Welcome to Healing Scars with Pastor Burton. Here you'll find practical, relevant, biblical information.
The Bible will be broken down verse by verse so that you get the full context of the scripture to better grow in your relationship with Jesus.
Hey everybody, welcome back to the sanctuary. It's great to have you with us as always and if this is your first time tuning in, welcome!
So today we're going to continue through our series on joy. We're actually going to be wrapping it up today.
And we're going to continue to look through the different forms of it as we find joy in the book of Philippians.
Alright, now so far we've already looked at three different types of joy. Alright, we've looked at the joy that's found in those turbulent times.
We've looked at the joy that's found in serving others. We've looked at the joy that's found in our faith or beliefs.
Alright, and today we're going to look at the joy that is found in giving.
Now don't worry, I'm not going to ask you to give us anything. I'm not going to guilt trip you or pressure you.
As you know, we don't ask for a quote unquote traditional offering and that is a topic for another time.
Alright, so with that said, let's dive in.
So for those with the Bible or an app or if you're just taking notes so you can look it up later,
please join me now as we turn to Philippians chapter four and we're going to kick it off with verses one through three.
So that's Philippians four and we're going right to the very beginning there in verses one through three.
Alright, now the Bible says, Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown,
stand firm in the Lord in this way, dear friends. I plead with Eudaea and I plead with Syntyke to be of the same mind in the Lord.
Yes, and I ask you, my true companion, help these women since they have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel,
along with Clement and the rest of my co-workers whose names are in the book of life.
Now, of course, depending on where you live, I probably butchered their names a little bit. I did the best I could.
Moving on. Alright, so much like we've seen before, we're starting with a therefore.
Again, you know, this book was not written as a book. It was written as a letter, you know, and this is just kind of fragmenting up the sections there.
So the therefore here, it means to take into account the things that have already been covered in this letter while moving forward.
Alright, so don't forget those things. We see Paul continuing to also use words of empowerment towards, you know, brothers and sisters in Christ,
which we should all do. We're also being told to stand firm. Alright, now what does that mean? What does it mean to stand firm?
Well, it means to be steadfast while surrounded by negativity. Alright, but we're surrounded by temptations and slander and false teachings,
you know, and doing the things that the word tells us to do, even when the world is saying that we should be doing something else.
Basically, wrapped up in a nutshell, let's do the right thing for the right reason, even when it's not popular. Right.
And when it comes to Christianity, often times things that we do are not popular.
See, we remain steadfast by remembering to follow Christ and to maintain our faith in Him, not our own works, alright, not the stuff that we do,
but in Christ and Christ alone. Alright, and that's what Paul is calling out when he was speaking of these two women.
See, they had broken relationships, right? They were at odds. And, you know, we can have faith and we can do great things
and try, you know, doing our best to carry out the Great Commission. However, when we start buying a bit too much into ourselves,
you know, and we become critical of others, you know, we forget that the different parts of the bride of Christ have different tasks
and carry things out differently. We all like to think, you know, that we have the best ideas and it's, you know, our way is the way.
And, you know, that's not always the case. Matter of fact, quite often there's multiple ways to do it because we all think differently.
We all have different ideas about how to do things and how to approach things. So we can't just think that we have the best and only way.
Right? We can't be conceited like that. We have to all learn from one another. So we have to be patient, you know, and we have to communicate
with each other and we have to be willing to compromise on certain things. You know, that's part of how we learn.
You know, often it's one of these areas, if not more, where we fail and we end up in conflict with other people.
We let our pride step in and then things just, you know, they boil over and we end up at each other's throats. We fall into sin. Right?
We are hearts hardened and we have a lot of hate and discontent in there. So, you know, it's when we're able to put ourselves and our pride to the side
and work together, serving the body of Christ that we find true joy. You know, those moments when we give of our time, when we give of our understanding,
you know, and we give our attention, you know, these are all things that have real value. Right? So, you know, people who like to take this little section
and twist it into, you know, a sermon on, hey, you need to give us money. No, that should be a red flag. You know, giving is so much more, you know,
I'll remind you even back then, you know, giving it wasn't all money, it was animals and, you know, livestock. So I'm going on.
