Geoffrey Trapani - July 1, 2007
how to maintain your joy
1Finally, my brothers, rejoice in
the Lord! It is no trouble for me
to write the same things to you
again, and it is a safeguard for
you.
2Watch out for those dogs,
those men who do evil, those
mutilators of the flesh. 3For it is
we who are the circumcision,
we who worship by the Spirit of
God, who glory in Christ Jesus,
and who put no confidence in
the flesh— 4though I myself
have reasons for such
confidence. If anyone else
thinks he has reasons to put
confidence in the flesh, I have
more: 5circumcised on the
eighth day, of the people of
Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin,
a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard
to the law, a Pharisee; 6as for
zeal, persecuting the church; as
for legalistic righteousness,
faultless.
7But whatever was to my profit
I now consider loss for the sake
of Christ. 8What is more, I
consider everything a loss
compared to the surpassing
greatness of knowing Christ
Jesus my Lord, for whose sake
I have lost all things. I consider
them rubbish, that I may gain
Christ 9and be found in him, not
having a righteousness of my
own that comes from the law,
but that which is through faith in
Christ—the righteousness that
comes from God and is by faith.
10I want to know Christ and the
power of his resurrection and
the fellowship of sharing in his
sufferings, becoming like him in
his death, 11and so, somehow,
to attain to the resurrection
from the dead. Philippians 3:
1-11 (NIV)
the Lord! It is no trouble for me
to write the same things to you
again, and it is a safeguard for
you.
2Watch out for those dogs,
those men who do evil, those
mutilators of the flesh. 3For it is
we who are the circumcision,
we who worship by the Spirit of
God, who glory in Christ Jesus,
and who put no confidence in
the flesh— 4though I myself
have reasons for such
confidence. If anyone else
thinks he has reasons to put
confidence in the flesh, I have
more: 5circumcised on the
eighth day, of the people of
Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin,
a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard
to the law, a Pharisee; 6as for
zeal, persecuting the church; as
for legalistic righteousness,
faultless.
7But whatever was to my profit
I now consider loss for the sake
of Christ. 8What is more, I
consider everything a loss
compared to the surpassing
greatness of knowing Christ
Jesus my Lord, for whose sake
I have lost all things. I consider
them rubbish, that I may gain
Christ 9and be found in him, not
having a righteousness of my
own that comes from the law,
but that which is through faith in
Christ—the righteousness that
comes from God and is by faith.
10I want to know Christ and the
power of his resurrection and
the fellowship of sharing in his
sufferings, becoming like him in
his death, 11and so, somehow,
to attain to the resurrection
from the dead. Philippians 3:
1-11 (NIV)
Rarely do you find a new convert that doesn't have an excitement for Jesus Christ. When we first
become a Christian we're "on fire" and as time passes we seem to lose that spark.
The words joy or rejoice are used 16 times in the book of Philippians. It has been said it could be
retitled "the book of joy." Paul seems to be concerned that the church was losing its joy.
PHILIPPIANS 3:1-11
"Finally my brothers, REJOICE in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write the same
thing to you again, and it is a safeguard for you." (vs. 1)
THREE SAFEGUARDS FOR KEEPING YOUR JOY
I. RESIST legalistic attitudes
Definition of Legalism: substituting rules and regulations for my relationship with Jesus Christ. It's
taking the focus off of what God has done for you and what you need to do for God. We have to
be careful that we don't separate those we witness to from Jesus Christ with a list of
requirements. There should be nothing between us and Him.
"Watch out for those who do evil, those dogs, men who insist on cutting the body. ...
We worship God by his Spirit, and rejoice in our life in Christ Jesus. We do not put
any trust in external ceremonies." vs. 2-3 (GN)
SAFEGUARD #1: Grace is the key to joy...(grace and joy have the same root in Greek.)
Paul's Background: vs. 4-6
5 Examples of legalism: Trusting in ...
1) Rituals. - We begin to trust in the rituals and not in Christ.
