Stir Up Joy

1 Thessalonians 5:16-24

December 12, 1999

Goal: That the hearers may experience joy as they focus on what God has done for them and in them.

Introduction: What are you doing in your life that you think pleases God? Some of you might immediately recall things like: “I always say my prayers every day.” “I go to church every week.” “I am friendly with everybody.” “I thank God every day.” “I help with the paper drive.” “I sing in the choir.” “I give a tenth of my income to the church.” “I preach and teach.” “I usher.” “I greet people.” “I make quilts.” “I cook.” “I help in the kitchen.” “I tear rags.” I visit the sick.” “I volunteer at a nursing home.” “I go to bible study.” “I serve on the church council.” “I … .”

Well, I think you have the point. If our focus is on what “I” do, it is not on “Him”, God, and what He does. And we seem to have no problem with that. We expect God to be pleased with all that we do for no other reason than we consider ourselves good people. Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing bad about being a good person. But being a good person never made anyone right with God when it is not the outgrowth of trust and faith in God. So, today our goal is to try to shift our focus away from self to examine what God does.

Illustration: A teacher wanted to teach the children about trust. The teacher stood behind one child and said, “Make yourself stiff, fall straight back without looking, and I will catch you.” The boy tried, but couldn’t do it without bending at his waist as he fell. Another boy tried, and he couldn’t do it without taking a step backward. A third one had to look back to see if the teacher’s arms were really there. Finally, a little girl tried. She stood as stiff as a board, closed her eyes, and fell straight back into the teacher’s arms. The teacher gave her a big hug and complimented her on her complete trust. The girl beamed with joy. Our relationship with God is a lot like that. True Joy comes only when there is complete trust in God.

But this kind of trust is not natural for us. We need to be encouraged and coaxed to trust. God knows this, and through Christ He stirs us up.

Verse 16 says, “Be joyful always;” When those words hit our ears, we might even laugh at the absurdity of the thought. Yeah! Right!. When we are knee-deep in doo-doo, without an apparent way out, would any among us naturally think, this is wonderful, thank you Lord? Joy in the midst of trouble and hardship seems an anomaly, a paradox. Yet, this is exactly what God is able to bring into our lives as He stirs us up through Word and Sacrament, through Law and Gospel, through confession and absolution. You see, Christian Joy is not a natural human trait, but a trait of God’s Holy Spirit. He brings joy always into our lives (v 16) by convincing us that our sins are forgiven for the sake of Christ, not what we do or don’t do.

There is a spiritual progression from this. What do you think? Is it easy or difficult to talk openly and honestly with someone you know and trust? To speak openly and honestly with God implies a personal relationship with Him strong enough for a person to be able to say, “I know Him and I trust Him as my Lord.” The Holy Spirit cements that spiritual bond between us, and God. His Love for us is the glue that holds our heart to His. Once again the Spirit of God works in us to enable us to pray (communicate) continually (v 17) with God.

Coming to a knowledge of His work in us we respond with thanks (v 18). But again, it is His work in us. Why else would we even want to give thanks to God?

All of this is what the Spirit stirs up in us through faith. When Paul says, “Do not put out the Spirit’s fire;” he means to say, don’t get in the way of God’s work in you.

We however, are reluctant to be instructed in His Word of Truth. Contempt for the prophetic truth is what God calls it. And that puts out the Spirit’s fire.

If that happens, trust diminishes to a point of behaving the same way as those children who could not remain stiff while falling back into the teacher’s arms. And when trials and tribulations come, we naturally try to save ourselves. But in every test God is at work to strengthen faith and to keep us safe unto eternal glory.

Illustration: I will never forget one of the first nursing home visits I ever made. She was an alzheimer’s patient. Being curious I asked her how she was dealing with such a terrible affliction. Her answer made me stop and think carefully about my own relationship to God. She said, "This is just the Lord’s discipline for me so that I may enter into His glory without spot or wrinkle.”

Her confidence was in God. He had empowered her with victory over every evil by building her trust and confidence in God. And that is precisely what St. Paul says in this text. Listen again to his prophetic words: “May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.”

Conclusion: Fixing our focus on what God does for us and in us, is the work of God’s Holy Spirit. Knowing that He is with us and in us working out what we cannot brings pure Joy to the Christian heart. That Joy will be richly rewarded when Jesus comes again. No wonder the Old Testament prophet could exclaim, “I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness.” Amen.