Looking For Joy In Our Faith
Philippians: Finding Lasting Joy
“I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.” Philippians 3:10
As we look at joy, there is one aspect of joy that is most important—finding joy in Christ and who He is. When we go back to the basics of who He is and what He did for us, joy should come easily. But we allow our minds to be cluttered with the world, its problems and uncertainty, and this places a shadow on the joy of Jesus. Today I want us to look at ways we keep Jesus in the spotlight of our thoughts, our speech, and our actions.
What specific thing in your life places a shadow over the joy that Jesus gives you?
Paul begins chapter 3 by warning the Philippians of false teachers. Philippi was filled with people teaching Christians that they had to follow the Jewish law. This was a divisive topic in the early church as we see in Acts 15. There were major issues and decisions over religious acts such as circumcision. Some believed that you still had to be circumcised to be a Christian but Paul says that these people were severely disfiguring the gospel message by supplementing Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. The people who taught this were called Judaizers, Jewish Christians who wrongly believed that it was essential for Gentiles to follow all the Old Testament Jewish laws in order to receive salvation. This is one of the ways the world comes in and muddies the waters of the gospel message. The devil tries to make the gospel message difficult for us by putting shame, doubt, fear, and guilt in our minds. When we can’t forgive our own sins, Jesus is overshadowed. When we fear tomorrow, Jesus is overshadowed. When we feel we are not worthy, Jesus is overshadowed.
Is your head filled with lies that overshadow Jesus? Write these lies out.
“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” 1 Peter 2:9
What does this verse tell you about who you are in God’s eyes?
Paul was born into the tribe of Benjamin. Being from the tribe of Benjamin was a heritage that was highly esteemed among the Jews. Paul also served as a Pharisee. The Pharisees were members of a very devout Jewish sect that devotedly kept its own numerous rules along with the laws of Moses. This all happened before Paul began persecuting the church. So why would a man of Jewish faith persecute the church and Jesus the way he did? Paul did not see that Jesus met his expectations of what the Messiah would be like. He knew the scriptures, the prophecies, and the laws, but he was blinded by the world’s overshadowing of Jesus. Until Jesus Himself revealed His true identity to Paul, made Him see the truth, he was only focused on what was right in front of him and not on the faith that comes through Jesus Christ.
So, as Paul warns the people of Philippi of false teachers, he wants them to be clear that his Jewish credentials were impeccable. He knew what they were teaching was false because he had lived amongst the old law and now he is living free in the new covenant. He is living in the freedom of pure and everlasting joy in Jesus.
Another thing that overshadows Jesus is our own pride. In verse 10, Paul admits that he is proud of his credentials and successes but now realizes that his own gain was nothing compared to gaining rewards through Jesus Christ. This goes back to our struggles and our serving that we talked about the last two weeks. All of our successes can work against us if they blind us to God’s plan of salvation in Christ; everything is a disadvantage compared to knowing the Messiah. For example, if your family and friends see that through your most difficult circumstance, you kept your head held high and fought through the battle with courage and fearlessness, but secretly you blamed God for the circumstance and lost trust in the truth that God is in control, your success was a loss because you were blinded from Jesus’ salvation and who He truly is. Your focus was taken off of Jesus and put on yourself. This can happen in so many areas of our lives. We have to guard ourselves of this and keep our focus on Jesus.
When have you seen pride overshadow Jesus in your life?
“Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” Proverbs 16:18
With all that being said, Paul says in verse 10 that he wants to know Christ above all else. He wants to have faith in His resurrection, see his sufferings as participation in Christ’s sufferings, and become humble and obedient like Jesus in His death. By knowing Jesus in this way, Paul is attaining resurrection from the dead the same as Jesus.
“Not that I have already attained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, 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, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:12-14
It is not easy to keep your faith, see the good in your circumstances, or stay humble and obedient, but we are to press on because we know what the prize is for reaching our goal. Knowing Christ is where our joy comes from. We must lay aside all that distracts us from knowing Christ intimately. Paul’s example of forgetting what we have done in the past and pushing toward our goal is so important. Paul describes this pressing on to meet a goal in athletic imagery. This would have captured the Philippians attention because they were in close proximity to Greece, which means they were exposed to the Greek athletic games. We are right in the middle of watching the summer Olympics. There is something exhilarating about watching someone that has set a goal in their life, has put in the time and work to aim for the goal, and then to watch them meet this goal. Putting in the time and work to attain our goal is the hardest part but that medal at the end is so worth it. God’s Word, prayer, trust, and confidence in Jesus Christ are our gatorade and protein bars that sustain us through to attain our goal. Our struggles grow us and improve our stamina for our next fall. Our service increases our awareness of Jesus’ humility and makes us strive to be more like Christ. Embrace the training part of reaching your goal, it is what perfects us and completes us. Caleb Dressel, the Olympic swimmer, says “People dream about this goal without putting the stepping stones down to reach the goal.” Let’s put down the stepping stones that get us to our goal. The word mature in verse 15 is also described as perfect. The Greek word is teleios and Paul uses it as a calling for mature believers to adopt the mindset he has described. This mindset of persistence and courage to fight through our battles so that our goal is achieved.
The gospels at that time were not as easily accessed then as they are now. Paul could not tell the Philippians to read their Bible to see what Christ was like. The only person they had to imitate was Paul, so Paul had to be Christ-like in order for the people to see who Jesus was. We have the gospels at our finger-tips. We read the stories of Jesus and know what kind of personality He had, how He handled certain situations, how He showed love to others, and how His humility shined above all else. We see who we are to imitate. The emperor was known as the savior and lord in the Roman Empire. Paul is calling the Philippians to live under the authority and reign of the universe’s true Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. We are called to do the same.
What is your favorite characteristic of Jesus?
Where do you need to strive to be more like Him?
Philippians 3 ends with beautiful words of encouragement.
“Their mind is set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 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.” Philippians 3:20-21
Ladies, we belong with Jesus Christ, our Savior, and one day we will be joined with Him and we will be like Him. Our bodies will be like His, our characteristics will be like His, our joy will be like His, our peace will be like His, and our wisdom will be like His. Let this truth fill you with everlasting joy. Rest in your faith and allow it to carry you to completion.