Alba 10-20-2024
REASONS TO REJOICE
II John 1-6
Ed Skidmore, a graduate of Ozark Christian College and longtime minister in Texas told this story. He recalled a memorable moment many years ago when Susan (his wife) and he were taking Kimberly (their daughter), age 2 , and her slightly younger cousin, Able, to church in the car.
He said Kimberly was in a foul humor that morning, but her smiley faced cousin decided it was time for a word of exhortation. Though he could barely talk, he looked her in the face and said happily, "Rejoice Kimmy!"
Ed said, “We didn't think Able even knew that word, but he certainly knew the context in which to use it.” And he added, “Since that time, we’ve often used Able's exhortation when ever we see Kimberly's mood begin to deflate.”
There are many things in life that can get us down, but God gives us reasons to rejoice. As we take a look at the little letter of Second John, we are given reminders of the good things that God provides. Lets read II John verses 1-6.
1 The Elder, To the elect lady and her children, whom I love in truth, and not only I, but also all those who have known the truth, 2 because of the truth which abides in us and will be with us forever: 3 Grace, mercy, and peace will be with you from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.
4 I rejoiced greatly that I have found some of your children walking in truth, as we received commandment from the Father. 5 And now I plead with you, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment to you, but that which we have had from the beginning: that we love one another. 6 This is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, that as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it.
This letter is addressed to “the elect lady”. Some scholars think that this is a particular woman whose children John knows. Others believe it is a reference to a church and its members. In either case, as John writes this letter, he finds some things about which to rejoice. He uses the term in verse four, but other verses also show us reasons to rejoice. First is a word repeated five times in the first four verses.
1. We Can Rejoice Because We Have Truth
There seems to be little of that around today. We have heard for some time that many in our culture don't think anything can be known for sure. There is a resistance to absolute truth today because people say it is relative: “What’s true for me may not be true for you.” This is the odd part about truth: even those who say there’s no absolute truth are making the point that there is in fact, absolute truth. To say, “No one can make universal truth claims” is a universal truth claim.
But in John 8:31-32 it says, “Jesus said to the Jews who believed Him, 'If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.'” The Bible, God's Word, is the place of truth to guide our lives. If you have no truth, you have chaos.
Tim Smith, a minister in Louisiana, said that he worked out 5-6 times a week. So, if someone new came to the gym, they were pretty easy to pick out. He told how a guy in his late 40’s joined them who wore the Dr. Dre headphones which canceled out all of the other sounds in the gym.
He said it wasn’t long before the guy started to sing out loud. And it was a squeaky voice to whatever song he was singing. And worse yet, he was out of tune. It was the kind of voice that was like nails on a chalkboard. And every person in the gym was miserable…and annoyed. Everyone was talking about it, but nobody wanted to say anything to the guy. They were all hesitant to speak the truth. They even went to the managers, and they didn't want to say anything to the guy.
They all knew the truth, but were hesitant to speak the truth. Why? Because the truth is hard and can lead to confrontation. And they didn't want that. But unless one knows the truth, it is possible to be in very great danger. What if the ice on a pond is too thin? What if the brakes in your car don't work? Wouldn't it be better to know the truth before you take a walk on that pond, or drive your car into town? We all need truth. It is the foundation of all things good.
Psalm 89:14 in the New Century Version says of God, “Your kingdom is built on what is right and fair. Love and truth are in all you do.” Our world today needs what is right and fair. We need lives built on love and truth. At Silver Dollar City they have something called Grandfathers' Mansion. When you go inside you find mystifying rooms with slanting floors, mirrored walls and dizzying effects that will turn your world upside down! As crazy as that place is, underneath is a solid foundation. And in this crazy world, we need a solid foundation. We need truth.
We have truth because Jesus is the truth (John 14:6). God's Word is truth (John 17:17), and the Spirit of truth guides us into all truth (John 16:13). That is a reason to rejoice. We are not left to walk in confusion with unanswered questions.
Psalm 86:11 should be our prayer, “Teach me Your way, O Lord; I will walk in Your truth.” Walking refers to a way of life. If you want to walk with God and grow in your relationship with God, it takes a commitment to truth and growing in understanding and obedience to the Scriptures. John says in verse four of our text that he rejoices that he knows some people who are walking in truth.
Another reason to rejoice is found in verse three. We can, and should, rejoice because...
2. We Have Grace, Mercy and Peace.
John says that each of those things come from God and will be with us in our lives. First, consider grace. I am so thankful for the grace of God. It means that in spite who I am, and in spite of what I have done, God allows me to receive the salvation that is made possible by the blood of Jesus that was shed on the cross for the forgiveness of sins.
