Joy Stealers

JUNE 13, 2021 STUDY NOTES PHILIPPIANS 3:2-3 BIBLE TEACHER: CLIFTON JONES JOY STEALERS INTRODUCTION Last Sunday our subject was “Rejoice in Jesus” from, Php 3:1 Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not grievous, but for you it is safe. Today our subject is “Joy Stealers” from Philippians 3:2-3 We need to realize all of the many different things that can and will steal away our joy in Jesus We can allow the pressures of life to steal our joy, but listen to James, Jas 1:2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; To “fall into” means that we find ourselves in-the midst of something we didn’t want to happen James did not say “if,” but “when” you fall into them, they will come about unexpectedly When they come it is easy to allow discouragement, depression, and anxiety to overcome us James said “count,” a word which refers to our “thinking,” referring to the way we are to think Does your spiritual attitude change when the circumstances of your life changes? How do you handle your day-by day problems? Do you pray and study God’s Word daily? When problems come, do you continue to think, talk, and act as a Christian? Are you growing and maturing spiritually through the difficult experiences of life.? We are to think through to a conclusion, the conclusion is “joy,” to think it “all joy” What James has to say can only apply to Christians, the lost will never understand what he says God has “joy” for the Christian in the time of our problems, joy is in Jesus, He is always present James is teaching that nothing should take away or steal the “joy” of the Christian life Sin can steal the joy of the Christian life, David experienced the loss of joy because of sin Listen to his prayer, Psa 51:2 Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. Psa 51:3 For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. Sin stole the joy of his salvation, Psa 51:12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. Satan uses many different ways to steal away the joy of the Christian life In Philippians 3 Paul warns us of one of the most dangerous attempts of Satan that Christians face When we realize what that attempt is we will recognize that it is a present attempt of Satan today So, we must pay attention to Paul’s warnings and defeat Satan’s attempt to steal away our joy Php 3:2 Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision. Paul gives us a three-fold warning when he says “Beware,” which means “pay attention” Paul directs us to be sure that we are giving attention, keep your eyes and mind open at all times Be on guard, be aware of Satan’s attempts to steal your joy, avoid them, keep away from them There is a danger we must avoid, something that is ever-present, it is present today In Paul’s day the people who were dangerous to the joyful life of a Christians were “Judaizers” They were teaching dangerous false doctrines that would take away the joy of Jesus They were also known as “legalists,” their faith was in the Mosaic Law instead of Jesus Today they are given the title of “False Prophets” or “False Teachers” Paul is not describing three different groups of false teachers but describing them in 3 ways He holds nothing back when it comes to warning us of false teachers and their teaching Page 1 of 5 He uses bold terms to describe them, “dogs, evil-workers, mutilators” Notice that Paul states “beware” before each of his descriptions of the joy stealers Jesus used the same word and for the same reason, Mat 7:15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Mat 16:6 Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. Mar 12:38 And he said unto them in his doctrine, Beware of the scribes, which love to go in long clothing, and love salutations in the marketplaces, The titles of those that Jesus warned us of have changed, but Satan is still deceiving people Mar 13:5 And Jesus answering them began to say, Take heed lest any man deceive you: There are many ways that Satan steals away the joy of a Christian through his deception, 2Ti 3:13 But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. Paul uses very strong language to warn of these false teachers, he did not hold anything back Beware of dogs Many of you have lap dogs and it will be difficult for you to understand what Paul is telling us These “dogs” were not house pets, Paul does not have in mind Lassie, Fido, or Rin Tin Tin He is not referring to pampered, shampooed, manicured pets that people have today He is talking about a mutt, a stray, a scavenger, a cur dog, a garbage hound The point is what the dogs fed on, they fed on garbage, decayed and rotted food Which is a good description of false teaching, Jesus said, Mat 7:6 Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you. False prophets and false teachers have no appreciation for Biblical truth Jesus said they will trample it under their feet, they will tear it apart just like a dog would do The term “dogs” was a term for contempt, a term of reproach, used by both Jew and Gentile The Jews called the Gentiles dogs, Paul now calls the Judaizers dogs In the book of Acts, we find that the Judaizers followed Paul and denied his teaching They taught that Gentile Christians must practice Jewish ceremonial laws, traditions, and customs They preached a “works salvation,” teaching that salvation could not be by grace alone That salvation must be by faith plus works, keep the Law of Moses or you will not be saved Paul often denied their teaching, Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Eph 2:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast. Paul identified their teaching as dangerous to those who taught it and those who listened Paul taught that the gospel of salvation was the gospel of grace, Gal 1:6 I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: There is no other gospel but there are those who teach another gospel, Gal 1:7 Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. How serious is that? How dangerous is the thought of another gospel? Paul tells us, Gal 1:8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. Was that clear enough? Did you get the point? If not, listen to the next verse, Gal 1:9 As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed. Those that Satan is using today to steal away the joy of salvation are not known as Judaizers But Satan still uses the same false teachings that he has always used Teaching that salvation is faith plus, and the plus can be presented in numerous ways A false salvation is no salvation at all, and if there is no salvation there is no real salvation joy Page 2 of 5 There can be satisfaction of mind in a false salvation, satisfied because they are sincere Criminals are sincere about