involves my son Liam. 00:03:20.000 --> 00:03:22.240 Um, I don't know if you know this, I have a son who plays basketball. 00:03:22.400 --> 00:03:31.520 And uh when I planned all this, I didn't realize the high school were gonna be in the room today, and so uh our students, and so he's here, and wherever you are, dude, I love you. 00:03:31.599 --> 00:03:32.400 I'm so sorry. 00:03:32.479 --> 00:03:36.960 Uh I but I did tell him I would pay him$50 because I'm telling these stories about him today. 00:03:37.039 --> 00:03:40.319 And he went, actually, in the car on the way here, he's like, Dad, no, no, I said I'll pay you$50. 00:03:40.560 --> 00:03:41.680 I was like, All right. 00:03:42.479 --> 00:03:44.000 That's how it went. 00:03:45.680 --> 00:03:53.199 And so, you know, growing up, I I talk about basketball too much, but look, we all have our things, and uh, and that's one of mine. 00:03:53.520 --> 00:03:57.199 It was a bit of a problem for me that I had a kid who loved it and was really good at it. 00:03:57.439 --> 00:04:00.879 Because there were times in life where I just needed that. 00:04:01.039 --> 00:04:02.479 And Liam, I'm sorry about this, by the way. 00:04:02.639 --> 00:04:03.919 Everything I'm about to show you, I'm sorry. 00:04:04.000 --> 00:04:06.400 I'm sorry for all the times I've been weird and hard and all that. 00:04:06.479 --> 00:04:06.879 I love you. 00:04:06.960 --> 00:04:08.319 I'm amazed by you, you're great. 00:04:08.400 --> 00:04:09.280 I'll stop talking about you. 00:04:09.360 --> 00:04:09.680 Okay. 00:04:09.919 --> 00:04:12.479 Um you guys humor me for a second. 00:04:12.560 --> 00:04:14.159 I'll show you a 30-second video. 00:04:14.319 --> 00:04:19.120 It's like 23, it's 23 seconds and 23 points of Liam in fourth grade. 00:04:19.199 --> 00:04:20.319 I have a story about this, okay? 00:04:20.399 --> 00:04:21.439 Just bear with me for a second. 00:04:21.519 --> 00:04:22.079 So here you go. 00:04:22.160 --> 00:04:27.279 This is a 23-second video of Liam in fourth grade, scoring 23 points. 00:04:27.360 --> 00:04:28.000 All right, here we go. 00:04:28.160 --> 00:04:30.160 Like, yeah, you can shot. 00:04:30.319 --> 00:04:30.639 There we go. 00:04:30.800 --> 00:04:31.360 It's another three. 00:04:31.439 --> 00:04:32.319 You gotta guard that, guys. 00:04:32.399 --> 00:04:34.879 You gotta like close out on that kind of stuff. 00:04:34.959 --> 00:04:36.959 You know, gets that, takes it to the hole. 00:04:37.120 --> 00:04:37.920 We're going this. 00:04:38.000 --> 00:04:39.279 He just picked the ball up off the floor. 00:04:39.360 --> 00:04:40.720 They didn't, you know, layup. 00:04:40.879 --> 00:04:41.680 Here we go. 00:04:41.920 --> 00:04:42.800 Layup and one. 00:04:43.040 --> 00:04:45.199 They didn't call that, but he clearly got fouled. 00:04:45.519 --> 00:04:46.399 And layup. 00:04:46.480 --> 00:04:47.279 All right, there you go. 00:04:47.439 --> 00:04:48.720 23 points now. 00:04:51.680 --> 00:04:52.879 Here's the crazy thing. 00:04:52.959 --> 00:04:54.879 That was the first quarter of the game. 00:04:55.040 --> 00:04:56.319 That was one quarter. 00:04:56.480 --> 00:04:58.560 So he had 23 points in the first quarter. 00:04:58.639 --> 00:05:11.120 And I was the coach, I pulled him out because we were up by a lot, and I didn't know how many points he had, and he ended up being one point shy of his high total scoring that game, and I sat him for most of the game, and I was like, oh, you had how many in the first quarter? 00:05:11.199 --> 00:05:11.759 I didn't know that. 00:05:11.839 --> 00:05:12.399 My bad. 00:05:12.560 --> 00:05:22.560 Um, so you know, when he was a kid, like when he would play, I enjoyed it, but after a while it became more than that for me. 00:05:22.639 --> 00:05:26.240 I would film those games and I'd watch the film and I'd watch it again. 00:05:26.399 --> 00:05:28.639 And then sometimes, I'm just being honest with you, okay? 00:05:28.800 --> 00:05:34.399 Sometimes the worst parts of ourselves come out in our love for our children. 00:05:34.639 --> 00:05:49.040 Um, sometimes I would stop watching him in the videos and I just watch the reactions of parents, you know, like our fans and then the other team, and like fans that were like shaking their heads and the other coaches, and I've like get a weird evil pleasure out of that, if that makes sense. 00:05:49.279 --> 00:05:50.560 Just being honest. 00:05:50.800 --> 00:05:57.600 Um But like you gotta be careful if if something like that, even your your children and what they're good at becomes your source of joy. 00:05:57.680 --> 00:06:00.319 Because one more thing, and again, Liam, I'm sorry, 50 bucks. 