LET YOUR JOY BE IN THE LORD
Philippians 3
YOUR DUTY TO BE JOYFUL
V:1 Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you.
It is the duty of the Christian to be joyful. His nature has been changed to one focused
on the Lord. It is part of your spiritual DNA
a. We should rejoice because we have a savior
b. We should rejoice because through the savior we have eternal life.
c. We should rejoice because we have a Lord we can trust.
d. We should rejoice because we have the Word of truth.
e. We should rejoice because we have a Lord over our troubles.
f. We should rejoice because we have a Lord we can take refuge in.
g. We should rejoice because our strength is in Him.
h. We should rejoice because Jesus is the Lord of our provisions.
Every day we need to remind ourselves not to seek joy in circumstances,
but to seek the joy that surpasses all understanding.
It is the joy that we have that is a safeguard against sadness and frustrations.
It is the joy in The Lord that we have that overlooks envy, criticism, and hateful
behavior.
GUARD YOUR EARS, THE DOGS ARE TALKING
V:2 Watch out for those dogs, those men who do evil, those mutilators of the flesh. 3 For it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh— 4 though I myself have reasons for such confidence.
There are two types of dogs in the Bible. There were those who were pets (Matthew 15:27), and those considered unclean (Matthew 7:6). The unclean dogs were strays,
those without a master. According to Barnes\’ notes, the term dog was used to describe
a person who was shameless, impudent, malignant, snarling, dissatisfied, and
contentious. Some Jews who followed the Law considered non-Jews as dogs.
Here Paul is referring to dogs as the Jews who opposed the Gospel of Jesus Christ and
advocated the circumcision of all male Gentile believers to be accepted as Jewish proselytes.
Paul fully understood that attitude, because, before his conversion, he persecuted
the Church for their belief in Jesus as Lord.
With the death of Jesus on the cross, the definition of circumcision was changed
from circumcision of the flesh to circumcision of the spirit. Justification is not by
works of the flesh, but by faith in Jesus Christ.
Every person who accepts Jesus as Lord and Savior has been circumcised in the
spirit. We are made clean by the Word of truth (John 15:3).
Even today there are those who hold on to a doctrine of work salvation.
There are those who discredit you because you do not measure up to their
standard of righteousness.
We use the word dog today most often referring to men who abuse women and
families. We have to be careful not to judge people by what we don\’t know or
by what someone said, thus becoming dogs ourselves. Beware of the dogs, don’t
let it be you.
PURSUE HUMBLENESS, NOT PRIDE
V:4b. If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless.
There are times we need to look in the mirror before we point the finger at someone.
Paul confessed his past sins of pride. He himself had been a dog. His resume of
pride included his birth family, his race, his nationality, his education, his connections,
his works, and his self-righteousness. He was a troublemaker until Jesus called him
out (Acts 9:3-9)
We are not all that. We got some sins we need to work on. What sins we see in others,
we have been that and more. Thank God, Jesus keeps calling us out.
BEFORE JESUS WE WERE STRAY DOGS, NOW WE ARE HOUSE PETS
V:7 But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ — the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. 10 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, to attain the resurrection from the dead.
Paul was high on the horse. But Jesus had to knock him down and showed him how
blind he was. Paul had considered himself a model citizen and the perfect
example of Jewish righteousness. His knowledge and zeal for the Law were above
his peers. He had such a high position that he was granted permission to take soldiers
to seek out followers of Jesus and bring them to be persecuted.
Once his eyes were open to the spirit of the law, he was able to see Jesus as Lord
and Savior. Paul was taught by one of the best Jewish teachers of the Law (Acts 22:3),
but his teaching was void of spirit. Once his eyes were open and he was filled
with the spirit, he was able to see Jesus through the Old Testament scriptures.
When Paul looked at the pride he had before his conversion, he counted it as
garbage. Once Paul knew the truth, he was set free from the condemnation of
the law.
Like Paul, whatever we lost from our past before Jesus, is nothing compared to
what we gained in fellowship with the Lord. There is no experience we will
ever have greater than the Love of Jesus. I remember how proud I was of my
college degree and my position and status in the corporate world. It was not until
all that was lost that I found joy in my commitment to Jesus. As I look back
I know without a doubt that it is Jesus that has taken care of me and my family.
STRIVE TOWARD THE UNLIMITED GLORY OF CHRIST
V:12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
What we need to understand is the unlimited power of Jesus. We might be able to
estimate the weight of the sun, moon, and stars. We might have some limited
understanding of what keeps them in orbit. We have no knowledge of what it took
to create them from nothing and put them in orbit. We can estimate and guest and
that’s all we will have.
I know of no man that died, laid in a grave for thee days dead, and was resurrected
to life again other than Jesus. I cannot claim to know what power it takes to
bring a person to life after death. But I am proud to be made part of Jesus\’s
death and resurrection. I am favored by the mercies of God to press toward the
goal of being like Jesus.
We know we have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God. Like Paul, we must
forget about the past and press toward the prize of eternal life.
ALLOW THE HOLY SPIRIT TO GUIDE YOU
V:15 All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if at some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. 16 Only let us live up to what we have already attained.
All believers have some knowledge of the Word. Your maturity is based on your
study of the Word and what you have learned from the personal application.
Anything we don\’t know and don\’t understand will be made plain through the
indwelling of the Holy Spirit. If anyone teaches a word that is different from the
Word of truth you know, the Holy Spirit will alert you to its deception.
We should not live by the standards of the world. We should live by the Word of
truth we know. We should allow the Holy Spirit to guide and direct us to things
unknown to us. With the Holy Spirit guidance will come to the right understanding.
FELLOWSHIP WITH BROTHERS/SISTERS IN CHRIST
V:17 Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you. 18 For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things.
Be careful who you listen to. We have the Word of truth in print. We have
examples of Christians living in both the Old Testament and the New Testament. The
Philippians had only the teaching of Paul and maybe one or two other Apostles
as their example of the Gospel truth. It was unlikely that the average believer
had a copy of the Old Testament. They relied mostly on oral traditions.
We have no excuse for being ignorant of the Word of God. It is our choice to
study or not study the Word. Those who do not study are susceptible to the
lies and deception of the enemy. The enemy can be anyone. Preacher, teacher,
or person on the street who uses the Word of God to promote their agenda.
The only agenda the believer has is the agenda of Jesus.
HEAVEN NOW, HEAVEN FOREVER
V:20 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.
I think it is difficult for us to understand that this world is not our home. We spend
all our time building homes and careers. All of our stuff is located here. We accumulate
stuff and buy more stuff. We are not ready to leave.
No matter how much we attain, we can’t take it with us when we die.
There is no doubt that we are headed for a physical death before obtaining immortality
in our eternal home. We have temporary residence on this earth.
This is not our home, we are just passing through. The best we can do before
we die is to leave a legacy of God’s righteousness on the minds of those around us.
Our faith in Jesus has made us aliens to this land. We are just passing through on
our way to heaven. Jesus is coming back to take us to a new home in heaven
that He has prepared for us. We will be transformed from mortality to
immortality to eternal life with Him. (John 14:1-3)
Our goal is to stand fast on His promises and wait for His return while rejoicing
in fellowship with Him.
REJOICE IN THE LORD ALWAYS!
CLASS QUESTIONS
IN TIMES OF PEACE, WHERE IS YOUR JOY?
IN TROUBLED TIMES, WHERE IS YOUR JOY?
IS THERE ANYONE YOU CAN BE MAD WITH?
Rev. M. Mitchell