their criminal acts, and satisfied as long as they are not caught A true salvation experience involves the mind and the heart, Rom 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. Psa 13:5 But I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation. Psa 32:11 Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart. Satan’s joy stealing begins with a counterfeit salvation, teaching many ways to be saved Satan seeks to steal the joy of a true Christian by denying salvation truths, he works evil BEWARE OF EVIL WORKERS “Evil” refers to mischief works, deceitful deeds, working that which is unrighteous These “evil workers” pretend to be workers of righteousness, 2Co 11:13 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. Satan’s workers are hard workers, they are committed to their evil ways The book of Acts presents the determination of “evil workers,” and the stand they took Paul says, BEWARE OF THE CONCISION The word “concision” is actually a mockery of the Judaizers and what they were teaching The meaning of the word “concision” is to mutilate, Paul accused them of being butcherers Paul had in mind their teaching that Gentiles must be circumcised in order to be saved, Act 15:1 And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved. The preaching of Paul challenged their teaching, instructing Jew and Gentile concerning salvation, Rom 2:28 For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: Rom 2:29 But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God. The issue was brought before the Jerusalem Council, a council of church leaders (Acts 15:1-29) Peter identified the salvation of Jews and Gentiles, Act 15:7 And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe. Act 15:8 And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us; Act 15:9 And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. Act 15:10 Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? Act 15:11 But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they. The conclusion was that Jew or Gentile is saved by grace through faith in Christ alone Satan did not give up his cause to steal away the joy of Jesus in and through salvation Paul did not give up his cause to teach the truth of salvation, Col 2:6 As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: Col 2:7 Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. Col 2:8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. Col 2:9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. Col 2:10 And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power: Col 2:11 In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: In verse 8 Paul says the danger is allowing false teachers to rob you of the truth of salvation Page 3 of 5 Satan does that through any and every false teaching or any man-made theory of salvation Paul said all of which is “vain deceit,” meaning that it is worthless deception Satan is still teaching that faith in Christ alone is not the only way of salvation Satan is still teaching that those who are saved are not complete in Christ, Peter has the answer, 2Pe 1:3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: 2Pe 1:4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. That He has given us “all things” does not mean everything we want for a worldly life But God has given us everything we need to live a Godly Christian life, in this present world Paul presents those same truths to us in Philippians 3:3 Php 3:3 For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh. Paul presents Christians as the true circumcision based upon three facts or three differences Three characteristics of a true Christian which distinguish them from a false salvation Paul is not referring to physical circumcision, but in a figurative sense of spiritual circumcision Spiritual circumcision is that of the work of Christ in the heart and not the body (Col. 2:11) That which is of Christ when we receive Christ as our Savior, Paul gives us the evidence WHICH WORSHIP GOD IN THE SPIRIT Too often people today limit the worship of God to a church service on Sunday Those who do are quick to criticize those who claim to worship God on Sunday in other ways Those who claim they are worshipping God in the park, in the mountains, or on the lake True worship goes beyond coming to church to sing hymns and hear a sermon True worship goes beyond enjoying the world that God created To worship God, we must live for Christ daily, live a Spirit-filled life, serving Christ daily Satan will steal your joy of worship through a selfish and false worship ritual Is your attendance today a religious ritual or a commitment of your heart to Christ? Did you come to church with a hunger for God’s Word, are you listening to learn? Did you come to learn so that you can go out to serve Christ and minister to others? Did you come to church as a “Selfish Saint,” they better do it my way, or I won’t be back? Or did you come to church as a “Serving Saint,” to be a blessing and inspiration to others? Jesus said, Joh 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. To worship God is to acknowledge who God is, to acknowledge who we are in Christ In Christ we are saved to serve God, Eph 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. Worship is an experience of the heart, obeying God and serving God in the Spirit When we do, we will REJOICE IN CHRIST JESUS Here the word “rejoice” has the thought of glory or the sense of feeling proud The point is being proud of Christ in you, proud of your salvation and the privileges of salvation You can live for Christ, you can be a witness for Christ, what a joy it is to tell others about Jesus Have you allowed Satan to steal that joy from you? To be a witness for Christ is not what you are going to do, but what you will allow Christ to do To be a joyful witness for Christ there can be NO CONFIDENCE IN THE FLESH There is no joy in telling people what you have done for Jesus, which is often heard today Page 4 of 5 The joy is telling others what Jesus has done for you, don’t let Satan steal that joy CONCLUSION Satan does not want you to rejoice in a true salvation experience He will satisfy you with a false salvation experience: such as, raised by Christian parents; being a good person; christened or baptized; member of a church; religious; I believe there is a God And there are many other man-made theories of salvation and ways to serve and please God In the flesh there is no joy of salvation, in the flesh there is no joy of sanctification The fulness of joy is living daily with the awareness of the presence of God, Psa 16:11 Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore. There is a song that presents that same truth to us, listen to it Page 5 of 5