00:06:00.480 --> 00:06:00.800 Okay. 00:06:00.959 --> 00:06:03.120 Um, this is a picture of this is from yesterday. 00:06:03.279 --> 00:06:05.600 So he he's Liam plays for a team. 00:06:05.680 --> 00:06:06.959 Uh this is this is cool. 00:06:07.120 --> 00:06:10.879 He plays for a team that's an underarmor team, um, really, really good team. 00:06:10.959 --> 00:06:14.560 And first game of the travel season was yesterday, and he he did awesome. 00:06:14.639 --> 00:06:15.839 And so he got this write-up. 00:06:16.079 --> 00:06:18.720 They they'll feature certain players that perform really high. 00:06:18.800 --> 00:06:19.360 I'm gonna read it. 00:06:19.439 --> 00:06:22.240 It says Liam McTear is a skilled guard who always makes the right play. 00:06:22.399 --> 00:06:29.360 He had some eye-opening moments getting by defenders for tough finishes, making shots, and some high-level passes through tight space to teammates. 00:06:29.519 --> 00:06:31.519 So that was game one, amazing. 00:06:31.680 --> 00:06:34.639 He got the the love online, and he that's great. 00:06:34.800 --> 00:06:37.360 Game two rolls his ankle probably out for several weeks. 00:06:37.519 --> 00:06:39.519 So, yeah, he's in a boot today. 00:06:39.680 --> 00:06:43.439 But 50 bucks richer, so look on the bright side. 00:06:44.079 --> 00:06:44.399 Man. 00:06:45.279 --> 00:06:46.879 And so that's the hard thing, right? 00:06:46.959 --> 00:06:50.160 Whatever you allow to feed you can also starve you. 00:06:50.560 --> 00:06:54.879 And so, because like yesterday was a bit of a roller coaster for me. 00:06:55.040 --> 00:07:02.959 I was like, on cloud nine, like, yeah, here we go, and then an hour and a half later, like, no, I need this. 00:07:03.920 --> 00:07:05.519 I need this. 00:07:06.399 --> 00:07:10.399 Sometimes I let it be a source of my joy, and that's a silly thing. 00:07:10.639 --> 00:07:14.480 There's things that you're meant to enjoy, but you can't make them the source of your joy. 00:07:14.560 --> 00:07:15.600 I'll share another one with you. 00:07:15.680 --> 00:07:18.319 Um and some of you may relate to this one. 00:07:18.399 --> 00:07:20.720 Uh so alright, I'm gonna show you a chart. 00:07:20.879 --> 00:07:22.079 Everyone loves charts. 00:07:22.240 --> 00:07:24.399 This chart is just basically a big line, okay? 00:07:24.480 --> 00:07:26.079 So let's bring up the big the big line. 00:07:26.240 --> 00:07:33.600 All right, this this chart uh happens to mirror a specific financial asset. 00:07:33.759 --> 00:07:35.759 I am not a money guy at all. 00:07:35.920 --> 00:07:40.319 Uh I don't, I've never been like an investment person or anything like that. 00:07:40.399 --> 00:07:48.639 But several years ago, five or six years ago, I had an opportunity, I had some some money that uh I knew if I didn't invest it, it would just get wasted. 00:07:48.800 --> 00:07:53.120 Like I knew myself well enough to go, if I don't invest this, it's just going to like slowly fall away. 00:07:53.199 --> 00:07:57.680 So I talked to a good friend of mine who knows that world, and I was like, if you were in my shoes, what would you do? 00:07:57.759 --> 00:07:59.040 And he said, I put it all in this thing. 00:07:59.120 --> 00:08:01.120 And the thing that he said, I didn't know what it was. 00:08:01.279 --> 00:08:02.399 And I was like, what is that? 00:08:02.560 --> 00:08:05.600 And he explained it to me, and I didn't understand a word he said. 00:08:05.759 --> 00:08:10.959 Um, but he seemed like he knew what he was talking about, and I trusted his character, and so I was like, why not? 00:08:11.040 --> 00:08:12.480 So so I bought in. 00:08:12.560 --> 00:08:15.120 Okay, I'm gonna put a little dot here for where I bought in. 00:08:15.199 --> 00:08:16.000 Okay, here we go. 00:08:16.160 --> 00:08:18.079 You'll see it pop up on the on the chart. 00:08:18.240 --> 00:08:18.639 Next one. 00:08:18.800 --> 00:08:20.399 There, that's when I bought in. 00:08:20.800 --> 00:08:21.920 It was really low. 00:08:22.079 --> 00:08:26.560 And then on the next dot, this is when I felt like a genius. 00:08:26.879 --> 00:08:29.519 I had about a month where I walked around. 00:08:29.680 --> 00:08:31.759 I had so much confidence at home with my wife. 00:08:31.920 --> 00:08:33.200 I was like, what's up, baby? 00:08:33.360 --> 00:08:41.519 You know, like just uh just your man, pastor slash investment genius. 00:08:42.320 --> 00:08:42.639 Okay. 00:08:43.440 --> 00:08:48.960 Uh a little over a year later, the next dot is where I felt like an idiot. 