Sermon Text: Philippians 4: 4-7
Final Exhortations
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.
6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Morning Message:
Moments of joy sometimes seem too far and few between. The Christian life is meant to be filled with joyful times. There are many reasons that joy can seem so hard to find and all of them are rooted in our attitudes. The first reason is that we are not really looking for moments of joy, but instead, our focus is on finding happiness and contentment. What we want is something permanent and long lasting, so we overlook the momentary joys of life. We are always looking for bigger and better things in life, and we forget about the blessings that we have that others would be joyful over. We never actually say it this way, but in God’s ears it probably sounds something like this old song. Oh Lord, won’t you buy me a Mercedes Benz, I’m counting on you Lord, Lord please make amends. Worked hard all my lifetime; no help from my friends. So Lord, won’t you buy me a Mercedes Benz. God must think, can’t you find joy in what I have provided. You have a car that many would be thankful for and find joy in. You say that you have worked hard all your life; can’t you find joy in the fact that I have provided work for you? Oh Lord, won’t you give me a night on the town. I’m counting on you Lord, please don’t let me down. Prove that you love me and buy the next round. You have a home and food and some luxuries in life. Why is there no joy unless it’s a great celebration?
other obstacle that we allow to take away our joy is worry. I have given these to you before, but it is worth repeating. These are the facts about worrying: 40% of the things that people worry about never happen. Worrying about the future as a child of God makes no sense. God holds the future and there is nothing that we can do to change God’s plan. We can’t see the joy of today because we are focused on what might go wrong tomorrow. If you really think about it, this makes no sense. 30% of our worries are related to past matters, which are now beyond our control. We hold onto things that are over and done with. God forgives us and moves on, but we stay stuck, thinking of all the ways that we wish we had done things differently. We shouldn’t live in the past any more than we should try to live in the future. There is joy for right now, and we miss it because our hearts are in the past. 12% of our worries have to do with our health, even when we are not actually ill. Instead of being joyful that we are in good health right now, we worry that we might become ill. What good is it for us to be healthy if all we can think about is getting sick. 10% of our worries are about others and are not based in evidence or fact. Most of the time we have no idea what is going on in the lives of friends and neighbors, but we worry about what might be. Only 8% of our worries have some basis in reality, which means that over 90% of the things we worry about never happen, yet our joy is gone.
How can we overcome these very human traits that cause us to worry and always strive for more? Our scripture says: Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! I want you to think for a moment. How much time do you spend rejoicing in the Lord? We find the time to rejoice over other things. When the Steelers surprised me and won last Sunday I rejoiced. We rejoice when things really go our way and over our children or grandchildren when they accomplish something. Over a new home or car when we hit the lottery. My problem is you have to play to win. We rejoice over the gifts but not over the giver. When was the last time you just simply rejoiced in your relationship with God? There are so many reasons to rejoice in God. We should rejoice that God came to earth to rescue us in the birth of Jesus. Rejoice in his forgiveness, in his love, in his miracles that he performs in our lives every day. Rejoice in his glory. If we would just take the time to think about our God, how he created the universe, created us. The glory of this immeasurable God who cares about us.
If it were not enough that we gain joy from rejoicing in the Lord, we, as his children, have the awesome promise that we can bring all our troubles and worries and requests to him. This alone should make our hearts sing with joy. God listens and communicates and promises his peace for our lives. How should we express our joy to God? In our prayer time we must learn to leave room for praise. When we make a habit of praising God, we are reminded of the things that he has provided that we should be thankful for and joyful over. Do you ever sing to God? If you haven’t done this in your personal time with God you need to try it. Try this one that you know “Praise God from whom all blessings flow, praise him all creatures here below, praise him above ye heavenly hosts, praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.” Show your joy when you worship in private and in public. I know that’s not something that we are comfortable with. Let God move you. If you feel like holding your hands up in praise, then let go and do it. I would rather we not start rolling in the aisles, but if it’s a true movement from God, then so be it.
The scripture from our devotional for today is Luke 1: 44. “For as soon as I heard your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy.” Elisabeth, carrying John the Baptist in her womb, explains the reaction of her unborn child at the sound of the voice of Mary, the mother of Jesus. “Jesus always promises joy. Joy is a free leaping toward the unexpected, a lifting up of what is new, a reaching out to heaven in hope, a touching of the kingdom, an expectant tiptoeing.” (Henri J. M. Nouwen, Peacework, 79-80) I am reminded of a story of King David as he returned from a successful battle. The Bible says that he danced before the Lord and leaped for joy. He apparently wasn’t Baptist or Presbyterian. From our Advent Devotional: “Jesus is our joy—not because he solves all of our problems or eradicates everything that pains our world—but because he joins us here and then promises to be with us always. With Joy we reach with him toward heaven, we touch God’s kingdom, we leap toward the unexpected and extraordinary. Today is a joyful day. Jesus is coming soon!”
In Christ’s Love and Peace
Pastor Bob
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