I Shall Rejoice

Introduction: Paul's Affirmation of Rejoicing in Philippians 1:18-20

0:04 This sermon was preached on Sunday morning, December 14, 1980, while the Trinity Church was still meeting at the Grover Cleveland Junior High School in Caldwell, New Jersey. Now will you follow as I read from the first chapter of Paul's letter to the Philippians, Philippians chapter 1, and I shall read this morning verses 12 through 20.

0:34 Philippians 1 and verse 12. Now I would have you know, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel, so that my bonds became manifest in Christ throughout the whole praetorian guard and to all the rest, and that most of the brethren in the Lord, being confident through my bonds, are more abundantly bold to speak the word of God without fear. Some, indeed. Some, indeed, preach Christ, even of envy and strife, and some also of goodwill,

1:14 the one out of love, knowing that I am set for the defense of the gospel, but the other proclaim Christ of faction, not sincerely, thinking to raise up affliction for me in my bonds. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and therefore, wherein I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, for I know that this shall turn out to my salvation through your supplication and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my earnest expectation and hope,

1:57 that in nothing shall I be put to shame, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, well, whether by life or by death. In our consideration of the contents and message of this intimate, warm, and deeply personal letter of the Apostle Paul to the Philippian Church, we come today to examine the words found in the last statement of verse 18, and you will notice I read it as though there were a period or a colon after Paul's statement, what then?

2:40 Whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and therein I rejoice, period or colon. Now here are the words we examine this morning. Yes, and I shall rejoice, for I know that this shall turn out to my salvation through your supplication and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my earnest expectation and hope, that in nothing shall I be put to shame, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death.

Key #1: Understanding Paul's Specific Circumstances

3:23 As we stand on the threshold of seeking to grasp the meaning of the Apostle's words and the message of those words to this church and to us as a church of Christ, I would suggest the analogy of standing before a door, that has two locks, and if the door represents an accurate understanding of the text, then the two locks must be opened by the two appropriate keys. Key number one, if we are to understand this passage, is comprised of an understanding of Paul's specific circumstances.

4:07 Now granted, it is the ministry of the Spirit, on the one hand, and an accurate handling, of the Scriptures, on the other hand, that are essential to a proper understanding of the word. But assuming those things, I say that key number one, to unlock the door of understanding of this text, is an understanding of Paul's specific circumstances. You've been reminded again and again in the course of our studies in Philippians, that Paul writes this letter from the city of Rome, in which he finds himself, himself as a prisoner of Jesus Christ. There are many references in the letter to the Philippians

4:49 of his bonds or of his chains. Up until now, things have gone well with him. He is chained to a soldier, but nonetheless, he has a great degree of personal liberty and freedom. This is described in the closing words of the book of Acts, Acts 28 and verse 20. As yet, no

5:12 sentence of death has been issued towards Poe. There is no indication that he is undergoing any kind of real physical privation in his present circumstances. And at the point of writing this letter, he even has a growing degree of conviction that he is going to be released from this imprisonment. Notice the explicit references to this in verses 25 and 26.

5:40 And having this confidence, I know that I shall abide, yea, and abide with you all for your progress and joy in the gospel, that your glorying may abound in Christ Jesus in me through my presence with you again. So there he is at Rome. His trial has gone very favorably at this point. He has a good degree of liberty. He is quite certain that he is

6:09 going to be released. But he's not absolutely certain, for he says in chapter 2 and verse 23, him therefore I hope to send forthwith so that as soon as I shall see how it will go with me. But I trust in the Lord that I myself shall come shortly. So he has something of a conviction that he will be released, but a conviction that falls short of an absolute certainty for the simple reason that he had no direct revelation.

6:40 From God concerning his release. Now he had received a direct revelation concerning the fact that he would go to Rome. God said to him in explicit words recorded in Acts 23 and 11, 23 11, you will testify of me at Rome. But even apostles, when they don't have direct revelation, must be very careful in the matter of guidance. And perhaps as Paul views the providence of God, he

7:10 is going to be released, that he will have the joy of returning to the Philippians. But because he has no direct revelation, the issue is not certain. There may be a sudden turn of events, for in a very real sense, his future is dependent from the human side upon the whims of a man called Nero, who is in a place of absolute certainty.

