The Illusion of Control: Why Joy Cannot Be Decided

• Joy in Suffering [00:30:33 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor introduces the theme 'Joy in Jail' and states the intention to shift the congregation's perspective to see how joy emerges from difficult life circumstances.
• Philippi and Paul's Ministry [00:30:36 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor outlines the sermon series context, focusing on the ancient city of Philippi, Paul's relationships there, and the historical context of the city as a Roman colony of honor.
• Peace of Jerusalem [00:32:02 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor pauses the sermon to lead a specific prayer for the ceasefire in Jerusalem and the advancement of God's kingdom among Jews and Muslims.
• Historical Context of Philippi [00:35:18 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor details the founding of Philippi by Philip of Macedonia, its status as a Roman colony for retired generals, and its culture of honor and the Pax Romana.
• Paul's Imprisonment and Joy [00:36:58 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor explains that Paul wrote Philippians from a Roman prison, not the one in Philippi, and discusses how Paul found joy and purpose in his imprisonment rather than seeing it as random bad luck.
• Community and Ministry [00:38:16 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor highlights that Paul did not minister alone, using Epaphroditus as an example of brotherly support and shared anxiety/joy in ministry.
• The Gospel and Social Inversion [00:43:56 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor contrasts the Pharisee's prayer of thanksgiving for not being a woman, slave, or Gentile with the events in Philippi where a woman, a slave, and a Gentile were all liberated by the gospel.
• Theology of Joy in Hardship [00:47:01 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor introduces the 'hits' of Philippians, focusing on the theme of joy in jail, hardship, worry, and anxiety, culminating in the declaration that living is Christ and dying is gain.
• Christ-Centered Living and Gain in Death [00:47:42 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor argues that whether one lives or dies, the outcome is positive because life is for Christ and death is gain through being with Jesus.
• Suffering and Perseverance [00:49:02 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor lists Paul's sufferings (stoning, shipwrecks, beatings) to illustrate how he learned to keep his eyes on Jesus despite worldly trials.
• Joy vs. Grumbling [00:50:40 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor transitions to Philippians 2, urging believers to do all things without grumbling or disputing, finding joy in Christ rather than complaining about a crooked generation.
• Forgiveness and Letting Go of the Past [00:55:10 ▶️ 📄]
  > Using Philippians 3 and the example of Paul forgiving himself and others for the murder of Stephen, the pastor emphasizes that joy requires forgetting what lies behind and receiving God's mercy.
• Endurance Through Christ [00:58:14 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor reinterprets Philippians 4:13 not as a promise for personal success, but as the strength to endure all circumstances through Christ.
• Forgiveness [01:00:30 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor discusses the necessity of forgiveness to overcome unforgiveness and find joy, citing biblical and historical examples.
• High Christology [01:04:18 ▶️ 📄]
  > Reads Philippians 2:5-11 to establish the theological basis for humility and exaltation, linking it to the believer's experience.
• Salvation and Repentance [01:06:09 ▶️ 📄]
  > Issues an invitation for non-believers to receive Jesus and find joy through repentance and faith.

• Sermon Illustration [00:12:06 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor shares a personal anecdote about meeting a man at dinner who had been attending the church for a couple of years but hadn't met anyone, using it to encourage the congregation to take responsibility for welcoming newcomers.
• Sermon Illustration [00:30:36 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor recounts his personal history of starting his ministry by preaching in jails in the 1980s, which serves as a bridge to the sermon topic of 'Joy in Jail'.
• Sermon Illustration [00:33:19 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor describes his recent trip to the ancient ruins of Philippi, showing pictures of the amphitheater, the Agora (marketplace), and the excavated prison cell where Paul was likely held, to provide historical context for the sermon.
• Sermon Illustration [00:45:27 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor shares a personal anecdote about taking his son to see Bon Jovi twice, emphasizing the desire to hear 'the hits' (famous songs) rather than new material, using this as an analogy for focusing on the key theological points ('hits') of the book of Philippians.
• Sermon Illustration [00:41:53 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor recounts the historical events in Acts 16 in Philippi: the conversion of Lydia (a woman), the casting out of a demon from a slave girl leading to Paul and Silas's imprisonment, and the conversion of the Philippian jailer (a Gentile) after an earthquake, highlighting the inversion of social/religious norms.
• Sermon Illustration [00:53:16 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor shares a humorous anecdote about joking with his wife Shari about writing a book after they die to name names of crazy people they encountered in ministry, noting his default mechanism is anger but he must learn not to excuse it.
• Sermon Illustration [00:56:01 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor recounts the historical account of Saul (Paul) standing by and giving approval to the stoning of Stephen, the first Christian martyr, illustrating the difficulty of forgiving oneself for past sins.
• Sermon Illustration [01:00:30 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor references Corrie ten Boom's testimony of having to forgive Nazis who abused and tortured her in a concentration camp.
• Sermon Illustration [01:01:07 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor references the Charleston church shooting at Mother Emanuel, where nine members were murdered by Dylann Roof, noting the congregation's initial kindness and the subsequent call for forgiveness.
• Sermon Illustration [01:00:30 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor recounts the story of Corrie ten Boom, who had to forgive Nazis who tortured her in concentration camps.
• Sermon Illustration [01:01:21 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor shares the story of the Charleston church shooting, where victims' families forgave Dylann Roof, quoting Nadine Collier's statement: 'If God forgives you, I forgive you.'
• Sermon Illustration [01:02:56 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor mentions Erica Kirk forgiving the man who murdered her husband in front of her children.

• Pastoral Charge [00:12:54 ▶️ 📄]
  > Attendees are commanded to introduce themselves to people they see regularly but do not know, to facilitate connection and relationship building.
• Pastoral Charge [00:42:05 ▶️ 📄]
  > Read Acts chapter 16.
• Pastoral Charge [00:45:16 ▶️ 📄]
  > Implicitly, the pastor is instructing the congregation on the theology of joy found in Philippians, urging them to embrace this perspective.
• Pastoral Charge [00:49:30 ▶️ 📄]
  > Adopt the mindset of fixing eyes on Jesus and accepting that He is sufficient regardless of worldly circumstances.
• Pastoral Charge [00:51:29 ▶️ 📄]
  > Choose to live with joy rather than engaging in constant complaining, disputing, or arguing within a crooked generation.
• Pastoral Charge [00:54:19 ▶️ 📄]
  > Stop excusing angry or argumentative behavior as merely 'personality' and instead rely on the Holy Spirit for patience and kindness.
• Pastoral Charge [01:06:09 ▶️ 📄]
  > Invite non-believers to receive Jesus and ask Him to take control of their lives.
• Pastoral Charge [01:06:39 ▶️ 📄]
  > Instruct those needing salvation to pray a specific prayer of faith and repentance in their hearts.
• Pastoral Charge [01:07:27 ▶️ 📄]
  > Instruct new believers to locate a cross in the room and inform a ministry team member that they have prayed the prayer of faith.

