Services | Rejoice

Bulletin

Hymn # 475 “Victory in Jesus”

SCRIPTURE READING – 1 John 5:4

Giving of Selves and Our Offerings
OFFERTORY PRAYER
OFFERTORY MUSIC – Pru Hungate

Praise and Worship
“Battle Belongs”
“Your Love Awakens Me”
“At the Cross (Love Ran Red)”

Proclamation of the Word
Message by Pastor Joe
“Rejoice”


PRAYER TIME / Time of Reflection
Hymn # 33 “To God Be the Glory”

Acknowledgements and Announcements


Sermon Notes
Philippians 4:4 Always
Philippians 3:1 In the Lord
Psalm 35:9 In God and His salvation
Psalm 118:19 – 24 This day because of Jesus
Psalm 119:161 & 162 At His word
Romans 12:9 – 13 In hope
Philippians 2:18 Share your joy

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Scritpures

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Transcript of Service

Are you happy? And if you are, are those around you know that you're happy? And for Christians who are believers, I have a similar question. Do you have joy? If you do have joy, do other people around you know that? I think it's just the fact that Christians should have joy and we're going to talk about how often they should communicate that joy to others. I invite you to listen. Most parents when they have a baby and you ask them about their children, what they want for them.

And rarely they talk about that they want a certain position or whatever they usually say, I want them to be happy. The problem with happiness is it depends on how we ask Christians should be seeking a little more than that. We should be seeking that our children have joy, not just happiness, not just happiness. And so, but the problem that we believe is that we tend to have one or two situations. We either don't have joy and we should or we have the best poker faces that anyone has ever had because we don't reveal what's on the inside. So, you can read their faces, you can tell what they're thinking or doing.

And so, the Scriptures tell us that we should have joy and that we should express it. So, we're going to take a look at joy and expressing that joy and if you're a reason for joy, we're going to give you a few possibilities not exclusively, but a few for you to think about. So, if you have your Bibles and you should, we're first going to take a look at 5 Philippians chapter 4 verse 4. And now take this verse, let me take it for much word by word. So, the first is says rejoice. Well, what does rejoice mean? Rejoice means that you're expressing the joy that you have.

So, in order to rejoice, you have to have unless you're a hypocrite who's pretending to be joyful. And so, you say those things, but it's it's empty. That's not what Paul's talking about. Paul's talking about that we are to express a joy that comes within us that we have. And so, rejoice. Well, what are we rejoiced in the Lord? In fact, is we don't rejoice because we got a promotion or we whatever that's not joy that's happening and happiness. We are to rejoice in in the Lord, which means it's not about the Lord.

It's of the Lord. It's in that relationship that we have with the Lord. So, we rejoice in the Lord. How often? Always.

Now, unfortunately, we see. Do that all the way. We rejoice when something happens, which is again, happenings rather than saying, I'm rejoicing because I'm his. I'm rejoicing because I'm in the Lord. I'm rejoicing because of all the benefits that God has done for me and to me.

The blessed. So, I rejoice not about, but I rejoice in the Lord, but it's constant. It's always. Now, I want you to remember who's writing this. This is Paul.

Because a lot of times we say, well, you know, it's easy when everything's going well to rejoice. Well, what about. Well, let's take a look at Paul. When he was chosen by God to be an apostle.

Went to a person named Ananias and God told Ananias that he was a chosen vessel, but he said, so that I might show him all that he must suffer. Paul's ministry was then to be a wonderful. God is going to show him. I'm going to show you how much he's going to suffer from my name.

And what did Paul do? He was opposed by the. By the. Judiizers who pretended to be Christians and wanted you to conform to the law.

He was opposed by the religious Jews at the time. He was concerned and not trusted by the Christians because he had persecuted the church. Enduring his ministry, he was beaten. He was stoned and left for dead and perhaps even died and was resurrected. He was shipped wrecked.

