Sermon Tone Analysis

Text: 1 Thessalonians 5:16; Philippians 4:4-7

Theme: Rejoicing always is not an emotional high, but the abiding attitude that takes pleasure in knowing that whatever one encounters, including trials, is God’s will.

Date: 05/01/2022 File: Final_Instructions_02.wpd

File #: NT13-05

Do you know what the shortest verse in the New Testament is?

The obvious answer is John 11:35: "Jesus wept."

It is the shortest verse in our English translations of the Bible.

But the shortest verse in the Greek New Testament is 1 Thessalonians 5:16: "Rejoice always."

It’s two words with a mere fourteen letters.

It is a little verse with big implications.

The word rejoice is a call to joy.

The term was a watchword among early Christians.

More than a term of worship, it was a word of salutation.

We typically greet one another with "Hello" or "Goodbye."

But the early Christians often greeted each other with “Rejoice!”

What an encouragement it would be if we entered and departed one another's presence with a call to rejoice.

In this passage Paul exhorts the saints to rejoice.

It is a command, which makes it clear that joy is an attitude and a behavior that believers are to actively cultivate in their lives.

In these verses, Paul gives us some clues as to how we can live one day at a time for Christ.

They are "things to do" in our daily walk with Jesus.

I. REJOICE IN THE LORD ALWAYS

1. as the Apostle closes out his letter to the Thessalonian believers he instructs them to rejoice always

a. joy in Christ was especially important to Paul

1) he had never gotten over the fact that Jesus had saved him

2) Paul considered himself the worst of all sinners and bluntly says so in a letter to his ministerial protégé’ Timothy

“The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

15 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.

16 But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.

17 Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever.

Amen.” (1 Timothy 1:14–17, NIV84)

b. this was a man who hated Jesus of Nazareth — considering him a blasphemer and false messiah

1) Paul had mercilessly persecuted the Church ... believers were in prison because of Paul; believers had been fined and their property confiscated because of Paul; believers had been executed because of Paul

c. all that changed when Jesus appeared to Paul while he was on his way to Damascus — Jesus saved him and called him into the gospel ministry at the same time, and the 1st-century world would never be the same after that

1) from that moment onward, I doubt that there was ever a moment in Paul’s life where he did not rejoice in what Christ had wrought in his life

Illus.

In Charles Dickens classic story A Christmas Carol Ebenezer Scrooge has awoken on Christmas morning after the spirits of Christmas past, present, and future have visited him.

Scrooge wakes up a changed man.

“I don’t know what to do!” cried Scrooge, laughing and crying in the same breath; ... .

“I am as light as a feather, I am as happy as an angel, I am as merry as a school-boy.

I am as giddy as a drunken man.

A merry Christmas to every-body!

A happy New Year to all the world!

Hallo here!

Whoop!

Hallo!”

2) I think this describes Paul the moment he regains his sight — dancing on air, rapturously glowing, merry as a new groom, staggeringly happy

2. Paul never got over the fact that Jesus had redeemed him, and he rejoiced always

a. in vs. 12-22 the Apostle Paul is giving the Thessalonians believers some imperatives ... things that we really, REALLY, ought to be doing as believers

b. rejoicing in the Lord ... giving thanks ... worrying less and praying more ... loving what is good and abstaining from what is evil ... all of these are commands

1) these are to be part of our spiritual to-do list

3. the Christian life begins with being transformed into a new creation in Christ

a. at it’s very heart, Christianity is not about being being good or turning over a new leaf; it’s not about spiritual self-actualization; it’s not about adopting a superior morality; it’s not a commitment to one religion among many religions

1) Christianity is about going from spiritual death to spiritual life after your whole-sale surrender to Jesus who is God’s Christ

2) think about this: “The Christian church is a society of sinners.

It is the only society in the world in which membership is based upon the single qualification that the candidate shall be unworthy of membership.”

— Charles Morrison

b. your salvation is a supernatural event that gives you a heart of flesh the mind of Christ, and a life giving Spirit

1) none of us deserve to be called God’s children, but by grace we’ve been adopted into the family of God

c. when our inward being is transformed our outward doing is transformed, and becomes ever more Christ-like as we grow in the faith

4. because we have been changed, because Christ dwells in us, because heaven is our home believers are to rejoice in the Lord always

a. when you reflect on your new birth in Christ do you feel light as a feather, as happy as an angel, as merry as a school-boy, as giddy as an intoxicated man?

b. does grace and mercy make you go whoop, whoop!

A. THE WORLD OFFERS SUBSTITUTES AND CHEEP IMITATIONS TO TRUE JOY

1. we live in a fast-paced society that keeps too many of even God's people on edge

2. most Americans have bought into the secular agenda that has convinced us to worship our work, work at our play, and play at our worship

a. the result is that we meet ourselves coming and going in an attempt to be happy while all the time missing out on true joy

1) the difference between joy and happiness is substantial

2) we often assume that the fleeting feeling of happiness, giddy laughter and contentment in the comforts of life is akin to the joy we experience in Jesus

a) now, let me quickly say, I have nothing against happiness — which is “a state of well-being and contentment; a pleasurable or satisfying experience”

b) that’s a nice place to be ... it’s just so temporary in most cases

b. in our culture too many settle for the false and temporary euphoria found in drugs and alcohol, in sexual pleasures, in material acquisitions, the acquisition of power, or personal relationships

3. the Biblical meaning of joy, in contrast, is not a fleeting feeling with worldly roots

a. it’s not something we can produces ourselves; it is a fruit of the Holy Spirit

b. joy is the deep-down confidence that God is in control of everything for the believer’s good and His own glory, and thus all is well no matter what the circumstances

ILLUS.

The best personification of Biblical joy is the story of Job.

He was stripped of every good thing he had on this earth, but never lost his faith in God.

Job knew his experience was unfair, and did not sugarcoat his pain.

His conversations with God were frank, yet he never forgot who God was.

In spite of all that has happened to him, Job turns his eyes toward heaven and says, Job 33:4 says, “the breath of the Almighty gives me life.”

c. that’s the difference between worldly happiness and heavenly joy

1) though our lives seem to be falling apart, and we may have every right to fly the victim flag, we instead choose to place our lives in the capable hands of the Father

4. in his letter to the Philippian believers Paul says our joy is in the Lord

a. the only sure, reliable, unwavering, unchanging source of joy is God

1) that is why Paul commands believers to rejoice in the Lord

b. so deep was the apostles' knowledge of God's character and purposes that even suffering for Jesus Christ was a cause of joy: "So they went on their way from the presence of the Council, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name" (Acts 5:41)

c. throughout his writings Paul tells Christians ...

rejoice in hope

rejoice in hope of the glory of God

rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope

rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ

rejoice with those who rejoice

rejoice together

rejoice in the truth

rejoice in the Lord

rejoice in the Lord always

5. do you think the Apostle has a theme in his life?

B. JOY IS TO BE EXPERIENCED ALWAYS

1. the word joy in this verse is a present tense imperative ... it’s calling believers to the continual and habitual practice of rejoicing

a. sometimes the trials and pressures of life make it almost impossible to be happy