Driven to Rejoice

Message Transcription

Have you read the news lately? Listen to the news lately. Have you seen all the bad things that are going on in our world, the state of our world? You know, we have war criminals roaming free, ordering the murder of countless thousands small children dying in Africa of starvation. While in the US and Europe, we sit on mountains of food. We hear stories of child abuse, murder, theft, lying and dishonesty. We hear these things on a daily basis. Inflation is rampant and war rages in various parts of the world. You know, unless we're going to be like ostriches and just bury our heads in the sand, it's difficult to avoid the fact that the world we live in is a very bad world. The state of things is not unique to our present time in the third century. There was a man who was anticipating his own death and he pinned some words that he wanted to pass along to a friend. He said, It's a bad world and incredibly bad world. But I have discovered in the midst of it quite a quiet and holy people. Who have learned a great secret. They have found a joy, which is a thousand times better than any pleasure of our sinful life. They are despised and persecuted. But they care not. They are masters of their souls. They have overcome the world. These people. Are the Christians. And I'm one of them. The man who wrote these words was Cyprian, who was at that time the bishop of Carthage.

How then is it possible for us in this really bad and broken world to be joyful? Paul tells us to rejoice in the Lord always again. He says, rejoice. He uses the imperative there and imperative. If you don't know, Greek means that it's an order. You're supposed to do it. He doesn't just do it once. He says it twice. And I think if he could have said it ten times and increase the emphasis on it, he would have. He understood the importance of rejoicing. Several years ago, I read a story about a 92 year old Christian woman who was legally blind in spite of her limitations. She was always neatly dressed, her hair was carefully brushed and her makeup tastefully applied. Each morning, she would meet the new day with a cheerful eagerness. After 70 years of marriage. Her husband passed away and it was time for her to go to a nursing home so she could receive the proper care that she needed on the day of her move. A helpful neighbor drove her. To the nursing home. And guided her into the lobby where she was told that her room wasn't ready yet and asked her to wait in the lobby for her room to be ready. She waited there several hours, very patiently as they prepared the room. Finally, an attendant came to her, said, Your room is ready, and he helped her make her way to the room.

And she smiled sweetly at him as she moved, maneuvered her walker into the elevator. The attendant proceeded to describe her room to her. Including the new curtains. That had just been hung on the window. She says, Oh, I just love it. And the attendant said, But, Mrs. Jones, you haven't seen your room yet. And she says. That doesn't have anything to do with it. Happiness is something you choose. Whether I like the room or not doesn't depend upon how it's arranged. It's how I arrange my mind. You know, if we're going to wait for the world to be a really good place, if we're going to wait for everything in our world to be right before we have joy, before we're able to rejoice, we're going to have a very long wait. I think that's why Paul wrote these words to the Philippians in chapter four, verse four, when he said, Rejoice and Lord always and again I say, rejoice. Paul knew the importance of joy. This is a persistent and consistent command. It wasn't just here. It was in the Old Testament, too. They were supposed to celebrate these festivals and they were told to rejoice, to express their joy to God. God knew how important it was for people to express joy. I wonder how well do we do it? This. You know, there was once a conference held at a Presbyterian church in Omaha, Nebraska.

And Terry Sparks, I thought of you. Any time it mentions Nebraska, I think of Terry. People there were given helium balloons that were filled and they were told to release. Those balloons at some point during the service when they felt like expressing joy in their hearts. You see, they were Presbyterians and Presbyterians are not allowed to say amen or hallelujah. So they had to find out a different way for them to express and rejoice to the Lord. If you're a Presbyterian, I don't mean to offend you. Churches of Christ are the same. All through the service balloons ascended. But when the service was completed, one third of the balloons were still in the hands of the people. They were unreleased. Do you have any reason to rejoice today? It's easy enough to find reasons to be sad, angry, sullen and miserable. However, as we come here today to be reminded. And to remember what God has done for us and what He has promised. It should be a time of great joy for the followers of Christ. The world and all its troubles is nothing but a temporary bump in the road. On the way to the halls of eternal life. We have a choice of where we're going to place our focus, our attention, and whether we're going to be happy or miserable. It's a choice. In Chapter 16, there's the account of Paul and Silas in Philippi.

This is one of my favorite stories about Paul. It challenges me and inspires me. Paul and Silas are there at Philippi. And and Paul becomes very annoyed with this woman who keeps following them around. And she had some kind of a spirit that allowed her to predict the future. And she kept following Paul and Silas around and telling everybody. These people are proclaiming the way of salvation. And this went on for days. And finally, Paul's had enough. Paul got annoyed. And so he drove the spirit out. Well, the problem was this woman was a slave and she was owned by some people. They made a lot of money off of her predicting the future. And now she's not as valuable an asset. You have people in your neighborhood that do things and next door that depreciate the value of your house. Well, Paul did something that depreciated the value of their slave. And so they expressed their annoyance by having Paul and Silas arrested. They had him stripped and beaten. Have you ever been stripped and beaten? For something that you did to someone. And then after they're stripped and beaten, they're thrown into the innermost cell of the jail, and they had their feet placed in stocks. They were really annoyed at Paul and Silas. What would your response be to that? It was probably dark. They turned out all the lights. They didn't have electric lights. They wanted to make it as miserable as they could.

