Beyond Sunday - Philippians 1
Beyond Sunday, Week of August 4, 2024
“Joy Ride” Part 1, Philippians 1:1-11
Thoughts: My story begins where Pastor Troy ended, “Joy comes when you pray for others.”
Some days I awake feeling tense, anxious, purposeless, and adrift. I like to write out my prayers in my journal, and when I focus my prayers on others, it is amazing how my negative feelings evaporate. They may return another day, partly because I am human, and partly because our enemy never rests. But if I faithfully resort to praying for others, I consistently get relief.
Over the years, I have frequently met with other men struggling with some aspect of their lives, or just trying to follow Jesus a bit more closely. I seldom have answers for their problems, but I listen, and together we seek answers in Scripture. Those relationships bless me at least as much as those guys I listen to over coffee or a meal.
On rare occasion, when someone keeps making unwise or sinful choices and we revisit the same issues over and over, I forget to apply Troy’s point of recognizing that God is doing a good work in him, that God is not done with him, and that God will see it through to completion. It is a good reminder that I need to apply that same standard to myself, not as an excuse but as an encouragement to keep growing.
One day, on my way to one of those meetings, listening to something on the radio made me ask aloud to God, “Why me Lord? Why am I one of the lucky ones that gets to see your hand in virtually everything? Why did you choose to reveal yourself to me in your Word? Why were you willing to die in MY PLACE?” In that moment, I remembered the greatest good in my life, my relationship with Jesus.
Sunday’s message was an incredibly helpful reminder of things I already knew and had experienced, but have not been doing a good job of practicing. It made me realize that I have not been the most joyful person lately. I am confident Troy’s four essential practices for having joy will help, and I am committed, not to trying to be joyful, but to TRAINING myself to be joyful by practicing all of them. Will you join me?
Read: Psalms 33:20-22, 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, Titus 3:3-7
• The late Timothy Keller, Pastor and Christian author, said, “The opposite of joy is not sorrow, it is hopelessness.” Our joy is built on the foundation of hope. But what is hope? Ordinary human hope is more wishful thinking, nearly always containing an element of uncertainty. Biblical hope not only desires something good for the future — it confidently expects it to happen. There is a moral certainty based upon the goodness of He who offered the hope.
o How does that explanation of our hope and joy challenge, encourage, or comfort you?
o It can be difficult to “fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.” What “seen” things do you have a tendency to set your hope upon?
o What do these verses, especially Titus, reveal to you about God?
Read: John 17:14-17
• Jesus prayed that believers would be sanctified, and the Father always answers His prayers. The words sanctification, sanctify, saint, holy, and consecrate all come from the same root and all have to do with being “set apart.” For the believer, remembering the good in life begins with remembering that we have been set apart by God and for God.
o What does Jesus say we will be sanctified by? What does that process look like for you?
Read: 2 Peter 3:17-18, Colossians 1:9-11
• One essential of joy is remembering that we are all works in progress. Every human, including non-believers, bears the fingerprints of God, and we have no idea what work God may be doing in them. These passages speak of that work resulting in our growing in knowledge, bearing fruit, and being strengthened.
o Describe how you have grown in some of these areas. How could you accelerate that growth, or grow in other areas?
o How does keeping in mind that everyone is a work in progress help you have healthier relationships?
Read: Proverbs 27:17, Colossians 3:16-17, Hebrews 10:23-25
• Joy is found in relationship with other believers who can challenge, encourage, and comfort us.
o How are you being sharpened by other believers? Who are you sharpening?
o How can others spur you on to love and good deeds?
o What gets in the way of your having Christian community? How can you break through those obstacles?
Read: 2 Corinthians 1:8-11, Ephesians 6:18-19
• Paul writes that God delivered him from deadly peril in answer to his readers’ prayers. He urges prayers “for ALL the Lord’s people.”
o For whom do you pray regularly? Who might you add to that list?
o What prayers for others have you had answered, and how did that increase your joy?
Pray: Praise God for who He is, for His unchanging character and faithfulness. Thank Him for setting you apart for His purposes, and for the work He is doing in you and through you. Pray that by training yourself in the essentials Troy mentioned, you may be a more joyful person—a person that makes non-believers want the joy and the hope you have.
Next Steps:
• 21-Days of Prayer and Fasting began this week. It is a wonderful way to get into the habit of praying for others. To learn more and to sign up, click here.