So we're going to go back into the read here in verses four through nine. So Philippians four verses four through nine, the Bible says,
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again. Rejoice. Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your request to God and the peace of God,
which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true,
whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy,
think about such things, whether you have learned or received or heard from me or seen in me, put it into practice and the God of peace will be with you.
All right. Now, I'm going to kind of back it up here. There's a little section there. It says by prayer and petition, you know, depending on what translation you're reading,
that might say supplication. So that's that's what the meaning is, is petition. All right. We see repetition here, right? Right out the gate.
So, you know, anytime you see something repeated, it's a good indicator that it's probably important, right? And it is, you know, you know, to rejoice,
in order to feel great joy or delight in something. So, you know, here, of course, we're talking about rejoicing in the fact that the Holy Spirit is within you.
Not only that, but he will complete us and fulfill his purpose through us. Right. Christ is our ultimate source source of joy.
So when we look anywhere else, that's when we start losing that sight of it. Right. You know, I always say, you know, like I always say, you know, it's not.
Don't focus on the storm. Focus on Jesus or you'll sink. You know, we've seen that. That's biblical. Right.
We lose. We lose that joy when we start treating others unfairly as well. You know, it's not just with unbelievers.
It's, you know, it's not just with the people that we see in church services or volunteering. It's not just our friends or family.
It's how we treat everyone. You know, everyone that includes nonbelievers as well.
You know, I remind you, we don't have a God of chaos, hate and discontent. We have a God of peace, love and order.
First Corinthians 14 verse 33, the Bible says, for God is not a God of disorder, but of peace, as in all the congregations of the Lord's people.
We are called to love everyone seeking to one up someone or get retribution being overly vocal, being demanding.
These are all the ways of the world. These are the ways of Satan. Second Corinthians four verse four, the Bible says, Satan, who is the God of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don't believe.
They are unable to see the glorious light of the good news. They don't understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.
See, don't fall into the enemy's traps. The way we try to avoid that is we don't work in the same ways of the world.
We're told to go into the world, but not be of the world. I'm not saying you can't get frustrated. You can't. Even Jesus got frustrated.
There are times that we're to give our love, regardless of how hard it may be. When we're frustrated, it's really hard.
But these are times where it's really crucial that we put our best foot forward and not let it get the best of us.
We have to take our frustration to the Lord in prayer so that he can ease our burden.
I'm not saying he'll take it all away, but he will definitely ease the process.
The Bible says he won't give you more than you can handle without having a way out, which is leaning into him.
It's not that you won't get more than you can handle. It's by getting there that you lean into him and he eases that burden so that you can handle it.
He's there with you. He wants to be a part of it.
Verse 7 here, we're being reminded that God's peace is not the same as the world's either.
The world will tell you it's good vibes or those positive thoughts or avoiding conflict, which is not.
It's not that. It's not good vibes that's garbage or just having positive thoughts that's garbage.
As much as we like to say, keep it positive all the time, sometimes things are going to come up and it's like, oh man, you have to work through it.
Avoiding conflicts. Hey, it's nice, but sometimes you just can't. We're not ostriches.
So get your head out of the sand. You can't be like an ostrich, sticking your head in the sand and waiting for it to go by because those troubles aren't going to pass you by.
You have to face them at one point or another. The good part of it though is we don't have to do it alone. Christ is with us the whole time.
People forget this and that's when they start turning to substances, alcohol and drugs, sex and all this stuff as a way to get their mind off of it and change their focus or to forget about things.
But no, eventually it's going to catch up to you. Christ is with us the whole time. Lean into him, trust in him.
God's peace comes from trusting in him and knowing that he will work all things to his glory.
And that includes doing what is best for you. Remember, we're citizens of heaven. We're just here on a missions trip. This is not our permanent home.
We also need to protect our minds from the garbage of the world.
Some of you may remember the old computer science acronym, GEIGO. This is real popular back in the 80s. It stands for garbage in, garbage out.
And our minds are no different. We have to be aware of all the garbage that the world tries to push on all of us and not buy into it.
Paul tells us to train our minds on what's pure and noble and true and right. We know what's right. We know what's pure and what's good.
We need to make sure that we're filtering out all the bad things, the garbage and the nonsense of the world and not giving it a place to live in our minds.
If you recall, it's been a little while, but I've spoken about illusory truth effect in the past.
