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Joy In Adversity - Philippians Sermon Series
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Welcome to the Grove Hill Church podcast, where we find joy in adversity and dig deep into the challenging intersections of faith, suffering, and hope. In today's sermon, our host Ridley Barron delves into the complex theme of finding joy in difficult circumstances, drawing inspiration from the book of Philippians. Through insightful commentary and real-life stories, Ridley explores the profound concept of prioritizing God's glory over personal comfort and the transformative power of bringing anxieties to God. Join us as we navigate the depths of faith and discover the unwavering joy that can be found even in the midst of adversity.
Timestamps:
00:25 Celebrate anniversary, support, and educate parents.
06:18 Paul's imprisonment advances the gospel through Christ.
09:56 We make dumb choices, suffer consequences, and God calls us to suffer.
11:34 Paul's prison perspective - gospel being preached.
14:53 Live in a way that honors Christ.
18:55 Doubts about faith, seeking answers, praying desperately.
21:17 Honoring Christ in suffering by rejoicing consistently.
23:25 Be grateful for what you had. Trust God.
26:49 Developing character like Jesus glorifies God.
32:50 Eternal city, no suffering, hold on to Jesus.
34:22 A story of finding purpose and joy.
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Transcript
Church Support in Discipleship
00:00:00
Speaker
It's a beautiful thing to watch the church grow, right? Cool to see these new generations. They're following behind us and we take very seriously our responsibility here as a church to come alongside families and to help with that discipleship process. That young lady right there that's leading our children's ministry has been an incredible gift for us. She'll be in two weeks celebrating her one year anniversary. Three weeks, three weeks, two weeks.
00:00:24
Speaker
December 1st, we'll be celebrating her anniversary with us and it's been a fantastic job. It's a reminder to us that we believe the Bible teaches that you are the disciples. And as parents, that is your responsibility.
00:00:36
Speaker
It is our job as the church to come alongside of you and to help you engage those kids in the Word, to plant seeds in their lives and then to nurture those seeds. So whether it's Lori with our children's ministry, Kyle with our student ministry, we want to help you engage them in the right way and continue to encourage them towards Christ.
Risks of Social Media for Children
00:00:55
Speaker
That being said, I want to kind of let you know about something as a way of our commitment to that. After the first of the year, Lori and
00:01:02
Speaker
Kyle are working on some community events that we hope to be hosting that will be specifically targeting things like how to raise your kids in a world that's really unfriendly, specifically in regards to things like social media and use of the internet, those kinds of things. And here's why we believe that's incredibly important. Some of you maybe a couple of weeks ago saw the news that came out of New Jersey.
00:01:28
Speaker
High school up there where young men had taken faces of young girls, sophomore girls at the high school, had used AI technology to put them onto the bodies of sophomore girls in the class, and excuse me, not that, fit their faces and put them on faces of young women who were doing illicit things. And then spread it all over the school, which obviously destroyed the reputation, even attacked the personalities of these girls, their families,
00:01:56
Speaker
The reason I say all that is there is an increasingly, and I think very importantly so, very much increasing noise coming from the social media experts who are telling us, do not put your children on social media. Because with AI technology now, they can be put in any kind of situation that you can dream imaginable. And the world is not for them.
00:02:20
Speaker
Seven billion people on the planet, so when you take a picture of your kid and you put them on social media, you literally expose them to seven billion people, most of which do not have good intentions for your kids. So I just say that as a word of encouragement to you. Think very carefully how you do that, what you do with that. We actually have a couple people in our church who work in technology or are experts on safety who will tell you,
00:02:41
Speaker
I wouldn't put my kid out there in any capacity right now because it's just a dangerous world. And with the AI technology that's coming along, along with other stuff, it's gonna become increasingly so. That's your little public service announcement for the day.
Paul's Missionary Journey and Imprisonment
00:02:58
Speaker
You're welcome. I feel like it's warm in here. Y'all warm? Okay.
00:03:06
Speaker
Can you hand those keys to that good looking guy right there on the front row? Can you adjust the air for us? Because I do not need y'all having an excuse to go to sleep during my sermon.