If you take the letters of the word grace, G-R-A-C-E, as an acrostic, it becomes: God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense. None of us deserve such a great gift as that. Grace is the undeserved and unmerited favor and blessing of God. It is indeed grace that any spiritual blessing would be conferred on sinful mortals such as ourselves.
But that is not all. We are also given mercy. Did you ever play the game “Mercy” as a kid? In Mercy you would first interlock your fingers with your opponent. The goal was to make your opponent say “Mercy” by inflicting pain on them using only your hands.
One fellow said he played it, and he told how they would dig their fingers into their opponent’s knuckles, twist their opponent’s wrists to painful angles, or squeeze their fingers or hand as hard as possible. They did whatever it took to make them cry out for mercy. In other words, make them say, “Please stop! I give up”.
Thankfully, we do not have to beg for mercy from God. He is a merciful God. He has mercy on us and gives us a free pardon in spite of our sins. In His mercy He shows pity, compassion, affection, and kindness to us. Even though we are guilty and deserve punishment, the punishment is not given. Oh, I rejoice in that!
God in His mercy has withheld judgment from us, and has provided a way for us to be saved through Jesus Christ. God who sees who we are, and knows who we are, in mercy does not give us the judgment we deserve. His mercy comes from a heart of love. God shows mercy because He loves us.
God gives both grace and mercy. And both give us reasons to rejoice. Here is the best way to remember the difference between grace and mercy. Grace is when God gives what we don’t deserve. Mercy is when God doesn't give us what we do deserve. We certainly need both grace and mercy.
But that is not all of the good things God gives to us. With grace and mercy, He gives peace. And a person can only experience true peace as he or she comes to know Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. Only Jesus can bring true peace to the human heart, because it is the kind of peace that brings deliverance and assurance to the human soul.
There is a tranquility of spirit and serenity of conscience when one has assurance of being reconciled with God. His mercy and grace give us a feeling of safety in His presence.
As Romans 5:1 says, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” In Christ we can be at peace, assured, confident, and secure in God's presence. It means knowing that God will provide, guide, strengthen, sustain, deliver, encourage, save and give eternal life to us. Grace, mercy and peace give us multiple reasons to rejoice. But in these verses is still one more reason to rejoice.
3. We Can Rejoice Because We Have Love
In verse three, love is mentioned right along with truth. God speaks the truth to us, but He does it in love. The message of the gospel is this: We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe. That is the truth. Yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope. That is the amazing love that God has for us. “The love of God is greater far, than tongue or pen can ever tell.”
It cannot be said too many times, “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” That is the message that the world needs to hear. And that is what we possess when we are in Christ Jesus. The apostle John has already told us in 1 John 4:9, “In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.”
And while knowing that we are loved with such a great love is a reason to rejoice, it also comes with a responsibility. Even as we have received love, we are to love others. For in verse five, John says, “I plead with you, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment to you, but that which we have had from the beginning: that we love one another.”
John was not too proud to beg on such an important matter. Not when it came to something as vital in the Christian life as the commandment that we must love one another. Because verse six says, “This is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, that as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it.”
This is the test of our love to God, our obedience to him. And He commands us to love one another. If we love God, we will obey His commandments. We do this not because we think His commandments are heavy burdens, but because we see that they are best for us.
It was Jerome, who is best know for his translation of the Bible into Latin around the years 382–405, who tells the story of the last words of John. When he was dying, his disciples asked him if he had any last message to leave them. “Little children,” he said, “love one another.” Again and again he repeated it; and they asked him if that was all he had to say. “It is enough,” he said, “for it is the Lord’s command.”
Look at this list of things we have that give us reasons to rejoice. All are bound up in verse three: Grace, Mercy, Peace, Truth and Love.
Yes, we live in times of trouble and concern. But as Christians, we have what others do not have. Let us, as
Philippians 4:4 says, “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!”
If there are things that get you into a “foul humor” like little Kimberly, remember what her littler cousin Able said, “Rejoice Kimmy”. Then say that to yourself.
God has given you reasons to rejoice!
CLOSE:
The story is told of a man who came to visit his old friend, a music teacher. As the man came in, he said, “What’s the good news today?” The old teacher was silent as he stood up and walked across the room.
He picked up a small hammer and struck a tuning fork. As the note sounded throughout the room, he said, “That is ‘A.’ It is ‘A’ today; it was ‘A’ 5,000 years ago, and it will be ‘A’ 10,000 years from now. The soprano upstairs sings off-key, the tenor across the hall flats on his high notes, and the piano downstairs is out of tune.”
He struck the note again and said, “That is ‘A,’ my friend, and that’s the good news for today!”
The only hope for a world out of tune is to know that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. It is only in Him that we can receive grace, mercy, peace and God's eternal love.
