Hang tight while we fetch the video data and transcripts. This only takes a moment.
Connecting to YouTube player…
Fetching transcript data…
We’ll display the transcript, summary, and all view options as soon as everything loads.
Next steps
Loading transcript tools…
Be Joyful - Where's the Joy?, Part 1 of 15 | Back to the Bible | YouTubeToText
YouTube Transcript: Be Joyful - Where's the Joy?, Part 1 of 15
Skip watching entire videos - get the full transcript, search for keywords, and copy with one click.
Share:
Video Transcript
Video Summary
Summary
Core Theme
This content is an introductory overview of the Apostle Paul's letter to the Philippians, presented as a series of studies focused on finding and maintaining joy in ministry by understanding the letter's message, model, motives, and means.
[Music]
welcome to back to the bible radio
featuring best-selling author and
internationally known bible teacher
warren weirsby
today we begin a series of studies
focusing on the joy letter of the bible
paul's letter to the philippians there
are so many ways you can study this
marvelous letter it was a personal
letter written to thank the philippian
church for the offering that they had sent
sent
to help to support paul while he was a
prisoner in rome
it was also a pastoral letter because
paul had founded the church oh about 10
years before he wrote this letter
and the church was going through some
difficulty there was division
there was dissension in the church and
paul wanted
as a pastor to encourage them in their
spiritual unity
there's also a very practical purpose
behind the letter
it focuses on the joy of ministry
oh there are so many beautiful truths in
this letter
to encourage us in our ministry
ministry takes place when divine resources
resources
meet human needs through loving channels
to the glory of god
philippians chapter 1 verses 1 and 2
paul and timothy the servants of jesus christ
christ
to all the saints in christ jesus
who are at philippi with the bishops the
overseers and deacons grace be unto you
in peace from god our father
and from the lord jesus christ rather interesting
interesting
that paul does not introduce himself as
an apostle
sometimes in his letters he'll write
paul an apostle of jesus christ the
servant of god
but this letter opens paul and timothy
the servants
the slaves of jesus christ
in other words one of the emphases in
this letter is on
service it's on ministry and you know
i think what he's saying to me in
philippians is this
we ought to have a joyful ministry
my preacher friend is your ministry a
joy or a job
my missionary friend is your ministry a
blessing or a burden
sunday school teacher trustee deacon elder
elder
whatever your ministry may be in the
local church and i trust that you have one
one
is that ministry a source of joy to you
so many times we meet pastors and
missionaries sunday school teachers who
are just
greatly discouraged they've lost the joy
of their ministry and you know the joy
of the lord is our strength
is it any wonder that we find people
fainting and faltering and
falling when they've lost the joy of
their ministry
back in the year 1877 the well-known
preacher phillips brooks began to give
the yale lectures on preaching
and this is what he said quote i cannot
help but bearing witness to the
joy of the life which you anticipate
he was speaking of course to ministerial students
students
its delight never grows old its interest
never wanes
its stimulus is never exhausted let us
rejoice with one another
that in a world where there are a great many
many
good and happy things for men to do god
has given us the best
and the happiest and made us preachers
of his truth well not every preacher
agrees with that
right now some preacher is saying
brother weirsby you don't know what i'm
going through
well charles spurgeon had this to say in
his book an all-around ministry
preaching ought to be a joy constant preaching
preaching
should be constant enjoyment robert
murray mcshane that
saintly presbyterian wrote these words
if ministers only saw the preciousness
of christ
they would not be able to refrain from
clapping their hands with joy
and exclaiming i am a minister of christ i
i
am a minister of christ i can truly say
that i desire no other honor upon earth
than to be allowed to preach the
everlasting gospel
well the joy of ministry now when you
read the
letter to the philippians you discover
that there are four
sources of joy in the ministry
and they parallel the four chapters in
philippians now let me give you an
overview of philippians and then we'll
take each chapter
a section at a time now we're not going
to go into this book
in great depth we could do this we could
spend months and months and months
studying philippians
what i want to do during these days is
simply give you an overview of philippians
philippians
to help to stir up within you the joy
of ministry i don't want you to falter or
or
faint i don't want you to fall or fail
i'm asking the lord jesus christ by his
spirit to
use the word to kindle in your heart
once again the joy of ministry i know
you get tired we get tired
in the lord's work we'd better not get
tired of the lord's work
i know there is opposition there are