[00:06:23] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[00:06:23] Now is our opportunity to do this together. We're going to sing about the King.

[00:06:59] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:06:59] Everybody, hey, can we put our hands together for the Lord? Come on, y'all can do better than that.

[00:11:28] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]
[00:11:28] Come on. Come on. Father, we are grateful, grateful for your presence. Ask God, not that you need invitation. We want to open hands, open hearts, extend to you an invite to come be with us today
[00:11:43] in every aspect of what we're doing, our singing, our hearing of your word, our celebrating of So baptisms are giving all of it, God, for you.
[00:11:50] And so, Holy Spirit, be with us, guide us, strengthen us in Jesus' name.
[00:11:54] And everybody said, amen.
[00:11:56] Hey, my name is Riley.
[00:11:57] I'm one of the pastors here, and I'm pumped that you guys are here today.
[00:12:01] It's good to see everybody.
[00:12:03] I want to tell you a very brief, brief, brief, brief story.
[00:12:06] I met a guy on Friday night at dinner.
[00:12:08] My wife and I were having dinner.
[00:12:09] He's like, I've been at New Spring for a couple years now, and I just haven't really met anybody.
[00:12:13] And I had the thought, well, I'm going to be on stage on Sunday, and I'm going to be welcoming everyone here and welcoming folks that are here for the first time or maybe second time,
[00:12:21] or maybe you've been here for two years and you haven't met anybody yet.
[00:12:23] And here's what I want to tell you.
[00:12:25] It's not just, we do, at Guest Services, we want to meet you if you're new here, but it's not just my or these people's responsibility to make folks feel welcome.
[00:12:34] How many of y'all know it's our response?
[00:12:36] Can y'all say our?
[00:12:38] Our responsibility to make folks feel welcome.
[00:12:41] And here's another thing I know.
[00:12:42] You sit by folks every week and you don't know their name.
[00:12:46] Yes.
[00:12:47] Shake your heads if I'm, I can see y'all.
[00:12:50] Alex, I just saw you nod your head a little bit, okay?
[00:12:52] So here's what I want to encourage you to do today.
[00:12:54] Before you leave, if you see somebody that you're like, I see you all the time, but I don't know your name, shake their hand, say hello, say good morning, introduce yourself.
[00:13:01] And if you're like me, maybe you forgot their name.
[00:13:03] They'll show you grace.
[00:13:04] But we want this to be a church where you can get connected quickly and build deep relationships.
[00:13:09] Amen?
[00:13:11] So right now what we're going to do is we're going to sell, who needs some good news?
[00:13:14] Anybody need good news?
[00:13:16] Raise your hand if you need good news. Okay. This portion of our service every week, we call it the good news portion of our service. And so I got some good news for y'all today. We got some baptisms
[00:13:26] we're going to celebrate. That's good news, right? So I want y'all to get ready to celebrate these baptisms. And Alan, tell us about what we got going on, man. Yeah. Thank you, Riley. I am really

[00:13:35] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:13:35] excited for today. You know, baptism is one of those things that we're commanded in scripture to embrace and celebrate. And the reason we embrace and celebrate is because it is welcoming people officially into this family that they have declared that they want to be a part of.
[00:13:49] Matthew 28 says that we're to go and make disciples, we're to teach, and we're to baptize.
[00:13:54] And then Ephesians 2 goes on to tell us that baptism is a result of salvation, which is by grace alone. So this is an example of us receiving the grace of God. And we sort of today bookend
[00:14:07] my own home life in terms of the ages of these boys. I'm here with my good friend Anders.
[00:14:12] Anders, I would love for you to read a little bit of your story to our people.

[00:14:18] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_09]
[00:14:18] Jesus in my heart on the 30th, 2023, on the porch, I said, God, please come in my heart.
[00:14:34] I'm ready for you to be the boss of my life.
[00:14:40] I know I'm going to go to heaven one day.

[00:14:44] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:14:44] That is so good.
[00:14:45] Anders we all need a boss of our life that is so good so hey I have a couple of questions for you okay have you repented of your sins and trusted Jesus Christ alone for salvation do you commit
[00:15:03] to follow Jesus as your Lord all the days of your life yeah church I have a question for you guys do we commit to support and encourage our good friend as he chooses to follow Jesus all the days
[00:15:19] of his life? If so, can we respond together? We do. Did you hear that, Anders? So listen, you have your family like your dad right here. Now you have all of this family. So I have one more question
[00:15:30] for you. Who is your Savior and Lord? Jesus Christ. Anders, it's upon your profession of faith that Jesus is your Lord, that your dad now has the honor of baptizing you in the name of the Father,
[00:15:42] the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Buried with Christ through baptism and raised to walk into a new life. Anders, so good, buddy. That was great. All right, Petey, get in here. Man, I love y'all.
[00:16:01] I'm so glad I have. This is special. All right, Pete, you ready? Anders set a high bar. All right,

[00:16:13] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]
[00:16:13] Pete, I want you to read us your story. I've grown up going to church my whole life. When I was in sixth grade, I thought I got saved a fuse. I didn't know what it meant at that time to be
[00:16:22] saved and I didn't fully believe that I was. A few months later my mom passed away due to breast cancer. Her death led my dad down a long dark path of addiction. I was so angry with God asking him
[00:16:34] why me and those events led me to just go through the motions of church and I never want to go to actually go to church. I never thought I would feel I never thought I would feel a true connection
[00:16:49] with God. Even after my dad got clean, I never felt one. At Gauntlet this past year, I did. During group time on the second night, my leader Chase shared his testimony with us. His sounded very
[00:17:00] similar to mine. He shared Romans 10 9 that says, if you confess with your mouth and believe in your heart that Jesus is Lord, you will be saved. All of that sat really heavy on my heart, so the next day
[00:17:11] I raised my hand after the service and gave my life to Christ. Being saved has been one of the best decisions I've ever made. It has changed my life in the best way possible. Today, I'm publicly

[00:17:21] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:17:21] proclaiming my faith through baptism. So good. Man, I have a couple of questions for you, but before I say it, man, I am so proud of both of y'all, and Sabra would be so proud of both of y'all, and I can
[00:17:40] see her smiling right now. So I have a couple of questions. Pete, have you repented of your sin and trusted Jesus Christ alone for your salvation? Do you commit to follow Jesus as your Lord all the
[00:17:53] days of your life. Yes. All right, church, do we commit to support and love Pete and Bill as they continue their walk with God? If you do, please respond by saying, we will. All right, so this is
[00:18:06] family for you. So Pete, I have one final question for you. Who is your Lord and Savior? It's upon your profession that Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior, that your Father has the privilege
[00:18:17] of baptizing you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, buried with Him in death and raised to walk in newness of life.
[00:18:26] I love you guys.

