WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:10.160 Have you ever done something that you were scared to do, you didn't wanna do it at first, but after you did it, you said,"That was a good idea. 00:00:10.160 --> 00:00:16.300 "I'm glad I did that. "That was fun, that was awesome." Now, this happened to me this past summer. 00:00:16.300 --> 00:00:22.370 This past summer, my family and I, we went down to Florida and we went to Blizzard Beach Waterpark in Disney. 00:00:22.370 --> 00:00:26.699 And so me and water, we don't get along very well. 00:00:26.699 --> 00:00:28.579 I can barely swim, I can't swim. 00:00:28.579 --> 00:00:30.239 I'm gonna be honest, I can't swim, okay? 00:00:30.239 --> 00:00:37.049 I can maybe survive if I fall out of a boat or something, but I don't even think I can. Anyways, me and water parks are not the best of friends. 00:00:37.049 --> 00:00:41.799 However, my wife and my kids love water parks, so guess what I'm doing? 00:00:42.320 --> 00:00:44.030 Going to a water park, okay? 00:00:44.030 --> 00:00:53.829 And so we go to this park, it's awesome, and now there's a slide there called Summit Plummet. All right, so Summit Plummet is 120 feet tall. 00:00:54.799 --> 00:00:57.899 It's one of the tallest water slides in North America. 00:00:57.899 --> 00:01:34.120 and my beautiful eight-year-old daughter says, "Dad, can we do that?" And I say to her, I look at her beautiful little face, and I see her, and she's so precious, and I say, "Heck no, we ain't doing that thing!" I say, "Life is dangerous enough!"Why do I need to add on a water slide to it?" And so, throughout the whole, she keeps asking, "Dad, please, can we do it?" And me being a softie, I give in to it, and I say, "Okay, we can do it." And so, here you go, we start to climb up the stairs to get to Summit Plummet, and it is a climb after climb after climb after climb. 00:01:34.120 --> 00:01:35.799 I was feeling like Miley Cyrus. 00:01:35.799 --> 00:01:37.000 It's the climb. 00:01:39.590 --> 00:01:48.459 Gonna be an uphill battle Sorry, and so we get to the top of Summit Plummet, and we make it, and I cannot make this part up. 00:01:48.459 --> 00:01:57.370 We get to the top, and there's a person ahead of us who sits down on the slide, and then the lifeguard opens the gate, And it looks like this man falls off a cliff. 00:01:57.959 --> 00:02:01.200 I'm like, oh my gosh, why am I doing this? 00:02:01.200 --> 00:02:03.560 I have no idea, this is horrible. 00:02:03.560 --> 00:02:05.549 I don't want to do this at all. 00:02:05.549 --> 00:02:07.760 And Kingsley, my daughter, she's so excited. 00:02:09.080 --> 00:02:09.189 She's like, it's our turn next. 00:02:09.189 --> 00:02:11.400 I'm like, oh my gosh, okay, you have fun. 00:02:12.270 --> 00:02:14.030 And so she goes and she sits down. 00:02:15.520 --> 00:02:16.830 The gates are in front of her. 00:02:16.830 --> 00:02:20.580 And right before the lifeguard opens the gate, he says, wait, stop. 00:02:20.580 --> 00:02:21.879 And I was like, praise God. 00:02:21.879 --> 00:02:23.639 You know, it's like, okay. 00:02:23.639 --> 00:02:37.409 And so he says, "You gotta stand up." And then he looks at us and says, "She can't go down the slide "because she has a zipper on her swimsuit, "on the back of her swimsuit." And so Kingsley is devastated, and I am so grateful inside. 00:02:38.039 --> 00:02:40.259 On the outside, I'm like, "Oh, poor baby, I know. 00:02:40.259 --> 00:02:42.879 "It just is what it is, that's your favorite swimsuit. 00:02:42.879 --> 00:02:54.229 "It is what it is." And then we go to walk out and the lifeguard says, "Well, wait a second, she can do it. "Just go grab a t-shirt and come back up." And I'm like, oh no. 00:02:55.849 --> 00:03:02.560 So we walk all the way down, we come all the way back up, and I'm thinking, well, I can't believe this is happening. 00:03:02.560 --> 00:03:07.740 She sits down, they open the gate, and she just falls off the cliff, I guess. 00:03:08.229 --> 00:03:11.300 And she does, here's a picture of Kingsley on it. 00:03:11.300 --> 00:03:13.479 You can see her. She's so brave. 