A Joy Unexpected - Part B

Psalm 37 says the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord will help me let that burst me to another part of the truth. The stocks of a good man are also ordered by the sometimes God says no no no sounds like the answer. I wanted an answer and it's a good answer. If God is God's know is as important as God's go. God often uses the most difficult and unlikely circumstances to carry out his purpose for your life. Connect with skip. I took today as he continues to look at Paul's letter of joy and hope to understand God sometimes puts roadblocks in the past that draw you closer to him. Stay tuned after the message is Skip his wife Lynn share how you can keep your eyes fixed on the Lord. When you face those roadblocks, God will go beyond just keeping us outlined in getting us through it, but he'll freely give us all things. I love that father who knows and cares and lavishes Thanksgiving. Be sure to stay with us after today's message to her the full description right now want to tell you about a resource that will help you live in the power of the Holy Spirit. Counselor comforter can't help her.

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Give online securely connectwithskip.com/offer joint today's teaching Philippians chapter 1 enjoys a funny thing. It's allusive to so many people. That is because joy is never found by direct pursuit, you might look for joy all day long. You will find joy is found by direct pursuit.

It's a byproduct.

You know in our Declaration of Independence. We have a few guarantees you, your guaranteed life, your guaranteed liberty in your guaranteed tell me the pursuit of happiness.

We have a country where people are pursuing happiness. The problem is nobody's finding it two thirds of Americans claim to be unhappy.

There are looking for happiness, but they are not finding because real happiness. True joy is a better term, is not found by direct pursuit. It's a byproduct of pursuing Christ and his will as long as you live for yourself and try to find peace and happiness and joy for yourself.

You never find you, be miserable to be hard to live with it. When you turn from your cell to an alien will who takes over your life and you live for him to find joy. See the more you do as you please. The less you will be pleased with what you do but when you say forget me. I want to serve him.

I want to be a bondservant of him byproduct of that is joy over in England. There's a great spot called Buckingham Palace. Buckingham Palace is one of the center landmarks and places to visit. It's the palace of the royal family will there's a flag is flown outside of Buckingham Palace called the Royal standard the Royal standard is the flag that is pushed up on the flagpole.

Never the sovereign is in residence in the palace of the Queens home flag goes up or picking Psalm depending on what era English history were talking about the Royal standard is flown. Think of joy like that joy is the flag flown over the Castle of your heart. When the king is in residence there. It's the batch. It's the sign of a bondservant, the king is residing in my heart.

So that's that that's the paradox, the author and his associate Paul and Timothy.

The dynamic pair but there's something else to notice and that is the difficult place verse one Paul and Timothy bondservant of Jesus Christ to all the saints in Christ Jesus, who are in Philippi with the bishops and the deacons that you know that Paul never wanted to go to Philippi. At least that wasn't on his plans was on his radar. He went there out of compulsion. Not because he said, I go to Philippi.

Philippi was a Roman colony. Not a big deal that he wanted to visit least right now on his second missionary journey.

His plan was to go through Galatia. He had Artie been there before, but then expand northward and southward. That was his plan but he got resistance know we got resistance from God. God resisted him going to the places he planned. God resisted Psalm 37 says the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord. Oh how we love that verse, but let me tell you another part of the truth. The stocks of a good man are also ordered by the Lord. Sometimes God says no. I've had people sick for months I've got no answer from God. If you have no sound like he said no sounds like to me was on the answer want. That's an answer and it's a good answer. If God gives it to you gods know is as important as God's go and Paul discovered that what I mean will limit read it to you this Zach 16 it said when they had gone to Phrygia and the region of Galatia. They were for by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia. That's God saying no. So they came to my Sierra and they tried to go to Bithynia, but the spirit did not permit them twice. God says no no can go there can go there so he's flummoxed he goes to a little place called Truax as which is a cool little beach town must've been much bigger than I visited there and he had Truax as it's a vision of a man from Macedonia saying come over to Macedonia and help us. My friend already skulls and the men from Macadamia but he is the man for Macedonia and he gets envision this man in the vision since come over to Macedonia and help us so he's come from a one direction they try to go nor try to go south.

He's come from our weight is only one way to go. There's a guy in his vision, saying, come over here and help us with a way And I got I think I wanted to go to. That's how it goes. This is this is interesting if you were to have interviewed Paul the apostle at that time and you would've said were you going Paul said I want you don't know what's the will of God for your life. You said I don't know.

I've got a clue.

You give the writer for two books in the New Testament.

Surely you know the will of God. Not today. All I know is twice that try to go places in God keeps shucking that door, but I got a vision from the man for Macedonia.

I guess I'm supposed to go over there. God said no and to Paul. He's now understanding God's know is as important as God's go because of closed doors. Okay, so he arrives in Philippi.