[00:18:32] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]
[00:18:32] That's awesome.
[00:18:34] Hey, ushers, you can go ahead and move.
[00:18:36] We're getting ready to pass the baskets.
[00:18:37] I wanna point back to something that Anders said just a minute ago.
[00:18:42] What we're getting ready to do is we're getting ready to give.
[00:18:44] And one of the reasons that we give is because what that young man said is he, I was on my porch and I asked God to come into my heart and be the what?
[00:18:51] The boss of my life.
[00:18:52] Did y'all hear him say that?
[00:18:54] When we give, what we are saying is, God, you are boss. And so I just want to challenge you to follow the example that that young man said, to let God be the boss of
[00:19:07] everything in your life. And one of the ways that we're able to do that is through giving, which is why we pray this prayer every week. It's a way to posture our hearts so that we are saying,
[00:19:15] God, you are boss. So let's put this up on the screen. Let's read this together out loud. Almighty God, everything we have comes from you. You are our source, our strength and our provider. With open hands and expectant hearts, we bring our tithes and offerings, not out of duty,
[00:19:33] but out of delight. Use them to bless others, to fuel your mission, to shine your light in dark places, and to move your kingdom forward. You are worthy of our trust, our resources, and our praise.
[00:19:47] Amen. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen. Let's worship together. Yes, everybody, we acknowledge that he

[00:19:55] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_11]
[00:19:55] his boss come on let's sing this together his name above every name your name is the highest your name is the greatest your name stands above them all above all thrones and demands all powers
[00:20:18] And positions your name Stands above them all Jesus, your name Is the highest, your name Is the greatest, your name Stands above them all Above all thrones And dominions, all powers And positions your name
[00:20:48] Could you just take a few seconds in your own heart, in your own way, just to say, Jesus, you are leader, you are boss.
[00:21:06] I follow you.
[00:21:07] My hands, my heart, my mind is open.
[00:21:10] I worship you with all of me.
[00:21:12] I say that your name is above every name and everything is under your feet.
[00:21:16] Can we sing that again?
[00:21:17] Your name.
[00:21:19] Jesus, your name is the highest.
[00:21:23] Your name is the greatest.
[00:21:26] Your name is above them all, above all thrones, and dominions, all powers, and positions.
[00:23:27] Come on, would you just say his name, Jesus?
[00:23:37] because of this jesus all of our hearts affection minds attention is on you and you alone god today is yours come on church would you sing this with me because you deserve it because you are worthy
[00:24:10] no one more worthy on my attention on my devotion because you deserve because you are worthy no one more worthy all my devotion come on because you deserve it because you are worthy no one more
[00:24:34] worthy all my attention all my devotion because you deserve it because you are worthy no one more worthy lay everything down at your feet jesus every care every worry every burden we crown you king again come on y'all all my attention all my devotion because you deserve it because
[00:25:18] you are worthy no one more worthy all my attention all my devotion because you deserve it because you are worthy no one more worthy church sings this together we put our hands together and give
[00:27:16] god praise jesus you are king you are leader of this house we love you we give you honor and praise today these next moments together god we give you all of us we lay things aside and we
[00:27:30] open our hands to receive what you have for us today before you guys take a seat we have some exciting news to share with y'all uh josh and taylor bull by the way here in anderson my neighbors
[00:27:43] They launched a church this past couple of weeks ago.
[00:27:47] So you guys take a seat, check out what God's doing in their lives.

[00:27:49] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]
[00:27:49] Hello, everyone.

[00:27:57] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:27:57] Hello, New String Church fam.
[00:27:59] It's Taylor and Josh.
[00:28:00] Josh Bull, all the way from Melbourne, Australia.
[00:28:03] And we just had the very first Sunday of our brand new church, the church that you have been praying for, believing for, financially sowing into, Society Church launched today.

[00:28:15] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]
[00:28:15] It was amazing.
[00:28:16] And I'm a little lost for words that hundreds of people came and gathered with us, we saw salvation.
[00:28:21] It was amazing, people putting their yes on the table to join this church, a brand new life-giving church here in Melbourne.
[00:28:27] And there's no way this would be possible without our New Spring family, that essentially you guys raised us, trained us, developed us and sent us.
[00:28:34] And so please know from the depths of our hearts, we say thank you.
[00:28:38] You have church family on the other side of the world here in Melbourne.
[00:28:42] We can't wait to be with you in the flesh soon enough to hug you all and say thank you.
[00:28:45] But we are so grateful for what God is doing here in Melbourne.

[00:28:48] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:28:48] It was like being in a miracle today, watching people who had never set foot into a church come into the doors of this church and experience Jesus, experience His love, experience His goodness.
[00:28:59] People who hadn't been in church in years come back because of an Instagram ad.
[00:29:04] I mean, the stories are miraculous, and I feel like it's just the beginning.
[00:29:08] So thank you for helping make this a possibility.
[00:29:11] We are celebrating.
[00:29:12] We believe heaven's celebrating.

[00:29:13] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]
[00:29:13] This is a special moment for the kingdom.

[00:29:15] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:29:15] Yeah, people have found hope, And this church journey, yeah, wouldn't be possible without you guys.
[00:29:20] So we love you.
[00:29:20] You are our family.
[00:29:21] We got to celebrate New Spring today and the kingdom partnership it is.
[00:29:25] But God is good and we are so grateful.

[00:29:28] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]
[00:29:28] This is just the beginning.
[00:29:29] So thank you guys.

