Bro. Hughes continues his series on joy with a text from Paul’s letter to the church at Philippi. In this letter, Paul describes the joy he has in the gospel of Jesus. He mentions four minds; one in each chapter that the believer must have.

Chapter 1 The single mind; to develop a singleness of purpose. To live for Jesus Christ. Everything that Paul did in life, he did through the lens of living for Jesus. Doing this, Paul could rejoice in the face of every circumstance because he looked at it as a way to spread the gospel.

Chapter 2, The submissive mind. When we surrender our minds to Christ, the world cannot get to us. The reason for conflict in life is because people want to be first, but when we get our focus on Him, we stop trying to be first.

Chapter 3 - The Spiritual mind. Most people are concerned about earthly things, but we have to be concerned about heavenly things. We strive for possessions and things, but the truth is that the possessions we seek possess us.

Chapter 4 - The Worried Mind. Worry affects all of us. There is much to be worried about in the world right now, but worry robs us of our peace. Worry is faith in reverse. The peace that passes all understanding is the key to not having a worried mind. The peace of God will guard us like a century posted on the wall.

We are blessed with a group of good men in our church. Men who stand in the gap for their families against the treats of our world. In our text, the people faced a threat that was almost unbearable. A storm in the desert is particularly dangerous. Sometimes the winds bury an entire caravan in the sand before they can even begin to plan an escape. The only escape is the shelter of a rock to block the drift of the sand. Men must serve as a rock in the desert tempest in our world of shifting sands. God designed us to be a rock to stop the shifting of life. That is why the enemy has worked so hard to attack men Our culture portrays men as idiots and fools in movies and television. Like the rock in the desert, we do not have to change the world, we have to change our part of the world. Men must be a rock in their family and their community. The atmosphere can be changed simply by a man standing and saying NO. Every man has an influence. Each of us must be aware of that influence and mindful of what we are demonstrating to those who watch us. The hope of any society are men standing in opposition to the things that would crumble that society. Men serve as shelter and protection against what life brings. Like the rock in the desert, men resist the drift.

We are blessed with a group of good men in our church. Men who stand in the gap for their families against the treats of our world. In our text, the people faced a threat that was almost unbearable. A storm in the desert is particularly dangerous. Sometimes the winds bury an entire caravan in the sand before they can even begin to plan an escape. The only escape is the shelter of a rock to block the drift of the sand. Men must serve as a rock in the desert tempest in our world of shifting sands. God designed us to be a rock to stop the shifting of life. That is why the enemy has worked so hard to attack men Our culture portrays men as idiots and fools in movies and television. Like the rock in the desert, we do not have to change the world, we have to change our part of the world. Men must be a rock in their family and their community. The atmosphere can be changed simply by a man standing and saying NO. Every man has an influence. Each of us must be aware of that influence and mindful of what we are demonstrating to those who watch us. The hope of any society are men standing in opposition to the things that would crumble that society. Men serve as shelter and protection against what life brings. Like the rock in the desert, men resist the drift.

We are blessed with a group of good men in our church. Men who stand in the gap for their families against the treats of our world. In our text, the people faced a threat that was almost unbearable. A storm in the desert is particularly dangerous. Sometimes the winds bury an entire caravan in the sand before they can even begin to plan an escape. The only escape is the shelter of a rock to block the drift of the sand. Men must serve as a rock in the desert tempest in our world of shifting sands. God designed us to be a rock to stop the shifting of life. That is why the enemy has worked so hard to attack men Our culture portrays men as idiots and fools in movies and television. Like the rock in the desert, we do not have to change the world, we have to change our part of the world. Men must be a rock in their family and their community. The atmosphere can be changed simply by a man standing and saying NO. Every man has an influence. Each of us must be aware of that influence and mindful of what we are demonstrating to those who watch us. The hope of any society are men standing in opposition to the things that would crumble that society. Men serve as shelter and protection against what life brings. Like the rock in the desert, men resist the drift.