00:08:49.279 --> 00:09:02.960 Uh where I was just like, I could have, you know, I had a specific financial goal in mind that this was like attainable through and as a big goal, like this would be really huge uh if it happened for our family, and so it all felt, it all went away. 00:09:03.039 --> 00:09:04.159 And I felt like a moron. 00:09:04.879 --> 00:09:06.720 I was legit depressed for a little bit. 00:09:06.799 --> 00:09:09.919 I shouldn't have been, because why would you let your joy be tied to something like that? 00:09:10.000 --> 00:09:10.799 Well, I did. 00:09:10.960 --> 00:09:12.799 And uh and then this is when I sold it. 00:09:12.960 --> 00:09:13.600 Okay, here we go. 00:09:13.759 --> 00:09:14.320 Next dot. 00:09:14.480 --> 00:09:18.320 Now, no, what are y'all making that face for? 00:09:18.559 --> 00:09:20.000 Don't be doing that. 00:09:20.399 --> 00:09:22.159 See, I know what's happening. 00:09:22.320 --> 00:09:26.240 You're making that sound because you're looking at what's to the right of that dot. 00:09:27.039 --> 00:09:28.320 Trust me, I have two. 00:09:28.720 --> 00:09:29.039 Okay. 00:09:30.480 --> 00:09:32.000 Look at what's on the left. 00:09:32.159 --> 00:09:33.279 That's what you gotta look at. 00:09:33.360 --> 00:09:35.200 You gotta look at what's way over there when I start. 00:09:35.279 --> 00:09:39.279 No, when I sold it because it got to the level that I said I would sell it at. 00:09:39.440 --> 00:09:42.559 Uh, and mission accomplished, goal accomplished. 00:09:42.639 --> 00:09:49.440 It's just that if I would have waited a month, um, you know, I had it for five years, just one extra month. 00:09:49.679 --> 00:09:50.559 It's all good. 00:09:50.720 --> 00:09:53.360 Just, you know, my kids going to college. 00:09:53.600 --> 00:09:56.559 Uh but now, save that$50, dude. 00:09:56.720 --> 00:09:57.120 Save it. 00:09:57.200 --> 00:09:58.320 That's what I'm gonna tell you. 00:09:58.480 --> 00:09:59.120 Invest it. 00:09:59.279 --> 00:10:00.159 No, I'm teasing. 00:10:00.240 --> 00:10:08.559 But no, like I honestly, all jokes aside, like that line, that line for several years represented how much joy I felt. 00:10:08.799 --> 00:10:20.399 Because I allowed, I'm being honest, I allowed my my joy to be tied to something extremely volatile, to something that that went up and went down. 00:10:20.639 --> 00:10:28.240 And if you tie your joy to something like that, I mean you can if you want to, but I wouldn't. 00:10:28.799 --> 00:10:38.399 There have been so many things in life that I have allowed, and and often good things, blessings, but I've allowed them to be the source of my joy. 00:10:39.919 --> 00:10:42.080 And it's it's it's not been good for me. 00:10:42.240 --> 00:10:43.919 It hasn't been to my benefit. 00:10:44.399 --> 00:10:48.639 And so the question for each of us is what is the source of our joy? 00:10:49.200 --> 00:11:08.799 And what I'll tell you is that the Philippians, this study that we're gonna go through for the next uh the next several weeks, Philippians will teach you how to have your joy rooted in what's right, in what's good, in what is true, and in what is unshakable. 00:11:09.039 --> 00:11:20.799 You can have lasting, powerful, and honestly unbreakable joy if you if your source of joy is the right thing. 00:11:21.120 --> 00:11:22.799 Philippians teaches us that. 00:11:23.039 --> 00:11:26.399 And I'm really excited for us to learn this together. 00:11:26.639 --> 00:11:32.559 Okay, so we're gonna jump into it now, but since this is our first week, I need you guys to be willing to kind of nerd out with me for a second. 00:11:32.639 --> 00:11:38.320 We're gonna have a little bit of uh Bible history fun time together because I want us to understand the context of Philippians. 00:11:38.399 --> 00:11:43.759 We're not gonna do this every Sunday, obviously, but I want us to know not just what we're reading, but but how it all came to be. 00:11:43.840 --> 00:11:46.559 Okay, so we're gonna start by talking about a man named Paul. 00:11:46.720 --> 00:11:50.960 He used to be named Saul, and we don't know exactly when he was born. 00:11:51.039 --> 00:12:00.159 He would have been a little bit younger than Jesus for sure, but Saul was a Pharisee and an up-and-comer, like a rising star amongst the Pharisees. 00:12:00.240 --> 00:12:05.120 And if you know that name Pharisee, you've probably heard that if you're familiar with the story of Jesus at all, like they're the ones who killed him. 00:12:05.360 --> 00:12:09.440 And so Saul was extremely zealous amongst the Pharisees. 00:12:09.519 --> 00:12:22.000 In fact, when the early church began to have some momentum, after Jesus died and was resurrected and his disciples began to spread the word and it began to grow, Saul was one of the foremost persecutors of the church. 