(Phil 4:4) Stop Looking for Joy!

If there was a catch phrase that describes - modern American culture - What would it be?

At least one is that we are an - Entertainment Obsessed Culture

Americans are all about looking for fun.

Just take a plane trip - and what do you see?

Lots of grown up toys.

Depending on what part of the country you are in …

Swimming pools

Boats

Jet Skies

Side by sides and ATV’s

And not that those are necessarily bad … but they do visually reveal what Americans find joy in.

Or you see this with our time.

Americans spend absorbent amount of time having fun.

Most Americans live for the weekend … in which we spend absorbent amount of time doing what we love.

We spend a lot of time

Watching TV

Playing XBox

Traveling

Working out

Fishing

Shopping (doesn’t make any sense to me)

Or just resting

What ever makes us “happy”.

Here in SC,

We are not to far from the 27,000 acre Disney World … who literally has cashed in on helping families have fun!

Interestingly -

- The official tagline for Disneyland is "The Happiest Place On Earth",

- while the tagline for Disneyworld is "The Most Magical Place On Earth"

And again, those are not necessarily bad things,

but what we spend time on reveals a lot about what we love.

And further,

you see it on what we spend our money on.

- Modern American culture has often been described as a materialistic culture.

It is interesting, that according to one study ...

Almost three out of four Americans (72%) say they are burdened by debt

(https://www.ramseysolutions.com/debt/state-of-debt-among-americans-research)

- And that is because we buy absorbent amounts of stuff

But why?

Because it makes us happy.

I knew one guy who was going through bankruptcy,

struggling pay check to pay check.

But he literally had every piece of gear you could think of for backpacking.

He loved to go backpacking

Let me put it this way >>>> we spend money on what we love.

And again, spending money is not necessarily bad,

but what we spend our money on reveals what we enjoy.

Jesus said it this way.

Matthew 6:21 ESV

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

But what do we as Americans get out of this pursuit of fun?

- We have more time to enjoy life than any other generation in history.

- We have more money to spend than any other generation in history.

Does that mean our generation has the greatest joy of any other generation?

Sadly, I don’t think so.

Suicides are up.

Depression is up.

Many people feel empty and lack meaning and purpose.

Burnout and divorce is common.

It is so bad, Josh McDowell’s ministry cites “mental health” as one of the top 10 challenges churches will face in the coming years.

By every possible metric .... we all struggling with finding true, lasting joy.

So here is my challenge this morning -

PROPOSITION:

Stop Looking for Joy!

And Instead - Rejoice in the Lord always.

And instead -

Philippians 4:4 ESV

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.

May I continue our summer theme this morning … by challenging us to always rejoice in the Lord.

Most of us naturally, are in search of joy and happiness.

But may I challenge you with something counter-culture thought today.

Stop Looking for Joy because because believers in Christ already have the greatest joy you could ever know.

This morning, we will look at -

Paul’s Simple Command,

False Ways To Rejoice,

and Finally - Biblical Ways to rejoice.

So First, lets examine:

(A) The Simple Command: Rejoice Always.

Philippians 4:4 ESV

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.

This verse from a language stand point, is a fairly simple, strait forward verse.

We don’t need do extensive word studies.

Or try to figure out the bottom line.

And we easily observe Paul’s repetition.

He repeats himself in this verse.

Philippians 4:4 ESV

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.

What is the bottom line that this verse teaches us?

We should always be rejoicing in the Lord.

In fact, many have described the Theme of the book of Philippians as Joy because Paul will use the verb or noun 14 times in this letter.

(1:18; 2:17–18, 28; 3:1; 4:4, 10), as is the noun χαρά (1:4, 25; 2:2, 29; 4:1;)

And the idea of rejoicing isn’t hard either.

We all understand roughly what it means to have joy, or to rejoice.

So then why is this one hardest verses to live out?

Because it is not hard to understand, but we find the difficulty in the word “always”.

You want us to always rejoice in the LORD.

And according to this verse … absolutely, yes.

Oh we easily can rejoice when we are having fun.

We easily rejoice at -

Graduation parties

Father day Weekend

Vacation

or doing what we love like taking a walk, or going to the beach...

But it a lot harder when it is something we don’t like.

Do we rejoice as we head off to work Monday mornings?

Or as we are doing laundry?

Or squaring away that uniform?

Never mind … if we face suffering.

How hard is it to rejoice …

When your at a funeral of a loved one?

Or you face cancer?

Or you just went through a major car accident?

Do we really rejoice at those things?

But even more profoundly - There are times where I should not rejoice.

We are not to rejoice in sin.

It is Good is good and right to be grieved by sin.

- Whether our own sin, as broken and contrite heart before God.

OR

- Someone else’s sin.

Someone trapped in addictions should not be rejoicing in their addiction.

Someone who has hurt their spouse should not be rejoicing.

Someone who embezzles a half-million dollars should not be rejoicing.

So what does Paul mean when he says ....

Philippians 4:4 ESV

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.

How can I always rejoice?

As I began to tackle that idea, let’s consider -

(B) False Ways We Rejoice

Not every way people find joy is a good way.

We have already talked about the emptiness of just pursuing what is fun.