00:03:17
Speaker
So here we go. We're in the second week of Philippians. We are talking through the book, walking through the book, teaching from the book. One of my favorite books just because of the joy that it talks about, that it teaches about. Let me remind you the setting. We kind of dove into this last week, but a lot of new faces here today. Let's catch you up. The book of Acts chapter 16 tells the story of a journey that Paul and Silas and others took.
00:03:40
Speaker
Remember, it was at the encouragement of an angel of the Lord who came to Paul in a dream one night and said, hey, you're not going to go the direction you think you're going to go. Instead, I'm taking you this direction, that direction being Macedonia, which is northern Greece of present day northern Greece. And the idea was that he was going to go there and would engage cities that had yet to be touched with the gospel. In this situation, specifically, it was the city of Philippi.
00:04:06
Speaker
And if you'll remember from last week in Philippi, the first three people he engaged were a wealthy businesswoman, a slave girl, and then, of course, a Philippian jailer. And in that situation, that setting, all three of those people came to know Jesus Christ, and because of that, it was the beginning, the launching of the church at Philippi. Now, it would be really nice if at the end of that sentence, I could put a period and go, celebration, awesome, this is great, this is how God works, man, Christianity is good, right?
00:04:36
Speaker
But the problem with that is that Christianity is not always nice in need. It's not always so clean, even for those who are part of the faith family, who are part of the journey of doing life together, those kinds of things. Because what we see next is that Paul and Silas are immediately arrested and they're thrown into prison.
00:04:57
Speaker
And as part of that experience in prison is how they met the jailer. That's how he came to know Jesus Christ. But obviously in that moment, Paul and Silas, as well as the new believers, are probably going, okay, what's going on here? I thought God was in charge of your lives. I thought God was in charge of the situation. In fact, the letter as it's being written to the church at Philippi is being written by Paul from a prison in Rome years later.
00:05:19
Speaker
probably about 11 years later scholars tell us and as he's writing that letter he's sitting in a prison not knowing what's going to come out of that situation and yet he's writing the church encouraging the church and saying keep your joy in all situations and that's a remarkable thing to think about much less to say imagine you being thrown into jail for your faith here in the United States of America sitting in a prison and writing back to the church at Grove Hill saying hey hang on to your joy guys it's gonna be okay
00:05:48
Speaker
That's exactly what we see and hear from Paul. Again, Christianity for many of us, the challenge is that it's not always nice and pretty and neat. It doesn't fit into the way we would have written the story. And so this morning we were going to talk about this a little bit as we unpack the story of Paul in Philippians chapter one. We're going to begin in verse 12, read a little bit, and we're going to talk about how we can find joy in the adversity that we sense around us, that we see around us.
00:06:18
Speaker
Philippians chapter 1, beginning in verse 12. It says, now I want you to know brothers and sisters that what has happened, what he's referring to obviously is his imprisonment there, that what has happened to me has actually advanced the gospel so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to everyone else that my imprisonment is because I am in Christ.
00:06:44
Speaker
Most of the brothers have gained confidence in the Lord from my imprisonment and dare even more to speak the word fearlessly. To be sure, some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of good will. These preach out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel. The others proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, thinking that they will cause me trouble in my imprisonment. And look at this next sentence. He says, what does it matter?
00:07:12
Speaker
That's a remarkable statement because what Paul is literally saying is that when Jesus' name is exalted, he gets glory regardless of what the motivation is behind it. Regardless of why the person speaks the name of Jesus, the name of Jesus carries such power in it that when he is lifted up, as the Bible tells us, he will draw men to himself. He can even bring good out of bad motivation.
00:07:35
Speaker
He says only that in every way, whether from false motives of truth, Christ is proclaimed and in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice because I know this will lead to my salvation through your prayers and help from the spirit of Jesus Christ. My eager expectation and hope is that I will not be ashamed about anything, but that now as always with all courage, Christ will be highly honored in my body, whether by life or by death.
00:08:03
Speaker
For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. Now if I live on in the flesh, this means fruitful work for me, and I don't know which one I should choose. I am torn between the two. I long to depart and be with Christ, which is far better, but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for your sake.
00:08:23
Speaker
Since I am persuaded of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the face, so that because of my coming to you again, your boasting in Christ Jesus may abound. Just one thing. As citizens of heaven, live your life worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or am absent, I will hear about you that you are standing firm in one spirit, in one accord, contending together for the faith of the gospel.
