Finally, rejoice in the Lord | Joyful | Pastor Joaquin Pardo

Finally brothers, rejoice in the Lord! This weekend Pastor Joaquin continued our series, JOYFUL, with a message about where we can find our joy and how we keep it. 1) Joy is found in the Lord.Philippians 3:1-9"Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord..."Paul is telling the church to rejoice in the Lord while being chained to a guard in prison. How? Happiness can be taken away because it's attached to what’s happening around us. But true Christian joy can't be taken away because it doesn’t come from us! It comes from the LORD. 2) Joy is kept when the Gospel is guarded.Philippians 3:3"For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh..." When the Gospel is perverted in our minds, we no longer have hope and promise. We have lies and deceit instead! Paul is saying that laws and deeds and works get you nowhere. Instead of building our confidence in our "good works," our assurance and our joy must be rooted in knowing that we were saved by grace. 3) Joy is released when we let go of control.Philippians 3:7-9"But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him..."Paul levels with his audience by reminding them of who he used to be! He once tried to be in control of his own salvation and freedom but in doing so became a slave to it all. We can't find freedom from sin in our own strength, and we can't live in peace and joy in our own strength. Joy begins when we release control and trust God with our life!