God-Centered Instruction for Every Christian - Part One
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Introduction
Introduction
Augustine wrote insightfully, "You made us for yourself and our hearts find no peace till they rest in you." He was right, we need God. We need a radically God-centered view of life.
In my Christian life, there may not be a passage of Scripture I have meditated on more than what we will look at in the next few weeks. In addition, there is probably not another I have used more to seek to encourage another believer than these.
4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
PRAY
Delighting in God is our Duty
Delighting in God is our Duty
There is a design in delight or rejoicing. Not only is the pursuit of delight built into our DNA, it is something we are called to seek. This is the reality. God made us with the capacity to enjoy. Paul commands the church at Philippi to rejoice. Rejoice means to delight or take pleasure in someone or something. He commands his readers to delight in God. He tells them to find their happiness in God. He calls them to seek their satisfaction in God.
Sadly, we have to be told to delight in God. This is a sober reminder of our original purpose in life. We were created to have unbroken fellowship with and unending joy in God. However, in rebellion, we chose to find happiness in lesser things. This idolatry leads to various forms of misery and dissatisfaction.
This command tells us something about God’s heart, as well. He wants us to have supreme delight and joy unspeakable. God is not seeking to make us miserable, keep something good from us. He longs for us to understand the pleasure found in him and him alone.
11 Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!
4 Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
3 Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice!
In fact, one might conclude that the design of the gospel which we covered the last three Sundays is to restore to God’s people access to God so that we can experience his presence.
Application: "It is a Christian duty, as you know, for everyone to be as happy as he can." - C. S. Lewis Where is the delight to be found?
Delighting in God is Known as We Know Him
Delighting in God is Known as We Know Him
In the Lord - It is fundamentally necessary that we understand this well. God is the ultimate source of joy and the only pure object of our rejoicing. In God is pure delight and joy. At this point, we should consider how we know God in truth.
How has God most clearly revealed himself?
20 But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).
8 Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. 11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves.
1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.
Jesus is Messiah, the anointed one of God, the chosen one. He is the holy child born of a virgin, the child who was about his Father’s business, the gentle healer from Nazareth, He is the Prophet that teaches us in our ignorance, He is the Priest that presents himself as the sacrifice for us and prayers for us constantly, He is the King that conquered our hearts with his love and rule over his for his glory and our good. He is the Lion of the tribe of Judah that owns the right to rule of all, He is the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. He is the Way to God because we were lost, He is the Truth of God because we believed the lies, He is the Life of God because we were dead in sin. He is the good shepherd to us as his chosen sheep, He is the door through which we enter into salvation, He is the true friend of sinners, He is the Alpha, Omega, the beginning and the end, He is the one who was dead, but now alive forever, never to die again. At the Father’s side to reign forever.
Application: Behold him, love him. Know Jesus to know God.
Delighting in God is Experienced by Consistent Action
Delighting in God is Experienced by Consistent Action
Always - At all time and in the midst of all circumstances. This teaches us there is not a time that God is not worthy of our rejoicing in him. In addition, there is not a situation or circumstance in which we can find ourselves or through which we are going that he is not worthy of us finding our delight in him.
Ligon Duncan writes, “… joy is not drawn from circumstances, it’s drawn from the Lord. And so the Apostle Paul says, ‘Hear this. If you’re going to experience the peace that passes understanding, you’re going to need to cultivate a heart attitude of joy and rejoicing that comes from the Lord, not from your circumstances.’ … Rejoice always. Cultivate joy in your heart to the Lord.
Well Billy, sometimes life is simply terrible and I just cannot be happy. You are right, sometimes things are simply terrible. If you think this I would encourage you to listen to the way Jesus prepares his followers to endure difficulties.
11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Application: How can someone rejoice and be glad in the midst of being ridiculed and treated with contempt? They have to be getting gladness from something other than their circumstances.
19 But when her owners saw that their hope of gain was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers. 20 And when they had brought them to the magistrates, they said, “These men are Jews, and they are disturbing our city. 21 They advocate customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to accept or practice.” 22 The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates tore the garments off them and gave orders to beat them with rods. 23 And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely. 24 Having received this order, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks. 25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, 26 and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bonds were unfastened.
Delighting in God is Often Ignored by Us
Delighting in God is Often Ignored by Us
Again I will say - Why does Paul, write it again? We need these reminders. There are many convincing, compelling and completing loyalties and delights that call to our affections. Sin and rebellion does not appeal to us with the promises of pain and misery, but with satisfaction.
These forgetful wanderings toward lesser pleasures are plentiful.
15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
These forgetful wanderings toward lesser pleasures are often painful.
10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.
These forgetful wanderings toward lesser pleasures are personal.
14 Luke the beloved physician greets you, as does Demas.
10 For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia.
1 Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you.
Application: We should place up for ourselves reminding road maps and road blocks. Personal and Public means of grace. Word intake, prayer, and mutual encouragement with the body of Christ.
Delighting is God is a Decisive Direction for Life
Delighting is God is a Decisive Direction for Life
Again, I will say, Rejoice - This is another command to rejoice.
A redemptive repetition. Will you let this truth set you free and be free?
31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
Application: In what way do you need to be more real about your pursuit of God? Will you consider it or simply be a hearer and not a doer?