00:03:13.479 --> 00:04:08.780 That picture doesn't even do it justice'cause that slide is like way longer than that. There's her. now it's my turn because my kids at the bottom of the slide I can't I can't give up now and so there you go I sit down the lifeguard looks at me I look at him he gives me a thumbs up and I give him a yeah he opens the thing and I pushed off and there's a speed thing a speed tracker on it it legit says I go 50 miles per hour and so I am flying down it is so fun it is so awesome and it was the biggest wedgie I ever got in my life but it was awesome there's a picture of me there I am look at me that's me that's me out there that inside I'm like okay but it was one of those things it was so scary to do at at first, but after I did it, man, I'm so glad I did it. 00:04:08.780 --> 00:04:11.080 I'm so glad, I'm so glad I did it. 00:04:11.080 --> 00:04:13.159 Then Kingsley was like, can we do it again? 00:04:13.159 --> 00:04:15.580 I said, your mom will do it with you this time. 00:04:17.079 --> 00:04:19.459 But for real, isn't that in life though? 00:04:19.459 --> 00:04:25.279 There's so many things that we're afraid of, there's so many things that come up, and we're like, can we do this? 00:04:25.279 --> 00:04:27.480 I can't do this, I'm not sure if I can. 00:04:27.879 --> 00:04:48.019 Isn't it interesting that the slide lasted only a few seconds, and I spent all that time worrying about it, resisting it, thinking about how everything could go wrong. See, the hardest part wasn't going down the slide, the hardest part was choosing to let go. And I wonder if joy can be like that too. 00:04:48.019 --> 00:05:13.199 Because sometimes we think joy is something that happens to us when everything finally goes the way we want it to go, when the situation changes, when the relationship gets better, when the anxiety stops, when the problem is solved, when life finally goes the way we want, but what if joy isn't something you have to wait for? What if joy is something that Jesus teaches us to choose? 00:05:13.649 --> 00:05:37.660 To choose, to say I want it, and what if there is actually a relief when you finally stop waiting for your circumstances to give you permission to have joy? Like I mentioned, we're in a series called An Invitation to Joy, where we've been looking at the book of Philippians going chapter by verse by verse, which is known as the joy letter of the Bible. 00:05:37.660 --> 00:05:48.120 And the apostle Paul, he is sitting in this Roman prison cell and he writes to the church in Philippi and he says, while he's unjustly in prison, he tells them, rejoice in the Lord always. 00:05:48.540 --> 00:05:51.040 I will say it again, rejoice. 00:05:51.040 --> 00:05:56.620 Let your gentleness be evident to all, the Lord is near. 00:05:56.620 --> 00:05:59.790 Notice Paul doesn't say rejoice when life gets easier. 00:06:00.639 --> 00:06:03.560 Paul doesn't say rejoice when the problems go away. 00:06:03.560 --> 00:06:06.639 He doesn't say rejoice when you feel like rejoicing. 00:06:06.639 --> 00:06:08.759 He says rejoice in the Lord. 00:06:08.759 --> 00:06:10.620 Rejoice and I'll say it again, do it again. 00:06:11.040 --> 00:06:17.459 Because there is a kind of joy available to you that circumstances can't give you. 00:06:18.199 --> 00:06:39.339 And if circumstances can't give it to you, therefore that means circumstances can't take it away from you. So there's a joy I can choose that comes beyond my problems and challenges in life. There's something that God can do on the inside of me, no matter what's going on all around me. 00:06:40.079 --> 00:06:51.500 And so I wanna give us three reasons why we can choose joy and three ways how we can choose it, okay? And LVC, I just really wanna encourage you today. 00:06:52.300 --> 00:06:54.870 Is that okay? Can I encourage us today? 00:06:54.870 --> 00:06:57.709 because there's a lot of stuff that wants to steal your joy in this world. 00:06:57.709 --> 00:07:01.600 And my hope is that you can lean into Jesus and find joy. 00:07:01.600 --> 00:07:03.839 Jesus tells us this in John 15, nine. 00:07:03.839 --> 00:07:07.639 He says, "As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you. 00:07:07.639 --> 00:07:15.899 "Now remain in my love. "If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love." Just as I have kept my Father's command, so I'm remaining in His love. 00:07:15.899 --> 00:07:26.560 Check this part out. "I have told you this, so that my joy will be in you "and that your joy may be complete." What a beautiful promise from Jesus. 00:07:26.560 --> 00:07:34.040 Jesus says that his joy, the joy of Jesus can be in you, and once you receive it, all your joy will be complete. 00:07:34.040 --> 00:07:36.500 Okay, so here you go, and what a relief that is. 00:07:36.500 --> 00:07:39.449 The first one is this. The first reason why we can choose joy is this. 00:07:41.069 --> 00:07:43.350 choose joy as resistance. 