Joy, joy, joy…down in my heart.

Steve Brown:
Joy, joy, joy, down in my heart. Let’s talk about it, on Key Life.

Matthew Porter:
That was Steve Brown and this is Key Life. We’re dedicated to the teaching that the only people who get any better are those who know that if they don’t get any better, God will still love them anyway. Steve is an author, seminary professor, and our teacher on Key Life.

Steve Brown:
Thank you Matthew. If you have your Bible, open it to the first chapter of Philippians, and we’re going to look mostly today at verses 18 through 26, or the last part of the 18th verse. If you’ve been listening the last few days, we’ve been talking about bad things happening to Christians and what you need to remember when it hurts and it hurts really bad. We’ve taken note, and if you were listening, and you never listen to me, of the principle of commonality, the fact of God’s control, the necessity of communication, the reality of community. And please note the result of contentment. When the apostle Paul says in Philippians 1:18.

What does it matter?

That’s what a Christian can say, when everything we can do, we’ve done, and we give up and we say, What does it matter? God’s in charge of this. Let me show you one other thing in terms of results, and that’s the miracle of conversion, Philippians 1:15.

It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill.

Philippians 1:17 through 18

The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I’m in chains. But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached, and because of this, I rejoice.

I used to play tennis, but I gave it up. And one of the reasons I gave it up is that I could never master how to put English, reverse English on a ball that had come into my court. A man said not too long ago that his father didn’t like golf, but he liked to cuss, and golf gave him a marvelous opportunity to cuss. Well, tennis was sort of like that to me. But what they do in tennis, somebody, your opponent, will hit a ball and it’ll be spinning in a certain direction. And if you know how to play the thing right, you can reverse the English and when the point. And I never could do that and so I just gave it up. When your opponent puts English on the ball, you can hit it back to him with the same English or reverse English and win with that particular shot. Now, what Paul is saying here is that God does that with everything, he does it with unbelievers, he does it with Christians who are sharing the gospel so they can get a few more scalps, he does it with people who share the gospel out of love and concern. And every time he does it, another step is taken in the cause of the kingdom because the gospel is preached and people come to know Christ no matter what happens. Everything that is happening in the world right now, politically, socially, and religiously, educationally, everything is a spin by God that puts us closer to the kingdom. There’s a Jewish tradition that after the fall, two angels were sent out from the throne of God. One was judgment and the other was mercy. Judgment afflicts, mercy heals. Judgment hurts, mercy helps. Judgment frowns, mercy smiles. Judgment destroys, mercy creates. It’s the spin. God is building His people, His church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. Okay, enough on that text. Let’s talk about joy, joy, joy. Did you sing that when you were a kid in church? I don’t think they sing it anymore. Joy, joy, joy, down in my heart. I don’t want to lose listeners, so I’m not going to try to sing it for you. But the message is a true message, and you’ll find that message in Philippians 1:18b through 26.

Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance, I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now, as always, Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose I do not know. I am torn between the two. I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far. But it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and I will continue with all of you, for your progress and joy in the faith, so that through my being with you again, your joy in Christ Jesus will overflow on account of me.

One of the interesting things about these verses is that they begin with joy and they end with joy. Look at the 18th verse.

Yes, and

Now, he’s just talked about being in chains four times. He’s in jail and it’s a scary time. And then he says.

Yes, and I will continue to rejoice.

And then look how he ends that particular text, he says, this is in the 26th verse.

Through my being with you again, your joy in Christ Jesus will overflow on account of me.

Let me tell you, there are three things that Jesus promised. Now, there’s some other things, but these are main things that Jesus promises. First, he promises never to leave you. In other words, he promises himself you can count on it. Secondly, he promised you’re going to get into trouble. You can count on that too. And thirdly, he promised that you would know indescribable joy in the middle of the darkness and the light and the laughter and the tears. In John 15, Jesus makes a wonderful statement. Let me tell you what he said. He said.

I have said these things

he just said some pretty bad things, frankly. He says.

I have said these things to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

I think I’ve tried to impress you with how many times the word joy or rejoice is found in the Bible. I know it’s 17 times in the Book of Philippians, but I thought what I would do is get out my concordance and go through the Scriptures and tell you the hundreds of times because I have counted them that the word joy or rejoice or forms of that word are used in Scripture. And so, I did it. I got out my Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance. And the Young’s Analytical Concordance, and you know something? There were so many references to joy that I didn’t have time to count them. There are literally hundreds and hundreds of references to joy. And do you know why? Because the mark of the people of God is joy. Now, I want to, and maybe I’ll do a little bit of that, to separate the difference between happiness and joy. I think we do that too much because they both smell exactly the same. But I’ve said and taught in the past, and I’m going to repent a little bit of it, that happiness comes when something happy happens to you. And joy is something that’s always there and related to Jesus, and has nothing to do with circumstances. Well, there’s some truth to that. But happiness and joy dance together. And they are a part, if you want to read my extensive and profound thoughts on that, you can get, I’m not above selling my books on this broadcast. Besides, Key Life gets all the income from my books. But I wrote a book recently, and you can get it at Key Life, called Laughter and Lament. At any rate, Hermes called the Christians the children of joy. The Scriptures brim over with laughter and joy of God. Job 38:7

The morning stars sing together.

Isaiah 55:12

The trees clap their hands.

Psalm 114

The hills skip like lambs. Joy at the very heart of the universe.

You think about that. Amen.

Matthew Porter:
Thank you Steve. And with that, we wrap up this week’s guided tour through the Book of Philippians. And don’t forget to join us for Friday Q&A tomorrow. Of course, that is the time when Steve and Pete Alwinson answer the challenging, tricky, and intriguing questions you have sent in. Well, something we teach our kids is that great answers start by asking great questions and sometimes our questions are great. Great as in big, like does God even exist? Am I really forgiven and free? If all of this is true, then why don’t I feel different? Well, Steve wrote about these things in a special mini-book called Faith and Doubt: When Belief is Hard. In it, he explores the reasons behind our doubts and explains how we can rest in faith. You want a free copy? Then call us right now at 1-800-KEY-LIFE that’s 1-800-539-5433. You can also e-mail [email protected] to ask for that mini-book. Or to mail your request, go to keylife.org/contact to find our mailing addresses. Just ask for the free mini-book called Faith and Doubt: When Belief is Hard. Finally, if you value the work of Key Life, why not join us in that work through your financial support? Giving is easy. Just charge a gift on your credit card or include a gift in your envelope. Or you can now give safely and securely through text. Just pick up your phone and text Key Life to 28950 that’s Key Life to 28950. Key Life is a member of ECFA in the States and CCCC in Canada. And Key Life is a listener supported production of Key Life Network.