Day 2316 Philippians-2 Confident Enough to be Joyful

Published: Feb. 29, 2024, 8 a.m.

Welcome to Day 2315 of Wisdom-Trek. Thank you for joining me. This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to\xa0Wisdom Philippians-2 Confident Enough to be Joyful \u2013 Daily Wisdom Putnam Church Message \u2013 11/12/2023 Joy in Living \u2013 Confident Enough to be Joyful \xa0 Last week, we began a new series in the letter to the Church in Philippi, where our focus for this month will be Joy in Living for this Thanksgiving season. We explored some insights and background into this letter, \xa0 This week, we will begin walking through Philippians as we delve into Joy in Living, specifically, how we can be Confident Enough to be Joyful. \xa0 Let\u2019s read Philippians 1:1-11, on page 1825 in your Pew Bibles. 1\xa0Paul and Timothy,\xa0servants of Christ Jesus, To all God\u2019s holy people\xa0in Christ Jesus at Philippi,\xa0together with the overseers\xa0and deacons[a]: 2\xa0Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Thanksgiving and Prayer 3\xa0I thank my God every time I remember you.\xa04\xa0In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray\xa0with joy\xa05\xa0because of your partnership\xa0in the gospel from the first day\xa0until now,\xa06\xa0being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion\xa0until the day of Christ Jesus. 7\xa0It is right\xa0for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart\xa0and, whether I am in chains\xa0or defending\xa0and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God\u2019s grace with me.\xa08\xa0God can testify\xa0how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. 9\xa0And this is my prayer: that your love\xa0may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight,\xa010\xa0so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,\xa011\xa0filled with the fruit of righteousness\xa0that comes through Jesus Christ\u2014to the glory and praise of God. \xa0 Ours is a frivolous age with lots of shallow, empty laughter \u2026 like the laugh tracks on a sitcom\u2026 but very little absolute joy. \xa0 Most people stumble around in perpetual confusion\u2014darkness, really. As they seek genuine joy, they satisfy themselves with only occasional glimpses of light\u2014artificial light. Occasionally, it\u2019s sad to say, that some of the light they\u2019re attracted to is a consuming fire. It destroys their lives rather than illuminating their minds or warming their hearts. \xa0 Paul would have understood this plight as he, too, groped around in darkness until that glorious day when the light of the gospel of Christ shone brightly into his life (Acts 9:1\u201319). Although he often experienced suffering from that day, he rarely let the darkening fog of discouragement cloud his mind or drive out the light of joy. \xa0 His letter to the Philippians, embossed with unfading joy on every page, proves