[00:29:34] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[00:29:34] Hey, can we celebrate all across the state for what God is doing to build His kingdom through the generosity and the team effort of our church.
[00:29:41] What God is doing right now on the earth is unprecedented.
[00:29:44] I know you're feeling it.
[00:29:45] And as a church, we wanna be a part of what God is doing.
[00:29:47] I did a study back in college. Some of y'all may remember Experiencing God by Henry Blackaby. And that great theology that came out of that book was find where God is at work and join him in that
[00:29:59] work. And that's what we're doing as a church. We are now halfway to our church planting goal in our 2030 vision. Five churches are now in the earth that were not here before. And we have been
[00:30:10] as a church, you as a church member, as a part of this body, have been able to send out and support these men and women that are leading these churches, bringing people into the kingdom for salvation
[00:30:22] and discipling them so they can follow Jesus.
[00:30:25] Can we make sure right now that we are careful to give God the glory for what he's doing in the earth right now?
[00:30:31] We give God the glory.
[00:30:33] I'm very, very excited about this message.
[00:30:36] We are preaching through these cities where Paul had not only relationships, but friendships where Paul wrote letters to people regarding the church And this City to City series has been a fantastic series so far. Today, we're going to visit the
[00:30:53] ancient city of Philippi. And if you are taking notes, here is the title of that message, Joy in Jail. Joy in Jail. I actually started my ministry in jail back in the 1980s. I was not
[00:31:09] incarcerated. I was actually preaching in jail. And so when I think about jail, I don't typically think about joy, but our perspective is going to get shifted today, and we're going to see how joy
[00:31:20] can come from the hardest, most difficult parts of our lives. Let me show you the map that we've been looking at in this series. First of all, I want to point out Philippi. If you look all the
[00:31:30] way up to the top, the pink circle, that is the ancient city of Philippi. That region is called Macedonia. That ocean below it is called the Aegean Sea. We see Thessaloniki, and then further on there's Rome, the capital basically of the entire known world. And then right down here,
[00:31:51] we see Jerusalem. This gives you an idea of where these churches were located that Paul had relationships with. And I just want to pause right now for a moment and ask us as a church,
[00:32:02] matter of fact, I just feel led by the Spirit. I want to pray right now for the peace of Jerusalem.
[00:32:08] I wanna pray right now that the ceasefire will hold.
[00:32:12] I wanna pray right now for our brothers and sisters in Christ and those who don't know Christ, both Palestinian and Jewish.
[00:32:21] We're gonna pray what Jesus prayed, pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
[00:32:25] Lord, I just feel prompted to do this right now to call our church together to pray.
[00:32:31] Lord, we are thankful for the ceasefire and we pray that it sticks.
[00:32:36] But more than that, we pray that the kingdom of God would advance, that our brothers and sisters would have opportunity to be bold in their faith.
[00:32:47] Lord, I pray that Jews and Muslims alike would hear the gospel and realize that Jesus Christ is Messiah, that there is life and forgiveness, that there is forgiveness in the gospel.
[00:33:01] And Lord, this is a miracle that only you can do, but in our lifetime, may we see the kingdom of God come in the Middle East like people have prayed for for generations. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. So as you see this particular map,
[00:33:19] I want you to remember this is where the New Testament church got started. Today we're going to be looking at the city of Philippi. I want to show you some pictures of the ruins of the
[00:33:29] ancient city of Philippi. I took these pictures along with my wife Shari just a couple of weeks ago. It was my fourth or fifth time visiting. And here we have the amphitheater and in the distance
[00:33:39] we have the Macedonian mountains. And if you'll look in the foreground, you can see there's a gate right there in the middle. That was the ancient gates to the city of Philippi. And then this amphitheater was a place that seated folks and still to this day, they even perform concerts
[00:33:54] there. This next picture will show you what we call the Agora, that middle part there. That was the marketplace. That was where Paul would proclaim the gospel. That was where Paul also worked in many of the cities that we've already talked about, that we've already preached about.
[00:34:11] Paul would go into these cities and he would find a place to do his own craft. He was a tent maker, worked with his hands, probably a leather worker. We also know that in this city, Paul would then
[00:34:22] go see where these columns are right here behind me, about where I'm standing is where Paul would have probably been held at trial before he was locked up in prison. And we know that in this
[00:34:34] particular city, Paul was jailed. This next picture is a picture that is an excavated prison cell in the city of Philippi. We had a chance to visit this. Many of our New Spring folks were there on
[00:34:49] this trip with us. And then this next picture is actually the jail cell. You can see it there on the sign where many believe Paul was actually held in jail in Philippi. That was a real city.
[00:35:03] Those ruins are there today as a testament marking this book, this book of Philippians. But more than that, this place where the gospel took root. Now let me give you some background. Let's talk about
[00:35:18] the actual city of Philippi. What was that city known for? Well, it was founded by Philip of Macedonia in 356 BC. You may not know who that is, but I bet you've heard of his son, Alexander the
[00:35:34] Great. So Philip was his dad and Philip was a prominent Greek leader. And he founded that city there. We also know that Philippi was a prominent Roman colony, and it was inhabited by retired Roman generals and soldiers. Now that's important. It's important for us to get the context of this
[00:35:57] city of Philippi, especially with this theme of joy in jail, because this was a city of honor.
[00:36:04] so all of these Roman generals and all of these Roman soldiers would have fought in battles they would have won great glorious victories for Rome their job was to keep the Pax Romana that's Latin
[00:36:20] for the peace of Rome and after they had served their military service they looked around for a place they could go and retire maybe get a part-time job to stay busy and Philippi became one of those places where prominent, well-known, famous, revered, respected, honored Roman generals
[00:36:40] and retired soldiers would have gone to live out the rest of their days. That's some of the historical information about this city of Philippi. Well, let's talk about the letter that Paul wrote to those believers in the city of Philippi. Here's some information about
[00:36:58] the letter. This letter was written by Paul from prison in Rome. Now don't be confused. Jail is sort of a theme in the life of the apostle Paul. We just saw a picture of a jail cell that they
[00:37:14] believe Paul may have actually been held in, but that jail cell was where he was in prison in Philippi, but he's writing this letter to the church in Philippi, not from that prison cell, but from a prison in Rome.
[00:37:28] He wanted to go to Rome his entire Christian life.
[00:37:31] He prayed that God would let him go to Rome so he could share the gospel.
[00:37:35] And I believe eventually so that even Caesar's household would hear about the resurrection of Christ from the dead.
[00:37:40] And that prayer was answered for Paul but not in the way he had hoped.
[00:37:45] I don't think had prayed God put me in jail in Rome but he had learned that wherever God placed him and whatever assignment God gave him, He was going to receive it and use it, knowing that with God, nothing is random and even bad
[00:38:02] things can be used for God's good plans. Also, this is one of four letters written from a jail cell. He's written four of his epistles from jail, and it was hand-delivered by his brother in Christ,
[00:38:16] Epaphroditus. Pause here. I want to show you that Paul did not do ministry alone. He did not do ministry by himself. He wasn't a one man show. He did ministry with his brothers and sisters.
[00:38:32] And the fact that he mentions Epaphroditus here, even that Epaphroditus was sick and almost died, causing Paul great anxiety, great anguish, great worry. It actually becomes one of the themes of this book that in the face of anxiety and worrying about one of his coworkers in Christ, he could