demands there are problems
physical and emotional and spiritual and financial
financial
but my friend you're going to discover
that in philippians
god opens up to you all of the sources
of joy in the ministry chapter 1
the first source of joy in our ministry
the message of our ministry now what is
our message the gospel
the gospel you'll notice in verse 5 he's
thankful for your fellowship
in the gospel down in verse 12 he talks
about the furtherance
of the gospel over in verse 27 he says
striving together for the faith of
the gospel the gospel is the important thing
thing
to the apostle paul and the faith of the gospel
gospel
the furtherance of the gospel the fellowship
fellowship
of the gospel the gospel is important to
the apostle paul
it's important to you and me because
apart from the gospel we
simply have no message the word gospel
is used nine times in philippians six
times here in chapter one
now this gospel is the message of the
lord jesus christ
jesus christ is mentioned 18 times in
this first chapter
and so when you put it all together you
find out paul is saying this if you want
to have joy in your ministry don't talk
about yourself don't preach yourself
tie everything to the gospel of jesus christ
christ
now what is the gospel the good news
that christ died for our sins
that he was buried that he arose again
the third day
all of this is validated by the scriptures
scriptures
the gospel is the good news that you
don't have to stay the way you are
now if you had one message to give to
the whole world what would that message be
be
an economic message an ecological message
message
how would you help the whole world with
one message that one message
is the gospel and you and i have the
joyful privilege
of sharing the gospel of jesus christ
paul points out in chapter 1 that the
gospel relates to three different groups
of people in verses 3 through 11
he talks about the fellowship of the
gospel relating to god's people
we as god's people must never neglect
the gospel now we have not rejected the
gospel or we wouldn't be saved
but we must never neglect the gospel so
in three through 11
he talks about the fellowship of the
gospel and he relates it to god's people
then in verses 12 through 26 he talks
about the
furtherance of the gospel and he relates
it to the lost
you and i have the joy of sharing this
message with
lost sinners that they might trust jesus christ
christ
and be saved now it's a wonderful thing
to have that kind of a message to preach
jesus christ
you say well i'm only an usher in our
church don't ever say only an
usher because you are the first people
to give visitors a good welcome to the
house of god
the first impression that they get of
the church comes from the usher
and you have the joy of preparing the
way for unsaved people to receive the
gospel you sing in the choir you teach a
sunday school class
you're a visitation worker whatever your
task may be
remember this we relate the gospel to
the lost
the furtherance of the gospel then in
verses 27 through 30
he talks about the faith of the gospel
as it relates to our adversaries verse 28
28
in nothing be terrified by your adversaries
adversaries
now here are three different circles of influence
influence
and you and i have the joy of sharing
the message of the gospel
to the inner circle of the saints the
fellowship of the gospel
to that wider circle of the loss the
furtherance of the gospel
and even to our adversaries those who
try to oppose us
chapter one our first source of joy
the message of our ministry the gospel
of jesus christ now in chapter 2
he gives us the second source of our joy
that's the model
for our ministry and who is the model
for our ministry
the lord jesus christ when you read the
first four verses you find paul
hinting to them that they need to get
together in the church
there's division they aren't like-minded
they are not of one accord
there's strife there's vain glory
somebody's trying to be important and be
boss you know sometimes the the church is
is
is divided because of a pastor who's
dictatorial or perhaps a board or a deacon
deacon
or a church member who has to have his
own way or her own way
but in chapter 2 paul says if you want
joy in your ministry
let jesus christ be the model for your ministry
ministry
now he gives us three conditions that we
must meet if we're going to follow the
example of jesus christ
verses 1 through 11 we must submit to
the person
above us even as jesus submitted and
became a servant
verses 12 through 16 we must surrender
to the power within us
it's god who works in you both to will
and to do
of his good pleasure submit to the
person above you
surrender to the power within you and
then 17-30
serve the people around you now those
three conditions are difficult to meet
but they're so simple to understand
you say i want joy in my ministry then
follow the example of jesus christ what
did he do
he submitted to the person above him he
did the father's will
he surrendered to the power within him
the holy spirit of god
and he served the people around him and
he did it in such a beautiful loving way
the problem is today we have too many
celebrities and not enough servants
