Sunday Sermons
Rejoice in the Lord
Rejoice in the Lord
“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice! (Philippians 4:4); “Rejoice always” (1 Thessalonians 5:16); “Rejoicing in hope” (Romans 12:12); “Rejoice with those who rejoice” (12:15); “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people” (15:10); “But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly” (Philippians 4:10).
The Bible is a book that is full of rejoicing and joy. One writer observed, “It is only when we study it in detail that we discover what a book of joy the New Testament is. In the New Testament the verb chairein which means to rejoice occurs seventy-two times, and the word chara which means joy occurs sixty times. The New Testament is a book of joy” (Flesh and Spirit, Barclay, p. 76). I believe that one of the great misconceptions concerning Christianity that is held by unbelievers is that serving God means sacrificing all earthly joys for some sort of joy after this life. That the self-denial and unselfishness described in the gospels is somehow the equivalent of unhappiness or an earthy life devoid of joy. Yet the above passages command the Christian to be rejoicing in this life as well as rejoicing in the hope of eternal life.
The Command to be Happy
Far from commanding Christians to be stoic and denying every emotion, God actually commands His people to be happy,“Delight yourself in the Lord” (Psalm 37:4); “Be glad in the Lord and rejoice you righteous ones. And shout for joy all you who are upright in heart” (Psalm 32:11); “Rejoice, young man, during your childhood, and let your heart be pleasant during the days of young manhood” (Ecclesiastes 11:9); “Enjoy life with the woman whom you love” (9:9); “Rejoice in the wife of your youth” (Proverbs 5:18). In fact Jeremy Taylor noted, “God threatens terrible things if we will not be happy” (Romans 1:21; 2:8-9).
The Hesitation to be Happy
I believe there are people who are cautious about rejoicing for they feel that just about the time that they give themselves over to rejoicing, in something good or getting their hopes up, something bad will happen. One man noted that there was a time in his life that he believed any happiness as the result of doing something good somehow canceled out that good deed. Yet the Bible commands us to rejoice in things that are good, “Love…rejoices with the truth” (1 Corinthians 13:6); “if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it” (12:26); “I was very glad to find some of your children walking in truth” (2 John 4; 3 John 3). The attitude is not, “Don’t rejoice lest something bad happen”, but rather, “make the most of the joyful times in which one can rejoice, for times of suffering also come”. A failure to rejoice in our blessings is a failure to be thankful.
Our Lack of Desire
Some people might say that they cannot live the Christian life because they have too many desires. This is the misconception that all desires are bad. We need to remember that God created us in His image (Genesis 1:26), with the desire for love, happiness, fulfillment, and friendship and such desires are not evil desires, but rather they are desires that God built into us. C.S. Lewis noted, “if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels (Matthew 5:10-12; Romans 8:18; 1 Peter 1:4), it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling around with drink and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased” (The Weight of Glory and Other Addresses, pp. 1-2). As Jesus expressed it to the Christians in Laodicea, “Because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth” (Revelation 3:16). Or, as Moses warned his contemporaries, “Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joy and a glad heart, for the abundance of all things; therefore you shall serve your enemies” (Deuteronomy 28:47). So too much desire or passion is not our problem, rather, man’s problem has been a lack of passion for God, a lack of desire to obtain the inexpressible joys that God wants to give us.
Selling Out for a Cheap Price
Our problem is not having too much desire, but rather, allowing cheap counterfeits to be the object of our desires. The devil convinces us to seek to find happiness in earthly things (Matthew 6:19), to find happiness in “the passing pleasures of sin” (Hebrews 11:25), and to spend our time and effort in pursuing shallow dreams and goals. Consider the following story: “When the prosperous man on a dark but starlit night drives comfortably in his carriage and has the lanterns lighted, then he is safe, he fears no difficulty, he carries his light with him, and it is not dark close around him. But precisely because he has lanterns lighted, and has a strong light close to him, precisely for this reason, he cannot see the stars. For his lights obscure the stars, which the poor peasant, driving without lights, can see gloriously in the dark but starry night. So those deceived ones live in the temporal existence, occupied with the necessities of life (Matthew 6:31-32; Mark 4:19), they are too busy to avail themselves of the view, or in their prosperity and the good days they have, as it were, lanterns lighted, and close about them everything is so satisfactory, so pleasant, so comfortable—but the view is lacking, the prospect, the view of the stars” (The Simple life, V. Eller, p. 12). In this story, the “view of the stars” stands for the enjoyment that God wants to give man. God does want us to enjoy the things of this life, but the mistake that most people make is making earthly things the chief end, the final destination and sum total of our happiness (Luke 12:15-21). C.S. Lewis counseled his friend Malcolm to beware of committing idolatry in his enjoyment of nature. To be sure, he must enjoy the sunlight in a wood. But these spontaneous pleasures are patches of God-light and one must let one’s mind run back up the sunbeam to the sun. That is, appreciate the blessings of living on this wonderful planet, yet look above; find your true and lasting happiness in the Creator who made all these things, (Colossians 3:2 “Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on the earth”).
