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Now, here's today's message from Pastor Skip Heitzig.
So a golfer went to a fortune teller. And the golfer said, Hey, I have one question. Will there be golf courses in heaven? Fortune teller said, well I've got good news. And I've got bad news.
He goes, okay, give me the good news. She said. The good news is In heaven, the golf courses are so beautiful, so magnificent, they're beyond human imagination. And he said, well, how could there be any bad news with that? She said, Well, the bad news is you have a game booked to start at 8:30 tomorrow morning.
Predicting the future has been a favorite pastime for millennia. Way back in antiquity. Diviners, priests would use all sorts of methods. That they said was able to read the future.
So they would look at clouds the way they were dispersed in the sky, and they would say that means such and such. Or they would look at the way stars appeared in the sky and the galaxies. Drops of oil in water forming different patterns.
Some even use the entrails of animals. If you can imagine putting an organ like a liver on a plate and the way it would wiggle and wobble. They would be able, they said, to predict the future. And it's people's desire to know the future. That makes horoscopes still popular.
Or fortune tellers popular, or palm readers, or psychics, or weathermen. We want to know what is coming in in the future.
Now all of those things are forbidden by scripture, except perhaps for weathermen. But the reason they're forbidden in the scripture is simple. They're fake. They don't work. They're calling on nothing to predict the future that they don't know.
It's just making a guess. Only God knows the future. And only God can predict the future. And we have looked at the great series against all odds of how God has fulfilled prophecy. But did you know that you can predict your future?
You can predict your future. You can't predict future circumstances. but you can predict future responses. I want you to see how Paul does it. In Philippians chapter 1.
I'm going to take you back up to verse 18. He says, What then? Only that in every place, whether in pretense or truth, Christ is preached, and in this I rejoice.
Now look at what he does with the future. And I will rejoice. For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. According to my earnest expectation and hope, That in nothing I shall be ashamed. But with all boldness.
As always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me To live as Christ. And to die. is game. Up to this point, in Paul's letter to the Philippian church, he has been looking at past tense events.
For example, in verse 3, Paul says, I thank God upon every remembrance of you. That's past tense. In verse five, he is thankful for their partnership in the gospel from the first day. Until now. And in verse 12, he says, I want you to know the things that have happened to me have happened for the furtherance of the gospel.
All of these are past tense experiences. Paul is in jail. He's writing to the Philippians about what happened to him in the past. And what is happening to him in the present.
Now he pivots and he looks to the future. And notice the words, for instance, in verse 18. Yes, I will. Rejoice. That's future.
Verse 19, for I know that this will. Turn out. Verse twenty He says that in nothing I shall be ashamed. Also, in verse 20, so now Christ will. Be magnified.
Paul is now predicting The future.
Now the truth is The future was uncertain for Paul. He did not know which way the winds of Roman justice would be blowing for him. He knew that he would stand trial. That was sure. But he doesn't know what's going to happen in the circumstances of life, yet he makes predictions about his responses to those circumstances.
And I'll give you four words. Let's sum it up. He predicts joy, He predicts confidence. He predicts hope. He predicts Life.
It's pretty good future, right? Those four things he predicts. You, if you are a follower of Christ, You can predict your future. You can predict what your future responses will be. It's like that old Dale Carnegie saying you probably heard: two men looked out from prison bars, one saw the mud, the other saw stars.
So here's Paul the Apostle looking out literally from prison bars in Rome. He doesn't see mud, he sees stars. And he sees four stars, to be exact. He sees the star of joy, the star of confidence, the star of hope. and the star of life.
We're going to be looking at each one of those today. Abraham Lincoln once said: The best thing about the future is that it only comes one day at a time.
Well, that's good news, but it will come nonetheless. Your future is coming. What will it be like? I love what Corey Tin Boom used to say, she said. Even though we don't know the future, we don't know what the future will hold, we know who holds the future.
Because of that, there are four stars that you can see. out from whatever prison you might find yourself in. Let's consider the first. Joy is the first. In verse 18, the last part of it, notice he says, yes.
and will rejoice.