00:09:07
Speaker
It's like a ripple of laughter across the congregation as it works its way across.
Understanding and Finding Joy in Suffering
00:09:12
Speaker
Okay, so let's talk about this. He sees his trials being because of Christ Jesus. So look at the reality here. When we start to unpackage the reasons why we have suffering in life, we're all very quick to acknowledge that Satan is one of the reasons we have suffering, right?
00:09:14
Speaker
I'm getting a little bit of feedback up here, man. I don't know what it is. It's humming at me. Either that or my wife's excited to see me. I'm not sure which it is.
00:09:30
Speaker
We believe in a very real enemy, and that real enemy has one intent for you and I, and that is to steal, kill, and destroy our joy. He wants to destroy everything that God created, everything that God touches, and so he is out to bring suffering on the world. Right? Okay. The second place that we see suffering is because you and I are stupid. Okay? Some of you, about 50% of you probably know you're stupid. The other 50% we're looking at you going, you'll figure it out eventually, big boy.
00:10:00
Speaker
We are stupid. We just do dumb things. By stupid, I don't mean that we're ignorant necessarily. It's just that when God gives us option A, we sometimes talk ourselves into going, well, maybe he won't pay attention as I go and pursue option B. Because of those decisions, because of those choices, what we see is that we have consequences, suffering brought on by
00:10:23
Speaker
bad places in the journey where we choose to go our own route. But the third place that suffering comes from is the one that shocks us the most and probably doesn't fit as nicely and neatly into our version of Christianity, and that is that God calls us suffering. God calls us suffering. Now, the Scriptures is very clear. It tells us that nothing bad comes from God, so it's not really that God originates the suffering, it's that just God allows suffering to enter into our life
00:10:53
Speaker
And in those situations, he is up to something. But because there is suffering in the world and we do see suffering, that's where we get questions like, if there is a God, then why do bad things happen in the world? And, no, it wasn't you. I called it that time. And if there is a good God and he loves me, then why do bad things happen to me?
00:11:23
Speaker
I mean, anybody ever ask that question? I mean, think about the reality of what that question is couched in. It's seated in this belief that somehow we deserve better from God. And we're going to talk about that just a little bit here in a second. But I want to talk about Paul. Paul's perspective as he's sitting in prison is pretty remarkable because he acknowledges some things that are a little bit different than the perspective that you and I might have. First of all, he's amazed because people are hearing the gospel through his situation.
00:11:52
Speaker
Paul immediately recognizes that as he's sitting in that prison, he is taking the gospel by his testimony into a place where the gospel might not have been presented otherwise. He specifically mentions the imperial guard, which was an elite body of soldiers in the Roman Empire who were given special responsibilities of guarding unique prisoners like Paul.
00:12:14
Speaker
And because of that, these guys are getting to hear and see the testimony of a man who professes to follow after Jesus Christ. That's a pretty remarkable thing. And because of Paul's perspective on life, he's going, you know what, what matters most is that the gospel is being preached. It's not about me. That may be the most shocking thing for most of us as Christians is to hear that this morning. God did not create you to have comfort and convenience. He created you to develop a character in you that brings him glory.
00:12:44
Speaker
So at the end of the day, God doesn't look at you as you're praying to him, your nighttime prayer is going, are you comfortable? Did everything go okay for you today? How are you feeling? And here's the problem, most of us as Christians, that's how we orient our Christianity, right? We think the question of the day is, what did God do for me today? Don't believe me? Look at your social media feeds at the number of memes that come out that are centered around us.
00:13:12
Speaker
God is empowering you to do so and so and God wants you to feel so and so and those aren't bad things It's that the problem is the more we adopt that kind of perspective the more our gospel becomes narcissistic Guys God didn't come to die for you so that you could be elevated.
Enduring Suffering for God's Glory
00:13:31
Speaker
He came to die for you so that he could be elevated That's a big difference
00:13:37
Speaker
And so Paul understood this, that the gospel had to go forward and that was powerful. Secondly, he says others are more courageous in sharing the gospel. As people are watching his life, Paul kept this divine perspective again that's putting the gospel first. It's a priority for him and he thinks it should be priority for every believer. So he's more concerned about God's glory than his comfort.