00:07:43.920 --> 00:07:45.439 Choose joy as resistance. 00:07:45.439 --> 00:07:52.519 Joy is an action word. Now, I like the way Eugene Peterson puts this in the message paraphrase of the Bible. 00:07:53.180 --> 00:08:01.579 Philippians 4, four in the message says,"Celebrate God all day, every day." Celebrate God all day, every day. 00:08:01.579 --> 00:08:06.120 And again, Paul, he's writing this letter in a Roman prison. 00:08:06.120 --> 00:08:08.769 He's chained up to a bodyguard named Bubba. 00:08:09.899 --> 00:08:12.610 And he's awaiting possible execution. 00:08:12.610 --> 00:08:14.019 Any day, he doesn't know. 00:08:14.019 --> 00:08:15.610 Any day, they can call him up. 00:08:15.610 --> 00:08:18.490 It's time to go to the chopping block, literally. 00:08:18.490 --> 00:08:43.980 And so in this moment of any day can be his last day, Paul says, "Celebrate God all day." And then any moment that this could be his last day, he says, "Choose and rejoice in the Lord, celebrate Jesus." And Paul is clearly saying to you and saying to me, saying to us today, "Joy is strength in our uncertainty." Joy is the strength we need in our uncertainty. 00:08:44.379 --> 00:08:48.580 And normally, normally when we think of the word joy, what do we think? 00:08:48.580 --> 00:08:52.529 We don't really think of it as a battle word, as an action word. 00:08:52.529 --> 00:08:58.120 But friends, in our world today, we have so many things that discourage us. 00:08:58.580 --> 00:09:00.950 So many things that put us down. 00:09:00.950 --> 00:09:02.529 We have all the technology. 00:09:02.529 --> 00:09:04.690 We have the rampant growth of AI. 00:09:04.690 --> 00:09:09.490 We have information and advantages that we have in our Western world. 00:09:09.490 --> 00:09:14.190 Yet, even though with all those things, anxiety rates are at its highest. 00:09:14.870 --> 00:09:22.879 We are the most connected generation in history, yet reports say that people are lonelier than ever. So that tells us something. 00:09:22.879 --> 00:09:24.429 This tells us something that we need to listen to. 00:09:24.429 --> 00:09:29.340 That tells us that joy cannot be connected to stuff. 00:09:31.019 --> 00:09:36.250 Joy is not connected to stuff and things and a bigger house and a nicer car. 00:09:36.250 --> 00:09:43.710 And when I'm with that person, or when I'm with that person, or I have that thing, or that thing, Joy is not connected to stuff. 00:09:44.539 --> 00:09:47.820 See, but I wanna say this. 00:09:47.820 --> 00:09:53.570 This is such a relief. It's a relief that joy isn't connected to the material world. 00:09:53.980 --> 00:09:56.100 Like I don't have to muster up joy. 00:09:56.100 --> 00:10:04.830 I don't have to do a bunch of stuff and have the right things at the right time in order to have joy. My joy is not connected to my circumstances. 00:10:04.830 --> 00:10:06.620 And this is the thing about Christian joy. 00:10:06.620 --> 00:10:08.990 Christian joy is not fake happiness. 00:10:09.779 --> 00:10:12.460 It's not fake happy, it's not fake it 'til you make it. 00:10:12.460 --> 00:10:20.679 No, it is deep-rooted relief and confidence in a loving savior who was and who is and who is to come. 00:10:21.539 --> 00:10:25.700 And so how do we choose joy as a resistance? 00:10:26.169 --> 00:10:32.450 Well, I've been saying it during this series, it depends on how we frame our circumstances. 00:10:33.539 --> 00:10:41.080 It depends on how we frame the life circumstances that we're going through, okay? so we have to reframe it. 00:10:41.080 --> 00:10:44.679 Psychology, they call this reframing, okay? 00:10:44.679 --> 00:10:48.190 Same situation, different frame. 00:10:48.190 --> 00:10:49.519 Now, this is how it can go. 00:10:49.519 --> 00:10:50.679 This is how it can happen. 00:10:50.679 --> 00:11:00.080 If you look at the life through one frame, you can say, you can wake up and say, I got so much to do. I'm exhausted. 