REALLY REJOICE - - Phil. 4:4

Introduction

When I read this passage, my first thought was a song I used to sing when I was kid.

“Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice…”

I was talking to someone else about the sermon and broke out into song.

“Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel, shall come to thee O Israel…”

Today I was reading about happiness and joy, the song Happy came to mind

“Clap along if you feel like a room without a roof (Because I'm happy) Clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth (Because I'm happy) Clap along if you know what happiness is to you (Because I'm happy) Clap along if you feel like that's what you wanna do”

As fun as those kids songs are, I want to share about rejoicing/joy. This ain’t no ordinary joy. You can’t buy it. You can’t rent it. You can’t steal it. The only way to get it is to RECEIVE it. The joy I want to share about is a joy that Jesus gives to those “who call upon the name of the Lord to be saved.”

Let’s look at this short but FULL verse together — Philippians 4:4 “4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.”

Let’s pray together

Studying for this message has become a huge God moment in the past couple of days. I’ve had this passage picked out for weeks and been reading through Philippians to understand it better. Then I came to finals last week for my classes. One of my classes was How to Teach the Bible and the final exam was preparing a sermon on Philippians 4:4-9. God continues to reveal this passage to me in different ways. This message is not the same one I wrote for the final but some parts are shared.

The three points I want to reveal from this passage are quite simple and will involve a little bit of grammer. So don’t let me lose you with the grammer but hold onto the truths and applications.

REJOICE ||| ALWAYS ||| IN THE LORD

We are first going to look at the VERB - REJOICE

The Verb

The verb calls for action from the reader. The action of rejoicing is not conditional or optional. The action to rejoice is not part of a cause and effect. It is not an option of choosing when we want to or don’t want to. We can rejoice because of the work Christ did on the cross (Luke 10:20 “20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.””

Rejoicing is an activity we choose to do; it is not an emotion. If we choose to rejoice, it means we are choosing not to do something else.

Steven Runge

We can worship because we believe in promises of God. We will get more into this during the third point on the preposition.

How can I rejoice? How do I express rejoicing?

The foundational way to rejoice is at the heart — 1 Chronicles 16:10 “10 Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice!” We express rejoicing from the heart. The heart is that spiritual part of us where our emotions and desires dwell. When you surrender your life to Christ, Jesus begins to change your heart’s emotions and desires. This empowers you to express your rejoicing.

Through the heart we express rejoicing in our thoughts. Think about the great things Christ has done. Remember His power, forgiveness, and provision.

When we rejoice in our thoughts, we can continue rejoicing in our speech. How do you talk about Jesus around others? The Bible says to REJOICE ALWAYS and we can do that in our speech.

Many times we rejoice through singing. The rejoicing is not how others excite us but from the heart, you are excited and thankful for the work Christ has done in your life. You truly sing from the heart and it shows in your worship. ~~Rejoice from the heart before your rejoice in your actions.

You also rejoice in prayer. What do you talk to God about? He wants to hear from you. You can rejoice in your prayers back to God.

The call to rejoice is a command for action. REJOICE ||| ALWAYS —> Let’s get to the adverb

The Adverb

Sometimes I feel like in church world, we communicate in a way to keep things simple. With this goal, we fail to share the reality of certain principles. For the adverb, it is pretty simple. Rejoice ALWAYS. We all know that always is all the time. I don’t want to just say “all the time,” but I want to show you all the time.

All the time means through every circumstance. Good and bad! We can all think of great times to rejoice about. Some might think of a moment when you

won at a game or tournament

Scored well on a major test.

Made a great catch fishing.

A great shot hunting.

Traveled somewhere special.

Memory from church, DNOW, another event.

The moment you surrendered your life to Christ.

There is so much to rejoice about.

But the Bible says to rejoice ALWAYS, which means even in the bad times. I know we can all think of bad moments in life.

Maybe there was class that didn’t go well.

There was an embarrassing moment.

A friend no longer seems to be a friend

Didn’t get a position you wanted

The future you planned out isn’t planning out anymore

Life at home isn’t like you remember. Struggle with parents or siblings.

These are the hardest times to rejoice, because there seems there is nothing to rejoice about. I got coffee with a friend on Monday at 4. We got to talking about our families. I shared how I come from a divorce home. My parents have been divorced most of my life. The question came up, “How did that affect you growing up?”

I never got over it until I got saved, but even then there was still pain. How am I supposed to praise God through the pain?

I began to see how much God actually protected. Coming from a family where they drink, smoke, and do drugs. God protected me from ever being tempted by that. God provided a dad that established the importance of church in my life. I could spend the rest of night rejoicing about God through the sad times

How do you rejoice in the sad times? Look to see what God is doing around that situation! As much as we hate the sad moments of life, we can become so crippled in our emotions that we won’t look to see where Christ is moving. Paul teaches in 2 Cor. 6:10 that through sorrow we are to always be rejoicing.

Want to know more how you can rejoice always (the good and bad times)? Listen to the third point...

REJOICE ||| ALWAYS ||| IN THE LORD

The Preposition

There are many circumstances in life that make it difficult to be happy about, but we are not to rejoice over circumstances. WE ARE TO REJOICE IN TEHE LORD! This is how you can rejoice all the time. Think about the writer of this letter — Paul. He had been beaten, imprisoned, persecuted, threatened of death. That guy who went through all of that taught the church to rejoice always IN THE LORD.

I read this in a commentary today: Most people think you get joy when you get what you desire. But real joy comes when you realize what you deserve. The realization of what you deserve (judgment) and what you’ve received instead (salvation) should lead you to great joy. It’s not about getting what you want; it’s about being grateful for all that you have in Christ Jesus. Merida, Tony, and Francis Chan. Exalting Jesus in Philippians. Edited by David Platt, Daniel L. Akin, and Tony Merida. Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary. Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2016.

Luke 10:17–20 The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” 18 And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.

20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

Closing

What do you have to rejoice in tonight? Think about it!