7:40 And so when the apostle introduces this language, whether by life or by death, Christ shall be magnified, he was not simply using excessive poetic language. It wasn't as though he was sitting in his living room in total freedom with his wife's arm, if he had a wife, which she didn't have, of course, at this time, but assuming a man is in that posture, and talking about his love to Christ, saying, well, whether I have to live or die, I love the Lord.

8:11 And I want to serve him. No, the apostle recognized that between the hardened, sharpened steel of the executioner's axe and the soft flesh of his own neck stood the whims of an emperor. And so there is a degree of uncertainty, though there is a growing degree of confidence, there is not absolute certainty. And unless we keep that in mind, we cannot properly understand the text.

Key #2: Remembering the Preceding Context

8:42 The text that is before us. So key number one to unlock a proper understanding of the passage is this understanding of his specific circumstances at the time that he writes the letter. But then there's a second lock upon the door, and the key that we need to open it is a remembrance of the preceding context. In verse 12, he has declared that everything that has happened to him has resulted in the progress of the gospel.

9:12 In verse 12, he has declared that everything that has happened to him has resulted in the progress of the gospel. In his bonds, it has become evident that he is the bond slave of Christ. It has become manifested that his bonds are not the bonds of a criminal, but they are the bonds of one who is the slave of the Lord Jesus Christ. Furthermore, as we saw last week, not only are the believers emboldened to preach, even though some are preaching out of bad motives, and you have wickedly motivated preachers as well as righteously motivated preachers, Paul can say, everything has happened for the furtherance of the gospel, Christ is preached, and in this I rejoice.

9:52 What is the conclusion of everything that has led up to the point of writing the letter? Verse 18, what then? He says, Christ is preached, I am rejoicing. Then it's as though someone says, alright Paul, I can understand why up to the point of writing the letter you can rejoice.

10:12 Everything that has happened has resulted in the progress of the gospel. Both to the unconverted and to the church, there has been a manifestation of the knowledge of Christ. With righteously and wickedly motivated preachers running all over Rome proclaiming Christ, Christ is proclaimed, I can understand Paul, you can rejoice in everything that has happened up until now. But Paul, what of the future? What if?

10:42 What if in a very short time you are executed? What if you are subjected to torture? What if you undergo privations? Paul, you've spoken of your joy in terms of the circumstances up to the present moment, but Paul, what of the future?

11:01 What if everything that now seems favorable and sunny and bright becomes dark and ominous? Will you then still rejoice? And you see the connection. He says, yes, and I will rejoice, for I know.

A Bold Affirmation of Continued Rejoicing

11:21 And as we take those two keys, an understanding of his specific circumstances and a remembrance of the preceding context, we can then come to our text and, by the Lord's help, unpack the truth that is here. Now, I suggest that the text is naturally divided into two major divisions. First of all, a bold affirmation of continued rejoicing, and secondly, a rational explanation for this continued rejoicing. Look at his bold affirmation of continued rejoicing.

11:58 The end of verse 18. Yes, and I will, or in more formal English, I shall rejoice. He uses the simple future. There is nothing in the language to individualize.

12:12 To indicate an unusual degree of determination, he is simply stating, yes, and I shall, simple future, I shall continue to rejoice. It's as though he says, oh, my dear Philippians, do not be overly anxious that my joy in the Lord will in any way be diminished by the unknown future. When you think of me.

12:42 Whatever news may come to your ears concerning my state, even if you hear that the sensitive flesh of my neck met the hardened steel of the executioner's blade, of this you can be certain, my dear Philippian friends, that my head tumbled into the basket from the shoulders of a rejoicing man. Yes, and I shall. Yes, and I shall. And I shall continue to rejoice.

A Rational Explanation for Continued Rejoicing: "For I Know"

13:17 I shall continue to exult in my God. I shall continue to know the delight of inward rest in him. I say this is a bold affirmation of continued rejoicing. But no sooner does he make that bold affirmation, but we find him giving a rational explanation.

13:42 We find him giving a rational explanation. But no sooner does he make that bold affirmation, but we find him giving a rational explanation for that affirmation. Look at the text, verse 19. For I know.

13:50 Yes, I shall continue to rejoice, for I know. In other words, his rejoicing is rooted not in some detached mysticism or pagan stoicism or in a cast iron will that says, come what may. I'm going to rejoice. His rejoicing is rooted in a certain spiritual knowledge, or I should say, a specific body of certain spiritual knowledge.