Now, illusory truth effect. This is when you hear or you say something enough times that you start to believe it.
It doesn't make it actually true. It's just that you hear it enough that you start to believe it.
Now, I'm probably going to hurt some feelings here, even though it's not my intention.
However, I am going to give you some examples of how this works.
So basically, you know, someone's told that they're dumb enough times. Eventually, they're going to start to believe it.
You tell somebody that they're worthless over and over and over. Eventually, they're going to start to believe it.
You know, we see this a lot in the world of abusive relationships.
It's a common tactic of abusers and a big reason why their victims don't leave, you know, because they sit there.
They tell me you're worthless. You're horrible. You know, they they do all this stuff to him.
And they tell him you're lucky you have me. I'm the only one who can take care of you.
And, you know, they hear it enough. They start buying into it. And it's not just there.
We see it in so many places. You know, we see it blowing up in the world today.
Even, you know, you say you're a girl enough times, even though that's not how you were born, you start to believe it.
And vice versa. You know, let me tell you, God did not make a mistake when you were made.
You were perfectly made in his plan. And he loves you. So stop listening to the world.
You know, we've all heard the saying about insanity. You know, insanity, you know, the quote that's out there is, you know,
doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.
Well, stop listening to the world because that's what the world is doing.
It's just finding new ways to do the same thing over and over again. And when you listen to it, you guess what?
You know, things go wrong. We see that constantly.
So stop listening to what the world is saying and expecting a different result.
Instead, start listening to what Jesus is telling you.
So picking back up in Philippians, Chapter four, we're going to look at verses 10 through 13 now.
So Philippians four, verses 10 through 13.
The Bible says, I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me.
Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it.
I'm not saying this because I'm in need, for I have learned to be content.
Whatever the circumstances, I know what it is to be in need.
I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in every situation,
whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.
I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
So let me ask, how content are you in your life?
Do you give thanks more than you ask for things?
Do you praise more than you complain?
Think about that for just a moment.
Paul knew what it was to have everything at his fingertips, and he knew what it was to have nothing.
Yet regardless of the circumstances he found himself in, I'll remind you,
when he was writing this, he was actually in jail.
So he wasn't in a pleasant place.
Yet he was still able to find joy because he found it in Jesus.
And because of that, he also found joy because he continued to give of what he had.
Now there were times where all he had to give was to share the gospel.
Yet he shared it and he found joy because that's what Jesus does.
That's how he works. He renews our hearts and he lifts our spirits even in the hardest of times.
This is a great reminder of why we need to read for context and not just take things at face value.
It's the difference between reading the Bible and studying it.
And I bring that up because all too often we see things in the Bible,
like verse 13 here, taken out of context or used as a type of like a sales pitch, right?
You know, all the time we see it out there, oh, I could do all things through Christ.
I could do it all. Right?
And it's used in this just overhyped sense.
It's like it's going to give you super powers, right?
Some supernatural strength in doing things.
And that's not what it means. It doesn't mean you're going to get to have super powers.
You're not going to get to fly like Superman.
You don't get to simply make a ton of money because you know of Christ.
He's not an ATM. He's not.
What it means is that when we step out into the world, when we walk in faith
and we're doing his will, not ours, his right, because that's the key.
All things in his to his will, to his glory.
When we step out into the world in faith, doing his will, he will sustain us through it all.
He will be with us. He will be encouraging us.
He will be empowering us every step of the way, whether it's two steps forward or one step back
or having to overcome a tremendous just obstacle that's in our way.
You know, Jesus, he's not a genie. He's our friend.
John 15 15, the Bible says, I have called you friends for all that I have heard from my father.
I have made known to you and a friend is there for you, empowering you just like this.
It's what he's doing, right?
Like I said, you know, it's not this superhuman thing that's taken out of context.
Like, oh, you can move mountains. OK, yes, you can move mountains,
but it's going to take a whole lot of time and you better have enough money to get a tractor,
fuel that tractor, maintain that tractor, because that's the tool you're going to be using the whole time.
You're not just going to be able to go out there and you're not God.
You don't have that power. It's not what that means.
So read for context. Very important.
Going back into the Philippians, Chapter four, verses 14 through 19.