“Joy Ride” Part 1, Philippians 1:1-11
Thoughts: My story begins where Pastor Troy ended, “Joy comes when you pray for others.”
Some days I awake feeling tense, anxious, purposeless, and adrift. I like to write out my prayers in my journal, and when I focus my prayers on others, it is amazing how my negative feelings evaporate. They may return another day, partly because I am human, and partly because our enemy never rests. But if I faithfully resort to praying for others, I consistently get relief.
Over the years, I have frequently met with other men struggling with some aspect of their lives, or just trying to follow Jesus a bit more closely. I seldom have answers for their problems, but I listen, and together we seek answers in Scripture. Those relationships bless me at least as much as those guys I listen to over coffee or a meal.
On rare occasion, when someone keeps making unwise or sinful choices and we revisit the same issues over and over, I forget to apply Troy’s point of recognizing that God is doing a good work in him, that God is not done with him, and that God will see it through to completion. It is a good reminder that I need to apply that same standard to myself, not as an excuse but as an encouragement to keep growing.
One day, on my way to one of those meetings, listening to something on the radio made me ask aloud to God, “Why me Lord? Why am I one of the lucky ones that gets to see your hand in virtually everything? Why did you choose to reveal yourself to me in your Word? Why were you willing to die in MY PLACE?” In that moment, I remembered the greatest good in my life, my relationship with Jesus.
Sunday’s message was an incredibly helpful reminder of things I already knew and had experienced, but have not been doing a good job of practicing. It made me realize that I have not been the most joyful person lately. I am confident Troy’s four essential practices for having joy will help, and I am committed, not to trying to be joyful, but to TRAINING myself to be joyful by practicing all of them. Will you join me?
Read: Psalms 33:20-22, 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, Titus 3:3-7
• The late Timothy Keller, Pastor and Christian author, said, “The opposite of joy is not sorrow, it is hopelessness.” Our joy is built on the foundation of hope. But what is hope? Ordinary human hope is more wishful thinking, nearly always containing an element of uncertainty. Biblical hope not only desires something good for the future — it confidently expects it to happen. There is a moral certainty based upon the goodness of He who offered the hope.
o How does that explanation of our hope and joy challenge, encourage, or comfort you?
o It can be difficult to “fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.” What “seen” things do you have a tendency to set your hope upon?
o What do these verses, especially Titus, reveal to you about God?
Read: John 17:14-17
• Jesus prayed that believers would be sanctified, and the Father always answers His prayers. The words sanctification, sanctify, saint, holy, and consecrate all come from the same root and all have to do with being “set apart.” For the believer, remembering the good in life begins with remembering that we have been set apart by God and for God.
o What does Jesus say we will be sanctified by? What does that process look like for you?
Read: 2 Peter 3:17-18, Colossians 1:9-11
• One essential of joy is remembering that we are all works in progress. Every human, including non-believers, bears the fingerprints of God, and we have no idea what work God may be doing in them. These passages speak of that work resulting in our growing in knowledge, bearing fruit, and being strengthened.
o Describe how you have grown in some of these areas. How could you accelerate that growth, or grow in other areas?
o How does keeping in mind that everyone is a work in progress help you have healthier relationships?
Read: Proverbs 27:17, Colossians 3:16-17, Hebrews 10:23-25
• Joy is found in relationship with other believers who can challenge, encourage, and comfort us.
o How are you being sharpened by other believers? Who are you sharpening?
o How can others spur you on to love and good deeds?
o What gets in the way of your having Christian community? How can you break through those obstacles?
Read: 2 Corinthians 1:8-11, Ephesians 6:18-19
• Paul writes that God delivered him from deadly peril in answer to his readers’ prayers. He urges prayers “for ALL the Lord’s people.”
o For whom do you pray regularly? Who might you add to that list?
o What prayers for others have you had answered, and how did that increase your joy?
Pray: Praise God for who He is, for His unchanging character and faithfulness. Thank Him for setting you apart for His purposes, and for the work He is doing in you and through you. Pray that by training yourself in the essentials Troy mentioned, you may be a more joyful person—a person that makes non-believers want the joy and the hope you have.
Next Steps:
• 21-Days of Prayer and Fasting began this week. It is a wonderful way to get into the habit of praying for others. To learn more and to sign up, click here.
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1 Comment
Thanks again, Michael, for some great insights!!!
n
nLove in Christ!