Now let me just Tell you something about the scripture in general. This Letter to the Philippians is just that. It is a letter. Paul did not write Roman numeral one, period, two, three. He didn't write verse numbers, he wrote a letter.
It was just text. There were no chapter divisions. There were no verse divisions. Identifications. In fact, until the year 1227 AD, all of the Bible was texts, no chapters, no verses.
In 1227, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Stephen Langton, decided it would be much easier to be able to find something in the Bible if there were chapters and verse numbers.
So he did that. And then in the 1300s, 1382, the very first English Bible that had verse numbers was the Wycliffe English Bible. And that's helpful.
However, I don't always agree with where they put the verses. In fact, many Bible translators have said the same thing. They go, no, that verse belongs in a different chapter. The way it was broken up is not inspired, but it can be helpful nonetheless. And here is a good example.
In verse 18, the NIV, if you have a New International Version, shows the break that should be there. Verse 18 in the NIV reads this: It ends with this phrase, and because of this I rejoice. Period, not comma, period. Then it begins a new paragraph. And the new paragraph says, yes.
I will continue to rejoice. That's because The thought of verse 18, that last phrase, belongs in verse 19. He is now moving from the past. to the future. See, here's what Paul has been writing so far.
He's saying the things that have happened to me in the past. will not rob me of joy. I'm not going to let that happen. They've actually furthered the gospel. And so, what things are those?
Well, let's go over them. He was arrested in Jerusalem. Falsely accused. He was then taken to Caesarea by the sea. He spent two years in jail there.
He went through three mistrials before Felix, Festus, and Agrippa. He appealed his case to Caesar. He's put on a prison ship. He's taken to Rome. He's had a shipwreck.
In the ocean. He finally makes it to Rome. He's put in jail again. For another two-year incarceration. And he says, All of those things happened to me in the past, and they will not steal my joy.
Then he says, not only are there past circumstances, There are past and present people who are trying to rob me of joy. We spoke about those last week, all those anti-Paul, cranky Christians. Who are trying to make Paul's incarceration even worse than it already was? He says, I'm not going to let them steal my joy or get me down. And all of that ends in verse 18, where he says, I rejoice.
Now he turns to the future at the second part of verse eighteen. He pivots and says yes. And I will rejoice. Now that.
Now he's looking to the future. And here's the deal. Once again, I remind you. Paul doesn't know what's going to happen in the future. As far as circumstances are concerned.
All he knows is that he's going to stand before the Roman court. For a trial. And because, as a Roman citizen, he appealed to Caesar directly, that means he's going to stand in front of Caesar Nero himself. And Caesar Nero will render the verdict. He will either set him free or he will sever his head.
He will either exonerate him. or exterminate him. Paul doesn't know which. He says as much in verse 20, whether by life or by death. Yet He makes this prediction, I will rejoice.
This is Connect with Skip Heitzig. As we reach the end of 2025, generous support from friends like you is vital to keep ConnectWisk Heights strong and sharing God's unchanging truth around the world. Your year-end gift helps more people hear the gospel and find lasting hope in Jesus. And to thank you for your generosity, we'll send you the Daily God Journal, Pastor Skip's new year-long prayer journal, together with the digital devotional, the Daily God Book. These resources will guide you through scripture day by day, helping you align your heart with God and experience His peace.
Request yours when you give a year-end gift of $50 or more at connectwithgift.com slash offer or call 800-922-1888. Let's return now to today's message. I'm going to have joy in my future.
Now, in hearing this, some of us will be tempted to say, wait a minute, Paul, you can't say that. Because what if he handles you hands you a guilty verdict? and says off with his head. Then you're going to have to say, well, I used to rejoice, but not today. Today is a bummer.
My bummer runneth over today. Paul says, no, I'm not going to say that. In my future, whether by life or death, I will rejoice. Here's why I am belaboring this point. This shows us.
Their joy is a choice. It is an act of the will. It is tethered to something deeper than happiness. If you remember in our very first study of Philippians, we noted the difference between happiness and joy. We said happiness is a temporary feeling of delight if the circumstances go your way.