So Philippians four, 14 through 19, the Bible says, yet it was good of you to share in my troubles.
Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel,
when I set out for Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving,
except you only, for even when I was in Thessalonica,
you sent me aid more than once when I was in need.
Not that I desire your gifts. What I desire is that more be credited to your account.
I have received full payment and have more than enough.
I am amply supplied. Now that I have received from Epaphroditus,
the gifts you sent, they are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God.
And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.
See, the joy is found in giving. And sometimes it's hard to give,
especially when you're looking at bills and debts and all the other needs that need financial support.
Yet while Paul was jailed, the Philippians, they gave out a love and concern for him.
They wanted to ensure that he was provided for and that he had the things that he needed.
And here's the difference. They gave with a joyful heart. They gave because they wanted to.
It was not out of sense of duty, but of love.
And this is in contrast to the people of Corinth and really how most people today give.
Now, if you recall, when the Corinthians tried to get the Paul,
he refused anything and everything from them so as not to blemish the church.
Because he didn't want anyone to think that he was only there preaching in order to take their money.
Whereas, you know, before I even go to this next part, you know,
the concern was that they would be like, OK, he's just there for the money.
And so they're like, OK, well, we're here. You know, we're being told that we have to give.
So let's give. You know, it's like how much? OK, here we go. I've done my part.
It wasn't out of joyful heart. It was not a love. It was because they felt like they were obligated. Right.
And that's why he said, no, no, no, that doesn't serve God. That doesn't please God. Take it back.
It's only when we give of a joyful heart, which is where the contrast comes in to play.
See, the people of Philippi, they were totally opposite.
They wanted to make sure that he can meet his needs. They were concerned about him.
Right. You know, this is somebody that they care deeply for.
So, you know, they knew, hey, you know, we don't have to do this, but we want to do this.
And so that's why they did it. And that's why he accepted it.
You know, because that's what is good and pleasing to God.
When we give, it benefits us just as much as it does who we give for.
You know, whether you're a parent giving something to your child, you know, or buying a meal for a total stranger out the street.
When we give of ourselves, it's not the gift that makes the greatest impact.
It's the intent and the spirit behind it, the love that shines through it.
You know, over the years, a lot of people have been credited with saying at the end of the day,
people won't remember what you said or did. They will remember how you made them feel.
Now, these words hold true, though, right? Because it really is.
It doesn't matter how small the act of kindness is.
The impact of your giving absolutely has the power to be tremendous, tremendous.
I'm going to share with you a story. This is this is this really happened.
And I don't share this to boast because the credit itself really does all go to Jesus.
The number of years ago, a summer, I'm walking into the grocery store and sitting just outside the entry.
It's kind of a shaded area. There is a guy. He is clearly down on his luck.
You know, he could tell you is homeless, is badly sunburned.
And he's just sitting there in the shade. He wasn't asking anybody for anything. He wasn't holding a sign.
He was simply sitting in the shade and basically trying to escape the summer heat.
And of course, here in New Mexico, you know, we're well known for some pretty, you know, gnarly temps during that time of year.
The temperature is just sore. Now, again, he wasn't asking for anything.
He wasn't even trying to engage with anybody. And I didn't try to speak to him.
You know, it's just like, OK, cool. And I walked in the store.
Now, as I'm entering the store to buy my groceries, I suddenly felt it on my heart.
I needed to buy him some water, some Gatorade, some food and some sunscreen. Right.
Just some little things. So I went ahead and I got it.
I wanted for it all to be bagged separately. And on my way out, he was still there.
So I stopped and I gave him everything that I bought for him.
You know, and at first, you know, I'm going to give it to him. He's like, no, no, no, I can't afford this. I can't pay you for it.
So, you know, and I told him he didn't need to.
That I'd felt it on my heart that he needed these things and that I hoped that would help him.
He said thanks. He shook my hand and then disappeared with everything off to the side of the building.
Now, of course, when you do things like this, it felt you know, it feels good.
And in that moment, it felt good. I could see the joy in it, you know, in his eyes and the thankfulness.
But the story doesn't end here. You see, from here, I did like everybody else. I took my groceries to my car.
I loaded them up. I returned my cart and then I hopped in my car.
I was heading to leave and I'm driving around the side of the store to the street so I could go home.
