SOAKED IN JOY: part 2

JOY COMES THROUGH FAITH IN JESUS
March 30, 2008
with Adam Waters

Philippians 1:12-26 And I want you to know, my dear brothers and sisters, that everything that has happened to me here has helped to spread the Good News. For everyone here, including the whole palace guard, knows that I am in chains because of Christ. And because of my imprisonment, most of the believers here have gained confidence and boldly speak God’s message without fear. It’s true that some are preaching out of jealousy and rivalry. But others preach about Christ with pure motives. They preach because they love me, for they know I have been appointed to defend the Good News. Those others do not have pure motives as they preach about Christ. They preach with selfish ambition, not sincerely, intending to make my chains more painful to me. But that doesn’t matter. Whether their motives are false or genuine, the message about Christ is being preached either way, so I rejoice. And I will continue to rejoice. For I know that as you pray for me and the Spirit of Jesus Christ helps me, this will lead to my deliverance. For I fully expect and hope that I will never be ashamed, but that I will continue to be bold for Christ, as I have been in the past. And I trust that my life will bring honor to Christ, whether I live or die. For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better. But if I live, I can do more fruitful work for Christ. So I really don’t know which is better. I’m torn between two desires: I long to go and be with Christ, which would be far better for me. But for your sakes, it is better that I continue to live. Knowing this, I am convinced that I will remain alive so I can continue to help all of you grow and experience the joy of your faith. And when I come to you again, you will have even more reason to take pride in Christ Jesus because of what he is doing through me.
INTRO
One of my favorite movies of all time is Braveheart. The movie is extremely inspiring. It is a fictional story based on a historic figure in William Wallace. Wallace, motivated by his wife’s wrongful death, is trying to lead his countrymen to freedom as they fight the English. Wallace is driven by an unyielding passion that his oppressed countrymen cannot ignore. Wallace does not fear men… does not fear death… his belief that he is doing the right thing causes him to perform feats that should not have been possible.

GETTING RID OF WASTE
 We must get rid of the waste surrounding the word faith… so we can find joy there.
 PISTIS (pee-stees) or PISTEOS (pee-steh-oh-s) means belief yes, but also trust, conviction, assurance, a belief in a promise, proof!
 HEBREWS 11:1 “What is faith? It is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot yet see.”
 JAMES 2:26 “Just as the body is dead without a spirit, so also faith is dead without good deeds.”
 Today, we want you to experience the inner delight of a faith that NO ONE can touch.

As a swimmer, I will…
 SATISFY the Spirit’s leading.
 WIN the battles of the flesh.
 INHERIT the Kingdom.
 MANIFEST the character of God.
SWIMMING LESSON: JOY comes through faith in Jesus
 Faith INSPIRES us to rejoice when we get the chance to share the love of Jesus.
 Faith INSPIRES us to rejoice when others get the chance to share the love of Jesus.
 Faith INSPIRES us to live a life that matters.
 Faith INSPIRES us to hold tightly to our joy, so that we can continue on.

WRAP IT UP: Where is your faith in the freedom that Christ provides? W. Wallace had faith that through belief in each other they could win their freedom from the English. Today, where is your faith? Has it “inspired” you to rejoice? Has it inspired you to rejoice in the fact that our freedom is already won?