[00:38:54] have joy knowing that God was in control. And then we see that there are themes in this book, humility, thankfulness, and joy. Those are the themes. Let me pause right here. I want to get
[00:39:08] some crowd participation. I got a few more things to say, but I want to just ask, when you think about joy, I'm just going to ask this room right here, and I know every campus you can be thinking
[00:39:17] in your mind, what brings you joy? No wrong answers. I'm going to point to some people. I like to mix it up. Who wants to raise their hand right now and have the courage to tell me what brings you
[00:39:28] joy in your life? My man right there, just talk loud. Your two-year-old? Praise God. Oh, I remember those days. My two-year-old is six foot five and he's sitting right there and he's 20. Jojo, you still bring me joy. Amen. Thank you. Anybody else? Raise your hand. Yes, right here in the
[00:39:48] green shirt. Food. You're speaking my love language. It's one of my spiritual gifts. Yes, right here in the glasses. School. Okay. Okay. No wrong answers, but not everyone can relate to that. That's what grade are you in? You're in the seventh grade. Praise the Lord. What a special
[00:40:10] spiritual gift God has given you. I love that. One more. Let's get one over here. Anybody on this side want to tell me what brings you joy? Yes, ma'am. Your first cup of coffee. I was hoping
[00:40:20] somebody would finally get to the gospel this morning and you took us there. There is nothing that gives me more joy than that first sip of dark black coffee, the same way Jesus drank it
[00:40:32] in the Bible. I can't prove that, but I've got a theory, okay? When we think about joy, it could be your team wins a game. It could be a date night with your husband or your wife. It could be taking
[00:40:44] your kid to school and praying with them before they get out of the car. When we think about things that bring us joy, we typically, I know in my mind, I think about good things, wholesome
[00:40:53] things, things that make me feel good. But in the book of Philippians, by the way, the only book where Paul had no correction for his brothers and sisters, there's nothing negative here. But the background to this book is that he finds joy in the most unlikely place. And if the gospel of
[00:41:14] Jesus Christ can't provide us joy in the midst of suffering and pain and even jail, then the gospel isn't worth it. But because the gospel does supersede all of the hard things we go through
[00:41:29] and gives us strength to survive and endure and do whatever God has called us to do, even in the midst of struggle, hardship, pain, suffering, and death, we know that the gospel is worth it all.
[00:41:42] Now let's talk about the events that took place in the city of Philippi. Shari and I get to lead these trips about once a year. And it's so amazing when we get to trace these events in Acts chapter
[00:41:53] 16. And we taught on this and we are teaching you on this. And I don't have time to go through Acts 16 today, verse by verse, but I want you to read it because there are some amazing things that
[00:42:05] happened in the city of Philippi. First of all, there is a conversion of a woman. Her name is Lydia. And Lydia was actually the first European convert. The first church ever planted in Europe on the continent was planted right there in Philippi. As a matter of fact, a couple of weeks
[00:42:22] ago, while we were there, we went to the place where Lydia was there when the apostles were praying and she becomes a follower of Jesus. And it's called the Ganges River. And I actually got
[00:42:31] to baptize a new believer in that river right there where tradition says Paul met Lydia. Paul and Silas are also arrested and imprisoned, and they have a miraculous experience where they are freed in the middle of the night. And why were Paul and Silas arrested and put in jail in Philippi?
[00:42:51] Because there was a slave girl in that city possessed by an evil spirit, and by the name and the power of Jesus, they cast that evil spirit out of her. And the people who owned that slave
[00:43:04] girl and made money off of her prophesying from the place of evil and demonic oppression got angry at Paul and Silas and had them arrested and put in jail. So there is a woman, there is a slave.
[00:43:17] And then thirdly, there's a conversion of a Philippian jailer and his entire family. There's a miraculous jailbreak that happens that night, except nobody escapes from jail. The earth begins to shake and the chains fall off of Paul and Silas and the other prisoners. And the jailer is going
[00:43:34] to take his own life. He doesn't want to live with the dishonor of having lost these prisoners.
[00:43:39] But Paul says, wait a minute, don't harm yourself. We're all still here. He shares the gospel. That man becomes a believer. Why do I bring up these three major events from the city of Philippi?
[00:43:50] Well, I think that this will blow your mind.
[00:43:53] I know it blew mine when I first learned about this.
[00:43:56] Did you know that when the Pharisees would pray, the Pharisees were basically the rulers, the specialists, the experts of all things religious law in Israel.
[00:44:08] And when the Pharisees would pray every day, they had a prayer book.
[00:44:10] Some of y'all are following along with us during the daily Bible reading plan that we have on our New Spring app.
[00:44:17] And so imagine that or like our daily bread or my utmost for his highest.
[00:44:22] They had a prayer book called the Siddur.
[00:44:25] And the Pharisees would pray every single day from that prayer book.
[00:44:28] Do you know the prayer that Pharisees would pray every morning?
[00:44:32] Every day without fail, they would thank God.
[00:44:34] God, I thank you that I am not a woman, a slave, or a Gentile.
[00:44:43] And right here in Acts 16, right here in Philippi, what do we see?
[00:44:49] we see a woman, a slave, and a Gentile liberated by the gospel of the resurrection of the Son of God. And if that doesn't make you want to say amen, you need to pray for another touch from
[00:45:03] the Holy Ghost this morning. That is why there is joy in this jail cell from Rome, writing back to his brothers and sisters, and he's instructing them on some things.
[00:45:16] so now that we've looked at the city and we've looked at the letter and we've looked at the events now let's do a little tour of the hits let's look at the hits you might be like Clayton
[00:45:27] the hits what are you talking about I'm talking about live music y'all I'm talking about your favorite band I'm talking about Bill Nickers you know who Bon Jovi is don't you I saw Bon Jovi
[00:45:40] twice I was at the Bon Secours with 16,000 people the first time I saw him I said I gotta take my son. The second time I saw him, I wanted to instruct my young son Jojo in the ways of 80s
[00:45:51] rock and roll. I took him and I'm going to tell you, Bon Jovi, it was a show. They played the hits. I don't care about their new songs. I don't care about their records. You know what I want to
[00:46:02] hear? You know what I want to hear? I want to hear the hits. Shot through the heart and you're to blame. I know y'all know that song. You give love a bad name. Shot down in a blaze of glory. How
[00:46:19] about this one? Oh, we're halfway there. See the hits, man. The hits. I've seen you two in concert play the hits where the streets have no name. I still haven't found what I'm looking for.
[00:46:35] When you go see your favorite band or you're riding down the road and your favorite song comes on and it's a hit, you want to listen to it. I don't have time today to go through the entire
[00:46:45] book of Philippians, but I can show you the hits. One passage from each one of the four chapters that I believe encapsulates this theology of joy. Joy in jail, joy in hardship, joy in the face of
[00:47:01] worry, joy in the face of anxiety, joy in Jesus no matter where you find yourself. Let's start off in chapter one, Philippians chapter one, verse 21. Paul says, for me to live is Christ and to die is
[00:47:20] gain. For me, I'm going to share my testimony. For me, I'm in this jail cell in Rome. I may never get out. For me, I may never make it back to see you, brothers and sisters in Philippi. So for me,
[00:47:33] I have decided. For me, I have figured this out. If I live, it is Christ. If I die, it is my gain.
[00:47:42] Either way, I'm winning. I'm not taking L's. I'm winning. Whatever the world throws at me, I win. If I get out of this jail cell, I'm going to proclaim Christ. If I get out of this jail cell,
[00:47:57] I'll go to my next assignment. If I get out of Rome alive, I will be telling about the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and calling people to follow him and know him. So if I live, it's
[00:48:09] Christ. If I die, I will be with Jesus. What's wrong with that? Nothing wrong with that. There is a place waiting for me, a king that I have served and given my life for. So whether I live