That's the chief city of Macedonia, Philippi, named after Philip of Macedon, the father of Alexander the great gets to Philippi and I bet he's looking for a man from Macedonia.

He had a vision of a man is looking around. This is going to see the guy that I saw my vision of a girl that look like a so he goes down to the river were told where women are gathered praying, where women gathered praying their Jewish women praying by River because there's no synagogue. None.

He often goes to the synagogue. That's restarts, but there's no synagogue because Jewish law said you had to have at least 10 Jewish men data synagogue was called the mignon. There was no mignon so they had no synagogue because there is no synagogue.

He could go to it and start preaching so he goes down to the river where women are praying. There's one woman named Lydia, who sold purple fabric from fire Tyra and the Bible says the Lord opened her heart to receive the word spoken by Paul, so she comes to Christ because of Paul's presence down at the river. I'm sure Paul is going okay well rough to start may not be a great start.

Usually get a lot more response than one check from fire Tyra down by River but there's no synagogue's All-Star without some things go from bad to worse cans up getting arrested beating up and thrown in jail. This sort of an old joke about Paula whenever you would go to a new town, he would say show me the jail.

I want to find out wanted to be spending the night. He spent a lot of time in jail a lot of nights in jail so he's in jail in stocks stretched out in pain. With his body and at midnight they sing hymns to God, an earthquake happens.

Stocks fall from his hands. The doors open. He ends up leading the Philippian jailer to Christ and his family. So we have a check down by River named Lydia and I jail guy to convert to become the seeds of this church that's going to grow soap all these years go by. Maybe even a decade goes by.

Right now the church at Philippi finds out Paul's in jail again, this time in Rome so they send him some money love gift to help support him.

He writes a thank you letter. Philippians is that thank you is a special relationship of love and he saying thank you and as they read it. They discover something unexpected and joy joy this guy who's had it so bad for so long is writing with such joyful terms unexpected joy Billy Sunday said if you have no joy there is a leak in your Christianity somewhere. If you have no joy there is a leak in your Christianity somewhere. I know I can hear all sorts of rebuttals you don't know what I've been truth is you don't know who. Certainly you don't know what circumstances I am under wait a minute, what are you doing under your circumstances we see as believers were told to rise above the circumstances.

That's where joy is, and Paul says we are more than conquerors through him who loved don't get under your circumstances. Get over on top of so this dynamic pair.

Paul and Timothy faced difficult places with difficult people.

So what are they do in their pain they found God's purpose. They found God's purpose so want to go from the dynamic pair in the difficult place to the divine purpose.

What is that purpose well it's hinted at at least again in verse one Paul and Timothy bondservant of Jesus Christ I watch this to all the saints in Christ Jesus were in Philippi where the bishops and the deacons sounds like they grown what started out as a woman by River and jailer and his family has grown into all the saints, a spiritual family with spiritual fathers, overseers, pastors and servants, deacons, in this case church is grown so that growth from all of his pain to see the church grow out of that unstrung is worth it all to him worth it all. I know that Chris read the next couple verse… Take a sneak peek verse three I thank my God upon every remembrance of you always in every prayer of mine, making request for you all is from the South. Apparently, request for you all with joy for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now being confident of this very thing, that he was begun a good working you will completed to the day of Christ. Here's the key here is one of the keys of Paul's life and is joy. Whatever negative experience he was facing and I bet I'm talking a few people are facing some negative experience. Whatever negative experience.

Paul was encountering. He was looking for how God was working something bad happen. He would think what's God up to.

He's up to something. This hurts this is painful.

This is horrible.

What's he up to. That's how he lived his life. Listen. When life happens unexpectedly, God is moving supernatural all believe that Belinda is always two sides of every event in your life.

There's the factual side of the event. But then there's the actual side of the event. There's the facts, the who, what, where, how, and you should know about what happened here. The facts, but then there's the actual side. Why why did this happen and so Paul lived his life looking around for the actual side of this event knew the facts, but what's the actual thing happening. Why is God allowing this. What's he up to where is the will of God found in this fabric of pain and suffering. In this case he'll discover that God uses Roman law. Appellate law, he appeals his case to Caesar, which gets him on a ship where he almost dies but doesn't which takes him to Rome, which puts him in jail for a long time.

But through all that, he discovers this is the will of God, and for that I'm joy for go to the will of God.