But let’s consider some common ways people try to find joy in suffering and difficulty.

For example, sometimes we respond to hard times by:

- Being Positive/Having a Positive Attitude

Now I get this … no one likes being around a bitter, cynical person.

So often we try to have a positive attitude.

But at the same time … I can’t tell you how many times I have heard people say … just be positive.

Try telling someone who is burying their child … just be positive.

In circumstances like that - we instantly realize how empty just trying to have a positive attitude is.

Rejoicing in the Lord is not a blind, empty positivism.

Another way we do this is by ....

- Ignoring the Situation.

Sometimes we try to avoid anxiety or fear by pretending our problems don’t exist or will go away on their own.

While it is true that sometimes things work themselves out … in most cases ignoring problems has a disastrous end.

Consider what proverbs says about a person who ignores their problems.

Proverbs 24:30–34 ESV

I passed by the field of a sluggard, by the vineyard of a man lacking sense, and behold, it was all overgrown with thorns; the ground was covered with nettles, and its stone wall was broken down. Then I saw and considered it; I looked and received instruction. A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man.

Great imagery there … but basically it teaches us that ignoring our problems has some disastrous results.

It may push off anxiety today, but it certainly not going to help Rejoice in the Lord always.

There is a certain destructiveness when we seek joy, by ignoring our problems.

And the third example I will point you to

- Embracing Difficulty

This is especially true in our military context here.

- We are trained to improvise, adapt, and overcome obstacles.

We have a culture of embracing adversity, and hardship.

And by embracing, we mean turning an obstacle into an asset.

That is what military families excel at.

> And there is a good sense in which we learn to carry out life, even when faced with obstacles.

But there is also a sense in which gritting are teeth down and working through the problem - is not a the same as rejoicing in those circumstances.

>>> I can embrace difficulty, but be bitter and angry about it the whole time.

>>>> I can embrace difficulty, and hate what I am doing.

Paul is saying we need be more than that.

We need be more than improvising, adapting, and overcoming .... but always doing it with joy!

Embracing difficulty again a false way to rejoice.

So lets tie this back.

- We have said that living for fun leaves us ultimately empty.

- We have said that ...

Positivism

Ignoring the Situation

Embracing difficulty

… are false attempts at rejoicing in life's most difficult moments.

And now I think we realize why this is a hard verse.

And it begs the question >>>>

How can I rejoice always in the Lord.

What does Biblical rejoicing look like?

(C) Biblical Rejoicing is always “in the Lord”.

Look back down at your text - Philippians 4:4.

Philippians 4:4 ESV

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.

How can we always be rejoicing?

Because the source of our Joy is “in the Lord”.

Remember I said Stop Looking for Joy!

The reason I said that, was because I don’t think we can find joy outside Christ.

I think constantly looking for joy reveals we are not truly satisfied with Christ.

We think we need more than just the Gospel.

Therefore, we try build a happy life.

But pretty soon we find that our joy is nothing but sand, easily washed away by life’s circumstances.

Or we try to create joy by

Looking for happiness.

Being Positive

Ignoring the problem.

And embracing difficulty.

But - the reality is

Joy is not something found, but given.

Joy is not found in human hands, but in God’s hands.

Joy stems ultimately from the Hope and Truth of the Gospel.

“In the Lord” is phrase is meant to be a broad reference to the Gospel.

Everything we need for joy … is found in the Gospel.

We always rejoice, because we can always hope in God.

We don’t seek joy, because we receive joy from the hope of Christ

If we try to find Joy … we will find our attempts empty and futile.

But if we simply turn to Christ … than we have hope and peace … the very building blocks for true Joy.

Joy that is found regardless of circumstances, sin, or suffering.

How does the Gospel give us Joy?

A Christian can rejoice -

- because of God’s goodness and sovereignty in the present. (Romans 8:28-29)

The reason we can rejoice always in every circumstance

is because we know that God’s goodness and sovereignty is always with us.

Romans 8:28–29 ESV

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

Literally .... even the bad of our life God is working towards good for us.

I don’t always understand.

I don’t always see the Good.

But because I am confident that I am blessed in Christ.

I am no longer ruled by fear, anxiety, sadness, anger, or bitterness.

The Gospel gives me the hope to rejoice in every circumstance.

Further, we can rejoice

- because of God’s future and ultimate mercy and justice.

Even if I do not fully understand how this can be good …

I can rejoice because I know there is a day in which all of these trials shall pass.

Romans 8:18–21 ESV

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.

I can always rejoice …

because I know that everything I face is temporary, and meaningless … when compared to what God will do in the future.

CONCLUSION:

I challenge us to

Stop Looking for Joy!

And instead being satisfied in the Gospel.

I challenge us to

Stop Looking for Joy!

And instead rejoice in the Lord always.

Phil 4:4 is definitely one of the hard verses.

But I hope today you have been encouraged that there is a way

to not only embrace difficulty … but to rejoice in the difficulty.

- I think one of the ways that Christians are lights in a darkened world

- is that we unashamedly, and obnoxiously rejoicing in every circumstance.

May I end with Paul’s Words:

Philippians 4:4 ESV

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.

****************************LETS PRAY***************