14:27 I shall rejoice, for I know. And it is that which I know by an enlightened Christian understanding which forms the raw materials of my joy. Now, before we examine those raw materials of his rational explanation, I want to pause to underscore this very patent demonstration of the intimate connection between experience and doctrine.

15:02 Now, what is more experimental than holy joy? When a child of God is exalting in his spirit in the midst of adverse circumstances, and can say, even if I must go to the executioner's block, I shall rejoice, I say, what is more deeply experimental than that kind of Christian joy? And yet the apostle draws a straight line, or to change the analogy, he portrays a living umbilical cord between his deepest experience as a Christian and the clear white light of knowledge that he possesses.

15:44 As a Christian, I shall rejoice, for I know. And it is the things that I know which sustains the very life of my joy as much as the umbilical cord sustains the life of that unborn child in the womb of its mother. And so, as we see throughout Scripture, we dare not, in our thoughts or attitudes, ever detach experience and doctrine, for what God has joined together, let no man put asunder.

16:24 Now, I'm fully conscious that it is possible for a man to have knowledge which never breaks into the realm of experience, for a man to know and not to feel, for a man to have the white light of truth in his head and to be devoid of the warmth of that truth in his heart. I'm fully conscious of that, not only from the Bible, but from my own experience. But the reverse is not true. Though it is possible to have knowledge without experience, it is impossible to have genuine Christian experience without knowledge.

17:01 And the apostle makes it plain that his experience is rooted in his knowledge. He makes plain that the devotional frame of his heart is embedded in the reinforcement concrete of doctrine. And that is why, dear people, you will find in this place, as long as any of us who preach, have any sensitivity to the truth of the Bible, a constant desire to balance the emphasis upon experience and upon doctrine. And while I've been at it in this area for 18 years, I can say I have felt in my 18 years amongst you and in my almost 30 years...

17:45 There is a constant pressure on the one hand to say that you are too doctrinal in your preaching. Too much doctrine. Too much experience. Too much of that.

17:55 Too much of the heart. While that is being shouted in my right ear, I have people shouting in my left ear, too much experience. Too much of that inward picking over the human heart and talking about human experience. Let's have more emphasis upon doctrine.

18:11 Upon the objective. The answer is, yes. Yes. things come in to my ears at the same time, must be somewhere near the balance of biblical truth. I shall rejoice, experience, for I know doctrine. And it was that connection

The Central Point of Paul's Explanation: Christ Shall Be Magnified

18:33 which precipitated this rational explanation for his continued rejoicing. Well then, what is his explanation? And in seeking to open it up in your hearing this morning, let me suggest, first of all, the central point of the explanation, and then we'll look at the specific elements of the explanation. All right? What is the central point of his

18:56 explanation? To understand it, we could read the text this way. For I know, and then drop down to verse 19, I'm sorry, verse 20, Christ shall be magnified. And if you miss some of the details along the way, but you get hold of this, then you will have the heart of the message of the passage. The central point of his explanation is this. For I know, yes,

19:31 that this shall turn out to my deliverance, yes, a deliverance that comes through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit, yes, but a deliverance that accords with my earnest expectation and hope. And what is that earnest expectation and hope? Christ shall be magnified. So everything in the thought leads up to the statement, Christ shall be magnified. And

19:54 so the central point, then, of his explanation for this bold affirmation of continued rejoicing is, I know Christ shall be magnified. Now do you see the connection with the preceding context? What was it that made him rejoice in terms of everything that led up to the moment he was writing this letter? Was it not that Christ was being magnified? He says, I want you Philippians to know that

20:25 everything that has happened to me has resulted in the furtherance of the gospel. My bonds have become manifested as bonds in connection with Christ. My bonds have become a platform to preach Christ. Furthermore, my bonds have become the very liberating principle in the hearts of Roman Christians. They are more bold to speak of the gospel. They are more

20:49 reasonable to say that in the heart of Christ, and even where there are people who have bad motives and some have good motives, Christ is being preached. In this I rejoice. There was one ground of his rejoicing in terms of everything that led up to that moment, and that ground was that Christ was being magnified through gospel preaching. He doesn't change his grounds of rejoicing. He said, that which constitutes the ground of my rejoicing up