00:11:01.070 --> 00:11:07.279 Work is frustrating. My kids are driving me crazy, and somehow they get every single holiday off now. 00:11:10.522 --> 00:12:04.100 Nothing is going right, woe to me that's one frame or you can reframe it now you can look at the same exact day the same exact thing and say I got a lot to do today but God's with me I you know work isn't perfect but then God I got a job and I can provide for my family my kids are wearing me out but they're a gift and in eight years they're all moving out I don't have everything figured out but Jesus you take hold of me you take hold of me the circumstances then it changed but the frame in which you view your life did and Paul demonstrated this to the church earlier when he said this in Philippians 1 he says, "Now I want you to know brothers and sisters that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel. 00:12:05.490 --> 00:12:55.350 As a result it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ and because of my chains most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear." See Paul easily could have been in jail writing this letter and saying I was preaching the gospel and it led me to jail don't know why I did it it was bad you know I'm just trying to help people out look what that got me you know back in the day I used to be the top Pharisee now look at me woe to me now he could have done that but he chose a different frame he's like no I'm up in here but I'm gonna rejoice in the Lord and since they had me tied to Bubba for eight hours, Bubba gonna know all about Jesus today. 00:12:56.120 --> 00:13:14.779 And because I'm in here, even though I don't want to be in here, even this isn't where I saw my life going, my God is still good, I'm gonna rejoice in the Lord always, I'm gonna say it again, I'm gonna keep telling myself and I'm gonna reframe my life differently. For some of us, for some of us, your circumstance ain't changing. 00:13:15.399 --> 00:13:47.139 for some of us those problematic people aren't going anywhere for some of us there's still some health issues that we got to keep working through and keep keep praying about and keep going to doctors work but I'm gonna choose the frame differently I'm gonna choose my friend I may not be where I want to be but thank God I'm not where I could be and I'm gonna keep moving forward I'm gonna change my frame and here here you go "Changing the frame is not a denial of reality." Like sometimes Christians, can we be honest, Christians, we be doing the most. 00:13:48.240 --> 00:13:50.899 We be doing the most, we be over saved sometimes. 00:13:51.419 --> 00:14:08.629 Like for example, your dog Skippy can get hit by a car, and you say to a Christian like, "Oh no, your poor dog Skippy." And the dog replies and says, and the guy replies and says, "Yeah, he got hit, but God is good all the time, and all the time God is good. 00:14:10.159 --> 00:14:13.360 Yes, God is good all the time, it's a poor dog. 00:14:13.360 --> 00:14:16.490 Feel free to grieve, it's okay, it's okay. 00:14:17.179 --> 00:14:21.120 See, see, we don't have to fake it, we can be honest with God. 00:14:21.120 --> 00:14:23.100 And this is what I want us to know, this is what I want you to know today. 00:14:23.100 --> 00:14:24.669 You can be honest before God. 00:14:25.139 --> 00:14:42.169 You can tell God, God, this is frustrating me, God, this hurts, God, this is painful, God, I don't like this. And in that conversation, in union with God, you begin to see supernatural joy come out, Not faking it, but God, you're giving me strength to endure this, to go through this. 00:14:42.700 --> 00:14:46.820 And I'm not going through this alone because my love and savior is with me. 00:14:47.220 --> 00:14:49.320 And so I'm gonna choose my frame differently. 00:14:49.320 --> 00:14:59.429 Joy as resistance is being completely aware of the hardship, but refusing to allow that to be the frame in which I live my life. 00:14:59.940 --> 00:16:27.490 gonna choose a different frame second thing once we when we develop the resistance it allows us to choose joy as survival now this is my favorite point of the day joy is my first aid kit now now here you go my daughter and my middle son Jameson they wanted to take their bikes around the neighborhood with some kids from the neighborhood without mom and dad just you know kids going around the neighborhood and they were so excited to be independent and Kingsley my daughter she's and she's a natural leader that's how she got me to go on summit plummet you know and she likes to take care of her brother she's she's a she's a mama bear for sure and and so here you go I'm outside getting the bikes ready and Kingsley comes out of the house with band-aids paper towels applesauce pouches and some floss she puts it in her little basket as she has on her on her handlebars I'm like what's all that stuff for and she says just in case something happens we are ready just in case something happens we are she so so she's excited for the adventure but she's also ready for the danger like like she's excited for this adventure but she