“Joy in Christianity”
Text: Overview of Philippians
Intro:
1. Sometimes there are members of the church who look like they have been
weaned on a pickle.
1-1/2 . Paul had reason to be down – in prison (Acts 16:25)
2. The book of Philippians tells us to have joy in Christ. (Heb.4:12)
3. The key verse is 4:4 > 3:1)
4. Key word – joy 16 times. (Ps. 1:1-3)
5. The
joy”
6. Background to the Book – Macedonion call,
prayer meeting,
damsel, in jail, the jailer
4 stepping stones to true happiness
I. Christ is the purpose of life (Phil. 1:21)
A. This requires complete devotion to the Lord. (2 Cor. 5:14-15, Gal. 2:20, Rev. 2:10,
Lk. 9:23
(Example)
B. Every waking hour we should spend glorifying God. (Isa. 43:7, 1 Cor. 10:51,
Ecl. 9:10
C. This means we will be under the authority of Christ. ( Matt. 28:18, Col. 3:17,
Jn. 12:48, 1 Pet. 4:11, 2 Cor. 18:13
D. If my purpose is to live for Christ then I must obey Christ. (Eccl. 12:13-14,
Heb. 5:8-9, Lk. 6:46, Matt. 7:21
E. If my purpose for living is Christ, then death is good. (Ps. 116:15, Rev. 14:13,
2 Cor. 5:1, Jn. 14:1ff
*Notice what happens when Christ is our purpose:
1. Thankful for & prayerful of other 3-4
2. Recognize the good in bad - 12 –(Rom. 8:28)
3. We will defend the gospel 17 (Jude 3)
4. We recognize we will suffer – vs 29 (2 Tim. 3:12)
II. Christ is the pattern of life (2:3-12)
A. The mind of X is a selfless mind that puts others first. (Rom. 15:3,
Rom. 12:10, Mk. 12:30, Mk. 10:45
B. Notice what X gave up:
1. His deity (Jn. 1:1ff, Col. 2:9, Jn. 10:30)
2. Heaven (2 Cor. 8:9)
3. Became a man – The Creator became the Creation
4. His life
C. When we have the mind of Christ there are certain things we will do:
1. Awake to evangelism (Lk. 12:10, Mk. 16:15, Matt. 28:18,
Matt. 9: 36-38, 2 Cor. 4:13, Acts 8: 4
2. Try to be more righteous everyday. (1 Pet. 1:15, Heb. 12:14,
Titus 2:11-12, Matt. 6:33
3. Be better Bible students (2 Pet.3:9, 2 Tim. 2:15, 2 Tim. 4:2) the church
is suffering because of Bible ignorance (Hosea 4: 12)
4. Live in hope of Heaven (2:9-91, Rev. 21:1ff)
Follow Him (1 Pet. 2:11, 1 Cor. 11:1, Jn. 2:5, Rev. 14:4
III. Christ is the prize of life (3:12-14)
A. The hope of living in Heaven with our Lord should cause us to live for Christ.
B. But, there are certain things we have to do before Christ can be our “prize”.
1. Forget who we were before X (Lk. 14:11, Prov. 16:18, Rom. 12:2,
1 Pet. 5: 5-6
“ All men stand on level ground at the foot of the cross”; ” There is no
big me & little you”. We are all Xians (Acts 11:26, 1 Pet. 4:16)
2. Never think you have arrived in Xianity! Too many older members
think they have arrived & quit working.
a. Xianity is a continual growth process (1 Pet.2:2, 2 Pet. 3:18,
1 Cor. 3:1ff
b. We need to add the Xian virtuso to our lives (2 Pet. 1:5-8)
3. Forget your sinful past. Too many people are weighed down by
sin. (Heb. 12:1, Px. 130:3-4, Micah 7:18, Ps. 103: 10-12, Jn. 1:7-9ff)
C. When we do these things God will allow us into Heaven our true home.
(Phil. 3:20:21)
IV. Christ is the power of life (4:13)
A. If we put our faith & trust in the Lord there is nothing we can’t do.
(Acts 27:25, Jn. 15: 4-6, Num. 13:30, Heb. 13: 5-6
B. To let Christ have power in our life there are certain things we must do:
1. Rejoice (4:4, 1 Thes. 5:16)
2. Don’t worry, but pray. (1 Pet. 5:7, Lk. 18:1, Matt. 6, James 5:16,
Mk. 1:35, 1 Thes. 5:17)
3. Meditate on & do Holy things in your life. (Prov. 23:7)
C. When we do these things God will provide what we need. (4:19)
Let Him have His way with thee