The Joy and Freedom of Serving [Part 1]

Pastor author and Bible teacher Alan Wright close saying is tremendous confidence and trust in the Lord keep trusting God is going to set them free buddies saying essentially if God doesn't set me free. I'm still going to praise him and I want you to rejoice with me, that's faster at right welcome to another message of abuse that will help you see your life in a whole new life. I'm Dino Britt excited for you to hear the teaching today. In the series. Unspeakable joy as presented at renewal the church in North Carolina. If you're not able to stay with us throughout the entire program I want to make sure you know how to get our special resource right now. It can be yours for your donation this month to Alan Wright Ministry as you listen to today's message go deeper as we send you today's special offer. Contact us at pastor@an.org or call 877-544-4860 that's 877-544-4860.

More on that later in the program but now let's get started with today's teaching here is Alan writing good news. Your problems don't define your what God is done in Jesus Christ defines you the predicaments, males and travails as world are not what defines who you are.

God does that. And that changes everything.

Where in Philippians and we are today in chapter 2. This is one of those instances where perhaps in your English translation. You may have a division of verses that starts a little bit differently than one that I read today translators when they are making decisions about putting subheadings and sections of Scripture. Those are just interpretive decisions. And so it varies from Bible to Bible an effort to come to help you read Scripture and sections but I think most scholars agree that this section of Scripture flickers to extend beginning at verse 19 should begin in verse 17 and it actually extends to the first part of the first verse of chapter 3. So there I am. Philippians 2 verse 17 Paul writes even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith. I am glad and rejoice with you all. Likewise, you also should be glad and rejoice with me. I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to send so that I too may be cheered by news view for have no one like him will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. They all seek their own interest, not those of Jesus Christ.

But you know Timothy's proven worth. How is a sign with a father who served with me in the gospel.

I hope therefore send him just as soon as I see how it will go with me and I trust in the Lord to shortly. I myself also, I thought it necessary to send you a Pepperdine is my brother, fellow worker and fellow soldier in your messenger to minister to my need for is been longing for you all and has been despite distressed because you heard that he was ill.

Indeed he was ill near to death. But God had mercy on him and not on him, but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow. I am the more eager to send him therefore that you may rejoice at seeing him again that I may be less anxious. So receive them in the Lord with all joy and honor such men, for he nearly died for the work of Christ risking his life to complete what was lacking in your service to me.

Finally my brothers, rejoice in the Lord, former chaplain of the Senate and Presbyterian pastor Lloyd Ogilvie Alonso, speaking at a conference I was and he mentioned that years ago. He was at a conference where everybody on day one was given a little button and the button said I've got one you got one to answer by one around what is it that everybody had. I have one you going to and it wasn't until the middle of the conference of the leadership finally revealed the answer is a problem, thereby's got a problem. Fido really said sometimes he would just tested out by maybe season we had seen a long time acquaintance and every talk as they say that thing work out and or or might just say has everything going on that situation. They said it nine times out of 10 the status of my gauntlet what you talking about they go, how did you know about that yeah will imitate was going home because any given time. Right. I've got one you got one to get problems all God's children face problems. Life has problems. Sometimes you got a lot of problems.

Sometimes you don't have as many problems but your problems. I had a problem this week and that was I spent time in this text and this is the text that is part of the discipline of just going right through Philippians and looking at each and every verse of this epistle, but after spending a good bit of time studying this I learned that I could teach you a lot about who Timothy is and his servant Harton I could teach you something about what the context was with a Pepperdine us and what was going on with that and how wonderful these guys are as good servants and I just started thinking this is going be one of his messages. That is about half her life was a good servant, Timothy was a good servant you want to be a good servant hello and I'm just going Lord I'm a gospel preacher, not a good advice giver and there's a big difference.

Isn't there come into a text and just coming up with a moralistic message.

Timothy was a good servant and faithful to Paul a Baffert -itis was a good servant traveled all that distance got really sick and had he was such a one a faithful servant, hold these people and honor when you serve, you will be held in honor as well. Let me give you three key ingredients of being a good servant. No, I just not that I'm not I ever preached. No, I just don't want to preach something like that because the gospel is a message of good news of what God has done for us in Jesus Christ is an announcement that is accompanied by power it says of its self with the power of God rests in the proclamation of this astounding gift that is been given the power of God poured out through the resurrection and the giving of the Holy Spirit in our lives so that we might be transformed from the inside out destined to change the world, seated with Christ blessed with every spiritual blessing in him empowered by the Holy Spirit to do the same things that Jesus has done and I got a text is talking about Timothy in a Pepperdine is and what good guys they are like I'm going put in my will and do this until finally I go back and forth back and forth and it's now. I mean I'm running out of time this week. My wife is in the bedroom reading I Joanne I just throw myself down the bed as in honey, I got nothing. I said read this text, what is there in this text. Show me where was this so she reads it couple times and she said you know what you need to do. I said what she said you need to expand your text that gives her in later as they did as I got nothing was going on.

