Joy Has A Name / 01. Joy Has A Name // 11 Rejoicing in Christ - Joel Virgo // Philippians 4:2-9, 21-23
01. Joy Has A Name // 11 Rejoicing in Christ - Joel Virgo // Philippians 4:2-9, 21-23
Recap
We see in this passage, Paul is openly emotional. Often emotions can feel like the enemy and so we try to detach ourselves from them, but the bible does not do this. Emotions can be powerfully useful in our journey of obeying God, and so they are not to be ignored but restored, renewed and redeemed. Therefore, as Christians we should learn to get comfortable with the things that we are feeling, as well as how to understand them.
Paul instructs the Philippians ‘rejoice in the Lord always’. This is one of his greatest concerns - that they would experience the joy of the Lord. This can be hard to hear when we walk through difficult seasons. The bible is no stranger to sorrow, depression, and pain, in fact Paul himself knows what it is to despair of life itself. He is not talking about whimsy, superficial, artificial joy, he is talking about spiritual wealth in knowing who God is and what He has done. We find emotional health when we remember who we are through Him. Paul is not asking us to try harder to stay afloat, he simply wants us to put our feet down and learn to trust that the riverbed of Christ is steady.
The command to rejoice is not negligible. We cannot do life without the joy of the Lord because that is our strength. When we know that our guilt and shame have been swallowed up, how can we not be happy? Our joy is a reflection of God, who laughs, rejoices and dances. Joy is the inner experience of the Father, Son and Spirit and it is shared with us through Jesus who became God in flesh.
As well as joy, he wants us to know peace. Paul says, let your reasonableness be known to everyone and your requests be made known to God. When we cast our cares on to Him, we are able to find peace. We must also give thanks for everything that God has given to us. Ultimately, for children of God the most powerful thing is coming to God with thanksgiving. Thankfulness puts things into proportion and facilitates us dwelling in the kindness and goodness of God. We know that He is near to us because of what Jesus has done.
Applications
Learn to be comfortable with your emotions, instead of detaching from them.
Stand on Christ and trust that He will hold you steady.
Ask the Holy Spirit to open your eyes so that you continue to see more and more of the goodness of God.
We see in this passage, Paul is openly emotional. Often emotions can feel like the enemy and so we try to detach ourselves from them, but the bible does not do this. Emotions can be powerfully useful in our journey of obeying God, and so they are not to be ignored but restored, renewed and redeemed. Therefore, as Christians we should learn to get comfortable with the things that we are feeling, as well as how to understand them.
Paul instructs the Philippians ‘rejoice in the Lord always’. This is one of his greatest concerns - that they would experience the joy of the Lord. This can be hard to hear when we walk through difficult seasons. The bible is no stranger to sorrow, depression, and pain, in fact Paul himself knows what it is to despair of life itself. He is not talking about whimsy, superficial, artificial joy, he is talking about spiritual wealth in knowing who God is and what He has done. We find emotional health when we remember who we are through Him. Paul is not asking us to try harder to stay afloat, he simply wants us to put our feet down and learn to trust that the riverbed of Christ is steady.
The command to rejoice is not negligible. We cannot do life without the joy of the Lord because that is our strength. When we know that our guilt and shame have been swallowed up, how can we not be happy? Our joy is a reflection of God, who laughs, rejoices and dances. Joy is the inner experience of the Father, Son and Spirit and it is shared with us through Jesus who became God in flesh.
As well as joy, he wants us to know peace. Paul says, let your reasonableness be known to everyone and your requests be made known to God. When we cast our cares on to Him, we are able to find peace. We must also give thanks for everything that God has given to us. Ultimately, for children of God the most powerful thing is coming to God with thanksgiving. Thankfulness puts things into proportion and facilitates us dwelling in the kindness and goodness of God. We know that He is near to us because of what Jesus has done.
Applications
Learn to be comfortable with your emotions, instead of detaching from them.
Stand on Christ and trust that He will hold you steady.
Ask the Holy Spirit to open your eyes so that you continue to see more and more of the goodness of God.
