Rejoice in the Lord Always
Philippians 4:4-5
Let’s turn to Philippians 4:4-5. If you need a Bible, please raise your hand and we will bring one to you. In the Bibles we are passing out, Philippians 4 is found on page 985.
Every pastor has favorite topics that he loves to preach. And so one of the benefits of preaching through books of the Bible is that it helps me not just preach on my own personal favorite topics week after week.
But today’s passage hits one of my favorite topics – rejoicing in the Lord. Here’s why this topic is so important to me. When I first became a Christian I did not think feelings were important. I thought being a Christian was just about thinking the right things, and doing the right things. And so I did not have much heart-connection with the Lord, and I had little experience of his presence.
But that’s like ignoring your car’s engine, and just pushing the car around by your own energy. And so after a couple of years my heart had shriveled up, and I felt exhausted and far from God.
But then I took some of my dad’s seminary classes. And I read some articles written by John Piper. And I was shocked to see how often the Bible talked about feelings. And I saw that by ignoring my feelings, I had unplugged my Christian life from the power God had promised me. And when I took steps to plug my life into God’s power – everything changed.
And the essence of that change is right here in Philippians chapter 4. Let’s read verses 4-5 –
4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.
5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand;
“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.” Depending on where you are at, those words will stir up different feelings in your heart.
Some of you are probably encouraged by these words – because even this morning in your own time with the Lord or as we have worshiped you have felt the all-satisfying joy of beholding Christ.
But others of you are discouraged by these words, because you have tried to rejoice in the Lord – you have prayed, you have read the Bible, you have turned from sin – but no matter what you did, there was no joy in the Lord. But Paul has good news for you this morning.
And others of you might feel hopeless because of these words – because you feel so discouraged, so lonely, so guilty – that you can’t imagine feeling joy. But I tell you, there’s good news for you in Philippians.
So let’s start with this question – What does it mean to rejoice in the Lord? The Greek word here translated rejoice refers to a feeling of pleasure and delight. So it’s like the feeling you would have when your team wins the Super Bowl, or when your children spontaneously bring you breakfast in bed, or when you see how fast your new computer is compared to your old one.
So since the Greek word “rejoice” refers to a feeling of pleasure and delight, rejoicing in the Lord means having a feeling of pleasure and delight in the Lord Jesus. But this can easily be misunderstood, so let me also point out what rejoicing in the Lord is not.
Rejoicing in the Lord is not feeling pleasure in your circumstances. Paul is not saying look at all the good things in your life and let them make you happy. No. Paul is talking about a joy you can know when everything in your life is difficult. It’s not joy in your circumstances, it’s joy in the Lord.
And rejoicing in the Lord is not just being free from worry or discouragement. You can be free from worry and discouragement and not have any joy in the Lord, because rejoicing in the Lord means rejoicing in who Jesus Christ himself is.
And rejoicing in the Lord does not mean pursuing earthly comforts, as if that’s where joy is to be found. No. Joy is found in being with Christ on the Calvary Road, the road marked by trials, and suffering, and persecution. It’s not an easy road, but it is a joyful road, because Jesus is there.
So rejoicing in the Lord means a feeling of pleasure and delight in who God is in Christ.
Now with that in mind let’s look back at Philippians 4:4 and ask – how important is it that we rejoice in the Lord? Let’s read that verse again –
4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.
Notice first of all that this a command. Through Paul God himself is commanding us to rejoice in the Lord. It is not a suggestion. It is not a recommendation. It is a command. That makes it important.
And notice that Paul repeats this command. He repeats it here – “again I will say, Rejoice.” And he had already given it back in chapter 3:1 – “Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord.” So Paul repeats this command three times -- “Rejoice in the Lord. Rejoice in the Lord. Rejoice in the Lord.” That shows how important it is.
And notice the word “always” in chapter 4:1 – “Rejoice in the Lord always.” Always. So this is something we are always supposed to be doing. God commands us to rejoice in the Lord when things are going well, and when things are not going so well. When our kids are obeying, and when our kids are not obeying. When we are healthy, and when we are sick. Rejoice in the Lord always.
So rejoicing in the Lord is really, really important. But why? Why is rejoicing in the Lord so important? Let me give you five reasons from the book of Philippians.
First, because no joy compares to the joy of knowing Christ. You can see that in chapter 3:8 –
Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord…
The joy of knowing Christ far surpasses everything else. So if you are not pursuing joy in the Lord, then.you are settling for a joy that will not satisfy you. Money won’t satisfy you, fame won’t satisfy you, cars or computers or clothes won’t satisfy you. Only Jesus Christ will satisfy you.
