Title: How To Have Joy All The Time (Part 1)
Text: Philippians 4:1-9
Date: August 11, 2024
Introduction: As we live out our lives as believers, we find ourselves in a world filled with problems, doubts, worries, and fears. We study about living with joy and we sing about living with joy. However, there is not as much joy as we would like. Why? Perhaps, it’s because of the “joy robbers.” This is a type of thinking and feeling that can rob us of our joy. Let me illustrate:
— “You don’t know what I am going through.”
— “How can I be joyful when my marriage is falling apart?”
— “God seems so far away.”
— “If you lived with my wife (or husband), you wouldn’t be joyful either.”
— “My children drive me nuts.”
— “I have cancer. How can I rejoice?”
— “I’m stuck and I can’t change.”
— “People have mistreated me and I’m not going to be happy until I get even.”
— “If I had more money, I’d be happy.”
Let’s notice that this offers a revealing peek inside what we are thinking and feeling and they lead us to a crucial insight: what we do depends on what we believe…Action is controlled by conviction. Whatever is on the inside will show up on the outside sooner than later. If we are perpetually miserable, we have generally made a series of choices that led us to that sad condition. We are not what we think we are, but what we think we are, “As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he” (Proverbs 23:7 KJV).
With this message, we come to the final chapter of Paul’s short letter to the Philippians. Paul wants the believers in the Philippian church to think about “joy robbers” and to think about truths that will enable them to have joy all the time. There are six topics worth our discussion. We will cover three today and three next week.
Today, let’s consider three more challenges for growing in maturity. What are they?
I. We must
II. We must
III. We must
Larry Gipson
First Baptist Church-Oneonta