there are too many pastors and other
church people
who want to be important they want to be
leaders but they don't want to be
servants oh what we need today
are servants who lead and leaders who serve
the message of our ministry chapter 1
that gives us joy
the model for our ministry chapter 2
the lord jesus christ chapter three now
the motives for our ministry
oh this is a marvelous thing why are you ministering
ministering
why do you study and preach why do you
visit why do you take care of people why
are you ministering
well paul gives us in chapter 3 three
very wonderful motives for our ministry
and they'll bring
joy verses 1 through 11 his
righteousness becoming like the lord jesus
jesus
verses 12 through 13 his reward gaining
that reward that he has for us the prize
of the high calling of god in christ jesus
jesus
and then verses 17 through 21 his return
looking for jesus to come again are you
discouraging your ministry today
then what are your motives is your
motive to become like the lord jesus his righteousness
righteousness
that's philippians 3 1-11 is your motive
his reward or the praise of men
verses 12-16 are you looking for his return
return
verses 17-21 now these motives will give you
you
joy in your ministry you have any other
motives and you're going to be discouraged
discouraged
down-hearted and defeated
now we go to chapter 4 because i can
hear somebody saying well brother
that's all very wonderful you talk about
the message of our ministry and the
model for our ministry and the motives
for our ministry
but we have financial problems we have
people problems we've got difficulties
in our church that relate to
nitty gritty things like heating systems
and roofs and
and being able to support missionaries
well that takes us to chapter four
the joy of the means of our ministry
god takes care of the means for our
ministry now what are these means
well verses 1 2 and 3 god's people
god's people are a marvelous means for
ministry oh i know
they can create problems but they can
also help to solve problems god's people
helping you now look at the people of
god through the heart of
love that jesus had in chapter four
verses one through three
paul talks about his fellow workers who
were dearly beloved his joy and his
crown is that your attitude toward people
people
resource number one the means for our ministry
ministry
people and then verses uh four through nine
nine
god's peace oh you need god's peace
within you
the problems are not outside of you my
friend the problems are inside of you
the heart of every problem is the
problem in the heart
so we have god's people beside you
verses one two and three god's peace
within you verses four through nine god's
god's
providence around you verse 10
and then 14-18 god in his providence is
at work
around you god is caring for you
then there's god's power within you
verses 11 through 13
and there's god's promise before you
verse 19
my god shall supply all your need
according to his riches in glory
by christ jesus i want to repeat that
now you're discouraged today and you
just don't know where the next
check is going to come from to pay the
bills you don't know where the next
sunday school teacher is going to
come from you're wondering why the choir
is falling apart
well let's look at these these marvelous
provisions now god's people beside you
verses one two and three god's peace
within you
four through nine god's providence
around you
verse 10 and verses 14-18
god's power within you verses 11-13
and then god's promise before you
verse 19. you see god has all of the means
means
necessary to provide everything for your ministry
ministry
all you've got to do is find out what he
wants you to do remember now you begin
with the message if you're preaching the
message he'll provide the means
if you're following the model the lord
jesus he'll provide the means
if you have the right motives he'll
provide the means
but if our motives are not right god
will not provide i want you to have joy
in your ministry
i don't want you to be discouraged god
doesn't want you to be discouraged
perhaps you've read in the peanuts comic strip
strip
where linus says that one day he wants
to become a great doctor
but lucy says you can't be a doctor you
don't love mankind to which linus
replied i do love mankind it's people i
can't stand
and sometimes the people of god are
difficult to get
along with and yet here's the apostle paul
paul
in chapter 1 verses 3 through 11
explaining to us the tithes that bind us
together now what are they
i thank my god upon every remembrance of you
you
always in every prayer of mine for you
all making requests with joy
for your fellowship in the gospel from
the first
day until now being confident of this
very thing
that he who hath begun a good work in
you will perform it complete it
until the day of jesus christ the first
tithe that was
binding the hearts of the philippians to
the heart of the apostle paul
i have you in my mind
he remembered them i thank my god upon
every remembrance of you that means the
whole remembrance
now there were some things about the
philippian church that when he
remembered them could have brought sorrow
sorrow
for example when he was at troas acts
chapter 16.