00:12:22.159 --> 00:12:27.039 In fact, the first man ever killed for his faith was a man named Stephen. 00:12:27.120 --> 00:12:32.320 He was the first martyr, and Paul was present at Stephen's murder. 00:12:32.879 --> 00:12:35.519 Paul was there, okay, but as Saul. 00:12:36.000 --> 00:12:39.519 And so he actually became a champion of persecuting the church. 00:12:39.600 --> 00:12:44.960 And one day while he was on this road to a place called Damascus, he encountered the risen Jesus. 00:12:45.039 --> 00:12:53.440 This probably happened about five to seven years after Jesus had risen and ascended to heaven, but on this road, he encounters Jesus. 00:12:53.679 --> 00:12:56.159 And it's a life-changing experience. 00:12:56.320 --> 00:12:58.799 It's an undeniable experience, it's miraculous. 00:12:58.960 --> 00:13:02.080 He's actually not able to see for a while after this encounter. 00:13:02.159 --> 00:13:05.519 His whole life gets turned upside down, everything changes. 00:13:05.759 --> 00:13:12.720 And so Saul begins a journey of understanding who Jesus really is, and he gives his life to Jesus. 00:13:12.799 --> 00:13:25.039 He becomes Paul and goes from being the persecutor of the church to one of its foremost leaders and someone persecuted by the very people that he used to be in league with. 00:13:25.759 --> 00:13:28.960 He's an amazing man, and we have so much that we owe to him. 00:13:29.120 --> 00:13:32.480 I mean, honestly, most of the letters of the New Testament were written by him. 00:13:33.120 --> 00:13:35.519 He was responsible for starting so many churches. 00:13:35.600 --> 00:13:37.200 In fact, I want to show you a map real quick. 00:13:37.279 --> 00:13:42.799 Uh, this is an animated map that shows you all three of his main missionary journeys. 00:13:42.879 --> 00:13:48.639 Uh, the first one's the white line, the second one's the darker line, the third journey is that kind of orangish-brown line. 00:13:48.720 --> 00:13:54.080 And so he went all over the place, and in all of those places that he stopped, he started churches. 00:13:54.320 --> 00:13:55.919 Little groups of believers. 00:13:56.000 --> 00:14:05.759 And so, because of that, you'll see here in this next map that all over the place you have these churches, these groups of people that are giving their lives to Jesus. 00:14:05.840 --> 00:14:08.240 And when I say church, I don't mean big buildings and stuff like this. 00:14:08.320 --> 00:14:14.960 We're talking about groups that met in homes and just bit by bit organically grew, and we have Paul to thank for that. 00:14:15.279 --> 00:14:21.840 And so Paul is always traveling around, bringing the news of Jesus to places that it had never reached. 00:14:21.919 --> 00:14:31.440 And on his second missionary journey, this is over a decade after he's encountered Jesus, one of the first places he arrives is Philippi. 00:14:31.600 --> 00:14:34.159 And Philippi is a really interesting place. 00:14:34.559 --> 00:14:43.600 It was named that because it was named after a Greek leader whose name was Philip II of Macedon, and that man happened to have a son that became pretty important. 00:14:43.759 --> 00:14:45.039 His son was named Alexander. 00:14:45.120 --> 00:14:47.279 He is known in history as Alexander the Great. 00:14:47.440 --> 00:14:50.320 It was his father that Philippi is named after. 00:14:50.480 --> 00:14:53.679 So it's a place that has a very deep history to the Greek people. 00:14:54.320 --> 00:14:56.320 It also has a very deep history to the Roman people. 00:14:56.399 --> 00:15:05.679 And so, if you're familiar with history shortly before Jesus was born, uh, not that, like within about a hundred years of Jesus' life on both sides of it are some of the most significant events in history. 00:15:05.840 --> 00:15:08.879 There's a man named Julius Caesar, and he was he was murdered. 00:15:09.039 --> 00:15:11.600 He was assassinated by a group of people. 00:15:11.759 --> 00:15:17.360 Two of the primary people were a man named Cassius and Brutus, and this started a civil war in Rome. 00:15:17.519 --> 00:15:37.759 And you had Cassius and Brutus who opposed Julius Caesar, and then on the other side you had Octavian, who was the great nephew of Julius Caesar and a man named Mark Antony, and they fought against Brutus and against Cassius, and Brutus and Cassius lost that battle to Octavian and Mark Antony at Philippi. 00:15:37.919 --> 00:15:41.600 That was the place of the deciding battle of the Roman Civil War. 00:15:41.679 --> 00:15:47.279 And because of that victory, Octavian would go on to be known as Caesar Augustus. 