Joy is something that is fixed. There is a difference. By the way, the Bible mentions happiness about 30 times, it mentions joy 300 times. Because they're different experiences, and it's helpful to. Make a demarcation between them.
So happiness is externally triggered. If you get a raise, you're happy.
Somebody pays you a compliment. You're happy. You get a new car, you are happy for about a week until you have to make the payments on that new car. If your team wins, you're happy. If you ask that cute girl out and she says yes, you're happy.
Happiness goes up and down depending on the circumstances. Joy is internally triggered. It is based upon a relationship with God. You're justified by faith, your sins are forgiven, your name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life, you're on your way to heaven. That's something that is fixed.
So, happiness has its source in events, in people, and in things. Joy has its source in God. Which means Paul may have been experiencing unhappy feelings. He may be emotionally unhappy, incarcerated in jail and going through the beatings, etc. Nobody likes that.
But what he's saying is nothing and no one will steal my joy. That's why this book is so filled with it. In four chapters of the book of Philippians, joy. Rejoicing, gladness shows up nineteen times. This prisoner writes about joy.
So, Paul is looking out from prison bars and he sees the star. of joy He says, not only have I rejoiced, I will rejoice. That's the first one. The second prediction he makes, the second star that he sees is the star of confidence. Look at verse 19.
For I know That this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayer. And the supply of the Spirit. of Jesus Christ. Did you hear the tone in his voice? Do you hear this certainty?
For I. Yeah. He is sure about something, isn't he? He didn't say, well. I hope, I suppose, I know, it's a very strong word.
You see, Your outlook is determined by your uplook. And Paul is looking out and up from that prison, and he sees not only the stars. He sees the God who made the stars. And he goes, I am confident I know. This is A man of faith, he is filled with faith.
If joy is an act of the will, Then confidence is a statement of faith. Question? What is he so confident in? What does your text tell you? What is he confident is going to happen?
I know this will turn out for my what? It says deliverance. I know I'm going to be delivered.
Now what does that mean?
Well, the word deliverance is the word common word in the New Testament, soterion. It's the word for salvation. I know this is going to turn out. I know I'm confident this is going to turn out for my salvation, literally, soterian, translated deliverance.
Now, Paul is not saying I'm an unsaved person and I hope that if I suffer enough in jail, I'll be saved. He doesn't say that. That would contradict him.
Some people think that Paul is saying, I know that I'm going to be sprung out of jail. I'm going to be set free. He can't mean that because in verse 20 he says, whether by life or by Death, so I could live or I could die.
So when he says, I know that this is going to be for my deliverance. That's Paul's way of saying, I'm going to be just fine. Deliverance could be better translated, perhaps, my well-being. Things are going to turn out for the best. This is Paul's Philippians one way of restating Romans 8:28.
You know Romans 8:28, for we know that all things work together for good for those who love God and are the called according to his purpose. This is the same truth stated in a different manner. Paul's in prison. He's not sure how God's going to deliver him if he's going to deliver him from. the trial or through the trial.
He doesn't know if he's going to live or die, but he goes, I'm just fine. I know I'm going to be delivered.
Let me explain something to you. I prayed for a lot of people who are sick through the years. And quite honestly, I prayed for some people and they get better. And it's always fun to watch that happen. I've even seen on a couple of rare occasions an instantaneous healing.
I won't deny that. I've seen it with my own eyes. But then I've also prayed for people. Who don't get better, they get worse. I pray for them, they get worse.
I pray more for them, they die.
So be careful. Let's get skipped to pray for this one. Yeah. Yeah. I have no special ability.
God is sovereign, He does what He wants.
So I prayed for some people they get better, some people they get worse.
Some people they live a long time, some people they die. God delivered them all.
Some people he delivers by giving them 20 years on earth.
Some people he says, No, they're done with life on earth. Let's take them to heaven. That's not a bad gig. They get delivered completely. And that's Paul's thought.
I am confident in my future that things will turn out for my deliverance.
Now, what is the means of Paul's confidence? What's the agency of it?
Well, it's twofold. Through the prayers of God's people. And through the provision of God's Spirit. Look at it yourself, please. I know this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayer and.