00:14:00
Speaker
And he says, as I'm sitting here in this prison, there are people outside this prison who know what's going on and they have been emboldened to speak the gospel. They have been emboldened to speak the truth.
00:14:11
Speaker
Have you ever asked yourself the question when you see stories of persecution like in places like India, places like Bangladesh, even in the Middle East right now where Palestinian and Israeli Christians are right now suffering because of that? Do you ever think that maybe their suffering might be meant to be bold in you and I to be better believers here so that we don't get our world to that place?
00:14:34
Speaker
that maybe when somebody dies for their faith in India, it's supposed to inspire you to be courageous in living your faith more pronounced here in front of the world as it watches. That was Paul's mentality. If putting me in prison makes others go speak the gospel, then more power to you. Keep me here forever. And he unpacks that thought just a little more here as we dig into the last part of the chapter. The third thing that he saw, the third way that the gospel was being advanced, he said, Christ is honored through your lives.
00:15:04
Speaker
Christ is honored through your lives. As people watch us and you know they watch us, they see different examples of what Christ looks like in the believer. And sadly, not all of them are good. Sadly, not all of them are lived out exactly the way Christ commands us. Too many times we can get caught up again on our own comfort and we get caught asking the wrong questions, not how can God receive glory from what's going on in my life
00:15:32
Speaker
But how do I get this problem fixed? How do I get myself out from this discomfort that I'm going through? How do I get my anxious moments taken away? Well, 1 Peter 5, 7, God very clearly says, I've got a solution for you. Bring your anxieties to me because I care for you and I've got better control over the situation than you do. So how good are we at practicing that?
00:15:53
Speaker
When those anxious moments come into our lives, how good are we at saying, okay, I know the world is watching me and I want to bring God glory. So I'm going to go lay that all at his feet and quit trying to take it back for myself. Quit believing that I have a better solution than he does. And I get it. I get the hard questions because as I said, Christianity is not nice and neat. It doesn't fit into the perfect way that we would write it out. Sometimes there are really hard questions.
00:16:21
Speaker
Some of you may be familiar with a young man by the name of Chad Dorman. Chad Dorman was the national news headline back in July, primarily because of the horrible circumstance. He was a 32 year old father of three boys. And one day as he came home from work, he asked the wife and three boys to come back to the master bedroom just to come in and take a nap with him. And as they walked into the room, the father pulled out a 22 rifle and to the youngest man did one of the most horrible things that dad could ever do.
00:16:52
Speaker
As he did that, the stepdaughter walked in and screamed at the two boys that were still standing, run, get out of here. The mother as well, you know, get out of here, run, go as fast as you can. Three, four and seven years old. The two older boys began to run and as they did, the dad went with the 22 and chased down the middle boy.
00:17:18
Speaker
The seven year old found his way back to the house with the stepdaughter who was trying to shield him, trying to protect him, trying to find a place for him to go. And as she brought him back, the dad finished the job. But I've thought about that seven year old boy in that moment who was kneeling on the ground in front of his dad. What his thoughts might have been.
00:17:40
Speaker
I mean, how does a seven-year-old comprehend a dad that does that to him? How does he look at what's going on at the hands of an absolutely vile and evil person like that and go, okay, there must be a God. There must be a God who's going to take care of me in this moment. There must be a God who's got a plan for this. There wasn't at that moment any nice, neat Christian answers for that little fella.
00:18:10
Speaker
Or how about the story of a pastor, 36 years old, who is riding with his wife and three kids coming home from a beach trip. They literally get five minutes from their house when they are hit on the side of the vehicle by a guy who runs a stop sign. And in that collision, his wife is killed instantly and his young son is taken to a hospital two hours away where eventually he would be medicated with an overdose, an adult dosage that would kill
00:18:40
Speaker
him instantly. Stop his heart. You got to know that a pastor in that moment begins to negotiate with God and go, what in the world is this all about? Where were you when I needed you? I mean, I'm not perfect. I understand that, but I've devoted my life to serving you. I've devoted my life to doing what you've asked me to do. I've tried to follow the rules. I've tried to be the right kind of person. I've tried to be the godly man you want me to be, but when I needed you, I don't see you. What are you up to?
