The Joy of Being All In for Christ

Mar 4, 2018 • Justin Marbury • Rejoice, Philippians 1:18-30

When you think about joy, you probably don't think about suffering. When you consider the grace of God, you probably don't think about persecution. Yet, in Philippians 1:29, the apostle Paul ties belief in Jesus and suffering for Jesus together as a package deal. It's not that God inflicts us supernaturally once we give our lives to Christ. Suffering is simply the normal result of a life lived "worthy of the gospel." "All who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted," wrote Paul in II Timothy 3:12. But lest we think that this kind of suffering will rob our joy, think again. Suffering, too, for a follower of Christ, produces joy.

"There was once a fiddler who played so beauitully that everybody danced. A deaf man who could not hear the music considered them all insane.

Those who are with Jesus in suffering hear this music to which other men are deaf. They dance and do not care if they are considered insane."

-Richard Wurmbrand, Spent 14 years in a Communist Romanian prison where he endured severe torture for his faith in Jesus Christ.