but she's ready for the danger and choosing joy is being excited for the adventure but also ready for the danger I think I just want to preach a little bit today I cannot can I preach a a little bit LVC. 00:16:27.899 --> 00:16:35.639 So you see, we can be excited for what God is doing and prepare for the obstacles that are coming. We can be excited saying,"God, I'm going all in. 00:16:35.639 --> 00:16:40.460 "God, I'm gonna go before I know every detail, "but I'm prepared too, God. 00:16:41.279 --> 00:16:47.679 "I'm gonna be prepared." And see, so you see, Jesus said, this is what Jesus said. 00:16:47.679 --> 00:16:59.840 Jesus says, "In this life, you will have trouble." Jesus said that. So any Christianity that's teaching you that if you follow Jesus, you won't have problems and challenges, ain't Christianity. 00:17:00.559 --> 00:17:02.759 It ain't Christianity that Jesus taught anyways. 00:17:02.759 --> 00:17:10.150 Jesus said there is a real spiritual enemy and he's out there stealing your joy, kill your purpose and destroy your legacy. 00:17:11.170 --> 00:17:14.369 But Jesus always throws those big buts in, come on. 00:17:15.039 --> 00:17:20.539 But take heart. Joy is our survival. 00:17:20.539 --> 00:17:22.470 Joy is our first aid kit. 00:17:22.470 --> 00:17:26.519 So what is, I got all the illustrations today, guys. 00:17:28.029 --> 00:17:33.619 So what's in our first aid kit? What's in our first aid kit? 00:17:33.619 --> 00:17:35.180 Let's see, let's check this out. 00:17:35.180 --> 00:17:37.059 We got some Band-Aids, yeah, that's good. 00:17:38.099 --> 00:17:45.299 You know, every year I get at least one corny Christian thing to do, and this is it, I'm cashing out today. 00:17:45.299 --> 00:17:49.890 'Cause the first thing in our kit is the Holy Bible. 00:17:50.750 --> 00:17:53.700 It's the Holy Bible. It's the word of God. 00:17:53.700 --> 00:17:58.099 Like the first thing that we need in our survival kit is God's word. 00:17:58.099 --> 00:18:01.059 And we need to build our lives on God's word. 00:18:01.059 --> 00:18:08.859 See, that's why spending daily time with God is so important for your survival, for you to thrive in this world. 00:18:08.859 --> 00:18:13.660 We can't be like, oh, I just got so many problems, I got so many issues, I got so many things. I don't know what to do. 00:18:13.660 --> 00:18:15.910 And then you say, how you spending any time with God? 00:18:16.319 --> 00:18:17.519 Not really. 00:18:18.349 --> 00:18:25.700 Now we gotta get all up in God's word and get God's word up in our hearts and in our heads and in our actions. 00:18:25.700 --> 00:18:30.500 And that's why I will always say, spend daily time with God. 00:18:30.500 --> 00:18:35.470 Because, and it's not out of rule or regulation, but it's out of nourishment. 00:18:36.089 --> 00:18:40.039 He is our daily bread. And so we gotta get all up. 00:18:40.039 --> 00:18:47.227 in it so and when we do when we choose to do that His voice will become easier to hear. His voice will become easier to hear. 00:18:47.227 --> 00:19:17.319 The second thing we need to do the second thing we need to do is get a speaker which represents play some worship music get some praise in your life get some praise you know one thing that Erin and I have done in our family we used to be like those people that always had the TV on in the background like we used to, ESPN, whatever, for the past couple years now we've been doing less screen time in our house but what we replaced it with was actually having a Bluetooth speaker that plays worship music. 00:19:17.740 --> 00:19:21.980 And so we always have like some light worship music or instrumental worship music in the background. 00:19:21.980 --> 00:19:29.740 And the reason why, and the thing that we have noticed is when we add worship into our atmosphere, it changes the atmosphere. 00:19:29.740 --> 00:19:31.049 It changes the atmosphere. 00:19:31.049 --> 00:19:39.059 And what you need in your survival kit is to continue to praise God no matter what's going on in your life. See, there's problems in our lives. 00:19:39.059 --> 00:19:46.970 And these problems will try to attack us, take us down, But what we need to get good at LVC is this, is giving our problems a problem. 00:19:46.970 --> 00:19:51.920 And the problem we need to give our problems is a problem called praise. 