2) Heritage - Some of us trust in our families being Christians. You can get religion
by osmosis but you can't get Jesus.
3) Religion - Religion is our attempt to get to God but the Church(the body of Christ) is God's
attempt to get to man.
4) Rules - The Pharisees were not evil people, they were just trying to follow rules to the
extreme. They tried to get to God by rules and regulations. God loves us unconditionally. The
problem comes from thinking we can win points with Him if we just follow these list of
instructions. He doesn't have conditions, we do.
5) Reputation -
"For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness,
peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit." Rom. 14:17
II. REEVALUATE our activities. We focus on things that aren't important. Possessions, power
(verse 8) life consists of trade offs. Paul considered everything a loss...gave up his religion in order
to have a relationship.
"But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider
everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for
whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ... "vs. 7-8
"I consider it all mere garbage compared to being able to win Christ..." (Ph) What are you afraid of
giving up for God? What are you afraid is going to change?
SAFEGUARD #2: Keep your priorities in perspective. "Watch out! Be on
your guard against all kinds of greed. A man's life does not consist in
the abundance of his possessions. "Luke 12:15
III. REFOCUS our ambition. Lasting joy comes from knowing Christ better
and better. "I want to KNOW Christ and the power of his resurrection
and the fellowship of sharing in his suffering, becoming like him in his
death." v. 10 "For my determined purpose is that I may KNOW Christ —
that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately
acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding
Him more strongly and more clearly ..." (Amplified Version)
SAFEGUARD #3: Get to know Christ better. Grow in relationship with Him.
Sometimes we even put our Christian walk in front of Jesus Christ. We say
to Him, "Don't interrupt. I only have 15 minutes for prayer then I need to
work, or take care of the kids, or get these chores done." We squeeze Him
into our day rather than make Him a priority. We invest our lives in temporary
things. We look at reading the WORD as a chore. But would we react the
same if our spouse or loved one wrote us a letter? Would we consider it
a chore to read it? God's word is His good news to us, his love letter to the
church. If we took the time which we spend doing all these extra things and
invested it in Him, the reward would be far greater than we could imagine.
become a Christian we're "on fire" and as time passes we seem to lose that spark.
The words joy or rejoice are used 16 times in the book of Philippians. It has been said it could be
retitled "the book of joy." Paul seems to be concerned that the church was losing its joy.
PHILIPPIANS 3:1-11
"Finally my brothers, REJOICE in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write the same
thing to you again, and it is a safeguard for you." (vs. 1)
THREE SAFEGUARDS FOR KEEPING YOUR JOY
I. RESIST legalistic attitudes
Definition of Legalism: substituting rules and regulations for my relationship with Jesus Christ. It's
taking the focus off of what God has done for you and what you need to do for God. We have to
be careful that we don't separate those we witness to from Jesus Christ with a list of
requirements. There should be nothing between us and Him.
"Watch out for those who do evil, those dogs, men who insist on cutting the body. ...
We worship God by his Spirit, and rejoice in our life in Christ Jesus. We do not put
any trust in external ceremonies." vs. 2-3 (GN)
SAFEGUARD #1: Grace is the key to joy...(grace and joy have the same root in Greek.)
Paul's Background: vs. 4-6
5 Examples of legalism: Trusting in ...
1) Rituals. - We begin to trust in the rituals and not in Christ.
2) Heritage - Some of us trust in our families being Christians. You can get religion
by osmosis but you can't get Jesus.
3) Religion - Religion is our attempt to get to God but the Church(the body of Christ) is God's
attempt to get to man.
4) Rules - The Pharisees were not evil people, they were just trying to follow rules to the
extreme. They tried to get to God by rules and regulations. God loves us unconditionally. The
problem comes from thinking we can win points with Him if we just follow these list of
instructions. He doesn't have conditions, we do.
5) Reputation -
"For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness,
peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit." Rom. 14:17
II. REEVALUATE our activities. We focus on things that aren't important. Possessions, power
(verse 8) life consists of trade offs. Paul considered everything a loss...gave up his religion in order
to have a relationship.