00:19:11
Speaker
And those are hard questions and you might go, I don't know if those are the questions I would ask, but I can tell you there were the questions I asked that day because it's my story. I was the guy who sat there on the side of that South Georgia highway and looked out through the broken windshield of that vehicle that day and screamed very literally, God, where were you when I needed you?
00:19:32
Speaker
And in that moment I began to question those verses that I had learned as a child growing up. Romans 8, 28, we know that in all things God works together for the good of those who love the Lord and who are called according to his purpose. And in that moment I thought of that verse and said, this doesn't feel very good.
00:19:49
Speaker
Psalm 121 where the psalmist writes and says over and over again You are a good God who never sleeps and never slumbers. You won't let your children be harmed You won't be allowed to stumble nothing will be able to touch you and I'm like, okay Was I not one of your children in this moment?
Finding Meaning and Joy in God's Plan
00:20:05
Speaker
Because this doesn't line up it doesn't make sense. It's not nice and neat So, how do you bring meaning at a suffering
00:20:18
Speaker
How do you find purpose to keep going when the suffering seems to just mount up and build and build and build? How do you find joy when joy seems to be elusive? Paul gives us some direction for this and I would submit to you that it starts very much with our perspective because God is always sovereign and God is always at work advancing his gospel
00:20:46
Speaker
we should always view our circumstances as opportunities to share the gospel. Put simply, where you are right now, the season you are in is no accident. It is God's ordained opportunity for you to bring Him glory. Let me just say that to you again. Where you are is no accident. You just wake up one morning and find yourself where you are. God has put you where you are, has given you what you have in your life because He wants to see you bring Him glory through what you're going through.
00:21:17
Speaker
So how do you honor Christ in your suffering? Number one, by rejoicing in Christ consistently. By rejoicing in Christ consistently. Here's the problem with most of our theology. Most of our theology has a real big problem in it because of this. We believe God owes us something. Now none of us would have the audacity to stand up and start a prayer by going, Oh God, who owes me everything.
00:21:47
Speaker
but secretly we somehow believe that because if you listen to the way we pray or the way we question, what we're literally asking God is, why did you think I deserved that? Why did you think I should have gone through that? God, what are you up to? This isn't the way somebody like me should be treated. So let me suggest to you the statement that we should understand is that God doesn't owe us anything.
00:22:17
Speaker
And the question should never be, God, why do bad things happen to people like me? But the question should more rightly be, God, why do you allow anything good to happen to people like us? Let me just tell you, you don't deserve Christ. You don't deserve his sacrifice.
00:22:37
Speaker
You don't deserve his love and I don't care how good you are at obeying all the commandments and the great commission and all those other things. There's nothing you could do to make Jesus love you more. The good news of the gospel is there's nothing you could do to make him love you less. You already have experienced the full extent of his love.
00:23:07
Speaker
So we have to ask the question, God, what are you up to in this season? And whatever it is, can I bring you glory?
Reflecting on God's Faithfulness and Earthly Attachments
00:23:17
Speaker
Let me just close this point by saying this statement. Don't weep because good times have ended. Rejoice because you were given them in the first place. Don't weep because good times have ended.
00:23:34
Speaker
Thank God because you had them in the first place. I got that little nugget from a great scholar by the name of Charles Schultz. If you don't know that name, he's the writer of the Peanuts cartoon. And it was actually Linus who said it. But isn't it so true? When we change our perspective about where we are and where we're headed, when we understand why we were created, that God did not create us for our glory but for His,
00:24:03
Speaker
then our perspective begins to change and we are able to find joy in the most difficult seasons. The second ray we honor Christ is by placing full reliance on his character. Full reliance on his character. I just thought about this sitting on the front row a minute ago. Didn't even make this connection in the first service. But I just thought about that song we were singing a minute ago. It is so sweet to trust in Jesus. Do you know why we can sing those words? Because Jesus' character is impeccable.
00:24:30
Speaker
He's always faithful, always good, always right, always makes the right decision, always does the best for us. Everything He does is good. We can't even conceive of that thought. Why? Because when we try to do very, very good for ourselves, we always find ourselves messing up a little bit. We don't go the full distance. We don't stay as faithful and dependable as we should. We make bad choices. Jesus is not that person.