21:18 till now is that which constitutes my ground of rejoicing regardless of what the future holds for i know christ shall be magnified that's why i can boldly affirm i will continue to rejoice because christ will continue to be magnified whether the ultimate issue is my living living on as a prisoner living on in bounty or privation it matters not whether it means that my neck will feel the pressure of the executioner's sword it matters not by life by death christ is magnified

21:58 that and that alone is the ultimate ground of my joy christ shall be extolled christ shall be known christ shall be praised for the apostle paul christ did so crowded out every other consideration in his heart that it was christ and his cause that was the cause of every bit of joy he had known up to the present and all of the joy that he confidently expects to have in the future now that's the central point of his explanation but now look at the specific elements he doesn't state it just that simply

Specific Elements of Paul's Explanation: Deliverance and Means

22:42 and there is an intricate unfolding of thought and i have labored long and prayed much that i might be able to open it up as simply as possible notice in the first place as we try to grasp the specific elements of his explanation the certainty of deliverance from his true dangers in his imprisonment and trial notice what he dares to state in verse 19 for i know that this shall turn out to my salvation to my salvation to my salvation to my salvation to my salvation salvation and here the word salvation can legitimately be translated as deliverance it's used this way in job 1316 you have an exact linguistic parallel in the greek translation of

23:27 the old testament in job 1316 i know that this that is my trial and all that pertains to it this shall turn out to my deliverance through your supplication and the supply of the spirit of jesus christ and the first thing by way of specific thought he lays out is the certainty of deliverance from his true dangers now for a man like paul whose great and consuming passion is the glory of christ what is regarded as a real enemy picture paul there in prison at rome

24:08 chained to the roman soldier knowing at any time that he may be summoned again you before his accusers that he may be summoned before heathen leaders pagan men to bear testimony to christ and to his gospel a man like paul for whom the glory of christ and the knowledge of christ and the cause of the gospel is supreme what is his real fear well his real fear is not that he'll hear the sentence take him out and execute him no no his real fear is that he might through cowardice shame his lord his real fear is that through a carnal timidity he may not give to christ all the

24:52 glory that is due to christ by a bold unfettered testimony to christ and here he says i know that this most likely referring to his trial shall turn out to my deliverance as i face the uncertainty and my deliverance as i face the uncertainty and my deliverance as i face the uncertainty and my know that i must yet have dealings with the authorities that hold me a prisoner i have a confidence in god that i will be delivered from my true enemies and then he goes on to describe the means by which this deliverance from his enemy shall come look at the language this shall

25:36 turn to my salvation through your prayer and the supply of the power of god and the power of the spirit of jesus christ so he not only states the certainty of deliverance from his enemy or enemies but the means by which this deliverance will come and the means are obviously to the prayer of the philippians and the word for prayer is that word often translated in the new testament supplication it's the one found in chapter four and verse six the one paul used himself in chapter one

26:14 and verse four through the specific entreaty of the philippians on his behalf and through the supply of the spirit of jesus christ literally through the large and free supply of the spirit of jesus christ now does that mean the supply which the spirit gives or the supply which the spirit is well linguistically it could be either and in reality it's both for the giver is never separated from his gifts and so we don't need to settle the issue is it the supply of courage and strength and boldness which the spirit gives the spirit

26:57 operating as the spirit of christ jesus or is it the spirit himself coming with increased measures as the author of that boldness well you see in either case we come down to the same thing the means by which this deliverance will come is the prayer of the philippians and a supply connected with the ministry of the spirit the spirit of jesus christ but then the third specific line of thought is the measure of his desire for and confidence in this deliverance notice the progression of thought he says now

27:37 i'm confident that there will be deliverance this shall turn out to my salvation the means their prayers and their prayers and their prayers and their prayers and their prayers and their prayers nowjohn clear the supply of the spirit now he gives onto described the measure of his desire for and confidence in this deliverance this delivered until come according to pattern of verse twenty my earnest expectation and the word for earnest expectation is a very good good Muslim's to watch surely day headed stretched out in the moment I did a little word study on it I thought of what I've seen again and

28:19 again when I've come back from a trip abroad and I know that somebody from the church or my family is going to be waiting for me outside the gate there at Kennedy Airport where you come through customs and what a delight it is when you come through those swinging doors to cast your eyes across the crowd and to see a face you recognize the head all stretched out someone maybe on tip toes just eagerly watching that's precisely the picture of the word Paul used he said this deliverance of which I am certain this deliverance which will come by means of the prayers of the Philippians and the supply of the spirit is a deliverance which will perfectly accord with that

29:02 which is my earnest stretched out expectation and he says my hope and the word for hope there is the general word for hope in the biblical sense, confident expectation of promised blessings. So he tells us that the measure of his desire for this deliverance and his confidence is to be found in the words, earnest expectation, confident expectation. And then notice, fourthly, the specific way in which he expects the deliverance to come. How will this deliverance come?