He was imprisoned and he ultimately lost his head. He's. Greatly for the word of God. And he's telling us to rejoice in the Lord always. So if Paul can suffer and yet rejoice, then maybe in the little hardships that we at times suffer, we can continue. Raising and rejoicing in God constantly always.

So again, I will say rejoice. Now, as a student, whether it was as in high school or college, seminary, when the professor would, would speak in lecture, I would listen. Because a lot of my fellow students would write notes and I tended not to write notes constantly because I wanted to hear what they said because I was concerned that if I was writing something that I might miss what they're saying. But I did write it down if the professor he or she said it a second time.

No, that's important. Then I had another clue that if they wrote it on the board, that's on the test. So I'd write that down. So when I'm in the office, this on something that I hope, that's important. So what does Paul do? He goes, rejoice in the Lord always.

So again, I will say rejoice. Which means we are to rejoice and rejoice means communicating the joy that we have. We Christians have a tendency to not let anybody else know that we have joy. But the scripture says, we are to let other people know that we have joy in our hearts and in our lives. And we are to communicate that rarely. Sometimes when I feel like it, no, always.

So Paul re-emphasizes that we are to communicate the joy that is in us. Which means that we need to have the joy in us. Because otherwise we're simply hypocrites and acting as if we have joy. To most people can read when you're lying. When you say something that's whatever I'm praising God and rejoicing in the Lord. And they see the aspects of your life and your face and your countenance that denies that very. So Paul makes it that we are to communicate the joy that we are to have joy and we communicate that always.

And then in Philippians 3, chapter 3, verse 1, is this, finally, my brother, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things again is no trouble to me and it is a safeguard for you. So he's saying, look at, we need to be rejoicing in the Lord. If you don't have the Lord in him. So he's saying, I'm going to and it's a safeguard for you. And I'm going to continue to tell him.

And so the problem is, is it oftentimes when it comes to the scriptures, we hear something, we read something into the Bible. Get it, especially when difficulties come. But he's saying, I'm going to have to remind you. So notice I read from chapter 4, verse 4. Now I'm reading a earlier chapter 3, verse 1.

He said, I'm going to keep rejoicing in the Lord until you figure out you need to rejoice in the Lord. And he rejoiced in the Lord always. And I'm going to tell you again. And again, I will say rejoice in the Lord. So if I were taking notes in class, I would say, this must be pretty. This must affect my walk as a believer.

So if I'm not rejoicing in the Lord always, he's saying, remember Joe, he need to rejoice in the Lord. How often always. And to do that, not because, oh, I got to, I'm rejoicing in the Lord in my relationship with him. Which means no wonder there's so many Christians who have sad faces. Because we come to church, maybe on Sunday, we hear a good or terrible sermon, we hear some good or bad music.

And we go and say, well, I, that's not a relationship. We should be communicate. We should be praying to God. We should be talking to, we should be reading the script. We should be involved in the relationship in the Lord.

Not simply, he's someone who fall off. You'll hear people say Christianity is not a religion. It is a relationship. And we are to rejoice in the Lord. So I want to give you some reasons. And so in Psalms 35, this is not just a recent New Testament idea.

This is all we back. And my soul shall rejoice in the Lord. He's not just saying there are minds should rejoice in the Lord or that our bodies should rejoice in the Lord. But out of a soul, shall not may, shall rejoice in the Lord. So again, he says one of the reasons that my soul rejoices because God has become a. He's been a provider to me.

He knows every hair on my head. He knows when I rise up. He knows when I lay down. He knows my innermost thoughts.

He calls me his son, his child. He has redeemed me. He has he has justified me.

He has sanctified me. And he's glorifying me. He's done all these things. And so my soul should rejoice in what God is doing. Even when I'm not doing much. Because it's God that's doing it.

So my soul shall rejoice in the Lord and it shall. And his salvation. Notice not my salvation. His salvation because he is the one who accomplishes it. So he is the one that I exalt because I am saved. Not because I'm worthy of it, but because of who he is and what he is. So if you're having difficulty rejoicing the Lord always remember your relationship with God that he never leaves you or for six you.