Through the supply of the Spirit. of Jesus Christ. Here's what he's saying. As you keep praying and as God keeps providing, I'm going to be fine. I face my future with confidence.
Now let's drill down a little bit. Consider prayer for a moment. I am absolutely confident in my future well-being. Through your prayer. He's assuming the Philippian church is already praying for them, but in writing this, he's asking for more prayer.
Now, I'm going to make a statement that might be shocking to you, but I believe it to be true. We marginalize prayer. We really do. Most of us believers, most of us, We marginalize prayer. We doubt That prayer will even work.
Quite frankly. You know how I know that? Because if we didn't believe that, we'd be doing a whole lot more of it. If we really thought prayer had the power. To change things, to change us, to change people.
We'd be doing it a lot. Paul is so sure that as long as they are praying for him. He can be joyful. and he can be confident in the future. A few years back, I had the privilege of going to London and visiting Charles Haddon Spurgeon's church called the.
Um, Metropolitan Tabernacle. And of course, Spurgeon lived in the 1800s, died, but his church still stands. It has survived wars, burnings, bombings. The facade is still there, the church has been rebuilt. But I loved going there because I remember all the stories, not only about Spurgeon and how many people came to hear him preach.
He would, if he took people on a tour of the facility, he would show them the great tabernacle where he would preach, but he took them to the basement where there was a little empty room. A meager room. And he pointed to the room and said, This is the powerhouse. And the reason That this church is blessed by God. It was a prayer room.
He said, when I preach, there's a group of people every service that meets in this room and they pray. That the Spirit of God would be unleashed. This is the secret. This Leonard Ravenhill said this: The church has many organizers, but few. Agonizers Many who pay, but few who pray.
Many wrestlers, but few wrestlers. Many who are enterprising, few who are interceding. A worldly Christian will stop praying, and a praying Christian will stop worldliness. Tithes may build a church, but tears will give it life.
Now, why should we pray? There's a lot of reasons. I'll give you just two. Reason number one: spiritual work always requires spiritual tools. One of the most frustrating endeavors is to try to do a work of the spirit in the energy of your flesh.
You are doomed for failure. Second reason. It produces confidence, according to the text. I am confident through your prayers. It's a spiritual tool.
It produces confidence. Two good reasons to keep it up.
So One means of Paul's confidence is through their prayer. Notice the second, and the supply of the Spirit. of Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit will give you everything you need.
Now, you see the word supply in that text? It literally means a lavish supply, a lavish supply. The Greek word is Epichoregias. We get our word chorus from that. It literally means one voice upon.
Another.
So if Ryan stands up here singing and Tamara stands up here and adds a harmony and Stephen stands up here and adds yet another harmony and their voices blend in melody and harmonies, first, third and fifth, You are stacking up the voices. Then if you add a choir next to them. You have an epicoregias. You have a lavish supply of beautiful voices.
So, what Paul is saying is this: the reason I'm confident. Is because you keep praying and because the Holy Spirit lavishly supplies everything I need to handle the future. Here's the truth. The hand of God. will never lead you.
Where the grace of God cannot keep you. He will lavishly supply what you need. You know Zechariah 4, verse 6. You'll finish it as I start quoting it. It's not by might.
It's not by power. It's by Say it, my spirit, says the Lord. Not by might, not by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord.
So Paul is confident in the future. If there are praying friends and plenty of fuel, And the fuel is the Holy Spirit. Uh We're so glad you joined us today on Connect with Skip Heitzig. And remember, before you go, your generosity today makes a real difference. As this year ends, your gift of $50 or more helps more people hear God's word and find lasting hope in Jesus.
And to thank you, we'll send you the Daily God Journal, along with the companion digital devotional, the Daily God Book. These resources will help you start the new year aligned with God's heart and growing in faith each day. Give your year-end gift now at connectwithskippe.com slash offer or call 800-922-1888. Come back next time for more verse-by-verse teaching of God's Word here on Connect with Skip Heitzig. Make a connection at the foot.
Of the crossing. I cast your burden.
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