29:39 Look at it, that in nothing negative shall I be put to shame, but positive, but that with all boldness as always, now Christ shall be manifested in my body. The special way in which he expected the deliverance to come was negatively, I shall not be put to shame. He uses a passive verb, the agent apparently being implied, the Holy Spirit will not leave me lacking in everything, everything I need to be delivered from those real enemies that I fear, timidity, cowardice, backing off from this passionate desire for Christ's glory, even at the expense of my life.

30:24 I expect the deliverance to come, the deliverance I earnestly look forward to and confidently expect. It will come by the Spirit not withholding that measure of grace needed that would cause me to be put to shame, but then positively notice that with all boldness, the word that refers to free, unfettered speech, a favorite word of the Apostle, he says that with all boldness Christ shall be magnified. I will know the enablement of the Spirit so to speak for my Savior that he will be magnified in this very body.

31:08 The determination of invitation, which destiny you see may be at stake, and that's perhaps why he uses the word body for his whole redeemed person, because it would be that body that might have its head severed in execution, but he said this is of little account to me, whether by life or by death. I expect my deliverance to come in terms of a gracious supply of the Spirit that will help me to speak in my hour of trial with the same boldness, boldness that I have known in the past in my previous hours of trial. Well then, that's the substance of the Apostle's rational explanation

Message 1: The Sufficiency of the Grace of God

31:53 for his bold affirmation. I shall rejoice for I know. Now then, what is the message of this affirmation and its explanation? What should all of this say to the Philippians?

32:09 What does all of this say? What does all of it say to us? And here I confess there is an embarrassment of riches, and I have had to exercise strict discipline upon my mind and upon my spirit in the preparation. There are so many rich lines of thought that just cry to be opened up and unpacked and expounded and applied, but I shall limit myself to three this morning.

32:35 First of all, this passage is a most encouraging statement concerning the sufficiency of the grace of God. A most encouraging statement concerning the sufficiency of the grace of God. All of the explanation as to why he will continue to rejoice rests upon Paul's confidence in the grace of God. How can he say, yes, I shall rejoice for I know, this shall turn, to my deliverance.

33:12 I know there will be your continued prayer. I know there will be the supply of the Spirit. I know that I will not be put to shame. I know that I shall have boldness in my hour of need.

33:26 Now where does a man get all that certainty? I say he gets it from the predictableness of God's grace.

33:35 This is the man who himself wrote earlier in this epistle, verse 6, being confident, of this very thing. He who has begun a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ. What's good for them, he says, is good for me. Notice in his explanation, he says, that with all boldness, as always, grace has never shortchanged me in my hour of need in the past.

34:07 I have known what it is to stand in the presence of an angry mob that is determined to see my blood spilt. And he said, in that hour of need, I've known the fulfillment of the promise of Christ when you are delivered up before councils and governors for my name's sake. Don't meditate beforehand what you shall say. It shall be given you in that hour what ye shall say.

34:32 He had proven that. And he reasons from the past experiences of the grace of God to the unknown future circumstances and he brags on the predictableness of the grace of God. As always, grace will not disappoint me. There shall be deliverance.

34:55 Prayer shall be heard. The Spirit will supply all that is needful. Though the hymn had not been composed, if it had been, I'm sure, Paul would have loved such hymns as Augustus' Top Ladies, the work which his goodness began. The arm of his strength will complete.

35:21 O the words of Newton, through many dangers, toils and snares, I have already come. Tis grace has brought me safe thus far. And I wonder what grace will do in the future.

35:38 Tis grace has brought me safe thus far. And! Grace! Bring me home!

35:48 That's what this passage is all about. I know! That's why I rejoice. And I say it is an encouraging statement concerning the sufficiency of the grace of God.

36:03 The Bible says, Whoso trusteth in his own heart is a fool. Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed, lest he fall. Cursed be he that trusteth in man, and make his flesh his arm. But my friend, there's a world of difference between carnal confidence and fleshy boasting, and spiritual confidence and boasting in the predictableness of the grace of God.