00:19:51.920 --> 00:19:56.160 And we need to praise God through our problems no matter what's going on. 00:19:56.160 --> 00:19:58.180 Okay, so we gotta get God's word in us. 00:19:58.180 --> 00:19:59.829 We gotta get some praise in us. 00:19:59.829 --> 00:20:06.769 And the last one we need, the last thing we need in our survival kit is not some scissors. You don't need to be shanking nobody. 00:20:09.710 --> 00:20:13.220 is some trusted, super friends. 00:20:14.529 --> 00:20:22.099 We need community. We need community. 00:20:22.640 --> 00:20:25.440 That's what we need. We need to be in God's word. 00:20:25.440 --> 00:20:29.359 We need to be praising God, and we need to get good people around us. 00:20:29.359 --> 00:20:35.799 'Cause show me your five best friends, and I'll show you where you'll be in five years. So we need to get community around us. 00:20:35.799 --> 00:20:39.180 And here's the beautiful part about getting community around us. 00:20:39.180 --> 00:20:46.059 The fun part is this, when we're connected with other people, we begin to see, well, I'm not the only one that's struggling. 00:20:46.660 --> 00:20:51.460 See, we got one rule in our LVC small groups, no perfect people allowed. 00:20:52.240 --> 00:20:58.130 And if you're perfect, run away from our church 'cause we don't wanna contaminate you. 00:20:58.789 --> 00:21:09.799 But when you get around other people, you begin to see that other people are going through, and this is what happens, this is what we notice, Isolation is the birthplace of negativity. 00:21:10.230 --> 00:21:15.240 Community is the comfort of I'm not the only one. 00:21:15.930 --> 00:21:18.720 I'm not the only one. This is our first aid kit. 00:21:19.170 --> 00:21:26.240 This is what we need. When we're on this journey, we can be excited for the adventure because we're ready. 00:21:26.769 --> 00:21:30.400 I'm excited for what God has for me because I'm spending daily time with Him. 00:21:30.400 --> 00:21:32.400 I'm praising Him no matter what's going on. 00:21:32.400 --> 00:21:36.119 And I got good people around me to do life together. 00:21:36.119 --> 00:21:38.779 And friends, that's our heart at LVC. 00:21:38.779 --> 00:21:48.460 That's our heart here. To make a space for you to come and to learn how to be with God, to be with Jesus, to become like Jesus and to do the stuff that Jesus did. 00:21:48.460 --> 00:21:49.660 That's our heartbeat here. 00:21:50.680 --> 00:21:54.099 And so, notice again, the verse says this. 00:21:54.099 --> 00:21:57.210 Rejoice in the Lord. I will say it again. 00:21:57.210 --> 00:21:58.420 Rejoice. 00:22:00.539 --> 00:22:03.769 Paul isn't saying be happy about everything that happens to you. 00:22:04.700 --> 00:22:12.920 He's saying there is a source of joy deeper than whatever is happening around you. The repetition gives the command force. 00:22:12.920 --> 00:22:16.819 Joy isn't merely something that Paul hopes you'll occasionally feel. 00:22:17.589 --> 00:22:20.000 It's becoming a habitual posture. 00:22:20.480 --> 00:22:21.890 of the follower of Jesus. 00:22:22.640 --> 00:22:26.039 I'm choosing it. We choose it as resistance. 00:22:26.039 --> 00:22:27.660 We choose it as survival. 00:22:27.660 --> 00:22:40.000 And lastly, my third and my final point today is this, choose joy as evidence of a bigger story. Joy is the pathway of purpose. 00:22:40.000 --> 00:22:42.119 Joy is the pathway to purpose. 00:22:43.279 --> 00:22:45.480 And this part is kinda like so weird to me. 00:22:45.480 --> 00:22:57.299 Sometimes when you read Paul, Paul all of a sudden goes out of left field with something, 'cause he says, "Rejoice in the Lord always, "I will say it again, rejoice." And then all of a sudden he flips through this in verse five, "Let your gentleness be evident to all. 00:22:57.990 --> 00:23:01.700 "The Lord is near." Like, what does that got to do with anything? 00:23:01.700 --> 00:23:03.019 Like, what does that have to do with anything? 00:23:03.019 --> 00:23:14.990 Like, when we're just talking about joy, now we're talking about how I treat people, but I think Paul is showing us something really important about biblical joy. Real joy eventually turns outward. 00:23:15.900 --> 00:23:17.380 It eventually turns outward. 00:23:17.380 --> 00:23:20.750 Joy isn't something that God gives you to make you feel better about your life. 00:23:21.220 --> 00:23:26.859 joy changes the kind of person you become and the lives of other people around you. 00:23:26.859 --> 00:23:31.740 And that word gentleness is very difficult to translate that word. 00:23:31.740 --> 00:23:39.099 It can mean reasonable, considerate, forbearing, not always insistent on your own way. One translation puts it like this that I love. 00:23:39.099 --> 00:23:42.460 It translates it as gracious strength. 