00:15:47.360 --> 00:15:51.279 He was the very first emperor of Rome, kind of an important person. 00:15:51.679 --> 00:15:52.799 And that happened there. 00:15:52.879 --> 00:16:01.519 And because of that, because that happened there, Caesar declared Philippi an official Roman colony, which was a big deal. 00:16:01.759 --> 00:16:06.000 Because if you were an official colony, it meant that you were like a little pocket of Rome. 00:16:06.240 --> 00:16:08.960 A lot of the places in the Roman Empire didn't like Rome very much. 00:16:09.039 --> 00:16:10.240 Rome had conquered them. 00:16:10.480 --> 00:16:11.519 They tolerated Rome. 00:16:11.679 --> 00:16:15.840 They had to, because if they didn't, if they got out of line, things would go really poorly for them. 00:16:16.000 --> 00:16:18.559 So they had sort of this angst, right? 00:16:18.639 --> 00:16:19.519 Not Roman colonies. 00:16:19.600 --> 00:16:23.919 If you were a Roman colony, it meant that retired soldiers in the Roman army moved there. 00:16:24.159 --> 00:16:25.679 They became citizens. 00:16:25.840 --> 00:16:43.519 And there was so much pride in a Roman colony for being part of Rome that it became a place of tremendous excitement, tremendous national pride, and a place that was so Roman that it would be very against anything un-Roman. 00:16:43.840 --> 00:16:53.600 You know, like a traveling Jewish preacher bringing the news of this brand new faith that no one's ever heard of before, that's connected to the Jewish scriptures of the Messiah. 00:16:54.240 --> 00:16:58.799 You wouldn't really be excited about that in a Roman colony, and that's where Paul arrives. 00:16:59.120 --> 00:17:02.080 And we get there in Acts chapter 16. 00:17:02.320 --> 00:17:10.000 The first story we have of Philippi, it says that in verse 13 of six of chapter 16, on the Sabbath, we went a little way outside the city to a riverbank. 00:17:10.160 --> 00:17:15.039 Normally, when Paul would preach, when he'd go to a new place, he'd go to the synagogue. 00:17:15.279 --> 00:17:21.119 He'd find wherever the Jewish people happen to be, but there was such a small Jewish population in Philippi, there was no synagogue. 00:17:21.279 --> 00:17:25.839 So he just goes to the riverbank where we thought people might be meeting for prayer. 00:17:26.079 --> 00:17:28.400 And we sat down to speak with some women who had gathered there. 00:17:28.480 --> 00:17:33.200 One of them was Lydia of Thyatira, a merchant of expensive purple cloth who worshiped God. 00:17:33.359 --> 00:17:37.680 And she listened to us, and the Lord opened her heart and she accepted what Paul was saying. 00:17:37.920 --> 00:17:40.880 She and her household were baptized, and she asked us to be her guests. 00:17:41.039 --> 00:17:46.160 If you agree that I'm a true believer in the Lord, she said, Come and stay at my home, and she urged until we agreed. 00:17:46.240 --> 00:17:52.640 And so Lydia becomes the first convert, the first believer in Philippi. 00:17:52.720 --> 00:17:56.079 And she's a very influential person, very wealthy, very successful. 00:17:56.799 --> 00:17:58.559 We go on in verse 16. 00:17:58.640 --> 00:18:04.640 It says, One day as we were going down to the place of prayer, we met a slave girl who had a spirit that enabled her to tell the future. 00:18:04.799 --> 00:18:08.000 She earned a lot of money for her masters by telling fortunes. 00:18:08.240 --> 00:18:14.079 She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, These men are servants of the Most High God, and they've come to tell you how to be saved. 00:18:14.160 --> 00:18:23.839 And this went on day after day until Paul got so exasperated that he turned and said to the demon within her, I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her, and it instantly left her. 00:18:24.079 --> 00:18:25.359 It's kind of a funny story. 00:18:26.079 --> 00:18:37.200 Interesting thing about any interaction that Jesus or the followers of Jesus had with demons, long before people confessed that Jesus was the Lord, those who were possessed by demons did. 00:18:37.440 --> 00:18:41.920 It was like the demons and if you don't believe in demons, or that's a whole we have a whole different conversation about demons. 00:18:42.000 --> 00:18:45.039 We've actually had uh messages about that sort of spiritual stuff. 00:18:45.200 --> 00:18:48.160 And uh I won't that'll be a long well, you know what? 00:18:48.240 --> 00:18:51.039 We'll do a Madison's gonna hate this. 00:18:51.200 --> 00:18:54.160 Uh we'll do a we'll do a podcast this week. 00:18:54.319 --> 00:18:56.000 We'll post it about demons. 