They said that just change your text and I'm sorely tempted to just like now I'm going to go over some juicier than this we mean something where we need a word from the Lord is that no one will stick with this text is a word on every page of Scripture for us and I can do what is it in, and finally she said you know when read this policy has some real life stuff going on here.now I said yeah and he's catlike and he rejoices anyway as again and I stuttered and went back and read it with new eyes.

And I came to this conclusion. At least this is a word the Lord has for us today. This is an autobiographical section of this wonderful epistle were basically if you asked the question what is Paul talking about here. It finally dawned on me. This is the apostle full of the Holy Spirit, soaked through and through with the gospel. This is Paul talking about his problems. This is how you can talk about your problems. Our talk today about the relationship of our problems and our praise because there's a lot of confusion I think for Christians in this matter and end going through this, we'll talk about what's really going on with Paul, make fun of some of the ways that we try to deal with our problems or talk about our problems, especially as Christians and look at the deep rich gospel answer to this so this message is become how Christians talk about their problems in the context of their praise and talent right will have more teaching in a moment. Today's important series actually is a delight reserved for those who have no problems or have you ever assume that some people are just born with a joyful personality, so get ready for some good news. Julie is afraid of the spirit available to all in Christ, no matter the circumstances of life there. Paul was in jail when he read his epistle to the Philippians he spoke of joy 16 times matter what you're going through. You too can discover the secret to unspeakable joy as pastor at NYPD through a life building exclamation I Philippians when you make a gift to sharing and light ministries today Singin the new CD album the secret and unspeakable joy as our way of saying thank you for your partnership. Your gifts are the only way we are able to continue broadcasting the message of grace all over the nation. Happiness may rise and fall with happenstance that Julie is either present in the spirit to become a partner today and discover joint like never before. We are happy to send this to you as I thanks from Alan light ministries, seven 877-544-4860 877-544-4861 come to our website pastor out.like today's teaching now continues here once again is Lou Holtz was the one I heard say it probably was original with him, a famous football coach.

He said don't talk to anybody about your problems because 90% of people don't want to hear it and the other 10% are sorta glad you got that old joke, it's irreverent and so it's about preachers out therefore gives me permission to tell it but it's a caricature in the tell you why telling it it it points out some of the caricatured ways that we might do other problems. The old joke goes something like this E3 preacher wind up in hell. One of them as well as doomsday preachers. It was always preaching guilt and shame and sand and do and the other preacher. One of them was a televangelist and the other was Wally's just positive thinker kind of preachers and all kinds of hell.

The devil got frustrated with him because came to the first guy the doomsday guy and he overheard him saying, well, and I don't feel bad about being here because like always said this world going to hell and now he will go. They'll get frustrated with the televangelist because they realize televangelist had raised so much money bought an air condition system that it is a joke goes it comes to the positive thinker and the devil frustrated with him because this guy just walk around going.

It's not hot and I'm not here.

It's not hot like that little picture of the caricature of some of the ways that we can try to use our praise and our faith to deal with problem in a wrong way. That's not the way Paul does anyone my first. I might call it, trying to use your praise to sorta promote the problem. This is where you met people like this is almost like they thrive on the crisis or enjoy somehow talking about what a wretched sinner, they are or somehow exist by the continued sharing of their problems such that it's not a mere form of honesty, but it is more of a way of life to just think about talk about the problems, the problems, the problems, the problems and as we get older our bodies sometimes have problems and when I was a youth patch, my very first job as senior pastor.

I worked under, and he was talking to me about visiting with people and now that I am becoming older, I'm allowed to say this, that he said beware of the organ recital know if the organ recital is we've all done this or how are you well loam up kid music on most of the heartbeats floated bladder control problem you go through all our exactly. This is like some I asked you how are you doesn't go through your mind like what answer do you want right now and so that's what I'm talking about here is that there's a little part of what Lingle says is right to solicit all our problems all the time but we have to be able to walk in the light of season lines or has to be a place where we target our problem so the first is I would say some people think of their their opportunity to speak of problems as a way to promote those problems. And there are a few questions that I have met over the years that they seem to act like they're more spiritual because of the things they suffer through Jesus suffered I'm suffering me tell you how much I'm suffering and yet when you do this, have you found it to be true. The things that you talk about talk about talk about and think about think about think about you magnify the second way that some people talk about their problems is the use their praise to pretend they don't have problems so for first person is promoting a problem to others, pretending it doesn't exist. How are you you know is undone about we Christians talk about me. We can just be so going through hard things ended. But it's just camouflage with our our languages so spirit well, praise God praise God everything just fine. Praise God hallelujah praise God will I know, I thought I heard you fell and broke her hip will praise God I got another hip but I heard you got to have a total hip replacement air praise God praise God get me a new hip that be wonderful. Praise God is just wonderful. But I heard heard that you, your dog died. Well, praise God.