You know what I saw? The same guy standing at the side of his car.
And you could tell that this family was living out of his car.
He's standing there. He has a big smile on his face.
He's dividing up all the food that I just given to him with his family who were all sitting inside of this car.
Like I said, it appeared quite easily to just be their home.
I didn't know any of that was happening. I just happened to come around the corner.
Oh, you know, this is all the Lord at work. It was the Lord who placed it on me.
I simply answered that call and I was happy to do so. It didn't take much time.
It didn't cost much. It's just like I need to do this. OK, cool.
And what initially appeared to be a small thing turned out to be much bigger.
And that's how God works. And for me now, it's still a fond memory to reflect on. Right.
It's not on us to understand his plan. It's just on us to execute the parts that he gives us and to do it joyfully, happily.
Oftentimes we don't get to see the impact. We don't get to we don't we don't know if it's big.
We don't know if it's small. We don't you know that the fact that we don't see it, though, doesn't mean that the impact is not there.
You pour a bottle of water into a lake. You can't see that water anymore. Right.
You just see all the water for the lake. That doesn't mean that everything that you just poured in is gone, though, does it?
It's just there. It's doing what it needs to do.
It's not it's not on us to know to to know what's going on.
That's for the father. All right.
Again, you know, that's my boy. That's all his. That was all him.
All right. So let's let's look at our last few verses here in Philippians four verses 20 through 23.
The Bible says to our God and father be glory forever and ever.
Amen. Greet all God's people in Christ Jesus. The brothers and sisters who are with me send greetings.
All God's people here send you greetings, especially those who belong to Caesar's household.
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ will be with your spirit.
Amen. All right. Now, not all texts say amen there at the end.
All right.
Paul is recognizing that there's Christians all over the place and that the church is growing even there, you know, in the ranks of, you know, of Caesar's guard as well.
Because, of course, you know, what's he doing is continuing to preach and to to share the good news with the people he comes in contact with.
You know, he's reflecting that, you know, he's in community with Christians there in Rome, you know, and basically saying, you know, from from that part of the church family to the to theirs, you know, they're they're sending their greetings to Philippi, you know, as another part of the Christian family.
You know, the thing to keep in mind here as well is, you know, what's really beautiful is the fact Paul was not condemning in this letter.
Instead, he was giving thanks, you know, and then also reminding the church to be on lookout for issues that may arise so that they wouldn't be divided.
You know, it's we see we see that a lot.
A lot of churches, they end up split, you know, or even shut shut down because of division.
So, you know, Paul was warning him, hey, be on the lookout.
There's things that are out there that are going to try to divide you, you know, be prepared to address them.
You know, so, you know, as we've learned, there's a lot of joy to be found all around us, you know, and really at the core of it, it's Jesus.
It's always Jesus.
He's our comforter.
He's our biggest advocate.
He knows that we're going to face troubles.
But we don't need to be caught up in them.
You know, what we see is just it's such a small piece of the puzzle.
And, you know, he's going to ensure that we get through everything that opposes us as long as we keep our faith in him.
And he will bring us joy that surpasses all understanding in the process.
So, remember, you know, when we speak of joy and we talk about the joy of giving specifically, it's not saying, hey, you've got to give money.
You don't.
But you have so much more to give, you know, whether it's a shoulder to lean on or cry on or an ear, just someone to talk to, you know, those things mean a lot.
You know, if you can see somebody out there and, you know, they're down on the luck, you don't give them, you know, and don't brag about anything.
You know, the Bible even tells us, you know, you know, give you to the right so your left doesn't know and all that.
You know, it's you know, keep it to yourself.
You know, if he gives an example to teach others with, you know, like I did today.
Great. But, you know, just make sure that when you do that, you're pointing the way to the Lord because it's not you.
It's the Lord.
We're just the tools that he uses to reach those that are in darkness and in need.
Right. And that's that's how people see his looks.
They see it through you. They see it through me because that is the Holy Spirit within us, guiding us and working through us, which is just another joy.
Right. As I say, there's so much out there to just be rejoiceful for.
It's wonderful. So with that said, remember you are loved and you are a blessing.
Now go and be the church.
Thank you all for joining us here today at Healing Scars with Pastor Burton.
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God bless.