Putting Jesus Christ first Brings JOY

Everybody has problems. Good people have problems. Bad people have problems. The difference is: in the midst of problems, do you have the joy of the Lord? In the book of Philippians, Paul shares with us his secret to a joyfull life and this is by putting Jesus Christ first in our life. Do we have people who rival, compete, challenge, oppose and fight us today? Paul had, believe it or not, rival preachers and fellow believers falsely accusing him. In Philippians 1:15-17 it says, “Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ even from envy and strife, but some also from good will; the latter do it out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel; the former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, rather than from pure motives, thinking to cause me distress in my imprisonment.” They were jealous of Paul’s success and wanted to ruin his reputation to gain their own following. Others preached from good will or out of love. But in both cases they preached the gospel so they were not false preachers. How did Paul respond? Philippians 1:18,“What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice, yes, and I will rejoice.” The truth is a spiritually mature Christian holds no personal grudges or desire for credit or prestige. When people attacked Jesus personally and accused Him falsely, He remained silent and said nothing because He knew He was innocent. On the other hand, when people abused the house of God and misused people - Jesus spoke out against them in no uncertain terms. Jesus always did what He did because He loved God and He loved His people. He attacked evil and wrong head-on because it was destructive to those whom God loves but even in His correction, Jesus always acted out of pure motives and had no hidden agenda. Philippians 1:19-20 “For I know that this shall turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my earnest expectation and hope, that I shall not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness, Christ shall even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.”. Does the uncertainty of our future rob us of joy with worry, anxiety and fear? Paul was confident and hopeful of his uncertain future because it was anchored on two things. Paul’s hope was anchored on the reality of the power of prayer and limitless bounty of provisions from the Spirit of God. What we focus on is going to impact the way we think. If we want to be joyful, we’ve got to have right thinking. Attitude is a matter of deciding whether the cup is half full or half empty. Too often we look at life seeing only what we don’t have, rather than being thankful for what is ours. Sometimes we fail to realize that God wants to protect us. So we get angry and furious at God. Realizing that putting Christ first gives us confidence that He is sovereign and wants what is best for us even if we don’t see it now. We are nothing compared to God but like a telescope we can bring Him closer to people who do not know Him. As they see us respond to crisis in a joyful manner with hope and peace they will see Jesus magnified through our lives. Philippians 1:21, For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. For Paul, his life was centered on Christ, he lived for Christ; he served Christ; fulfilled the purpose of Christ; pleased Christ; everything was about Christ. That was how Paul saw the sum total of his life. We must change the definition of our life today. Christ cannot share first place with anything or anyone else. We are headed for disappointment if we can’t say, “I’m living for Jesus Christ! For me to live is Christ!” We must understand that all those other things we put first over Christ will surely disappoint us in the long run. Do we have the same attitude of confidence in death as the apostle Paul? We can, if we put our trust and faith in Jesus Christ and His promises. Those who know their time is near and have listened to some who have expressed an emotion of terror and fear in death while others anticipate their departure with joyous hope. Why? It is because one doesn’t have a relationship with Christ while the other has an intimate and personal relationship with Christ. Philippians 1:22-24“But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose. But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better; yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake. And convinced of this, I know that I shall remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy in the faith, so that your proud confidence in me may abound in Christ Jesus through my coming to you again.” The word “depart” is a beautiful picture word for dying and leaving this world. In the Greek language it is used to describe soldiers taking down their tent, packing up and moving on to a new location. Paul put priority in staying on in this world to serve his fellow Christians. They were important. As his trial was coming up shortly, he was convinced that he would be released. After he was released, he served others in ministry for 2 to 3 more years before he was put in prison one last time until his final death. He spent his last years in compassionate service to others. That’s true love for the lost! Knowing he would be imprisoned again for proclaiming Christ to others didn’t stop him in his mission and purpose in life. Just like Paul, when we sacrificially give our lives to others they will spiritually grow in their joy and love of Christ. Philippians 1: 27-30 “Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ; so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; in no way alarmed by your opponents-- which is a sign of destruction for them, but of salvation for you, and that too, from God. For to you it has been granted for Christ's sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, experiencing the same conflict which you saw in me, and now hear to be in me.” What benefit will come out of the Christian community when they are suffering? Many times, God will allow our suffering to change our desire. Suffering has a way of opening our eyes to see the reality that we are not going to live in this world forever. In the same way, Paul lived so that the church would glorify Christ. He didn’t care if he was in chains, if he had critics, if his circumstance was in crisis, if he was put in a coffin; all he really cared about was that Christ was preached, the church was strengthened and that God’s name was glorified. We must see life through the eyes and heart of God. We must put Jesus Christ first and foremost in our life so we can honestly say: “For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain.”