00:24:56
Speaker
But what's really cool is we see this example as you read through the book of Psalms. We see David playing this out for us in an incredible way. David was absolutely transparent before God with his emotions and his feelings. I love it. There are times when I read the Psalms and I read some of the things that David wrote and I thought, brother, I wouldn't have gone there. You said things that I don't know that I'd had the courage to say to God. But because he did, we can.
00:25:26
Speaker
because he set such a great example for us, we have the ability to go to God and say, hey, I don't like what you're doing right now. I don't understand it. It makes no sense to me, but I trust you. I can tell you, I prayed that prayer in the months after the accident, not just once, not just a dozen times, many times. I said, God, I don't like you. I don't think you did the right thing for me right now that just doesn't feel right.
00:25:51
Speaker
But I know you did and I'm going to trust you because what you've done in the past has always been right and I'm going to trust in the future that everything has been right. That's why the Bible tells us many times over and over and over again that word is a car. Remember, remember the faithfulness of God. It's because of his past faithfulness that you can trust his future faithfulness.
00:26:14
Speaker
It's because you know he's dependable. He's never told you a lie. He's never broken a promise. He's never not been there. Because of that, you can know going forward in the midst of your suffering that he is going to be there for you. To guide you and protect you. To protect your eternal salvation and your standing before him. And to make sure that you get through the difficult season that you're in. The third way that we bring him glory is this.
00:26:42
Speaker
by representing Christ with boldness. By representing Christ with boldness. You need to know that if God's gonna make you like Jesus, he's gonna take you through everything that Jesus went through. Save one thing. You won't have to go to your own cross. Everything else though, Jesus is gonna expose you to because his goal, again, is your development of your character because in developing your character, making you more righteous like Jesus, in doing those things,
00:27:12
Speaker
He is glorified. So when you get to the point where you care more about His glory than your own, you can know you're on the right track. When you get to the point where you're more worried about His reputation than yours, you can know you're doing the right thing. So don't say you live for Christ if the world doesn't see it in you. Don't say that you live for Christ if they don't hear it in the words that you speak.
00:27:38
Speaker
I mean, take note of what Paul is saying here. Paul's perspective literally changed his outlook and his life as he sat in prison. Listen to his words. You kill me, I'll be with Jesus. And that's where I want to be in the first place. You let me live, I'm going to live for Jesus and I'm going to make him famous. You make me suffer, I'll make him even more famous by holding on to my joy while I go through this season.
00:28:09
Speaker
So, what are you living for? What are you really living for? Some of us in this room would say, I would be just like Paul and I would gladly go to jail for my faith. And Jesus says, I just want you to go to church for your faith. Some of us say, well, I would gladly go to prison to prove that Jesus is real. Then how about just taking two or three days and going on a mission journey to tell people he's real?
00:28:40
Speaker
Or how about just walking across the hall at work and having that gospel conversation that God has put on your heart for weeks that you just keep ignoring. Some of us are bold enough to say, hey, just like Paul, I believe so strongly in who Jesus is, I would gladly die for him. And Jesus says, could you please just live for me? That's all I'm asking right now. Just live for me. Just choose me first.
00:29:03
Speaker
Just choose me first, not your retirement, not your bank account, not your family, not your hobbies, not any of those things. Choose me first. Philippians 1, 21, I told you last week is the summary of this chapter. I mean, this book is a beautiful image. It says, for me to live as Christ and to die is gain. For me to live as Christ and to die is gain. Paul is saying, Jesus is my everything. Full stop.
00:29:33
Speaker
Full stop. Take away my job, I still gonna love Jesus. Take away my spouse, I'm still gonna love Jesus. Take away my circumstances, make them ugly, make them desperate, make them chaotic. Who cares? I still have my Jesus. But I'm gonna be honest with you, when the persecution comes, the church will scatter. There will be few of us who are bold enough still stand and hold on to Jesus.
00:30:06
Speaker
How many of you believe that the day you die, the moment your last breath is taken from you, that you will stand at the feet of your Savior and look at Him face to face? Then why do we hold on to life so desperately? If that's ultimately where you want to be, now please, I'm not encouraging you to go step in front of a truck, okay? Don't misunderstand me.
