Is Powerful To Save

Rejoice In the Lord Always & Again!

10.14.18 [Mark 10:1-16] River of Life (21st Sunday after Pentecost)

Imagine someone sent you on a hunt for rejoicing. Where would you start? You might look to the crowds at a Cardinals’ game. The team is doing well and winning with style. The fans that fill the stands—especially after not being able to do so for much of last season—are ready and eager to rejoice. Maybe, since Christmas is right around the corner, you would post up underneath a tree that is stocked with beautifully wrapped presents. Children rejoice when they’re opening presents. Perhaps you’d pursue a different bundle of joy. If you were hunting for rejoicing you’d do well to spend some time in the Labor and Delivery wing of a hospital.

Hunting for rejoicing can lead you in a lot of different directions. At the same time, in each one of these places, you can find folks who are not rejoicing, right? Away fans flock to our warm weather during winter games to watch their favorite team. This year, most have gone home without a reason to rejoice. Kids unwrap many gifts on Christmas. They don’t always rejoice, do they? The Labor and Delivery wing might be a rocking time of rejoicing, the rest of the hospital isn’t so much.

When you don’t feel like rejoicing, like after your team just lost, or after you just opened a present you didn’t understand or like, or when you’re stuck in the hospital feeling lousy, one of the least helpful things a person can say to you is cheer up, right? Be happy. Rejoice always.

And maybe that is how you are feeling right now. Maybe you are reeling from a whole string of losses and setbacks. Right now, you might be feeling like the present is more of a burden than a gift. Perhaps you’ve spent too much time inside a hospital—either as a patient or as a visitor. Hearing the Apostle Paul command you to (Php. 4:4) Rejoice in the Lord right now seems like an impossibility. Cruel, even.

Even if that’s not where you are right now, you may remember a time like that. Maybe things got so bad that you wondered aloud why God was allowing all this to happen to you. Perhaps you got so mad at God that you stopped praying and even wandered away from worship for a while.

As you think back to those times, the last thing you probably wanted to hear from someone was (Php. 4:4) Rejoice in the Lord always. and again I say: Rejoice! Whenever we are feeling discouraged, demoralized or defeated it is hard to summon up the strength and create the desire to rejoice. Even if we might otherwise want to. Even when we know we are supposed to. There are moments in life when rejoicing feels impossible.

But not all the time, right? There have also been those moments in life when you erupted with joy instinctively. You rejoiced and no one had to tell you to do it. You didn’t just want to; you couldn’t help yourself. Maybe it was when your favorite team finally won the big game. Perhaps it was upon receiving a really thoughtful present. It might have been on your wedding day, or at the birth of a child, or some other landmark moment in your life. You know how to rejoice. And you even like to rejoice. So why is it such a burden the rest of the time?

Perhaps the reason rejoicing is such a challenge is easier for us to see if we take a look at Luke 10. Luke 10 is most famous for Jesus’ declaration that (Lk. 10:2) the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Because the Lord wants to see all men saved, (Lk. 10:1) Jesus appoints 72 of his followers to go ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go and (Lk. 10:9) heal the sick and announce that the kingdom of God has come near to you. And they did exactly as Jesus instructed them. And when they met up with Jesus again, Luke tells us they (Lk. 10:17) returned with joy.

Do you know why they were so joyful? Was it because the towns were welcoming and well-disposed to their preaching? Was it because they had healed the sick? Was it because they were bold and courageous preachers of the kingdom of God? No. Luke tells us they (Lk. 10:17) returned with joy and they said why. Even the demons submitted to us in your name! They were filled with joy, not because they were doing the Lord’s work and not because they were with Jesus, but because they had power over the demons. That’s why Jesus rebukes their rejoicing. (Lk. 10:20) Do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you..”

We are just as prone to rejoicing for the wrong reasons. We rejoice when we’ve finally acquired the right stuff. We rejoice when our kids make us proud. We rejoice when we finally achieve our dreams. We rejoice when we are surrounded by great people. We rejoice when a plan comes together. We rejoice when we catch a lucky break. We rejoice when we’ve survived an ordeal or gotten through tough times. We rejoice when things start looking up. We rejoice when life goes our way.

