Rejoice In The Lord

Rejoice in the Lord

Philippians 4:4

Online Sermon: http://www.mckeesfamily.com/?page_id=3567

“Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say Rejoice”

Who does not want to be happy and feel joy well up within one’s soul? If one had a time machine and could relive any event in your life what would you choose to experience again? Would it not be the joyful moments in your life such as when you took your first step, learned to ride a bike, met a lifetime friend, your first kiss, your marriage ceremony or the birth of your children? While these occasions are all sources of great joy, they pale in comparison to the moment that you bowed and invited Jesus into your heart for it was at that moment that for the first time living waters flowed in your soul and you felt inexpressible and glorious joy! Since we don’t have a time machine and therefore cannot live constantly in these moments then how can one obey the command to rejoice or feel joy in the Lord always when we live in a fallen world where bad things often happen to each and everyone one of us? Today’s sermon is going to talk about the benefits and the source of God-given joy that is so strong that it remains glorious even in the most turbulent storms of life!

Benefits of Living a Joyful Life

The first benefit of living a joy-filled life is that it is contagious. We have all met a modern-day Eeyore. You know the kind of person whose very pours seem to exhume sadness and depression. They are the kind of people that are filled with so much skepticism that they can make any joyous occasion seem irrelevant or worst yet like a dirge! In his book Didn’t see it Coming Carey Nieuwhof warns Christians of the danger of skepticism and how negativity can ruin a person’s witness for Jesus. Are we not promised that if we love and believe in Christ as our Savior that we will be filled with “inexpressible and glorious joy” (1 Peter 1:8-9)? Surely just thinking about the administration of God’s grace (Ephesians 3:2) in sending His Son Jesus to atone for your sins (John 3:16) and offer humanity reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:20) and adoption into His family (Ephesians 1:13-14) fills you with unspeakable joy! Let me tell you a story of a person I met that exhumed this kind of joy.

When I met John (not real name) I noticed something very profound about his character. He was gentle, loving and above all one of the best encouragers that I have ever met in my lifetime. His joy for the Lord was breathtaking and he was always ready to pick someone up who was down by pointing them to the joy that they could have in the Lord if only they would count their blessings. While he rarely ever spoke in public or took on an official office in the church, he taught us more about the joy of the Lord than any sermon that I ever preached!

From John I learned how important our joy in the Lord is when it comes to building each other up in the faith and encouraging one another to be like Jesus!

The second benefit of joy is for medicinal purposes. Ever wonder why a hospital has chaplains and allows pastors to visit the sick when in any other government sponsored place religion has been banned? While the healing value of prayer is hotly disputed in the medical community, most readily agree that hope in a higher power can reduce anxiety and depression and as a result speed up the healing process. Joy or happiness has been linked to reducing stress, boosting our immune system, protecting our hearts and reducing pain which in turn often leads to a greater life expectancy. As Christians we believe that joy in the Lord not only provides these benefits but when coupled with prayer often leads to miraculous healing! There are documented miracles that while the doctors cannot explain the healing the Bible does! Time and time again He who knit us in our mother’s womb (Psalms 139) has proven He cures the deformed, the lame, the blind, the deaf; ample proof that Jesus can command any disease to leave a person’s body!

The third benefit of joy is that it reduces offenses between people. “People who are very happy, especially those who are very happy in the Lord, are not apt either to give offence or to take offence.” They are so focused on heavenly goals and crowns that “little troubles” that commonly arise amongst us fallen creatures can be forborne. When things get “heated” between two Christians joy in the Lord is the key to reconciling hurt feelings as can be seen in verses 2 and 3 of today’s passage.