00:30:26
Speaker
But if our ultimate goal is to stand face to face with the one who gave his life for us, and that's the ultimate joy we could ever possibly have, then why do we hold on so tightly to everything here and now? Years ago, my family had the opportunity to go on a cruise together as a family. I say opportunity, the truth is my oldest daughter had canceled her wedding and everybody was absolutely miserable and depressed because of it, so I had to do something to get everybody back together. And boy, was it expensive.
00:30:57
Speaker
But we went on this cruise and we flew down to Orlando, drove over to Fort Lauderdale where the ship was going to be leaving the harbor. And I remember that first day as we got on the boat late afternoon, we went in and got our stuff checked in. You know, it's a long process to get the whole thing started. But went to our cabin and I went out on the deck and I remember looking out the deck towards the city of Fort Lauderdale as we left that evening, as the sun was beginning to set. You can see the lights in the distance as we moved away from the shore.
00:31:23
Speaker
Went back in, had dinner with my family, went to bed that night, woke up the next morning and we were at this incredibly beautiful island paradise. Absolutely gorgeous, white sandy beaches, beautiful clear water. I mean, a little bit of me going, is this possibly what heaven could be like? It was amazing.
00:31:46
Speaker
Now, Fort Lauderdale is a nice city, but if you've been to Fort Lauderdale, you know it's a city. And because it's a city, it's got lots of good things, but it's got some bad things. So you would have probably, if you had been on that boat that evening and had watched me, you would have probably thought I was very crazy as the boat was leaving. If I had run up on the deck and screamed at the captain, turned the boat around, I want to go back to Fort Lauderdale. I want to go back. I want to embrace the pollution.
00:32:13
Speaker
I want to go back and I want to experience the crime. I want to go back and I want to have another hamburger at a fast food place because I haven't had enough of those. You would have looked at me and said, what in the world are you thinking? And that captain probably would have stepped out of his office onto the bridge of the ship and looked at me and said, hang on, buddy, where you're going, you're going to love it. Don't hang on to Fort Lauderdale.
00:32:44
Speaker
Sadly many of us as followers of Christ are doing that very thing What does the Bible tell us We're looking forward to a city that has eternal foundations Where there never be any suffering no pain no anger no hurt no bitterness no tears no death no sickness and God looks at us from the bridge and says why are you still hanging on to the earth? Why are you still hanging on to the material things?
00:33:12
Speaker
Why are you still holding so tightly to your hobbies, so tightly to your job, so tightly to all the things around you? Because one of these days it will all be gone and all you will have is eternity. Now the question is, where will you spend that eternity? And in part, that answer is decided by what you hold on to now. Are you going to hold on to the things that the world tells you are important? Or are you going to hold on to Jesus?
00:33:47
Speaker
Paul says in this incredibly beautiful, incredibly powerful statement, for me to live as Christ and to die is the ultimate gain. And when we get to that place where we can answer the question, what are you living for? And that way, everything about us will change and the world will see it. Will you pray with me?
00:34:18
Speaker
Father, we thank you for the testimony of Paul. What an incredible, incredible story of a man who got it right, who understood the power of perspective, who understood the power of what it means to live boldly for the cause of Christ. This morning for some of us, we seek that, we have desired that, but we just haven't quite gotten there yet. And so maybe what we need is a fresh conversation with you about what our priorities really are.
00:34:49
Speaker
where they truly lie. Maybe there's somebody in a room this full, this many people, maybe there's somebody here today who says, you know what, never heard this explained this well, but now I'm beginning to understand why everywhere I look for purpose is not providing satisfaction. All the things I'm holding on to as I look at them, they just aren't bringing me the joy that I need.
00:35:15
Speaker
And as I look at my anxious situation, now it makes sense why I can't ever find peace in it. So maybe today's the day where you are introduced to the Jesus who changes everything. Maybe for others of you, it may be a time just to recommit yourself to what's really important. A time just to sit before God peacefully, quietly, and just say, hey, my priorities have been a little bit off.
00:35:43
Speaker
I'm one of those that's just been holding very tightly to the things of this world and have lost the perspective I should have had with my eyes off of Jesus and my eyes on everything else. I can promise you that that kind of situation is going to lead us to deep, deep anxiety because the world can't fix these things. The world can't even remedy these situations.
00:36:12
Speaker
So maybe this morning, Father, maybe what we need is the Holy Spirit to enter into some of us that we might respond right here in this moment.