00:18:56.160 --> 00:18:56.640 There you go. 00:18:56.799 --> 00:19:02.720 So if you want to know more about that, we'll post a podcast, we'll record one this week and post it about demons, a little bit of extra content for you. 00:19:02.799 --> 00:19:13.440 Uh but I don't have time to go into all that, but just it's interesting that every time Jesus encounters someone who is possessed, influenced by an evil spirit, by demon, whatever word you want to use, they just confess straight up who he is. 00:19:13.599 --> 00:19:16.799 Like he's the Lord, he's the king of kings, like they know that. 00:19:17.279 --> 00:19:26.319 And so you have this young girl who is controlled by an evil spirit, and it's walking around and literally telling people the truth. 00:19:26.559 --> 00:19:32.720 Hey, these guys are servants of the real God, and they're here to tell you how to be saved, but it's it's like annoying Paul. 00:19:32.799 --> 00:19:35.440 Like she's just shouting this, like she can't help it. 00:19:35.599 --> 00:19:40.319 And so Paul turns and he's like, Stop, like, get out, and she's delivered. 00:19:40.640 --> 00:19:57.839 It's a really crazy story, but it's kind of a problem for her masters because, like it said, they made a lot of money off of her because she would tell fortunes, and people were you know amazed by her, and their source of income went away, so they get really mad and they stir up all this chaos, and they have Paul and his group thrown in prison. 00:19:57.920 --> 00:20:01.680 Philippi is the first place where Paul ever got thrown in prison. 00:20:01.920 --> 00:20:03.759 First time of many. 00:20:04.079 --> 00:20:16.000 It also might have been the shortest stay he ever had in a prison, because we see in Acts chapter 16, around midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prayer uh prisoners were listening. 00:20:16.079 --> 00:20:17.599 You want to talk about unbreakable joy? 00:20:17.680 --> 00:20:20.160 You're in prison and you're singing songs about God, right? 00:20:20.319 --> 00:20:21.279 I want that. 00:20:21.839 --> 00:20:28.640 Suddenly there was a massive earthquake, and the prison was shaken to its foundations, all the doors immediately flew open, and the chains of every prisoner fell off. 00:20:28.799 --> 00:20:37.119 The jailer woke up to see the prison doors wide open, and he assumed the prisoners had escaped, so he drew his sword to kill himself, because that's what would have happened to him anyway. 00:20:37.279 --> 00:20:40.559 But Paul shouted to him, Stop, don't kill yourself, we are all here. 00:20:40.720 --> 00:20:46.559 So the prison opens up, this miracle happens, and they all hang out at the prison so that they don't get the guard in trouble. 00:20:46.720 --> 00:20:47.680 What in the world? 00:20:47.920 --> 00:20:48.480 Right? 00:20:48.720 --> 00:20:53.839 And then this prison guard, like the guy that's in charge of the prison, he gets saved. 00:20:54.000 --> 00:20:56.960 His whole family gets saved and baptized, and there you have it. 00:20:57.200 --> 00:21:15.119 The church in Philippi is born with uh probably a widowed woman who had a successful purple dye business, a former demon-possessed slave girl, and a uh definitely recently lost his job prison guard. 00:21:15.359 --> 00:21:15.680 Okay? 00:21:16.720 --> 00:21:19.039 That's the start of the church in Philippi. 00:21:19.200 --> 00:21:20.480 It's crazy, it's amazing. 00:21:20.640 --> 00:21:41.279 But Paul stayed there for a while and developed tremendous relationships and friendships and closeness with the people in Philippi, so much so that later, as he as he left Philippi, you know, anytime you read a letter of Paul in the New Testament, it's usually happening a good while after he lived in that community, and now he's found out what's going on and what's happened, and he's writing back to them and reporting. 00:21:41.440 --> 00:21:55.279 Well, years later, when he's in prison again, and this time no earthquake to get him out, the people in Philippi hear about his plight and they send him aid, they send him people to help him, they send him comfort, they send him love. 00:21:55.519 --> 00:21:58.240 He's very close with the people in Philippi. 00:21:58.799 --> 00:22:02.400 And when he receives That aid, he begins to write a letter. 00:22:02.559 --> 00:22:05.680 More than likely, he dictated this letter to someone. 00:22:06.079 --> 00:22:07.920 And here's how it begins. 00:22:08.160 --> 00:22:09.680 Now we're in Philippians proper. 00:22:09.759 --> 00:22:12.319 Philippians chapter 1, verses 1 through 8. 00:22:12.480 --> 00:22:16.720 This letter is from Paul and Timothy, slaves of Christ Jesus. 