[00:48:23] or die, it is Christ. And church, I believe we need some of this today in the church collectively.
[00:48:29] The big C church needs to go back to this over and over and over again. My life belongs to Jesus.
[00:48:37] He is my boss, my savior, my master, my king, my ruler, my Lord. He has the final say. And if I die, I'll be with him in heaven. And if I live, I'm going to make a difference and a dent in the
[00:48:50] kingdom of darkness. For me to live is Christ and to die is gain. You know, he's also saying this with the scars on his body to prove that he actually believed it was true. He had been stoned
[00:49:02] and left for dead in Acts chapter 14. He had been shipwrecked and spent a day and a night in the open sea. He had been bitten by poisonous snakes. He had been beaten with rods. He had the cat of
[00:49:11] nine tails whip his back and his body over and over again. Death threats everywhere he went.
[00:49:18] enemies. Every time he turned around, he had learned to take his eyes off of this world and place his eyes firmly on Jesus Christ. Can I make a practical application church?
[00:49:30] We need to do that. We must do that. There is no guarantee that the life we now enjoy will always be so easy. There's no guarantee that the health you now enjoy will always be
[00:49:44] so wonderful. There is no guarantee that all the benefits and comforts I enjoy every single day will always be there. And when those things are taken away and all we are left with is Jesus,
[00:49:55] Jesus will be enough because Jesus is sufficient. So if I live, I live for Christ. If I die, I am with Christ. What can the world do to a believer with this kind of mentality? That's
[00:50:08] where joy comes from. That's where joy comes from. You can't take anything away from me that matters to me as much as Jesus because he is my life. That's where joy comes from.
[00:50:19] All right, let's move on to chapter two. What's the big hit in chapter two? It's Philippians chapter two, verses 14 and 15. Do all things without grumbling or disputing that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted
[00:50:40] generation among whom you shine like lights in the world. Okay. Okay. Do everything without grumbling or disputing. Why? Well, first of all, because the world is watching. And second of all, because the world is going to always be giving you something to grumble and complain and dispute
[00:51:06] about. Why? Because we live in a crooked and depraved generation. Here's the application for us right now. It's a new day, but it's the same story. They were just as crooked and depraved then as we are crooked and depraved now. Don't be surprised when you and I look around and we see
[00:51:24] a culture and a generation and a world that is backwards and confused and crooked and depraved.
[00:51:29] Our call is not to ignore that. Our call is not to just excuse the crooked depravity of the generation that we live in. Our call is to live with joy instead of constant complaining, constant disputing, constant arguing.
[00:51:52] I'm not saying we don't debate what we believe.
[00:51:54] That's what we do as a church.
[00:51:55] We teach the Bible and that puts us against the culture and against the world.
[00:52:00] But even though we are against the world, contramundum as the old church fathers would say, we are still for the world because we wanna see the world come to Christ.
[00:52:10] I love the world and I hate the world.
[00:52:12] I am against the world and I am for the world.
[00:52:15] Why?
[00:52:15] Because the gospel calls us to live in the world in such a way that we shine like stars.
[00:52:24] How can we do that?
[00:52:25] Some of y'all are thinking, well, give me a trick, Clayton.
[00:52:27] How do I do that?
[00:52:28] I'll tell you how you do it.
[00:52:29] Joy, joy, so rooted in Christ, so filled with the Holy Spirit, so connected to the vine, so embedded in the body of Christ, the local church where you are learning and worshiping and giving and serving,
[00:52:47] so connected to Jesus through the body of Christ that no matter what the world throws at you, just like Paul from prison, you can say, I've got the answer.
[00:53:00] And the answer is Jesus.
[00:53:01] The answer is the gospel.
[00:53:04] Do I do all things without grumbling or disputing?
[00:53:06] No, I kind of like to complain.
[00:53:09] Makes me feel good.
[00:53:10] I think it gives me a dopamine hit.
[00:53:12] I don't know if any of y'all feel that way, but sometimes I just want to call Shari.
[00:53:16] I'll be coming back from an event and I'll call her up.
[00:53:18] guess what? This is okay. Preacher talk. All right. Shari and I joke around that we're going to write a book and we're going to wait till we're dead and have our kids publish it.
[00:53:31] All the people who have been crazy, weird, strange, and made us angry over 38 years in ministry.
[00:53:40] And we always joke, we're going to name names. We're going to call them out.
[00:53:45] Now, are we really going to do that? Yes. No, we're not. No, we're not. No, we're not.
[00:53:50] But there's a part of every human being that wants to do that because man, I got stories about people.
[00:53:55] And guess what?
[00:53:56] People have stories about me.
[00:53:59] I wouldn't wanna be in my own book about that.
[00:54:01] I don't wanna be known as a person.
[00:54:04] And I've told y'all this before as one of your pastors.
[00:54:06] My default mechanism is anger.
[00:54:10] I get frustrated really quick.
[00:54:11] I get mad really easily.
[00:54:12] I like to fight.
[00:54:15] I like to pick fights.
[00:54:17] I don't know what it does.
[00:54:18] It makes me feel alive.
[00:54:19] But you know what I've had to learn over the years? That I cannot excuse my behavior. I cannot excuse disputing and arguing. I cannot excuse being argumentative and quick to become angry just because it's my personality. When living inside of me, I have the Holy Spirit of God
[00:54:43] who by nature of his residence in me is supposed to bring joy and patience and kindness and long suffering and a love for my neighbor.
[00:54:59] I need to move on to verse three because I don't like preaching to myself like that.
[00:55:04] I'm under conviction.
[00:55:05] Let's go to the third hit, Philippians 4.13.
[00:55:08] I think I might spend a minute on this one.
[00:55:10] He says, brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own, but one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
[00:55:26] Forgetting what lies behind, I'm pressing on. Forgetting what lies behind. Can I ask you a question? What is it in your past that continues to pull you backwards? What hurt, what pain, what wound, what offense, what unforgiveness, what person, what wants to always turn your head
[00:55:51] backwards so you look in the rear view mirror. I don't know about you, but I know what it was for Paul. I'm fairly certain that when Paul says, I need to forget what lies behind, he was thinking
[00:56:01] about a person, and that person's name was Stephen. Saul, as Paul was known, his Hebrew name, was a persecutor of Christians. And you know what he had done in his life?
[00:56:15] He had killed the first Christian martyr. And if you go back and read the story, you'll see that when they went to stone Stephen for his faith and his boldness for the gospel, they laid their outer garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. That was legal tradition.
[00:56:35] That meant that Saul had brought the charges against Stephen. That meant that in a Jewish court, Saul was responsible for having him indicted. That meant that Saul had cast the first stone.
[00:56:48] And when he finished, everyone else took off their coats so they could get a better range of motion throwing rocks at this young preacher. And then it says that Saul, Acts records this, Luke writes these words, stood there giving approval to Stephen's death. Translation,
[00:57:06] Saul is over there on the side cheering people on.
[00:57:09] That's right, kill him.
[00:57:11] That's right, murder him.
[00:57:13] That's right, he's a blasphemer.
[00:57:15] I approve his death.
[00:57:17] And even though Jesus had met Saul on the road to Damascus and saved him and called him to follow him, I believe that oftentimes one of the hardest things for us to do was one of the hardest things for Paul to do.
[00:57:30] Receive the mercy and forgiveness of Jesus for ourselves and let the joy of God fill our hearts because we want to still feel guilty for the mistakes that we've made when Jesus died and shed his blood
[00:57:41] to wash that guilt away.
[00:57:43] And I believe that for the rest of his life, he had to continually go to Jesus and receive the mercy and grace, knowing that Stephen was in heaven cheering Paul on now for preaching the gospel.