36:32 And oh, how some of you who struggle with a sensitive conscience and wrestle with pockets of resistance to the sanctifying work of the Spirit in your own hearts and lives, how you need to learn, you need to learn this great lesson. You have grounds to boast, not in yourself, your amass of weakness, but in the grace of God that has put you into the way. The grace that will certainly meet every need along the way until it brings you at last safely home to glory. I say the passage is a most encouraging statement concerning the sufficiency

Message 2: The Astounding Efficacy of Prayer to God

37:15 of the grace of God. But then secondly, it is a most astounding statement concerning the efficacy of prayer to God. It is a most astounding statement concerning the efficacy of prayer to God.

37:36 The linguistic structure of verse 19 brings prayer on the part of the Philippians and the supply of the Spirit of Christ Jesus on the part of God. Into a closeness of relationship that if you had no other passages to condition your interpretation, you'd come up with heresy.

37:59 You could prove from the linguistic structure that the Philippians were the suppliers of the Spirit.

38:07 Now those of you who know something of the Greek will know why I make that statement.

38:13 Paul is not ashamed or embarrassed to bring into the closest possible conjunction the feeble Christ, the prize of his own spiritual children hundreds of miles away in Macedonia and the adequate supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ for all the critical needs he will face there in a Roman prison. Your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. What an amazing and astounding statement concerning the efficacy of prayer. Now this is the same apostle

38:55 who is absolutely clear when he's treating the subject of who runs the world that it is God who runs the world and he runs it according to eternal purpose and eternal design. He works all things after the counsel of his own will. Who can stay his hand or say unto him, Hey God, what are you doing? He's not embarrassed to affirm a world that is under the absolute control of a sovereign God.

39:23 But my friends, when he treats the subject of prayer he does not treat it as something that is merely an inward spiritual benefit to the one who prays. He says your prayer and an objective spiritual reality, the supply of the Spirit. Prayer does change things.

39:48 The apostle Paul with that great mind, with its incisive logical insights, with its vast penetrating capacities, he did not trouble himself with silly questions. What is the precise relationship between a world governed by a sovereign, immutable, changeless God on the basis of an eternal plan and the specific prayer, the supplication, the cry of distress from his people? He didn't trouble his mind with those questions. It was enough for him to know that when God said, Ask!

40:27 Ask! Ask! Ask! Ask!

40:27 Ask! Ask! Ask! Ask!

40:28 Ask! Ask! Ask! He meant it!

40:30 And so he says when you Philippians ask, I will be the recipient. You pray! The supply of the Spirit is my experience. Oh, my dear fellow believer, do you have that kind of confidence in the efficacy of prayer?

40:48 As I've meditated upon this verse this week, I have had to say, Oh, God, forgive my unbelief with respect to the efficacy of prayer. And the greatest and the most shameful testimony to our unbelief concerning the efficacy of prayer is the infrequency of our prayers. And I want to underscore something that the language of the text forces upon us. He does not say, This shall turn to my deliverance through the individual supplications of each of you.

41:23 This shall turn to my deliverance through your, and he uses a plural pronoun, and a singular word for prayer. Through your prayer. And who's he writing to? The church!

41:37 And he envisions the Philippian church as a corporate entity with one heart crying out to God with one prayer.

41:50 And he says there is great efficacy not only in prayer in general, but in the corporate, the united prayers of the people of God in particular. And I could, I couldn't help but think as Pastor Nichols was praying this morning as this text was burning in my own mind, Lord, do I, do we as a people believe that as our brother leads us in prayer and we with a symphony of inward, active, spiritual concern, united faith and desire pray with him for Eugene, that as we pray, the Holy Ghost is being given right there in Hoboken this morning with power, did you believe that?

42:33 I believe it! Our prayer! In the supply of the Spirit in Hoboken! Our prayer!

42:44 In the supply of the Spirit up in Sussex County! That's exactly what Paul is saying he believed! Do we?

42:54 Maybe that accounts for the carelessness some of us manifest with regard to coming to prayer meeting. You really don't believe it makes any difference. Notice I said some. I'm not making a general accusation that if you're not frequent and regular at the prayer meeting, it's because you don't believe in the efficacy of prayer.

