Rejoice in the LORD Always!
(Philippians chapter 4)
We come now to our closing message from the book of Philippians and the last aspect of our spiritual warfare.
The topic is thread throughout Philippians. The topic is joy. The word “joy “is found in the NIV translation of the Bible, 4 times in Philippians (Phil 1:4, 25, 26; 2:2, 4:1), and the word “rejoice: is found six times (Phi 1:18; 2:17,18; 3:1; 4:4,10). No one in any battle fares well if morale is low.
Paul ended Ephesians by encouraging Christians to put on the Christian's armor that they might stand.
Ephesians 6:10-11 10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.
Paul in Philippians teaches us how to wage the war that we might be able to stand.
Philippians 1:27 Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit,
contending as one man for the faith of the gospel
Philippians 4:1 Therefore, my brothers, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, that is how you should stand firm in the Lord, dear friends!
With each chapter in Philippians we have considered one item from each that is needed to stand.
Table 1. Topics in each message
-
Chapter one Courage
Chapter two Unity
Chapter three The Lord
Chapter four Joy
We will examine the last chapter and discover two “joy-suckers” that deplete our morale and two joy producers. They are:
Joy-Suckers
- Division (Phil 4:1–3) The problem between Euodia and Syntyche
- Worry and fear (Phil 4:4–9) The need of thankful prayer
Joy Producers
- Contentment (Phil 4:10–13) Learning to trust God
- Giving (Phil 4:14–23)
The Philippian gift to Paul
