Rejoice Always
by Deacon Lam A. Au
13I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
We all want to have joy. We all like to rejoice everyday. Even King Solomon, a man who really knew how to enjoy life said (Eccesiastees 3:12) I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live. Life will become so miserable when it is deprived of joy. But, oftentimes we think of joy as being momentary or temporarily. The word joy is often described as a sensation like thrill. We think of joy as something you save up for months to experience and then indulge in a moment of excitement: a trip to Disney World, a heart-stopping ride on the world's meanest roller coaster, a hot-air balloon trip. The scripture from today gives a different understanding of joy. This is the kind of joy that will last, not temporary. The kind of joy that stays with us all the time. The kind of joy that sustains us even when we are in trouble, when we are in despair or when we are persecuted for our faith. This is the true joy from above. God wants all His children to receive this kind of everlasting joy. He wants us Christians to be joyful always so that we can be good witnesses for Him. But why we should always rejoice and how we can always rejoice? Paul told us his secrets in the Book of Philippians Chapter 4.
I. Why we should always rejoice? It is because,
1. We are in the Lord: Verse 4 says, “Rejoice in the Lord always.” We are in the Lord means we are united with Christ through faith in him and commitment to him. We have to be joyful always because we have Christ as our Savior, who died for us for our sins and give us a new life. We have to be joyful always because we have Christ as our Lord who will guide us and protect us wherever we go. We have to be joyful always because we have Christ as our best friend who loves us and is always ready to help us and he will never leave us or forsake. Take the example of the Apostle Paul. Many scholars believe Paul wrote Philippians in Rome just about the time Nero began tossing Christians to ravenous lions and burning them as torches to illuminate his banquets. How could a rational man devote a letter to the topic of joy while his survival was in serious jeopardy? Paul told us his secret in Romans 5:3-5 that when we are united with Christ, we can rejoice under all circumstances even at the time of sufferings because God has poured out his love into our hearts. That means even in our sufferings, we are so overwhelmed with God’s love that we can still rejoice. In fact, Paul said in Phil 1: 21 that “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” Not even death will deprive him of his joy in the Lord.
2. It is God’s command and it is God’s will: Verse 4 says, “Rejoice... I will say it again: Rejoice!” Here the Apostle Paul gave us a command that we should be joyful all the time. This is because Paul understood that it is God’s intent that we rejoice always. 1 Th. 5: 16-18 says “16Be joyful always; 17pray continually; 18give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.” Here it said that we Christians should always rejoice because it is God’s will for us to be joyful all the time and God’s word will never fail.
3. The Lord is near: Verse 5 says, “...... The Lord is near.” This is the hope of all Christians. “Near” means Jesus Christ is coming soon (Rev. 22: 12). Our lives on earth are very temporary when compared with our eternality in heaven. We are only pilgrims and aliens in this world and consequently we don’t worry too much about this world. Nothing in this world can take away our joy in the Lord. The Apostle Paul in Phil 3: 20-21 said “20But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.” As Christians we look forward to the second coming of Jesus Christ. This is the time when we shall be raised to heaven and enjoy our eternal lives with the Lord. There will be no more suffering, disease, labor but reward and glory. This hope we have in Christ Jesus will enable us to always rejoice.
4. We have true peace in Christ Jesus: Verse 7 says, “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” The reason why most of the people are unhappy today is because there is no peace in their hearts. God has promised us Christians that we shall have his true peace to guard our hearts and minds in Christ. His peace is so great and so real that it is beyond our understanding. With God’s peace in our hearts, we can always rejoice..
5. We have the strength to do everything through Christ: Verse 13 says, “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” That means through Christ we can overcome anything including our trials and tribulations including our depression and sadness. When the Apostle Paul was weak and discouraged God said to him in 2 Corin 12: 9, “My grace is sufficient for you”. The bible says in Romans 8: 37 that we are more than conquerors through Christ who loved us. In order words, we have the strength through Christ to overcome anything. Therefore we can always rejoice.
II. How we can always rejoice. The Book of Philippians is also called the book of joy. It mentioned the word joy, joyful or rejoice at least 16 times. Our scripture from today gives us 7 keys as to how we can rejoice always. I use the mnemonics “THAnK POP” Here are the seven keys: 1) T = Trust i.e. Trust in the Lord, 2) H = Humility i.e. Practice humility among people, 3) An = Anxiety-free i.e. Do not be anxious, 4) K = is the first letter of Keep and also the last letter of the word Thank i.e. Keep giving thanks to God, 5) P = Pray i.e. Pray continually, 6) O = Obey i.e. Obey The Lord’s commands and put them into practice and 7) P = Positive i.e. Positive thinking.
1. T = Trust. Trust in the Lord (v. 4 4Rejoice in the Lord always.): In our Chinese translation “in the Lord” means let Jesus take control. If we trust in the Lord and let Jesus takes control our lives we can always rejoice.
2. H = Humility. Practice gentleness and humility among people (v. 5 5Let your gentleness be evident to all.): That means we have to be gentle and humble in dealing with people and we don’t want to be harsh on other people. This is because we are just pilgrims and aliens in this world and our hope is in heaven. We don’t worry so much about this world. The most important is that we live for Christ and bring more people to Christ.
3. An = Anxiety-free. Do not be anxious. (v. 6 6Do not be anxious about anything,): This is actually Jesus’ command (Matt 6:25-27. 25"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, [what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?] 26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?). We don’t have to worry about anything because we are God’s children. He loves us and he will always provide for us and he will never leave us or forsake us.
4. K = Keep. K is also the last letter of the word THANK = Keep giving thanks to God. (v. 6 ...but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.) That means give thanks to God in everything. When we count our blessings from God, we will realize that God will never let us down. Even under difficult circumstances we can still give thanks to God because the bible said our trials and tribulations are ultimately meant for our own good (Romans 5: 3-5. 3Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us).
5. P = Pray. Pray continually (v. 6 ...but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.): Prayer is a two-way communication with God. Some people said that prayer is the breath of a Christian. It is the way that we can receive power and understand the will of God. It is the way we can receive wisdom and understand our purpose in life. (Jer. 33:3 said “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.”}
6. O = Obey. Obey the Lord’s commands and put them into practice (v. 9 9Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me--put it into practice.): Following God’s commands will keep us in the right tract and therefore not get us into trouble.
7. P = Positive i.e. Positive Thinking. The bible tells us to occupy our minds with positive (true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable) thoughts (v. 8 8Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.): That means we should think positive and not grill ourselves in negative things. Occupying our minds with good positive thoughts will prevent us from worrying and help us to rejoice.
Remember the 7 keys. Think of “THAnK POP”. These 7 keys will help us rejoice always. But what is even better is that God promises us if we follow His instructions, not only shall we always rejoice but we shall receive the greatest joy of all, which is “God be with us!”(Phil 4:9)