"But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider
everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for
whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ... "vs. 7-8
"I consider it all mere garbage compared to being able to win Christ..." (Ph) What are you afraid of
giving up for God? What are you afraid is going to change?
SAFEGUARD #2: Keep your priorities in perspective. "Watch out! Be on
your guard against all kinds of greed. A man's life does not consist in
the abundance of his possessions. "Luke 12:15
III. REFOCUS our ambition. Lasting joy comes from knowing Christ better
and better. "I want to KNOW Christ and the power of his resurrection
and the fellowship of sharing in his suffering, becoming like him in his
death." v. 10 "For my determined purpose is that I may KNOW Christ —
that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately
acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding
Him more strongly and more clearly ..." (Amplified Version)
SAFEGUARD #3: Get to know Christ better. Grow in relationship with Him.
Sometimes we even put our Christian walk in front of Jesus Christ. We say
to Him, "Don't interrupt. I only have 15 minutes for prayer then I need to
work, or take care of the kids, or get these chores done." We squeeze Him
into our day rather than make Him a priority. We invest our lives in temporary
things. We look at reading the WORD as a chore. But would we react the
same if our spouse or loved one wrote us a letter? Would we consider it
a chore to read it? God's word is His good news to us, his love letter to the
church. If we took the time which we spend doing all these extra things and
invested it in Him, the reward would be far greater than we could imagine.
3 Ways To Grow In Knowing Christ
(Jesus) "Until now you have not asked/or anything in
My name. Ask and your joy
will be complete." John 16:14
1. Time - It takes time to develop a relationship. As
Christians we need to take time alone with Him
and spend time with other believers. We can't say
He's the most important and not devote our
time to Him.
2. Talk - If there is no communication, there is no
relationship. You may think you know Him but do
you listen to Him, commune with Him? How could
you turn prayer into a law, into drudgery, into a
chore? In a basic relationship how could it fair
well if there is no communication. It is a privilege
to talk to God, and prayer is how we communicate
to Him.
3. Trust - Relationships are built on trust. Trust comes
through experience, building a bridge of trust. He
wants to bring us through situations to teach us to
trust Him. We need to walk with Him day by day in
order to see that He is there when we need Him.
We need to learn to step aside and put our trust in
Him.
(Jesus) "Until now you have not asked/or anything in
My name. Ask and your joy
will be complete." John 16:14
1. Time - It takes time to develop a relationship. As
Christians we need to take time alone with Him
and spend time with other believers. We can't say
He's the most important and not devote our
time to Him.
2. Talk - If there is no communication, there is no
relationship. You may think you know Him but do
you listen to Him, commune with Him? How could
you turn prayer into a law, into drudgery, into a
chore? In a basic relationship how could it fair
well if there is no communication. It is a privilege
to talk to God, and prayer is how we communicate
to Him.
3. Trust - Relationships are built on trust. Trust comes
through experience, building a bridge of trust. He
wants to bring us through situations to teach us to
trust Him. We need to walk with Him day by day in
order to see that He is there when we need Him.
We need to learn to step aside and put our trust in
Him.
Do I put the doctrine of what I believe
over my relationship with Jesus Christ?
Do I trust in myself more than I trust in
God?
Do I see prayer and reading the word as
an obligation rather than a privilege?
over my relationship with Jesus Christ?
Do I trust in myself more than I trust in
God?
Do I see prayer and reading the word as
an obligation rather than a privilege?
We need to set a new goal in our
lives to KNOW Jesus Christ. We
need to take our guidance from
Paul. His number one ambition was
to know Christ.
(Philippians 3: 7,8 I consider
everything a loss compared to the
surpassing greatness
of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord)
lives to KNOW Jesus Christ. We
need to take our guidance from
Paul. His number one ambition was
to know Christ.
(Philippians 3: 7,8 I consider
everything a loss compared to the
surpassing greatness
of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord)
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