[00:57:57] Isn't it amazing that you actually have the power to do this and joy waits on the other side of forgetting what is behind, which takes me to our fourth verse, Philippians 4.13. Maybe the most
[00:58:14] famous of all the Philippian verses, I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
[00:58:21] I love that verse, but I got to tell you that that's more than a verse about your personal record, your PR on the bench press at the YMCA, Ms. Donna. And I love that verse. It's on the
[00:58:33] wall at the YMCA where I work out five days a week. I love that verse, but it's not primarily about you hitting a new PR. It's also not about you on the sideline on Friday night claiming this
[00:58:47] verse for your son's football game against the Crosstown rival, even though I prayed that prayer every single Friday night for three years when I played football at Hillcrest. This is a verse, if you look at it in context, that literally means I can endure all things. I can make it
[00:59:05] through all things. Christ in me is the strength that lets me endure whatever I face because he literally says in verse 11 and 12, I have learned the secret to be content. I have learned the
[00:59:19] antidote for anxiety and worry. I have learned how not to live angry, mad, and reactive at everything.
[00:59:26] I have been in plenty and I have been poor. I have been well fed and I have been hungry. But you know what I know? I can do it all. I can endure it all. I can take whatever life throws at me through
[00:59:37] Christ who gives me strength. And specifically, I want to talk about one thing before I land the plane. I want to talk about one thing that Paul had to do. He had to forgive. He not only had to
[00:59:49] forgive the people that tried to kill him and murder him and stone him and beat him and assassinate him. He had to forgive himself for the sins he committed when he persecuted Christians.
[01:00:00] Did you know that by the power of the gospel, you can have joy in the place where you may struggle right now forgiving somebody? I want to talk about this for a minute, because this might be the thing
[01:00:11] keeping some of us from joy. We haven't forgiven. I think about Stephen. As Stephen died, Saul, watching him die, he prays the same prayer Jesus prayed on the cross. Father, forgive them. They do not know what they're doing. I think about Corrie ten Boom. She wrote the book, The Hiding Place.
[01:00:30] She was a Jewish woman who hid, she was a woman who hid Jews during World War II.
[01:00:35] And when the Gestapo came to her house to arrest her, and then eventually she landed in a concentration camp, Ravensbrück in Germany. She was abused. She was beaten. She was tortured. She was starved. And in her book, in her testimony, she talks about meeting two of those Nazis and
[01:00:55] having to forgive them for the sin they committed against her. I think about something that happened right here in our state a few years ago. I wrote about this. I don't typically quote my own books,
[01:01:07] but I wrote about this in a book called Overcome, where I was talking about in my own life, having to overcome the unforgiveness in my heart. On June 17th, at a Bible study at Mother Emanuel Church,
[01:01:21] Dylann Roof pulled out a gun and murdered nine church members as they bowed their heads in prayer. Just minutes earlier, they had accepted him with open arms and given him a place to sit among them in their Bible study. He responded to their kindness by turning the church into a crime
[01:01:34] scene. Nine families, along with the nation, mourned and questioned, how could one person be filled with so much hate? Yet, something strange was about to happen. The world watched and listened to this. Quote, in an unusual bond court appearance Friday for Dylann Roof, the families of the victim
[01:01:55] of the Charleston church shooting gave moving statements about their loved ones.
[01:01:59] They acknowledged their anger and pain, but praying for the accused killer's soul, and they told him he was forgiven.
[01:02:11] Quote, I forgive you, said Nadine Collier, daughter of one of the victims.
[01:02:18] You took something very precious from me.
[01:02:20] I'll never get to talk to her ever again.
[01:02:22] I'll never be able to hold her again, but I forgive you and have mercy on your soul. You hurt me. You hurt a lot of people. But if God forgives you, I forgive you. Can you sit with that for a second? This is joy. Doesn't mean you feel
[01:02:44] happy all the time. It means you've got something deep in your soul. And even recently, as a hundred million people watched on television on the internet, were you as amazed as I was to watch
[01:02:56] Erica Kirk, say with every camera on her, I forgive that young man who murdered her husband in front of her own kids. Full stop. Sit with that for a minute. Church, that we have a power in us
[01:03:22] that the world is utterly confounded by. That our best arguments, that our greatest apologetic efforts cannot beat the joy in the life of a believer when the world is falling apart, but we are anchored in the Son of God and the joy that he brings. If I could preach it louder
[01:03:49] to make you get it, I would. I want you to feel this. This is why we exist. But I cannot end this sermon without reading this passage, what theologians call high Christology. Philippians 2, 5 through 11. Have this mind in yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who though he
[01:04:18] was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but he emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men and being found in human
[01:04:31] form. He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
[01:04:41] Therefore, God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, the name of Jesus. Every knee should bow in heaven and earth and under the earth and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Would you close your
[01:05:08] eyes and open your hearts with me? I believe that some of you right now have sensed the Spirit of God stir your heart during this message about joy, joy in jail. And maybe today you need to
[01:05:25] receive the forgiveness of Jesus because you've been holding on to pain, holding on to unforgiveness, is holding on to anger and you've tried to let go, but you can't. You've been trying to let go
[01:05:39] of something that you need to lay down. Lay it down at the foot of the cross today. Find joy in Jesus. So before we take communion, before we stand and sing, before we worship, I want to
[01:05:52] invite you, if you have never received Jesus, the reason why you don't have joy is because you need Jesus. And I want to tell you how you can not just have joy, but have Jesus. You simply ask him to
[01:06:09] take control of your life. Romans 10, 13 says, everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. That's you. So if you need to begin a friendship with God in Christ today, I want to
[01:06:24] lead you in a prayer of faith and repentance. That will be the first step towards a new relationship with Jesus filled with joy.
[01:06:33] Pray this to him right where you sit if you need to start that friendship with God today.
[01:06:39] Pray it to him in your heart.
[01:06:41] Jesus, I wanna know you.
[01:06:46] I receive your forgiveness.
[01:06:52] Replace all the darkness in my soul with your joy and your peace.
[01:07:02] I give you my life as I repent of my sin.
[01:07:08] Thank you for saving me.
[01:07:14] Now with your eyes closed, here's what I want to tell you before we stand up. In a minute, I'll stand you up and we'll respond. But I'm going to ask everyone that prayed those words to Jesus, when the invitation begins
[01:07:27] and our time of response starts, as people move to take communion, believers move to take communion, I'm asking you to find the cross in your room. There's a cross in your room right where you are.
[01:07:39] And I want you, while everybody else is taking communion, I want you to go to that cross and find one of our ministry members, one of our team members and tell them, I prayed that prayer and I
[01:07:51] want to let you know. You can do it. Welcome to the family of God. Jesus, as we honor you today because of the power of your gospel, I thank you for those that just responded. And would you fill
[01:08:05] all of us as your children with more joy than we could ever have in our flesh? Would you help us to shine like stars in the world so that people who have never met you
[01:08:16] can see you in us.
[01:08:19] Thank you for joy, even in jail.
[01:08:22] In Jesus' name, amen.
[01:08:25] Would you stand to your feet right now across all of our campuses?
[01:08:28] Our teams are gonna begin to make their way.
[01:08:31] If you're a believer today, we invite you to take communion.
[01:08:34] We invite you to sing and worship.
[01:08:36] And if you need prayer for anything, our ministry teams are ready to pray with you and they're ready for you right now.
[01:08:42] Let's respond.

