The reading this morning came from Philippians 3:7-9
The cause of christian joy is fellowship with other christians.
Who are you? Are you the same person in church as you are in public? Are you the same with friends from outside church as you are with those from church?
There are three words we can get from today's scripture that help understand christian joy.
Bankruptcy - or as Jesus put it - "poor in spirit". Paul reflects on what he had before Christ called him and considers it rubbish. Being proud of our heritage is not necessarily a bad thing but that pride shouldn't develope into arrogancy. We should see ourselves as having nothing of value.
Intimacy - we need to personally know Jesus. We need to put our spiritual lives in order. When we share intimacy with Jesus we share in His victories.
Expectancy - Do you expect God to do things, to answer prayer? Do you expect opportunities to share your faith in everyday life? Paul did! When you tune out everything except God's voice then you will know the joy of expectancy.
Earthly prizes mean nothing. We shoul follow Paul's footsteps and press on to the goal, hoping to hear the "Well done good and faithful servant" from God when we reach the end of our journey.
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