Second, because joy in the Lord is an essential part of saving faith. You can see that in chapter 1:25 –
Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith…
Paul’s aim in ministry was not just that people would make progress in faith. His aim was also that they would have joy in the faith. But why is our joy so important to Paul? It’s because we all are always trusting something to bring us joy. And whatever we trust as our joy is what we worship – it is our God. So an essential part of saving faith is joy in Christ.
Third, because rejoicing in the Lord is what most highly honors him. You can see that in Philippians 1:20-21 –
… as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
As saved men and women our highest calling is to honor Jesus Christ. And here in this verse we see that Paul honored Christ by rejoicing in him? When people saw that for Paul the joy of living is Christ, and that he didn’t fear dying because dying meant gaining more joy in Christ -- that honored Christ. So the way you can most highly honor and glorify Christ is by rejoicing in him.
Fourth, because rejoicing in the Lord keeps us safe. You can see that in Philippians 3:1 –
Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you.
What will rejoicing in the Lord keep us safe from? From sin. The only reason you sin is because your heart is empty, and you think sin will satisfy you. It won’t, but you think it will. But when we rejoice in the Lord, our hearts will be full, so we will have no interest in the puny satisfactions of sin. And that will keep us safe.
And fifth, because rejoicing in the Lord makes us reasonable toward others. To see that read Philippians 4:4-5 together –
4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.
5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand;
In verse 5 Paul does not command us to be reasonable. He assumes we are reasonable, and says let everyone see your reasonableness. So where did that reasonableness come from? It came from verse 4 – from rejoicing in the Lord. The biggest reason we are unreasonable, cranky, irritated – is because our hearts are empty. But when our hearts are full – we are reasonable. And it’s only in rejoicing in the Lord our hearts will be full.
So it is of the highest importance that we rejoice in the Lord?
But how we do it? How do we go about obeying this command? Here’s what happened Thursday morning. I woke up, went to my desk, and sat down. And it was obvious to me that I was not rejoicing in the Lord. I was feeling overwhelmed by how much packing is required to move to another country. I had a meeting scheduled for that day that I felt was way beyond my ability. And I was just feeling kind of blah.
So the first step in rejoicing in the Lord is to be honest about the condition of your heart. At that moment I was not rejoicing in the Lord. So get into the habit of asking yourself throughout the day – what am I rejoicing in. Is it watching Downton Abby? Is it getting your work done? Or is it beholding and worshiping the Lord Jesus? So that’s the first step – be honest about the condition of your heart.
Then second, understand why you aren’t rejoicing in the Lord. It was not because of how much packing we had to do. It was not because I had a challenging appointment. It was not because I was just feeling kind of low. It was because my sin was blinding me to the glory and majesty and beauty of Jesus Christ.
Then third, confess this sin and trust Christ to forgive you. Don’t make excuses for it. Confess it as sin, and rest in the assurance that through Jesus’ death on the cross you are completely forgiven. So that’s what I did. “Father, how can I feel nothing towards you when you are so glorious? It’s because of my sin. Please, forgive me for my sin.”
Then fourth, ask God to conquer your sin and change your heart. I knew that I couldn’t conquer sin’s blinding power by my own strength. I knew I couldn’t just choose to rejoice in the Lord, because sin is more powerful than that. So I sat at my desk, bowed my head, and earnestly prayed and asked God to set me free from the blinding power of my sin. I asked God to use his word to open my eyes so that I would see him, and rejoice in him.
Then fifth, set your heart prayerfully on the truth of who God is in Christ. So I pulled out my Bible reading plan, and noticed that the first passage was Genesis 35. So I started reading. And I struck gold in verse three – where Jacob describes God –
“Then let us arise and go up to Bethel, so that I may make there an altar to the God who answers me in the day of my distress and has been with me wherever I have gone."
That’s a powerful description of God. The first time I read it, my heart still felt blah. So I prayed some more – asking for more of the work of the Holy Spirit to enlighten the eyes of my heart. Asking God to crush sin’s power so I could see and feel the wonder of who he is.
Then I thought about what Jacob was saying -- that every time he faced distress, and called upon God, God answered him. God delivered him. God helped him. Every time. So I called upon God to help us with our packing. And I called upon God to help me with that challenging appointment. And as I did that my faith strengthened, and peace came.
And then I thought about how God had been with Jacob wherever Jacob had gone. And I was struck by the fact that God loves little human beings, and lowers himself to be with sinful human beings. And I saw, and felt, his love, his beauty, his glory.
And I knew that in Jesus Christ the God of Jacob was my God. And I was filled with joy -- joy in all that God is to me in Christ.
Questions?
Joy in the Lord is not optional. It is commanded. And no matter how low you feel, how tempted you are, how distracted you are – if you will call upon God, and pray over God’s word, he will conquer sin’s blinding power, show you his glory, and fill you with joy.
So – rejoice in the Lord, always. And again I say – rejoice.