How listen and begin sneak ahead a little bit verse 12. I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me. It actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel you think of that statement. It only means when he says the things that happen to me falsely accusing Jerusalem thrown in jail in Caesarea bad trial after bad trial put on a green ship and taken to Rome locked up in a Roman prison guards. All those things that have happened to me at some bad have actually turned out to further the gospel and as we get into it. I'll show you how that happened to live 104 versus in four chapters dripping with pure joy amazing to think about a book of joy written by a guy who was once a killjoy is now become the apostle of joy. Now here's how to calculate your life. Here's how to think about your life. Here's how to get joy in any situation you take these elements in putting together you take a dynamic person by dynamic, I don't mean just means I'm saying and filled with the spirit that's dynamic view of life in you with dynamic means take a dynamic person saved and filled with the spirit place a dynamic person in a difficult place with difficult people, but have that person discovered the plan of God, and the result will be joy when you discover the plan of God in that difficult place. The joy may be quite unexpected and when it is, it's better that way I talk to people I know how to explain it. I this is the worst. My life, but I have such peace and such joy close to the story.

Tim Hensel writes about an 82-year-old man served as a pastor for 50 years.

They discovered skin cancer on this man that required 15 operations to maintain him 82 years old. Skin cancer 15 operations if they can there Be a threat of joy in the store. Let's Tim writes this besides suffering from the pain. He was so embarrassed about how the cancer had scarred his appearance that he wouldn't even go out.

Then one day he was given a copy of my book, you gotta keep dancing, in which I tell of my long struggle with chronic intense pain from a near fatal climbing accident in that book I told of the day when I realize that the pain would be with me for Her. So at that moment I made a pivotal decision. I knew that it was up to me to choose how I responded to it. So I chose joy after reading while the elderly pastor said he put the book down, thinking he's crazy. I can't choose joy, so we gave up on the idea then later as he read the Gospel of John chapter 15 verse 11 that joy is a gift and Jesus says I want to give you my joy that short joy may be complete. He thought a gift left. He didn't know what to do.

So he got down on his knees.

Then he didn't know what to say so I said well then Lord give it to me and suddenly as he described it this incredible hunk of joy came from heaven and landed on him. I was overwhelmed this old man wrote. It was like the joy spoken about in the book of Peter R joy unspeakable and full of glory. I didn't know what to say so I said turn it on, Lord, turn it on before he knew what he was dancing around the house pictured a zero got skin cancer dance runs out. He felt so joyful that he actually felt born again again in this astonishing change happened at the age of 82. He just had to get out there so much joy he couldn't stay cooped up so we went out to the local fast food restaurant got a burger lady saw how happy he was and asked how are you doing. He said all wonderful is that your birthday she asked, no, honey it's better now, it's your anniversary know better than that. Well what is it she asked excitedly. It's the joy of Jesus. Do you know what I'm talking about the lady just shrugged and answered no, I have to work on Sundays right over her head. She didn't get that crazy old man talk about the joy of Jesus. That's all she thought, but he didn't care.

He knew he felt he experienced a whole new way of living. The joy of the law, unexpected joy, unexpected joy when this case, you can expect joy if you're filled with life. The life of Jesus filled with the Holy Spirit, a dynamic person in a difficult place with difficult people discovering the divine purpose.

The result will be joy in the results of this letter, all 104 versus 103 left finger while will be joy that wraps up Skip a text message from his series, Technicolor joy now here Skip as they share what you can keep your eyes fixed on the Lord. When you face likes roadblocks today.

He reminded us that in every negative circumstance pop face type see God working behind the scenes or in situations and that that resulted in July says Skip what can we do to keep our eyes on the Lord during difficult times will have to struggle was in it.

I mean we all see the situations that are in front of us.

The key is to be able to see the Lord over the situation in front of us and there've been times. Frankly, that I have not kept my eyes on the Lord and I can think of certain specific instances and each time I suffered because I didn't keep my eyes on the Lord.

So if I think that there should be a key to that how I do that there there is, I think I think there's too versus both found in Romans and one is Romans 828. Most everybody knows that all things work together for good to those who love God and of the called according to his purpose.

The other one is a couple verses later.

Romans 832, where it says if God didn't spare his only son, but freely gave them go, gave him up for us, how shall he not then with him freely give us all things. So you know what is a promise of Providence right God will cause all things work together, he'll arrange things. The other is a promise of extravagance that God will go beyond just keeping us aligned in getting this through it, but he'll freely give us all things.

I love that that's a father who who knows and cares and lavishes.

I like it I heard you say recently got doesn't just want you to survive. He wants you to thrive and assist them of us may be on that survival mode. You know I'm hanging on by the hear my tinny tension and outlook.

Our low-power time God might sell much more Irish that don't let the circumstances cloud your view of the son he really is – he's going to shine through.

He's gonna break through in the circumstances. Give your faith foods by putting your eyes and think Skip this conversation to keep looking for genes that help keep with difficult encouragement coming in at impact you in your relationship with the Lord. Please consider giving gift today on the same way, just call 800-9200 922 to connect with.com/donate.com/thank you. Tomorrow is six years. Paul's letter about what Paul calls Skip presentation of connection to God's truth ever-changing time