God is Our Desire
“As the deer pants for the water brooks, So my soul pants for Thee, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God” (Psalm 42:1-2). Just consider the desire and intensity of that desire in the above passage. John Piper noted, “God is most glorified in me when I am most satisfied in Him” (Desiring God, p. 9). God is the end of the search for happiness.
How does one desire God?
“Nothing seems more reasonable to me than that lasting happiness will never be found by a person who ignores or opposes his Creator. I am constantly astonished at people who say they believe in God but live as though happiness were to be found by giving Him 2 percent of their attention” (pp. 267-268). Desiring God, as with desiring anything, does not just happen. Desiring God only comes after thinking about Him, considering Him, understanding Him, and finding more and more about Him. The following are some practical hints:
· Seeing that God created a beautiful world with so many blessings, then God Himself must be a wonderful and beautiful (1 Timothy 4:4). Behind every object of beauty in this universe, behind every wonder or awesome sight, is a God far more majestic and amazing. If you love what God has made, then you will love the God who made it.
· Every blessing comes from God, and these blessings do contribute to our happiness, therefore, a relationship with the giver of all these blessings must be the greatest blessing of all (James 1:18).
· If you enjoy doing the things that God commands, that is, if you feel good when you help others and serve them, then you obviously will enjoy an eternity with God.
· You feel good when you do the right thing, when you are honest despite the consequences, when you are faithful in the face of tempting circumstances, then how much more can we love the God who is good and just (1 John 1:5). At this point each man or woman must really ask themselves, “which do I love”, “light or darkness”? “Which do I prefer, good or evil”. People, who love the light, will naturally come to God (John 3:19-21).
· How can we not love a God who is so willing to forgive and help us overcome trials and temptations? (John 3:16)
· Many people have reached the point in their lives when they realize that lasting happiness is not found in earthly goals, things, or accomplishments (Ecclesiastes 2:11). At that point in our lives, we have a choice, either we stay with what is not working, or we realize that lasting happiness can only be found in a relationship with our Creator, “For who can eat and who can have enjoyment apart from Him?” (Ecclesiastes 2:26).
The Power of Such Happiness
If God is the main object of all our desires, then what will this do for our lives?
· Our worship will be transformed. Worship is basically adoration, and we adore only what delights us. There is no such thing as sad adoration, unhappy praise, or disinterested praise. When God is our chief desire, we will truly worship Him as He deserves (Ephesians 5:19).
· Our study of His revelation to mankind will be changed. No longer will we study out of mere duty, but we will cherish and relish His words to us (Psalm 119:103).
· Evangelism will come naturally, for we will praise and adore Him without embarrassment (Romans 1:16).
· We will have increased strength to endure trials and temptations (Nehemiah 8:10 “the joy of the Lord is your strength”). Piper notes that he knows of no other way to triumph over sin long-term, than to gain a distaste for it, because of our superior satisfaction in God. “God remains gloriously all-satisfying. The human heart remains a factory of desires. Sin still remains powerfully and suicidally appealing. The battle remains: Where will we drink? Where will we feast?” (p. 11). When we understand that what the devil offers us in the way of happiness is so inferior, so temporary, so cheap and worthless, and the reason we understand this is because we have tasted the begun to experience the real enjoyment that God offers, then we will not be tempted so easily to trade ultimate happiness for a cheap imitation.
Mark Dunagan/Beaverton Church of Christ/503-644-9017
www.beavertonchurchofchrist.net/mdunagan@easystreet.com
