Pure Joy

What this episode covers

Philippians 1:3-8 Blank Outline Completed Outline scroll to 29:32 for beginning of sermon Philippians 1:1-8 All right, thank you for your singing. Remain standing, we’re going to read some Scripture. Here’s a loaded question. How many of you like to read other people’s mail? Don’t answer that. But that’s what we’re doing this morning. This is a letter from Paul written 2,000 years ago to a group of believers in Philippi. And I’m just going to read four or five verses here from the first chapter, and then we’re going to jump into it. Here’s what Paul writes. I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. It is right for me to feel this way about all of you since I have you in my heart. Whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me. God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. All right, you may be seated. So, last Sunday we gave a little bit of an introductory message. It was entitled, Pure Joy. And we talked about the fact that God has given us all things to enjoy. That’s 1st Timothy chapter 6. Paul writes that to Timothy, that God’s given us everything for our enjoyment. Solomon writes about that in Ecclesiastes. So, we can find joy and pleasure in this life. We can find joy and pleasure in a good meal. We can find joy and pleasure in friends, in sports, in many areas of life. We said for true joy, for pure joy, for a joy that is lasting and sustainable, it’s only experienced in a relationship with God through Jesus. He has made us and created us to know Him, to have fellowship with Him. And the psalmist writes in Psalm 16:11, that at your right hand, there are pleasures forevermore. So, we experience true joy in knowing Him. And I really believe that the only people that can really experience true joy are believers. Who know that their sins are forgiven. Who know that they’re headed toward heaven. And God wants us to have this joy in our life. In fact, Jesus said in John 10:10, I’m come that you might have life and that you might have it abundantly or overflowing life. And so, last week we looked at some pathways to pure joy. What are some steps to pure joy? We looked at four of them. They all start with the letter S. First one is salvation. That the feeling and the joy of knowing that your sins are forgiven. Jesus took our place on the cross, that He paid our sin debt. He paid our penalty, and we are forgiven. Romans 8 verse 1, there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ. We can find joy in the fact that our sins are forgiven. Secondly, we said we find joy in this pathway of joy in sanctification. That is our fellowship with God. 2nd Peter 3:18, grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus. And we can find joy in this intimate relationship with God. In fact, Jesus defines eternal life in John 17:3. This is eternal life that you might know God. So, sometimes we think of everlasting life as quantitative. We’re going to live forever in God’s presence. Yes, we will. But it’s also qualitative. Eternal life begins at the moment of salvation. And this relationship that we can have with God as we know Him and the more, we study His Word and read His Word, the more we know Him. God speaks to us through His Word. We speak to Him through prayer. Thirdly, we said we can find pure joy in salvation, sanctification, and serving. Acts 20:35, it is more blessed to give than to receive. And I think as we mature individually and spiritually, we discover that pure joy is found in giving. And as we give, as we serve, we find joy. Lastly, we said the pathway to pure joy, and this is the graduate level class, pure joy is found in su

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