00:22:16.960 --> 00:22:23.920 I'm writing to all of God's holy people in Philippi who belong to Christ Jesus, including the church leaders and the deacons. 00:22:24.400 --> 00:22:28.799 May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace. 00:22:29.039 --> 00:22:31.279 Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God. 00:22:31.440 --> 00:22:35.759 Whenever I pray, I make my requests for you with joy. 00:22:36.160 --> 00:22:48.799 For you have been my partners in spreading the good news about Christ from the time you first heard it until now, and I am certain that God who began the good work within you will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. 00:22:49.039 --> 00:22:53.759 So it's right that I should feel as I do about you, for you have a special place in my heart. 00:22:54.000 --> 00:23:00.640 You share with me the special favor of God both in my imprisonment and in defending and confirming the truth of the good news. 00:23:00.799 --> 00:23:06.319 God knows how much I love you and long for you with the tender compassion of Christ Jesus. 00:23:07.759 --> 00:23:10.559 So these people were very close with Paul. 00:23:10.720 --> 00:23:14.640 And they had likely suffered much, were very persecuted. 00:23:14.960 --> 00:23:20.559 As Paul left, it wasn't like the church was it wasn't easy to be a Christian in Philippi. 00:23:21.279 --> 00:23:22.240 He's very close with them. 00:23:22.319 --> 00:23:27.039 And even in that first opening, and again, thank you, thanks for being patient as we went through all that history. 00:23:27.200 --> 00:23:30.240 I want you to understand how we even got to this letter. 00:23:30.480 --> 00:23:36.240 Even in that very first opening, we already find one of the, like one of the blueprints for joy. 00:23:37.920 --> 00:23:50.240 One of these just tucked in there, incredible, if you'll receive it and understand it and apply it, one of the most incredible, change your life and how you experience joy lessons you could ever hope for. 00:23:50.480 --> 00:23:53.440 We'll go back to Philippians 1, verses 3 and 4. 00:23:53.680 --> 00:23:58.240 He says, Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God. 00:23:58.559 --> 00:24:03.440 Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy. 00:24:04.240 --> 00:24:13.839 Paul, sitting in prison, experienced joy by thinking about and praying for other people. 00:24:16.319 --> 00:24:19.440 Most of the time we experience joy when something good happens to us. 00:24:19.920 --> 00:24:28.000 Or maybe we even experience joy when other people think about us, or at least think about us in a way that we would like. 00:24:28.160 --> 00:24:40.079 I mentioned some of the silly things I've tied my joy to in life, things like my children and what they do, uh financial stuff, just silly things that I've given too much authority to when it comes to the joy that I experience. 00:24:40.240 --> 00:24:44.880 Well, one of those things that I could add to the list would be what other people think about me. 00:24:45.599 --> 00:24:47.440 And specific people. 00:24:47.839 --> 00:24:52.960 I've actually never been someone who cares what like everyone thinks about me, but I do care what some people think about me. 00:24:53.039 --> 00:25:02.559 And so for years in my life, the man who started his hands, his name's Steve, uh, what Steve thought about me was a major source of how confident I was in myself and how much joy that I felt. 00:25:02.720 --> 00:25:06.000 And that's not even really true because I didn't actually know what Steve thought about me. 00:25:06.160 --> 00:25:11.920 That's the funny thing about letting what other people think about you have influence in your life, because it's really what you think other people think about you. 00:25:12.160 --> 00:25:17.759 So a better way to say it is what I thought Steve thought about me was a huge source of joy in my life. 00:25:17.839 --> 00:25:24.240 And when I felt like Steve thought highly of me and he and he was like, well done, great job, I was like, man, I'm on cloud nine, I feel good. 00:25:24.319 --> 00:25:27.599 When Steve was like, hey, you got some stuff to work on, I felt horrible. 00:25:27.839 --> 00:25:32.240 Because I I allowed his opinion of me to be such a huge, huge source of joy. 00:25:32.400 --> 00:25:35.039 What I can say is that was years ago, I can say this. 00:25:35.279 --> 00:25:38.319 I don't care what Steve thinks about me anymore. 00:25:38.559 --> 00:25:38.880 Okay? 00:25:39.039 --> 00:25:42.880 And also, please don't tell Steve that I said that. 00:25:43.200 --> 00:25:46.640 If you uh know him, that would be great. 