43:14 I didn't say that. I'd have to be God to say that. And if anything, I know, I know, I'm not God. But I am saying it could well be the reason why some of you find the flimsiest excuses not to come to prayer meeting.

43:28 The flimsiest excuses not to be found with God's people when they cry and supplicate. The flimsiest excuses to omit your own pride in God. You really don't believe in the efficacy of prayer. Oh, if something of the glory of it grips your heart that when poor, sinful, weak creatures cry to God, God hears and God answers your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Christ Jesus.

Message 3: The Source of Continued Joyfulness

44:04 Well, then there is a third and final line of thought that is dominant in the passage and which I must underscore in your hearing and it's this. The passage is a most revealing statement concerning the source of continued joyfulness. It is a most revealing statement concerning the source of continued joyfulness. Jesus said, If your eye be single, the whole body will be full of light.

44:42 Now here is an example of what that text means. With Paul, joy was not dependent upon personal comfort, personal ease, reputation, notice, not even upon life itself. One thing was the basis of his joy and that thing was Christ. If Christ is proclaimed, he says, even though these evilly motivated preachers are out to rub it under my nose, they seek to put a galling chain around me, a galling chain around my spirit.

45:15 Their motives are as base as hell itself. Isn't that has to do with Paul? Paul doesn't count! When I hear that they are preaching Christ, I don't care what their motive is.

45:32 God will deal with that in the day of judgment. But my blessed Savior is being known. Hallelujah! Christ is preached!

45:41 I rejoice. Now the Philippians say, But Paul, what about the future? We can understand the rationale for rejoicing in the past. But there's that executioner's sword hanging over you like a sword of Damoples.

45:56 You don't know if it's going to fall. There's the whim of the emperor Nero. Paul, suppose you must be executed. What then?

46:04 He says, Whether by life or by death, because I am confident that the grace of God will enable me to magnify Christ by a bold, unashamed testimony to His grace. He said, I'll go to the executioner's block with hallelujahs in my heart and upon my lips. And I say that statement is a most revealing statement concerning the source of continued joyfulness. My friend, listen.

46:31 The reason some of you sitting here this morning are so inconsistent in the area of Christian joy is that your heart is divided into too many pieces. You don't have a single heart. Your joy is partly in Christ and partly in your friends. So you lose a friend or two and you go down in a heap.

46:51 Nobody loves me. Everybody hates me. I'm going out and eat worms. That's the attitude some of you have.

47:00 Now, I don't mean to be cruel when I say it in a mocking way, but isn't it about time some of you grew up? It's little babies and little children who cry as though the world came to an end when one of their toys gets broken. It's about time some of you grew up, lose a friend, and your joy is absolutely eroded. Why?

47:25 Because your great passion has yet to be that single passion magnified in my body with few friends or many friends. It doesn't matter as long as Christ is magnified. Some of you, it's because you've got your joy not only in Christ but in His gifts materially. And if you've got the house you want and it's furnished the way you want and all those things, then you're happy.

47:55 Oh yes, you thank the Lord for them. Yes, you do. You're not totally pagan. You thank the Lord for them, but let the Lord take one of them.

48:02 And what happens? You go down in a heap. Your joy is all dissipated. Why?

48:07 You've got a divided heart. Changes in relationships to people. Changes in relationship to possessions. Changes in relationship to your own health and well-being.

48:21 Whether or not your nerve endings are all quieted, sending no signals to the brain saying, pain and hurt. Some of you have great joy when no such signals are going to the brain reminding you that there is an arthritic joint or there is some other point of real pain. You're fine, but let God allow in His providence some affliction to come that from morning to night sends signals to the brain saying, hurt, hurt! And your joy is all gone.

48:54 You become as cross as a bear all robbed of its whelps. Why? Because you've yet to learn what people learn. You see the message?

49:08 It is a revealing statement concerning the source of continued joyfulness. That source is Christ who never changes. And when we have learned to know Him as our joy, then we are able to say, not boasting in ourselves, but boasting in His grace. Yes, to this point I rejoice.

49:32 My loss of friends, my frustrated ambitions, my dashed dreams, my lost possessions, whatever it is, all of them have resulted in Christ being known more intimately in my own heart and have given me opportunities to proclaim His grace. I rejoice, yes, and I dare to make a prediction. I shall continue to rejoice. I don't know what's going to happen.