But the Lord wants us to (Php. 4:4) rejoice always. Even when we’re struggling materially, relationally, or emotionally. Rejoice even when your plans are falling apart at the seams. Rejoice when you’re in the throes of a difficult ordeal. Rejoice when all those great people are gone or revealed that they weren’t really as great as you thought they were. Rejoice when you can’t seem to catch a break. Rejoice when life feels like it’s circling the drain. (Php. 4:4) Rejoice always.

On our own, we cannot do this. Rejoice in the Lord is a command we cannot keep. Not until we understand why Paul includes that little phrase (Php. 4:4) in the Lord. Not until we grasp why he mentions (Php. 4:5) the Lord is near. Not until we recognize the power of (Php. 4:7) the peace of God.

The Lord has come near to save us. He remains near to encourage us. And he will come nearer still to bring us to be with him in heaven. That is why we rejoice. Because, by God’s grace, we are found in the Lord. Because he has acquired the most precious thing a person can possess—the peace of God. Only when we know we have peace with God can we rejoice in the Lord always.

God himself came near so that we would have reason to rejoice. Remember how his birth was announced that night in Bethlehem. Angels lit up the night sky. One spoke to the shepherds. (Lk. 2:10) Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. What was that good news that caused great joy for all the people? The Lord had come near. (Lk. 2:11) Today in the town of David, a reason for all to rejoice had been revealed. A Savior has been born to you. He is Christ, the Lord. Christ the Lord had come near to save sinners. The angels rejoiced and praised God by saying (Lk. 2:14) Glory to God in the highest and peace on earth to men on whom his favor rests. You know what happened next. The shepherds hurried, because they were filled with joy. And they saw that the Lord had come near. They saw their Savior in swaddling cloths. The Lord was just lying there in the manger. They were filled with joy. Their joy was so intoxicating they likely woke people up from a dead sleep. And they were amazed. And their joy didn’t subside. Even when the shepherd went back to their fields, they continued (Lk. 2:20) glorifying and praising God for all he had done.

That Savior lived the life you could not. He rejoiced in righteousness in moments and ways none of us have or could have. He rejoiced in every moment spent in God’s Word or in God’s house with God’s people. He rejoiced in late nights spent praying to his heavenly Father. He rejoiced in rejecting every temptation—never once feeling that sinful regret we are so accustomed to dealing with when we rebuff unrighteousness. Jesus rejoiced in preaching the truth—even when he was personally rejected. Jesus even rejoiced in suffering and dying for our sins. (Heb. 12:2) For the joy set before Jesus he endured the cross, scorning its shame so that we would have the peace of God.

This is why we rejoice. Because the peace that God has promised has been purchased by the Son of God and conferred upon each of us through faith. Because this Lord rose from the dead and came to his disciples with a message: peace. I have won peace and I give it to you freely.

Because the Lord has come near, we have incredible security. Because the Lord remains near, we are encouraged. Buoyant no matter how powerful the wind and the waves may be. We are joyful because we are peace-filled. We rejoice always because we have been loved unconditionally and accepted eternally. No matter what happens to you—good or bad—you know that God loves you. You know that regardless of how much or how little you accomplish in a day, in a week, or in a lifetime, Christ has accomplished everything necessary for your salvation. You know that even when you feel like you are (2 Cor. 4:16) wasting away, God has promised you an eternal glory that surpasses anything you can even begin to conceive of. So rejoice in the Lord always. And again I say: Rejoice!

And there is an incredible thing that happens when you rejoice in the Lord. Not only do you become more content, more joyful, more grateful—you become more winsome. Think about it. When you see someone who is truly happy, you’re often moved to be happy for them, right? When you meet someone who is enduringly joyful—someone who has seen hard times and been through dark valleys—and yet through it all they keep glorifying and praising God for all that he has done, it stands out. That was Paul’s witness in Philippi.

There are so many people in this world, and in our community, who are on the hunt for a reason to rejoice. They maybe think joy will come when they get the right stuff, when they find the right people, or when they’ve accomplished the right things—but you know right where to point them. The Lord. The Lord who brought joy into this world. The Lord who bought peace with his holy precious blood. (Neh. 8:10)The joy of the Lord is our strength; the strength of the Lord is our joy. The Lord who guards your heart and mind always. The Lord who has given you a reason to rejoice. So rejoice in the Lord. Always. Amen.