00:25:46.799 --> 00:25:47.680 Don't don't say that. 00:25:47.839 --> 00:25:48.160 No. 00:25:48.480 --> 00:25:49.680 No, I mean it's it's true. 00:25:49.759 --> 00:25:54.880 I just I looked up to him, I admired him, and he was my boss, and there were all kinds of layers to it. 00:25:55.359 --> 00:26:00.640 But what he thought about me, I allowed that to be a source of joy in my life. 00:26:01.519 --> 00:26:02.640 That's not the right source. 00:26:02.799 --> 00:26:04.240 Paul flips that. 00:26:04.480 --> 00:26:14.720 Paul didn't get joy by what others thought about him, Paul got joy by thinking about others and not just thinking about them, praying for them. 00:26:15.920 --> 00:26:17.359 That filled Paul with joy. 00:26:17.440 --> 00:26:26.880 And if you want to think about it this way, if the only joy you ever feel in life is the result of what happens to you, the good things that happen to you, that is that's a very limited approach to joy. 00:26:27.519 --> 00:26:46.000 But if you can become a person who experiences joy when others succeed, when other people are blessed, when things go well for others, and you've prayed for that, and you've asked God to bless them, when you can live like that, your joy, it multiplies. 00:26:46.240 --> 00:26:48.079 It doesn't just grow like it multiplies. 00:26:48.160 --> 00:26:57.519 However, many people that you root for and you pray for and you hope the best for, to the point that when they succeed, there's no part of you that's like, ah, why not me? 00:26:57.599 --> 00:26:59.279 But you're like, yes, that's awesome for them. 00:26:59.359 --> 00:27:00.400 That's so exciting for them. 00:27:00.559 --> 00:27:03.599 That multiplies the joy that you get to experience in life. 00:27:04.000 --> 00:27:05.519 It's just most people never do that. 00:27:05.599 --> 00:27:12.480 Most people only experience joy when it happens to them, or maybe a very small circle of people that they're directly connected to. 00:27:12.559 --> 00:27:15.920 But what if you could what if you could multiply the joy that you experience in life? 00:27:16.240 --> 00:27:17.519 Jesus was like this. 00:27:18.000 --> 00:27:20.079 I mean, Jesus teaches us this. 00:27:21.440 --> 00:27:25.119 In John 17, I'm gonna I'm gonna, this is a lot. 00:27:25.200 --> 00:27:27.119 I'm gonna read the entirety of John 17. 00:27:27.279 --> 00:27:28.160 It's not that long. 00:27:28.319 --> 00:27:30.000 I just said it was a lot, so which is it? 00:27:30.160 --> 00:27:31.519 It's a little of both. 00:27:32.559 --> 00:27:41.680 One of the most powerful sections of scripture that we have, this is a prayer prayed by Jesus shortly before he goes to the cross. 00:27:42.640 --> 00:27:44.720 And I want you to think about where Jesus is. 00:27:44.960 --> 00:27:47.519 He knows he's about to go to the cross, he's about to get arrested. 00:27:48.319 --> 00:27:52.319 Okay, his friends, his disciples, they're gonna betray him, they're gonna abandon him. 00:27:52.559 --> 00:27:53.359 He knows what's coming. 00:27:53.440 --> 00:27:54.799 He's very familiar. 00:27:56.400 --> 00:27:58.160 And this is what he prays for. 00:27:58.480 --> 00:28:03.920 It says in John 17, after saying all these things, Jesus looked up to heaven and said, Father, the hour has come. 00:28:04.160 --> 00:28:07.519 Glorify your son, so he can give glory back to you. 00:28:07.839 --> 00:28:10.400 For you have given him authority over everyone. 00:28:10.640 --> 00:28:19.279 He gives eternal life to each one you have given him, and this is the way to have eternal life, to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth. 00:28:19.599 --> 00:28:23.680 He says, I brought glory to you here on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. 00:28:23.759 --> 00:28:27.839 Now, Father, bring me into the glory we shared before the world began. 00:28:28.079 --> 00:28:30.640 I have revealed you to the ones you gave me from this world. 00:28:30.799 --> 00:28:31.920 They were always yours. 00:28:32.160 --> 00:28:34.480 You gave them to me, and they've kept your word. 00:28:34.720 --> 00:28:39.519 Now they know that everything I have is a gift from you, for I have passed on to them the message you gave me. 00:28:39.680 --> 00:28:43.200 They accepted it, and they know that I came from you, and they believe you sent me. 00:28:43.359 --> 00:28:47.599 My prayer is not for the world, but for those you have given me, because they belong to you. 00:28:47.920 --> 00:28:52.559 All who are mine belong to you, and you have given them to me, so they bring me glory. 00:28:52.799 --> 00:28:54.640 Now I am departing from the world. 00:28:54.799 --> 00:28:57.839