Word of Salvation – Vol.39 No.20 – May 1994
Rejoice Always!
Sermon by Rev. M. Vanderree on Phil.4:4
Readings: Phil.4:4-13; Rom 5:1-5
People of God,
Some time ago I had the opportunity to help lead a Youth Camp. On Saturday afternoon we had an elective study session. The choice was between two topics:
1. Guidance
2. Disappointment, Despair and Depression.
I had prepared some material on the depressing topic. You know, to my total amazement, 3/4 of the camp came to that elective. Apart from saying that disappointment and depression is something we all struggle with, the response also said that we have a desire for happiness and joy.
This morning let us look at one verse in Paul’s letter to the Philippians, which has been called, ‘The Letter of Joy’.
But I ask you, what could a man who lived 2000 years ago teach us about JOY?
We moderns jump up and down, sing and shout when our favourite footy or basketball team wins. We smile with contentment and achievement when the exam results come in. We fill with pride and self-confidence when we can show our designer jeans and Reebok runners to our mates. That makes us happy.
Often our happiness and joy is dependent on things around us. We spend time and money taking things into our own hands. When we have the Kylie Minogue figure, or live in a Huxtable type family, or we perform like Dean Jones or Wayne Gardner in sports, then we are happy.
But the joy doesn’t always last, does it? Sometimes we put on weight and can do very little about it. Pimples can be hard to stop. Sometimes our sports performance is far from stunning. In fact, it is downright hopeless. Sometimes family life is not much better.
So as our circumstances change, so our joy comes and goes.
Well, God wants us to know, this morning, that He thinks JOY is precious. He wants us to know joy is not elusive. He wants us to know that joy is not the right of those who know how to party, or stay on top of things. JOY is compatible with all the experiences of life.
- Christian Joy Modelled.
God shows it through a man called Paul.
The Apostle Paul models joy in such a way that he shows that God puts it within the reach of all of us.
Paul wrote this letter from a Roman jail. He was not wearing designer jeans, or Reebok runners. In fact, he had little food, light, no TV. Things were tough.
Paul experienced the kind of situation which (but for the strength of God) would have produced malice and hatred in most others.
In this situation of imprisonment, being cooped up in captivity, like a ‘rabbit in a hutch’, unable to be out and about doing what he knew his task to be, Paul must have felt useless.
In this frustrating situation, Paul responds, ‘I don’t mind because the Christian church is speaking more boldly about Christ’ (1:13). A response of joy!
To boot, there were others gloating about the fact that he was in jail. They tried to prejudice the city against Paul. Yet, Christ is preached he says, and that is great! (1:18)
The other triumph of Paul’s joy is that he is facing martyrdom. He knows his imprisonment can mean death. He lives with uncertainty. Yet in all of this, joy breaks in.
I don’t know about you, but to me Paul is not a worldly successful man. In his situation he has reached rock bottom.
Yet joyful.
Joy is modelled. Not only does he show us that it can be done, he also tells us how.
- Christian Joy Commanded.
In Philippians 4:4, there is the simple command: Rejoice! I say it again, Rejoice!
The command comes from God Himself. It is not an option. It is not a pious wish, but a practical imperative. Something we are supposed to learn and cultivate.
What is joy? Perhaps it is helpful to see what it is not.
Firstly, it is not the same as fun and games. It is possible for us to ‘have fun’, without finding joy. You can enjoy yourself and not be joyous. It is possible to ‘party’, ‘travel’, be the ‘centre of attention’, ‘collect gadgets’, and in it all, be without joy. By contrast Paul is in prison, having no fun yet he has joy.
Secondly, it is not the same as being jolly. Joy is not like some people who seem to be always ‘bubbly’, the ‘life of the party’, always joking. It is possible to have a bouncy temperament, and still miss out on joy. Someone said that Christians’ faces should be like English ‘tea pot’ faces rather than American ‘coffee pot’ faces. Joy is not dependent on your temperament.
Finally, it is not the same as being carefree. Travel agents try to persuade us that joy is found in being carefree, getting wrecked on Great Keppel Island; walking along a tropical island beach, windsurfing in unpolluted waters. But the joy only lasts as long as the holidays. Once you are back, responsibilities and pressures build. Surely joy is more than ten days a year!
When Jesus faced death, He was not being carefree. On that night in the garden, He was not the life of the party. Being hauled up before the legal system, He was not having fun and games. He said, ‘I have told you this, so that my joy is in you and that your joy may be complete.’
Christian joy is a state of contentment in the God who loves us, to death!
Paul tells us what the SOURCE OF CHRISTIAN joy is.
a) Awareness of being loved.
We will never know joy if we do not know that someone thinks we are alright. The biggest joy-killer is that we think and believe other important people see me as an idiot, or a goose, or a clown. Joy evaporates when I am not taken seriously. We cannot have joy unless we know we are loved and accepted.
The fountain of joy is that I am aware of being loved by the God of the Universe.
Christian joy comes from knowing that God who made this world loves me so much that He gave his Son. (Rom 5:8; Rom 8:32,38ff; Gal 2:20)
b) Accept the situation as being good.
We are pretty good with pain killers. We take ‘morphine’ and ‘serapax’ and drink our port, to dull the pain. In the same way discontent kills joy. We can fret about the way things are, wishing things were different, longing for things to happen that we know will not.
Christian joy realises that we have a Father who has a purpose in all we experience. In pleasant and unpleasant circumstances, we know that God is doing GOOD. Simply look at Paul, (Phil.4:11ff). This contentment is the soil in which Paul’s joy is rooted and grows. It is not an easy lesson, yet it is a lesson that all must learn.
c) Being in possession of something worthwhile.
We speak of things as giving joy; children, homes, hobbies. If nothing we have seems worthwhile then you won’t have joy.
Christian joy realises it has something worthwhile. (Phil.3:7-10). The prize is a relationship. That relationship is with Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the great lover and giver. He desires to give us what gives meaning and purpose!
d) Being able to give something worthwhile.
But there is also joy in giving. No use keeping things to yourself, no use being a grabber and user. We’ve been made to share and give to others.
Christian joy grows in giving. In our actions we show that we have this beautiful gift which we want to share with others.
- Christian Joy Chosen.
Paul leaves us with one thought in conclusion. We choose joy!
Sometimes joy comes very naturally. Sometimes we are moved with excitement and enthusiasm. That is tremendous.
But joy is not just emotional excitement. It is a matter of choice.
I guess many people have their walkmans, and as they walk, shop or travel, they do it to the beat of their favourite band. Having heard the tape sixteen times, they know the words off by heart. They focus on the music.
Christian joy is cultivated in a similar way.
Focus on God and be assured that,
1. God loves me eternally and perfectly,
2. Everything comes to me from God, with His permission,
3. My saving knowledge of Jesus is worth having,
4. The Gospel message is worth giving to someone else.
AMEN