he didn't know where to go he was
waiting waiting waiting then he had that vision
vision
well he could say i want to forget about
that delay at troas he had a vision of a
man who said come over and help us
and so paul and his team went over to philippi
philippi
and they couldn't find that man but they
did find a
women's prayer meeting thank god for
women's prayer meetings
a group of jewish women and some
gentiles who were jewish proselytes
or jewish followers were there
having a prayer meeting by the river and
then that slave girl came along
and created problems for paul paul was
thrown into prison he was whipped
he was humiliated now there was division
in the church at philippi there were
some people who were fighting one another
another
paul could have had some memories of
philippi that would bring him sorrow
but you know what he says here i thank
god upon every remembrance the whole
thing you know what he's saying
he is saying you've got to see the total picture
picture
now my preacher friend there are people
in your church who are creating problems
for you
but you've got to see the total picture
look at them
through the eyes of jesus christ and the gospel
gospel
paul said i thank my god upon every
remembrance of you
i'm thankful for your fellowship in the
gospel i'm confident that god is at work
in your life
maybe he's not at work like he ought to
be that's not his
fault that's your fault maybe you're not
allowing him to do everything he wants
to do but you must look at people
in jesus christ chapter 1 verse 1
to all the saints in christ jesus
every chapter in philippians begins with in
in
chapter 2 verse 1 if there be any consolation
consolation
in christ chapter 3 verse 1 finally my
brethren rejoice
in the lord in chapter 4
we read verse 1 so stand fast
in the lord always look at god's people
in jesus christ you know whenever you
meet an unsaved person you can love him
because he's somebody for whom christ
died whenever you meet a christian you
can love him
he's someone in whom christ lives paul
said i have you
in my mind i thank my god upon the whole
remembrance of you
missionary friend that person who is
creating a problem for you right
now a hundred years from now you'll look
back and you'll say you know
god was taking care of that god is at work
work
be patient let's be thankful for the
fellowship of the gospel
let's be thankful for the people of god
i have you in my mind that's the first tie
tie
that binds our hearts together but in
verses 7 and 8 there's a second tie that
binds our hearts together
paul says i have you in my heart even as
it is right for me to think this of you
all i notice that nine times he talks
about you
all there was division in the church he
wants to include
everybody in his message even as it is
right for me to think this of you all
because i
have you in my heart
it's one thing to have somebody in your
mind and quite something else to have
them in your heart
in as much as both in my bonds and in
the defense and confirmation of the gospel
gospel
you all are partakers of my grace
for god is my witness how greatly i long after
after
you all in the tender mercies of jesus christ
christ
tie number one i have you in my mind is
there somebody in your church you're
trying to forget
is there somebody in your christian life
you you don't want to have them in your
memory watch out
you'll lose the joy of ministry secondly
i have you in my heart
this was not a normal natural human
love this was a divinely supplied love
it was the love of the lord jesus christ
i long after you all
in the tender mercies of jesus christ we
are taught of god to love one another
more than that we have that gift of love
in our hearts the love of god is shed
abroad in our hearts
by the holy spirit who is given unto us
we're commanded to love one another
now god doesn't command the heart to
feel a certain way he commands the will
to act a certain way what is christian love
love
christian love is an act of the will
christian love means i treat you the way
god treats me
god is patient with me so i'll be
patient with you
god is kind to me i'll be kind to you
and you should be kind to me
god tells me the truth i should tell you
the truth and do it in love the way god
does it christian love is not a feeling
you say well there are folks in the
church i don't like that may be true
you might not want to spend a week's
vacation with them or even an
evening with them that doesn't make any
difference in christian love it's not a
matter of feeling it's a matter of willing
willing
let's be thankful for one another i have
you in my mind
i have you in my heart i have you
in my prayers
thanks for being a part of our back to
the bible listening family it's
wonderful to have you with us each day
if you miss part of the program or you'd
like to listen again
just come to back to thebible.org backtothebible.org
backtothebible.org
back to the bible leading you forward in
Click on any text or timestamp to jump to that moment in the video
Share:
Most transcripts ready in under 5 seconds
One-Click Copy125+ LanguagesSearch ContentJump to Timestamps
Paste YouTube URL
Enter any YouTube video link to get the full transcript
Transcript Extraction Form
Most transcripts ready in under 5 seconds
Get Our Chrome Extension
Get transcripts instantly without leaving YouTube. Install our Chrome extension for one-click access to any video's transcript directly on the watch page.