That were two or three or gather in his name. There he is that nothing will separate you from his love. All of these promises that he has rejoiced in the Lord because what he has done and what he has said. And we will exalt in the salvation that he has provided. And he has done all these promises. I rejoice at your word as one who finds great spoil. I rejoice at the fact that I have the word of God.

Do you realize what a great privilege we have? Back in the Old Testament times. Not everyone had a Torah. Actually very few people had a Torah. You were fortunate if you went to a synagogue that had a Torah. And then you would go and someone would. Then you discussed the Torah and then you'd go home and then you have to say, well what did the Torah say? Now the Bible is sold.

It is the number one best seller for eons. It sells more by we sell more Bibles in one year. The other top selling Bible. I mean all top selling books combined. And yet nobody reads it. And nobody studies it. Back in the Middle Ages.

A man named Gutenberg developed a print and press. To be able to print the Bibles that somebody might be able to buy and read. Now we have it in paper back and leather back and on your phones.

And some of you use your phone to say, well you look at the Bible. I know you're not. You look on Facebook. But you can even. You can even read it on your computer. That's how.

Overwhelming the text is. And yet in most houses, if they have a family Bible, it sits on a coffee table gathering dust. We are supposed to rejoice at his word. And we rejoice in his word by reading. And providing that into who we are. As one who finds graceful, it is a treasure.

Who God is. Tells you what he wants. Tells you how he loves.

Tells you what he's done. He tells you what's going to happen in the future. It is a great value.

So if you have no other. If you have a Bible, if you don't, we'll get you one. To be able to rejoice if nothing else that you have a Bible and that you can read God's word. Then Romans 12 verses 9 to 13 says, I'll be without hypocrisy of all what is evil, cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another. In brotherly love, give preference to one another in honor, not lagging behind indeligence, fervor in his fear, fear, fear serving the Lord. Rejoicing.

Rejoicing in hope. Again, it doesn't say joy in hope. It says rejoicing in hope, which means we should be expressing the joy that we have in the hope that we have. And what is the hope that we have that this is not all that there is. Someone ceases to live. That's not it.

That there is eternal life. That God is giving it that to us. We have a hope. Hope is expressing what you know to be and you hope to be. Lies it. Those of our family, church or individual have gone on to be with the Lord. Don't hope anymore. They see him face to face.

We are the ones to get there because we have not yet experienced it. But we have hope. And again, we Christians have so many reasons to be joyful.

Yeah, life is hard. Yes, that thing happened to good people and bad things happen to bad people and good things happen to good people and good things happen to bad people. Things just happen.

But God has called us to be different because we are in him. We are joy seeing in hope. First of varying. Interimulation devoted to prayer. Contributing to this.

The needs of the saints practicing hospitality. All of these things notice are things that you can do. You can practice. Be hospitable. We have some people who have had to be evacuated from their homes.

Other people said you can come live with us for a while. That is being hospitable. Contributing the needs of the saints. You are right to check or you drop the money off one. Those are all things you can do externally.

And hope is the internal. It's not anything that you can do is something that you are. Then also is this. Found in Philippians. I have been in the church for four to three to two. It has been reverse order. He keeps talking about this thing called joy and rejoicing. You too.

I urge you. He told us to rejoice. Again, I say, he keeps repeating and reprint. I urge you. I beg you. Rejoice in the. You have seen me rejoice in hardship and in persecution.

Do the same thing. Rejoice. Rejoice in the. Rejoice in the. Rejoice in the. It is easier to be joyful when you are around joyful people. It's a little harder to be the odd person out.

They tend to think, well, everybody else is panicking and you are not going to be joyful. I have a reason to be joyful. I am going to share that joy. When I share that joy, it might either cause you to start being joyful or to help you to continue to be. We are to share the joy with one another which encourages us. We are to help you to continue to be joyful and to keep your joy and the Lord always.

Again, I say, rejoice. The joy that is in you. If you don't have joy in you, don't fake it till you make it. Find the joy that God provides and then rejoice always. And I will.