49:58 Will my plans for this, my ambitions for that, I hold them all loosely because above and beyond all of them my one supreme desire, as we'll see in the text next week, that's the capstone over everything, for me to live is Christ and to die is gain. Oh, my dear fellow believers, it is relatively, relatively easy to know constant joy when you have that kind of fixation of heart. Do you know that? Do you?

Addressing Unbelief and the Nature of True Joy

50:34 Or is there that restlessness? Well, some of you have been sitting there this morning saying, what in the world is that crazy preacher getting all excited about? I haven't been able to grasp as answering to my experience a word that he's talked about. That's sheer nonsense.

50:52 A guy sitting in a prison chained to a soldier, possibly going to have his head lopped off in a matter of a few days or weeks, and he talks about being full of joy. Somebody must have been putting some stuff through the bars or through the soldiers or something. He must have been high. He must have been cruising at 40,000 with something.

51:13 Must have had some pot or some coke or something else. I mean, no man in his right mind talks about being joyful in circumstances like that. My friend, the only reason you think that way is because you are a stranger to the grace of God. It's the grace of God in this man that makes him act like he does.

51:32 It's not pot in his head or coke up his nose. It's Christ in his heart. And the scriptures make it abundantly plain that this experience is totally foreign to those who are strangers to grace. In the paraphrase of one of the songs we often sing, solid joys and lasting pleasures none but Zion's children know.

52:00 And that's the truth. Solid joys. You see, not joys that are like little shadows. And just when you think you got your hand on it, it goes.

52:10 You kids, you ever had fun chasing your shadow? I can remember doing that as a kid. Chasing my shadow. And it always was a step away from me.

52:18 Couldn't quite get it. I remember someone telling me that if I could get a bird and sprinkle salt on its tail, I could catch it. And I believed him and went around the backyard with the salt shaker. I believed him.

52:32 I did. It was an adult that told me, you remember, trusting kids, anything adults tell you, you believe them. So I went around with my salt shaker. Really convinced.

52:41 But the trouble was, every time I got close enough to get the salt on it, the bird left. Well, of course, you know, that's the whole idea of it. If you're close enough to get salt on its tail, you can reach your hand out and catch it. Well, that's the way some of you are.

52:54 Chasing birds of this thing and that thing, hoping somehow if you can get salt on its tail, you'll catch it. And chasing shadows, lasting joys, and solid pleasures, none but Zion's children know. Oh, what a wonderful thing to be a Christian in a world full of uncertainty, not knowing what life will hold, even though we're not in what we would call the crisis circumstances of an apostle, Paul, to be able to say with the apostle, on the same rational grounds as the apostle, yes, and I will rejoice, for I know that no matter what the future holds,

53:39 the grace of God will bring the needed deliverance, deliverance from anything that would erode the magnification of Christ in my body, whether by life or by death. That's the message of this text. Oh, may God write it upon our hearts. And if you are not in a position to know that reality, my friend, Paul got into that phrase, into that frame of reality, not because he was a brilliant man, not because he was a religious man, but because God's grace to needy sinners was revealed to him in Christ.

Conclusion and Prayer

54:17 And it's that grace that we hold out to you in the gospel or that God himself extends to you in the gospel, tells you to take seriously your state as a lost, undone, guilty sinner, and to flee to the only one, the only one who is an adequate Savior for sinners. Oh, may the Lord write this passage upon my heart. May he write it upon all of our hearts so that we in our generation, to a lesser degree in terms of influence numerically, to a lesser degree in terms of long-range influence, since none of us will be called upon to write letters that will become part of the body of fixed and final revelation,

55:02 but in terms of the contacts we have with wife and children and mother and father, friends and relatives and classmates and work associates, all that they may see in us this spirit manifested in the apostle, which was given him by the grace of God. Let us pray. Our Father, we are so grateful that we have this example of what grace can do, in the life of a needy sinner.

55:46 We thank you for all of the precepts which tell us the things that grace can do. But we praise you even more so for the examples. For in the precepts you tell us what we ought to do. In the examples you show us that it can be done.

56:06 And we pray that as grace worked in your servant Paul, so that grace will also work in us. That we with him may be able boldly to affirm whatever comes. We shall be found rejoicing, for we know. Oh, give us that certain knowledge born of the enlightenment of our minds by the spirit in the word, and by the quickening of our faith in those very truths.

56:35 Hear our prayer, seal the word to our hearts, and be glorified in the answer to our plea, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.