St. John’s Church on Morgan Hill

Rejoice in the Lord - Always!

Blake Heffner August 6th, 2006

“Rejoice in the Lord - Always!”

Sermon by pastor Blake Heffner - August 6, 2006

INTRO No wonder a lot of folks think the Apostle Paul was crazy. He wrote some to the most incredible things. Among them, at least three times he orders his readers to be joyful. He orders this – and then adds “all the time, in all circumstances.” What do you think? Was he crazy? Is that even possible? Let’s take a look at this idea. We’ll need some help from the Holy Spirit, so let’s begin with prayer…

1. Always!

The first reason we have of questioning Paul’s sanity is that we can look around and fail to find anyone who is joyful all the time. Perhaps you can’t even imagine what that would be like. There are obvious reasons why we aren’t joyful all the time.

Someone will say: “I’m not joyful today because every night when I watch the evening news it looks like we’re closer to World War III. I’m afraid of what might happen next. Sorry, it’s hard to be happy when you’re anxious.”

Another will say: “Look, I’m angry right now!” That flooding in June was the third time in less than two years. I busted my butt [pardon the expression] to get everything restored, and all of a sudden we’re back to square one. The government hasn’t been very helpful, and our insurance company is giving us the run around! I’m fed up and not full of joy today.”

A third person might say simply: “I have been grieving the loss of my wife for months now. I can’t sleep and don’t want to eat. Every morning I wake up feeling miserable. I find myself weeping uncontrollably. My friend, “joy” is just not in vocabulary at the moment.

Fear and anger and grief are real and justifiable emotions. Emotions normally come and go. You can’t command someone to have an emotion. Yet, Paul strongly commands us to rejoice “always – in all circumstances.” He uses the imperative form of the verb. So, the joy he is referring to must be something other than an emotion. Something that we can experience independently of whether the sun is shining or not, whether we have our health or not, whether we are succeeding or failing.

2. In the Lord!

The key for Paul lies in the phrase “in the Lord.” Now you’re thinking – oh, come on, don’t give me some religious gobbledy-gook about every gray cloud having a silver lining, or the darkness is not dark to God. That’s not what this is all about. I want you to listen very carefully.

Eugene Peterson put it this way. “Joy is not a requirement of Christian discipleship, it is a consequence. It is not what we have to acquire in order to experience life in Christ; it is what comes to us when we are walking in the way of faith and obedience” (A Long Obedience in the Same Direction, p.96). That means you and I don’t have to conjure up a smile for every situation in order to be a Christian. No, but joy comes with the territory of being disciples of Jesus. We receive a joyfulness and peace that are clearly not dependent upon outward circumstances.

You know something interesting? During the process of canonizing a saint, the Roman Catholic Church demands proof of joy in the candidate’s life. Pretty neat. Their thinking is that genuine saints don’t walk around with a sour face and personality.

That’s a high standard for us. The good news is that “joy in the Lord” is a free gift of God’s grace. Jesus said: “I have told you everything so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete… [Yes,] you are sad now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will be filled with joy, the kind of joy that no one can take away from you” (John 15:11; 16:22).

“Joy in the Lord” is not merely an emotional high. It seems like an attitude – but it is more. It is a quality of life that we can have continually – no matter where we are on life’s emotional roller coaster. And, NO ONE can take it away from us! The Devil will try to steal our joy, but he can’t take it if we won’t give it to him!

“Joy in the Lord” is what our kids learned to sing about this week in Bible School:

I’m trading my sorrows; I’m trading my shame; I’m laying them down for the joy of the Lord. I’m trading my sickness; I’m trading my pain; I’m laying them down for the joy of the Lord. Yes, Lord, yes, Lord…

“Joy in the Lord” is the “joy of the Lord” that we receive in trade. We trade our messed up, fragile and broken ‘old’ lives for Jesus’ whole and abundant new life. We trade in our sorrows and sickness, our shame and our pain for his victorious and eternal life. This trade is not something we do only once – we have to renew the transaction everyday. That’s why the song ends with the series: “yes, Lord, yes, Lord, yes, yes Lord… Amen.”

Someone has said that “j-o-y” happens when there is “zero” between Jesus and you. That’s right!

3. Keep on rejoicing!!

Friends, Paul’s talking about an ongoing process. Writing in the present tense, he means literally: “Keep on rejoicing in the Lord – all the time. I’ll say it again for emphasis: Keep on rejoicing!”

Do we have this straight now? Joy in the Lord is not something we conjure up by thinking happy thoughts; no, it comes from Christ being present within us. It is the fruit of the Holy Spirit – which we receive when we receive Jesus as our Savior and Lord. It is what Jesus described in our gospel lesson as the stream of life-giving water that wells up from within us and overflows for those around us.

This is the only way to make sense of “rejoicing always.” We can have it “in the Lord” – no matter where we are or how awful the situation – because Jesus Christ is always with us. He will never leave us nor forsake us. And he has given us a promise – which the children heard often this week: “Because I live, you will live also” (Jn.14:19).

This is it in a nutshell: Because the Spirit of Christ is the source of joy, we can rejoice also. Because the Spirit of Christ is the source of love, we can love also. Because the Spirit of Christ is the source of peace, we can experience peace in the midst of turmoil. All these things and more are ours – free gifts of grace – when we receive Jesus Christ.

Friends, I don’t know about you, but I crave more that joy in my life, more of that love, more of that peace. And we surely need more of these things in our corporate life as a congregation. So, please receive this closing exhortation with all the imperative urgency of the apostle Paul:

Be joyful when we gather for worship. Be like the psalmist who wrote, “I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go up to the house of the Lord.’” Why not invite someone to worship with you every Sunday – that some of this joy might rub off on them.

Be joyful when we gather for the fellowship time. Make it your purpose to seek out someone who is alone and greet them. Introduce yourself and strike up a conversation. If we only talk to our close friends, we will miss the joy of genuine Christian fellowship.

Be joyful in your prayer life this week. No matter how heavy your burdens, begin your quiet time with a little silent singing: “Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice.” Jesus promised us his joy in all its fullness.

Finally, share your joy with others this week. There are so many folks right around us that have absolutely no joy in their lives. They are downcast, or worn out, or frightened, or brokenhearted. You may be the only ray of light that shines on them. Offer them genuine joy “in the Lord” – not a superficial smile, but a loving, caring hug in the name of Jesus with words of comfort, hope and encouragement.

Let us pray…

Prayer
Gracious God, our heavenly Father, it is embarrassing to think how easily we miss the gift of joy in the Lord. How often we find ourselves downcast or frustrated or despairing. Yet, you have promised us your very own joy – through Jesus Christ.
We turn to you, yearning to find this elusive joy today. Enable us, by your Holy Spirit, to trade in our sorrows and shame, our sickness and pain for the joy of the Lord.
Jesus, because you live, we will live also. Come into our hearts afresh today. Pour into our hearts your love and joy and peace. Let these marvelous qualities well up and overflow our lives to bless those around us.
And we pray that joy in the Lord will someday fill this whole church family. When people come for the first time, may they see our joyfulness in you.

In Jesus’ name, and for his glory. Amen.