00:23:43.309 --> 00:23:44.940 Gracious strength. I love that. 00:23:44.940 --> 00:23:47.099 Because gentleness doesn't mean you're weak. 00:23:47.099 --> 00:23:48.859 It doesn't mean you're passive. 00:23:48.859 --> 00:23:51.660 It doesn't mean you let people walk all over you. 00:23:51.660 --> 00:23:54.779 It's strength that doesn't need to prove itself. 00:23:56.170 --> 00:24:01.339 It's strength that says, "I'm confident in who I am in the Lord." And I love that. I love this. 00:24:01.339 --> 00:24:25.460 It's gracious strength. So Paul says, "Let your gracious strength be evident to everyone." In other words, people should be able to experience what God is doing in you. If you've been receiving the grace of Jesus, people ought to experience grace through you. If Jesus has been patient with you, maybe you're becoming a more patient people with those difficult people around you. 00:24:26.390 --> 00:24:40.460 If Jesus has forgiven you much, maybe you're becoming someone who can forgive much as well. If the joy of Jesus is growing inside of you, eventually it should change the atmosphere all around you. 00:24:40.460 --> 00:25:09.809 you because true joy moves us from inward focus to outward purpose that God you have something for my life that is more than just a circumstance I'm going through God you're actually doing something in this circumstance that's building me to become the person that you're calling me to be and I'm gonna look outwards I'm gonna look outwards towards the people around me figure out I can be a blessing. 00:25:09.809 --> 00:25:17.359 And that's such a big deal because when life gets hard, everything inside of us wants to turn inward. What about me? 00:25:17.359 --> 00:25:18.839 What am I going through? 00:25:18.839 --> 00:25:20.900 Why is this happening to me? 00:25:20.900 --> 00:25:22.569 When is my situation going to change? 00:25:22.569 --> 00:25:24.420 And listen, those are good questions. 00:25:24.420 --> 00:25:26.130 Those are great questions to ask God. 00:25:26.130 --> 00:25:58.640 You should ask them. But if we're not careful, pain can make our whole world feel a lot smaller and suddenly the only story that we can see is our story but Paul sitting in prison was able to see there's still a bigger story happening around me there's still people around me that need what I can give them and Paul says to them I love you here's grace here's encouragement there's still people that need to see what Jesus looks like. 00:25:59.119 --> 00:26:03.839 And your difficult season does not cancel your purpose. 00:26:04.619 --> 00:26:23.299 That's why choosing joy matters because joy lifts our eyes enough to realize that God is doing something in me that's bigger than circumstances trying to convince me of. That God is still doing something in my life and it's beautiful. 00:26:23.859 --> 00:26:26.559 You can walk into your house with gracious strength. 00:26:26.559 --> 00:26:29.119 You can go to work with gracious strength. 00:26:29.119 --> 00:27:01.200 You can respond to that difficult person with gracious strength you can parent with gracious strength you can disagree with someone with somebody without destroying them you can be disappointed without becoming bitter you can be hurt without becoming hateful you can go through something hard and still become a source of life for somebody else and then Paul goes on and this is the best part I love this he goes on and he gives us the reason the reason why we can do it the reason why we can rejoice always the the reason why we can live with gracious strength. 00:27:01.200 --> 00:27:02.759 And then here's the reason why it's so good. 00:27:02.759 --> 00:27:05.569 It's so good. He says, you want to know why you can do all this? 00:27:06.849 --> 00:27:10.880 Because the Lord, well, He's near. 00:27:11.759 --> 00:27:17.880 He's near. And what relief that is to our souls. 00:27:18.769 --> 00:27:20.700 That I don't have to have it all figured out. 00:27:21.180 --> 00:27:22.940 That I don't have to muster up everything. 