[01:08:43] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_11]
[01:08:43] Turn through the fiercest drought and storm What heights of love, what depths of peace Jesus stood with striving seas My comforter, my all in all Here in the love of Christ I'll stand In the ground, out of the world by dark
[01:11:53] Then bursting forth in glorious day Up from the grave He rose again And as He stayed in victory Since curse has lost its grip on me And He is mine Bought with the precious blood of Christ

[01:12:26] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[01:12:26] This is the power of Christ in me

[01:13:00] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_11]
[01:13:00] from life's first cry till final breath jesus commands my destiny no power of hell no scheme of man can ever block me from his hand till he returns or calls me home here in the power of
[01:13:29] christ i'll stand no guilt in life no fear in death this is the power of christ in me from life's first cry till final breath jesus commands my destiny No power of hell, no scheme of man
[01:13:58] Can ever pluck me from His hand Till He returns or calls me home Here in the power of Christ I'll stand

[01:14:14] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[01:14:14] As we end this day, sing one more song together.

[01:14:43] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_11]
[01:14:43] Could I ask everybody to stand to your feet?
[01:14:48] If you're not already standing.
[01:14:53] Can we pray together that God would give us an awareness of the power of Christ that lives within us, of the joy that we can have in the Lord because he is king.
[01:15:04] So in your own words, would you just ask him for help?
[01:15:07] Would you ask him for new perspective today, a joy that surpasses understanding?
[01:15:14] God, we crown you again as king this morning.
[01:15:18] We give you our worship.
[01:15:19] We give you our trust.
[01:15:20] We give you our lives.
[01:15:22] Can we end this day by rejoicing in the king that is alive?
[01:15:31] Come on, everybody, let's sing.
[01:15:35] I was back there worshiping and realized, I don't think I've ever worshiped with a big

[01:18:54] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]
[01:18:54] paper bag in my hand before. It's a very interesting feeling. Um, I want to share this with you. How many of you have experienced either receiving or, or extending forgiveness? Would you raise your hand if you've experienced receiving or extending forgiveness? Okay. Me too. Um,
[01:19:11] here's the thought that I want to give you to, to maybe activate some things for some folks.
[01:19:15] because I felt this while Clayton was talking.
[01:19:19] Forgiveness is not a feeling.
[01:19:24] You get to decide to forgive.
[01:19:27] You get to make that decision whether you want to or not.
[01:19:30] I don't want to eat broccoli.
[01:19:32] I do it because I know it's good for me.
[01:19:35] And here's what I'm telling you.
[01:19:36] Forgiveness is good for you.
[01:19:40] It's good for you to receive it if you never have.
[01:19:43] And it's good for you to extend it if you've been holding on to bitterness.
[01:19:49] So as someone who deeply has for a long time, deeply loved a lot of people in this room. I just want to tell you, don't wait until you feel like it to forgive, forgive, and let your feelings catch up to it. Amen. So if you need help activating
[01:20:02] that this week, uh, talk, talk to somebody, talk to one of these people you're going to introduce yourself to in a few minutes when you walk out that you don't know their name. Okay. All right.
[01:20:09] I got this paper bag in my hand for a reason. Uh, it's because in two weeks, everybody say two weeks, hold up a two, everybody hold up a two. If you bring this back next week, we're going to
[01:20:19] make you eat on site, whatever you bring. Okay. So don't bring it next week. Bring it. I'm just kidding. We'll take it, but bring it in two weeks, two weeks. We're going to try to bless some folks
[01:20:28] in our community, uh, that maybe aren't as fortunate as we are. And so on this, there are turkeys, turkey and gravy, shredded cheddar, cheese, butter, just bring a whole bunch of butter, you know, like bring it back, fill this bag up, bring some turkeys. Let's bless the folks
[01:20:43] in our community. That's a way that we can show the love of Jesus to folks in and around Anderson.
[01:20:47] as we partner with the Haven Arrest, one of our longtime partners, to do a drive here.
[01:20:52] So here's what I wanna do.
[01:20:52] I wanna bless you as we get ready to leave today.
[01:20:56] Oh, and I forgot this too, also.
[01:20:58] If you wanna know more about what's going on in our church, you can text Anderson to 30303.
[01:21:02] There, look at that.
[01:21:03] They didn't forget, I did.
[01:21:05] Text Anderson to 30303, and you can get more information that way on all the things that are going on in our church.
[01:21:09] So with that said, let me bless you as we get ready to leave.
[01:21:12] I'm gonna read this over you guys, and you can read along up on the screen.
[01:21:16] May your love abound more and more with knowledge and all discernment so that you may approve what is excellent and so be pure and blameless before the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness
[01:21:28] that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God.
[01:21:33] May you press on toward the goal of the prize of knowing and following Jesus all the days of your life.
[01:21:40] God's amazing.
[01:21:41] And go forward now in the unity, strength, and peace of Christ as a light to the world around you.
[01:21:48] God bless you guys.
[01:21:50] And y'all know y'all know people that are standing beside you.
[01:21:52] You don't know their name.
[01:21:52] Do it right now.
[01:21:53] Say hey to somebody, shake their hand.
[01:21:54] Love y'all.