More Episodes
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17.Joy Has A Name // 11 Rejoicing in Christ - Joel Virgo // Philippians 4:2-9, 21-23
Recap
We see in this passage, Paul is openly emotional. Often emotions can feel like the enemy and so we try to detach ourselves from them, but the bible does not do this. Emotions can be...Show episode 38:01
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16.Joy Has A Name // 10 Christ The Goal - Tobi Ford-Western // Philippians 3:12-4:1
Recap
As a city we pride ourselves in our originality and ability to be ‘different’. We tend to value elevation and improvement over imitation of others who have gone before us. However,...Show episode 35:19
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15.Joy Has A Name // 9 Riches In Christ - Stephen Dawson // Philippians 4:10-20
Recap
This Sunday we skipped forward to the end of Phillipians where Paul thanks the church for their gifts and for sending him Epaphroditus. This is more meaningful and heartfelt than the...Show episode 34:13
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14.Joy Has A Name // 8 The Surpassing Worth Of Christ - Matt Carvel // Philippians 3:1-11
Recap
Paul’s life’s work was to go around sharing the good news of Jesus: the forgiveness of sins and the love of God. He would proclaim the gospel everywhere he went and people would become...Show episode 34:37
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13.Joy Has A Name // 7 Workers For Christ - Joel Virgo // Philippians 2:19-30
Recap
Previously in this letter, Paul has been explaining to the Philippians the way that God has revealed Himself through His son Jesus. In this passage however, there seems to be a change in...Show episode 38:47
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12.Joy Has A Name // 6 The Fear Of Christ - Tobi Ford-Western // Philippians 2:12-18
Recap
Paul tells the Philippians in this passage that they need to ‘work out your own salvation with fear and trembling’. On the surface, this can seem frightening and can be misunderstood to...Show episode 34:20
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11.Joy Has A Name // 6 The Fear Of Christ // Application
Discussion on the sermon:
https://youtu.be/MLi3ed3VJh4Show episode 10:34
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10.Joy Has A Name // 5 The Humility and Glory Of Christ // Application
Discussion on the sermon:
https://youtu.be/bO6szH-6HuYShow episode 04:37
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09.Joy Has A Name // 5 The Humility and Glory Of Christ - Matt Carvel // Philippians 2:5-11
Recap
A common question that people ask about Christianity is, why, if God is real, does He not make His existence more obvious to us. We ask this question because we want things to be simple...Show episode 34:44
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08.Joy Has A Name // 4 A Christ-shaped Mind // Application
Discussion on the sermon:
https://youtu.be/4EEJtwwZD_0Show episode 07:06
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07.Joy Has A Name // 4 A Christ-shaped Mind - Matt Carvel // Philippians 2:1-4
The humility of Christ (which is about to be unpacked in the following passage) is a demonstration of the other-person focus of the Gospel. Love is selfless, not selfish.
Perhaps the...Show episode 30:40
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06.Joy Has A Name // 3 A Christ-Shaped Walk // Application
Discussion on the sermon:
https://youtu.be/LF9XE4QeOr8Show episode 06:56
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05.Joy Has A Name // 3 A Christ-shaped Walk - Matt Carvel // Philippians 1:1-27-30
‘Let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel’ can be a confusing command. Isn’t the point of the Gospel that we’re not worthy of it?
Paul’s command then (like all other NT commands)...Show episode 33:25
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04.Joy Has A Name // 2 A Christ-shaped Life // Application
Show episode 09:47
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03.Joy Has A Name // 2 A Christ-shaped Life - Neville Jones // Philippians 1:1-12-26
The sovereignty of God and the supremacy of Christ.
Again, Paul demonstrates a provocatively joyful attitude. In the face of his unjust imprisonment and even ‘gospel advocates’ trying...Show episode 33:18
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02.Joy Has A Name // 1 Joy in Christ - Joel Virgo // Philippians 1:1-11
Joel looks at the union and unity that Christ brings us into.
Paul is overjoyed at the thought of the Philippians. These ‘partners’ are not just loosely associated with Paul but fellow...Show episode 39:30
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01.Joy Has A Name // Introduction to the series
This autumn we will be preaching through the New Testament letter of Philippians. We’ve called the series, ‘Joy Has a Name’ because the letter is all about how Jesus is every Christian’s source of...Show episode 07:29