00:27:22.940 --> 00:27:29.059 But God is near. He is Emmanuel, God with us. 00:27:29.059 --> 00:27:40.240 And that I can lean into Him, that I can tap into His heart, that I can take His joy and He will make my joy complete, that if I remain in Him, He remains in me. 00:27:40.240 --> 00:28:10.630 And so if I get my survival kit and I spend time with Him, I praise Him, I get good people around me, I see that He's moving me in the direction that my life is supposed to be. And when circumstances come at me that I wish will not, When circumstances come at me that are hard to navigate, that are challenging, that are difficult, I can still lift my eyes and see God at work because he's given me gracious strength because the Lord is near. 00:28:11.650 --> 00:28:23.559 And I wanna say to some people today, in the story, the story about God in your life, God is closer to you than you think. 00:28:25.440 --> 00:28:43.220 And some of the hardships and pains God is closer to you than you thought and God is near and scripture tells us and we hold this scripture true that God is near the broken hearted. 00:28:44.309 --> 00:29:17.869 And so when our hearts are broken and usually and usually this is how it happens before you do something that you say you never are going to do there's an attack on your heart and when our hearts are under attack God is near he's close he's close to us and so I say to us today LVC that even in a difficult season people can still experience Jesus the Lord is near that's the bigger story so I can't change yesterday. 00:29:19.049 --> 00:29:25.539 I can't control tomorrow, but I can choose joy on this day. 00:29:26.619 --> 00:29:50.400 And I say, "Rejoice." I say it again,"Rejoice." let your gentleness be evident to all the Lord God is near so God Jesus Holy Spirit we thank you we thank you for your power and grace we thank you for your love and your goodness. 00:29:53.539 --> 00:30:06.039 We thank you, God, that you are near and that you are close, that you are gracious and good. 00:30:06.039 --> 00:30:23.240 So right now, no matter what circumstance you are going through, just right where you are, Begin to visualize handing that to God, saying, "God, this is what I'm dealing with. 00:30:23.240 --> 00:30:28.049 This is what I'm going through. 00:30:29.170 --> 00:30:45.200 And I'm trusting you right here, right now, with this." His gracious strength will meet you right where you are. 00:30:47.930 --> 00:30:57.119 Holy Spirit, I pray for those, yep, those who are on, who are on that lap of feeling, man, I don't know if I can run anymore. 00:30:57.119 --> 00:31:12.470 God, would you fill them up with supernatural strength that doesn't come from their own effort and willpower, but from you, Holy Spirit, those in here who are in desperate need of a physical healing. 00:31:12.470 --> 00:31:15.319 God I pray you bring healing power in Jesus name. 00:31:15.319 --> 00:31:22.910 God those who are searching for purpose. 00:31:22.910 --> 00:31:27.880 God I pray you meet them right where they are Holy Spirit. 00:31:27.880 --> 00:32:03.259 Like Paul in a situation that he wished he wasn't in, says, "I will choose Jesus regardless." God, give us that kind of gumption, that kind of heart saying, God, I'm gonna go after you and let us be relieved when we see, God, that you are closer than we thought. So Jesus, Jesus, we thank you for your love. 00:32:04.730 --> 00:32:06.359 We thank you for your goodness. 00:32:06.359 --> 00:32:14.930 And maybe you're in here today, and you're like, Jacob, that sounds good, but I don't personally know this Jesus the way you are talking about. 00:32:16.470 --> 00:32:27.640 If you want to make a decision to trust Jesus with your life for the first time, I'm going to ask you, I'm going to count to three, and on three, I'm going to ask you to shoot your hand up in the air so I can see who I'm praying for. 00:32:27.640 --> 00:32:32.569 Don't worry, I'm not going to call you out, have you come up front, nothing like that. I just want to see who I'm praying for. 00:32:33.740 --> 00:32:40.180 So if you wanna make a decision to trust Jesus with your life for the first time, on three, shoot your hand up. 00:32:40.180 --> 00:32:53.279 But also, if you wanna recommit your heart back to Jesus, you wanna say, "Jesus, I wanna trust you again. "Life got in the way at some point." You say, "Man, I wanna come back to Jesus." On three, I want you to toss your hand up in the air too. 00:32:54.299 --> 00:33:02.539 One, two, three. Bless you, bless you, all across this room, bless you. 00:33:02.539 --> 00:33:03.740 Bless you. 00:33:05.150 --> 00:33:18.250 Just right where you are, you can pray out loud or you can pray in your heart to say,"Jesus, forgive me for my sins, make me new." Today, I trust you. 00:33:19.609 --> 00:33:21.730 I follow you, in Jesus' name, amen. 00:33:22.410 --> 00:33:27.779 Amen, let's give God some praise in here today.