Monday, September 30, 2013

Finding Joy in Other Christians

Paul had been arrested, and he was sitting in prison in Rome. And while awaiting a decision on whether he would live or die, Paul wrote to the congregation in Philippi. What did he write about? Not about what you would guess, knowing his situation. Instead, he wrote about joy.

As we said in the previous blogs, his topic, his thesis, is something quite surprising, because his thesis is joy. He’s telling the Philippians about, not only his own joy, but he’s commanding them to also be filled with joy. “Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice,” He said in Philippians 4:4. So his main thesis is joy, and how to have it.

But, even more than he talks about joy, he talks about the source of that joy - Jesus Christ. Because of the relationship he has with Jesus Christ, he can have joy, he can take joy, from even the most difficult situations. That is the greatest lesson we can learn from Paul’s letter to the Philippians.

And so, as we study from this Epistle, we need to be ever alert to find those things that brought Paul joy and learn how we too can find joy in the tough situations we face in life. Or, should I say it this way? We have to find out how we can find joy in Jesus even through our most difficult situations.

So what was the first thing that Paul rejoiced in? What was the first thing he mentioned? It was the believers at Philippi. His brothers and sisters in Christ are the first thing on his mind. In Philippians 1:3, Paul writes: “I thank my God upon every remembrance of you.”

Paul had happy memories of them. His memories made him smile. His time with them had been a blessing to him. He had no regrets, no unresolved conflicts, he nursed no hard feelings. All he had was love for them.

As Paul reflected on this congregation, his joy over-flowed. It made him forget momentarily his manifold troubles as he rejoiced in the good memories of them.
And those memories led him to thanksgiving. But, who does he give thanks to? In Philippians 1: 3, it is God. God is the source of all blessings.

As James 1:16-17 says:
“Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.”

God is the source of every blessing, so Paul thanks God - he thanks God for the Philippians. And like Paul, I thank God for you, my congregation. I thank God for the glorious privilege of knowing you and ministering in your midst. I thank God that He called me as your pastor. I thank God that you are my friends and co-laborers for Christ. God has blessed me greatly through you.

Now, why would Paul thank God for them? There are a lot of people we might not be very thankful about knowing or having to deal with. They are some just down-right mean and difficult people in this world. And in some churches.

“Oh, to live above with the saints we love,
That will be glory!
But to live below with the saints we know,
Well, that’s a different story.”
So, how could he be thankful for them? He could, because they are a product of God’s saving grace. They were originally as pagan - as heathen – as they could possibly be. But God saved them and changed them. They were sinners, yes, but they were sinners saved by grace. They had responded to the Gospel message that Paul preached.

But Paul knew it wasn’t because of him. He was just the mouthpiece God used. As Romans 1:16 says, it is the “gospel” that is the “power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes.”

Paul was the one who penned that. Paul knew that all of salvation was of God. If these people were saved and changed, God did it. So, all thanks goes to God for their changed lives.

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