Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith,Having this confidence, I know that I will remain, yes, and remain with you all for your progress and joy in the faith,And having this confidence, I know that I shall abide and continue with you all for your furtherance and joy of faith;And having this confidence, I know that I shall abide, yea, and abide with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith;
3 sermons cite this verse
… But instead, in that dark, dank prison, Paul wrote the most positive book in the Bible, Philippians. Now, in Philippians chapter one, verses 12 to 30, Paul, who is writing from prison, models four principles for being happy no matter what happens in your life. This is a very practical message. I hope you'll take notes on this. I want you to see the four choices that Paul made so you can make these same choices too. Again, you're as happy as you choose to be. All right. So here are the four principles, the four choices. First, I can be happy no matter what happens in my life if I choose to, write this down, remember God can bring good out of anything. That's the first choice. I choose to remember that God can bring good out of anything. Now, Romans 8, 28, that famous verse of scripture in the Bible says this, we know, not we guess, we know that in all that happens, all that happens, that's the good, the bad, and the ugly, we know that in all that happens, God works for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose. …
… verse 25 convinced of this I know that I will remain and continue with you all for your progress and literally joy of faith. That's what he's referred to as their joy, the joy of faith. For Paul, joy and faith are inseparable. When you have saving faith, you have tasted the soul-satisfying value of Jesus. That's what it means to be converted, tasting that the Lord is good. Those taste buds are dead, you're made alive, and you taste the Lord is good. I like what it tastes, it's good. So it means to be saved. That's the second facet of the diamond of Christian joy, the joy of faith. What does faith rejoice in? The Word of God. I got texts for all these, I'm going to skip the text, you can find them. The Word of God, the love of God, the final salvation of God, suffering, hope of glory of God, God himself. I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy. So the second facet of joy is the joy of faith, and it is faith in all that God is for us in Jesus. This is not joy in giving faith away. This is the joy that's straight-up vertical. …
Right now, it's time for the Word of God. Let's go. The book of Philippians chapter 1, verse 20 through 26. No, no, no. Let's go all the way back to verse 18. I was going to speed it up for time, but I want to read from verse 18, so I'm going to read from verse 18. Then the Lord gave me this scripture, and then he gave me a picture, and I want to give both of you today. But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this, I rejoice. Yeah, and I will continue to rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and God's provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, What has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance. Verse 20 says, I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now, as always, Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I don't know. I'm torn between the two. I'm trying to make a decision. I don't know which to choose. I'm torn between the two. I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far, but it's more necessary for you that I remain in …