We live in sobering times. We have to be spiritually alert in what is certainly the end times. The chaos in which we find ourselves contains an evil influence designed to come against the church. Our text in Matthew is startling, but it is not advocating self-mutilation but is an illustration of how important it is to remove things from our spiritual life that will keep us from our reward. The bible is full of truth and we have all received it. Our human nature is to question the things in God’s word that are hard for us to do. God’s word says “Thou shalt not”, and He is not interested in our opinion of that word. Many will try to amend or change their interpretation of the Word. We do that by the things that we tolerate or accept in life. When we are unwilling to face the truth, we become our own worst enemy. Dr. Hughes has often observed that we do not need a devil to be bad, we can do it on our own. Paul’s letter to Timothy is an effort to help him bring the church back to a place of recovery. They, like us, can easily become trapped by a web of our own interpretation of God's word. Our text from Matthew is sobering. Anything that gets in the way of living for God must be removed. When we fail to remove these things from our life, we distance ourselves from God and His will for our life. God does not restrict us from things to punish us, but to protect us from things that will destroy us. Our world is trying to tear down every safeguard and protection in our lives. We have to remove anything that will prevent the blessings of God from flowing into our lives. Too often, we find a way to explain away or change the parts of God’s word that we find inconvenient. The truth is truth no matter what. Far too many are judging life by an altered truth. We have to ask if the things that are keeping us from staying close to God are worth our life. Are we going to be satisfied with part of what God has for us? There is a goal that is worth any sacrifice, and that goal is life. We must have a desperation to live.

We live in sobering times. We have to be spiritually alert in what is certainly the end times. The chaos in which we find ourselves contains an evil influence designed to come against the church. Our text in Matthew is startling, but it is not advocating self-mutilation but is an illustration of how important it is to remove things from our spiritual life that will keep us from our reward. The bible is full of truth and we have all received it. Our human nature is to question the things in God’s word that are hard for us to do. God’s word says “Thou shalt not”, and He is not interested in our opinion of that word. Many will try to amend or change their interpretation of the Word. We do that by the things that we tolerate or accept in life. When we are unwilling to face the truth, we become our own worst enemy. Dr. Hughes has often observed that we do not need a devil to be bad, we can do it on our own. Paul’s letter to Timothy is an effort to help him bring the church back to a place of recovery. They, like us, can easily become trapped by a web of our own interpretation of God's word. Our text from Matthew is sobering. Anything that gets in the way of living for God must be removed. When we fail to remove these things from our life, we distance ourselves from God and His will for our life. God does not restrict us from things to punish us, but to protect us from things that will destroy us. Our world is trying to tear down every safeguard and protection in our lives. We have to remove anything that will prevent the blessings of God from flowing into our lives. Too often, we find a way to explain away or change the parts of God’s word that we find inconvenient. The truth is truth no matter what. Far too many are judging life by an altered truth. We have to ask if the things that are keeping us from staying close to God are worth our life. Are we going to be satisfied with part of what God has for us? There is a goal that is worth any sacrifice, and that goal is life. We must have a desperation to live.

We live in sobering times. We have to be spiritually alert in what is certainly the end times. The chaos in which we find ourselves contains an evil influence designed to come against the church. Our text in Matthew is startling, but it is not advocating self-mutilation but is an illustration of how important it is to remove things from our spiritual life that will keep us from our reward. The bible is full of truth and we have all received it. Our human nature is to question the things in God’s word that are hard for us to do. God’s word says “Thou shalt not”, and He is not interested in our opinion of that word. Many will try to amend or change their interpretation of the Word. We do that by the things that we tolerate or accept in life. When we are unwilling to face the truth, we become our own worst enemy. Dr. Hughes has often observed that we do not need a devil to be bad, we can do it on our own. Paul’s letter to Timothy is an effort to help him bring the church back to a place of recovery. They, like us, can easily become trapped by a web of our own interpretation of God's word. Our text from Matthew is sobering. Anything that gets in the way of living for God must be removed. When we fail to remove these things from our life, we distance ourselves from God and His will for our life. God does not restrict us from things to punish us, but to protect us from things that will destroy us. Our world is trying to tear down every safeguard and protection in our lives. We have to remove anything that will prevent the blessings of God from flowing into our lives. Too often, we find a way to explain away or change the parts of God’s word that we find inconvenient. The truth is truth no matter what. Far too many are judging life by an altered truth. We have to ask if the things that are keeping us from staying close to God are worth our life. Are we going to be satisfied with part of what God has for us? There is a goal that is worth any sacrifice, and that goal is life. We must have a desperation to live.