Dogs go to heaven to praise God when in need that dog anyway. Pray as you like. All I mean praise God to but it some point, can we just be odds with each other. We got some problems we can talk about this from front one caricature and that is promote. The problem is another character and that is pretend you don't have the problem and is one of the weights on you see Christians will try to ask about their problems and that is the think that they can prevent their problems have enough praise have enough faith in you could just prevent these bad things from happening to you and this is tricky because blended. I believe that praise has some power to when Joshua walked around the walls of Jericho and on the final day according to the instruction of the Lord lift forth a shout. I know was God that brought down the walls not to shout but that was a picture of praise wasn't and there is a way in which, when you praise God in the midst of your adversities. There are some walls that come down so this is tricky for me to talk about because the one hand I want to say your praise has power to it. In the midst of the things you go through but it is not to say that somehow your faith in your praise is a magic wand that makes you under some sort of sorcerer who can control things we are Christians we are not which doctors we are children of God, of a loving heavenly father, but he is in charge and our praise has a power of breaking through many of the strongholds and deceptions in our lives, but it doesn't mean that God has given you. Therefore, some capacity to be able to avoid having problems because if that were the case, Paul wouldn't still be imprisoned in talking about his problems. If that were the case Jesus witnessed that in this world you will have trouble know we're going to have problems in this world and our praise in relationship to those problems is something that is very powerful but that praise doesn't prevent us and make is immune from having those problems.

There is another word. Nothing in the word that says having a positive attitude will make your life, subject to no problems, but having the positive attitude in Christ and praising God will make a difference in the midst of your problem. So what's going on the call goes. Paul's here and he's not promote news problems. You can barely tell is even talking about and he certainly is not thinking that he didn't have any problems that he could somehow just denied all or as if he's got some kind of power in himself to just make them all go away is more real than that. What's going on with Paul here is you look closer at this tax season prison and we think it's probably in Rome and just remind you the incarceration of Paul is because of an event that happened way earlier in Jerusalem in which he was even guilty of anything, but he's waiting to hear the verdict and will he be released or will he potentially be executed. So the first scene understand about Paul is that he is aware that this could end up resulting in his death and that's why he says in verse 17 and 18. If I were to be poured out like an offering what he's given an image of their is that there is a chance that he might have to die.

But if he does, even in that he sees it is he's going to be worshiping God and elsewhere in Philippians Paul talks about the possibility of dying is very interesting in this epistle. That's all about joy. He's not afraid to talk about death is what he saying is, essentially, this he saying I trust him will be Allison Timothy to you soon, and he says in verse 23, I hope, therefore, to send him. In verse 24.

I trust in the Lord. I surely myself will also be able to come what what he saying is, I believe, and I'm trusting God that I'm going to be set free from this prison will be Allison Timothy and that I myself will see you again but is also saying but even if I poured out like an offering still rejoice with me, and rejoice in the Lord.

So he's talking about his problem of his imprisonment. But you see how he speaking of it here.

He speaking of it in the context of the ultimate assurance of being with Christ and that pervades the whole Philippian epistle when he says I hope to be able to send Timothy to you soon. He's talking about his dearest friend in the whole world. We know that Timothy was a believer from early on in his life he was influenced by his believing mother and his believing grandmother don't really know much about the father Timothy is a colleague and partner with Paul and he is like a spiritual son to him using a bookmarked year as we continue in joy and freedom of serving this teaching pickup next time. Part of our series, unspeakable joy and I encourage you to stay with us.

Alan is back in a moment with additional insight on this life. In today's final word you sold it seriously and constantly desires to label the rights. Julie is an elusive dream reserve for select who have no problems or for those who were born with a joyful disposition actually joins the fruit of the spirit available to all in Christ, no matter what you're facing. You can have the joy of the board mixed the apostle Paul.even his epistle to the Philippians mom and praising Julie 16 Ehrenreich's newest album, the secretive and speakable Julie chapter by chapter 3 Paul's explanation of the secret of joy when you make a gift to data sharing and right to be delayed new CD out on my way.

Thanks for your partners come apart and discover the secret unspeakable joy. We are happy to send this to you as I thanks from Alan Wright Ministries, seven 877-544-4860 877-544-4861 come to our website past Rowan.like we talked about it before there is joy in serving and sometimes week we get those things confused but really it's it's when you when you have been given the freedom and you're just saying I have great pleasure and joy in serving Jesus. It really is something until you've done it and walked with Jesus you don't experience it well at me and as part of the great principle of Jesus is more blessed to give than receive an the fact of the matter is that in the very act of giving of our lives in the very act of serving we are being blessed and were learning today about the freedom that comes with self forgetfulness greatest joy in life is not when we are all absorbed about our our own situation when we free from that.

That's really when we are at our best is when we are really our most joyful and this will if you only caught part of today's teaching.

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