Life is stressful. Often there is something missing in our life, that God intended to be there for help. Joy is one of the things that God has given us to be a help to us as we navigate through life. Our text from Nehemiah is often quoted. The joy of the Lord is our strength. Many times we do not understand the meaning of strength. The translated word means defense. That we need a defense implies that there is an enemy from whom we need protection. God has equipped us to face the forces in life that seek to destroy us. Why is joy so significant in scripture. Joy in all its forms is mentioned several hundred times through the bible. Joy balances our life against all of the assaults that come against us. Joy is not superficial. It is not just smiling and living through situations. The joy that our text describes is down deep in our soul. It is difficult to define biblical joy because there are thirty-five words in the bible that get translated to Joy. Joy is not happiness. Happiness is predicated on what happens to us, but Joy is a quality that is there no matter the circumstance. So, what is the source of Joy? Ephesians tells us that Joy is one of the fruits of the spirit. It is a spiritual reality that comes from God. The bible tells us to not let anything steal our joy. There are four things that can steal our joy. In Philippians, Paul uses some form of the word Joy nineteen times. The first thing is the circumstances. It is easy to let the things that happen to us to cause us to lose the joy that came from God. The second joy stealer is people. All of us know the frustration of dealing with people. People are the source of frustration, anger, and conflict. The third joy stealer are things. The desire to get and hold material possessions causes us many opportunities to lose our joy. The last joy stealer is worry. The worst thief of all is the worry about things that we cannot control, or that might not even happen. We focus on the annoying and the irritating and lose sight of the joy that God put in is. How do we stop these thieves from stealing our joy? By understanding what Joy is and the value that it has to be a defense. The joy of the Lord is life’s greatest asset.

Life is stressful. Often there is something missing in our life, that God intended to be there for help. Joy is one of the things that God has given us to be a help to us as we navigate through life. Our text from Nehemiah is often quoted. The joy of the Lord is our strength. Many times we do not understand the meaning of strength. The translated word means defense. That we need a defense implies that there is an enemy from whom we need protection. God has equipped us to face the forces in life that seek to destroy us. Why is joy so significant in scripture. Joy in all its forms is mentioned several hundred times through the bible. Joy balances our life against all of the assaults that come against us. Joy is not superficial. It is not just smiling and living through situations. The joy that our text describes is down deep in our soul. It is difficult to define biblical joy because there are thirty-five words in the bible that get translated to Joy. Joy is not happiness. Happiness is predicated on what happens to us, but Joy is a quality that is there no matter the circumstance. So, what is the source of Joy? Ephesians tells us that Joy is one of the fruits of the spirit. It is a spiritual reality that comes from God. The bible tells us to not let anything steal our joy. There are four things that can steal our joy. In Philippians, Paul uses some form of the word Joy nineteen times. The first thing is the circumstances. It is easy to let the things that happen to us to cause us to lose the joy that came from God. The second joy stealer is people. All of us know the frustration of dealing with people. People are the source of frustration, anger, and conflict. The third joy stealer are things. The desire to get and hold material possessions causes us many opportunities to lose our joy. The last joy stealer is worry. The worst thief of all is the worry about things that we cannot control, or that might not even happen. We focus on the annoying and the irritating and lose sight of the joy that God put in is. How do we stop these thieves from stealing our joy? By understanding what Joy is and the value that it has to be a defense. The joy of the Lord is life’s greatest asset.

Life is stressful. Often there is something missing in our life, that God intended to be there for help. Joy is one of the things that God has given us to be a help to us as we navigate through life. Our text from Nehemiah is often quoted. The joy of the Lord is our strength. Many times we do not understand the meaning of strength. The translated word means defense. That we need a defense implies that there is an enemy from whom we need protection. God has equipped us to face the forces in life that seek to destroy us. Why is joy so significant in scripture. Joy in all its forms is mentioned several hundred times through the bible. Joy balances our life against all of the assaults that come against us. Joy is not superficial. It is not just smiling and living through situations. The joy that our text describes is down deep in our soul. It is difficult to define biblical joy because there are thirty-five words in the bible that get translated to Joy. Joy is not happiness. Happiness is predicated on what happens to us, but Joy is a quality that is there no matter the circumstance. So, what is the source of Joy? Ephesians tells us that Joy is one of the fruits of the spirit. It is a spiritual reality that comes from God. The bible tells us to not let anything steal our joy. There are four things that can steal our joy. In Philippians, Paul uses some form of the word Joy nineteen times. The first thing is the circumstances. It is easy to let the things that happen to us to cause us to lose the joy that came from God. The second joy stealer is people. All of us know the frustration of dealing with people. People are the source of frustration, anger, and conflict. The third joy stealer are things. The desire to get and hold material possessions causes us many opportunities to lose our joy. The last joy stealer is worry. The worst thief of all is the worry about things that we cannot control, or that might not even happen. We focus on the annoying and the irritating and lose sight of the joy that God put in is. How do we stop these thieves from stealing our joy? By understanding what Joy is and the value that it has to be a defense. The joy of the Lord is life’s greatest asset.