It probably didn't smell all that good because if you raised your hand and wanted to go to the bathroom. They said, you're there. Go for it. They didn't take you to the bathroom. How would you react in that situation? You remember how Paul and Silas reacted in the cold and the darkness of that cell at midnight? I get chills every time I read the story. They began to pray. And singing hymns. They've just been beaten and stripped and locked in a cell. And what is their response? To pray and sing hymns. Can you imagine the other prisoners? I thought, man, I found two crazy ones and threw them in here with us. But they weren't the only ones listening. I believe God was listening because there's a great earthquake and it shakes the jail and all their chains fall off and all the doors open up. God was touched. By their response of joy and rejoicing in a time when most people would be miserable and in misery. It interests me greatly to see Paul's attitude in his outlook on life when he comes under pressure from those who seek to diminish and deprecate him and his influence. This happens at Corinth. And Paul decides that he's going to lay out his resume for the Corinthians. So some of you have done resumes. What kinds of things do you put on your resume? Usually it's good things, the accomplishments that you've had.

So Paul starts out with that. He says, Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I. Are they ministers of Christ? He says, I'm speaking like a crazy person. I think Paul probably got accused of being crazy a lot of times. He says. What I've done goes well beyond what they've done. I've worked much harder. And this is when it gets strange. He says. I've been imprisoned much more often. How many people do you know go around bragging about being imprisoned? I've been beaten more times than I can count. I face death many times. I've received the 40 lashes minus one from the Jews. Five times I was beaten with Rhod. Three times I was stoned once. And he's not talking about on marijuana. They took rocks and threw them at them until they thought he was dead and left him for dead. And he gets up after they thought he was dead and goes back into the city. And he cites that as one of his credentials. I was shipwrecked three times. If I saw Paul getting on a ship. I'd find a different ship. I spent a day and night on the open sea. I've been on many journeys. I face dangers from rivers, robbers, my people and gentiles. I face dangers in the city, in the desert, on the sea, and from false brothers and sisters. I face these dangers with hard work and heavy lighter.

Many sleepless nights, hunger and thirst, often without food. And in the cold, without enough clothes. Besides all the other things I could mention. There's my daily distress. Because I'm concerned. What's he concerned about? He's concerned about all the churches. Who is weak without me being weak? Who is led astray. Without me being furious about it? If it's necessary to brag, I'll brag about my weaknesses. The God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, the one who is blessed forever, knows that I'm not lying. Would you hire Paul from his resume? I've looked at a lot of resumes. And I've never seen one quite like that. Paul had already plenty of reason to complain, to be miserable. But he chose to focus on something other than his current circumstances. He looked ahead to his promise. The promises that were made to him by Jesus, his attitude and his life were determined. By that truth rather than by his present circumstances. Paul is one of the great heroes of all time, and he's a great hero, not because his ministry was a success. I don't think that's what made him a great hero. I think his ministry was a success. Because in all circumstances he chose to rejoice. Have you known somebody that was always joyful that no matter what's going on in their life, they rejoice in the midst of it? There's something about joy that's infectious, almost the way.

Miserable, miseries infectious. You know, when I was growing up, my dad used to go across the street to the gin office, and he would have coffee with all the farmers over there. And he would come back. And I say, What did you talk about? He said, Oh, they were complaining about the price of cotton and they were complaining about this. And so what they did, it was a misery session and it went on every day. And I said, Why do you keep going over there? He says, Well, kind of makes me feel better than I did because it's not as bad for me as it is for them. And he says, I get free coffee. You know, when I was growing up, I was told it was the height of rudeness to show and gratitude for a gift. One of the phrases they used is Don't look a gift horse in the mouth. You know why you're not supposed to look a gift horse in the mouth? It's not because you're going to get bit. It's because you're judging the age of the horse in order to tell how old a horse is. You look in their mouth, you look at their teeth, and the idea is you're thinking, maybe they're giving you an old horse. What a wonderful gift we've been given in the promise of eternal life. I wonder, do we really believe this? Do we trust God at his word? Have you ever seen the joy of children as they anticipate the coming of Christmas Day? They sometimes anticipate it for weeks.

And their joy only increases as the day gets closer and closer and closer. If only we could be as trusting and as joyous as a child, accepting what God has already promised us, what beauty there is in their innocent joy as they await the wonderful gifts that they know that their family has bought for them. How much more do we, as the people of God, need to be joyous as we realize and we anticipate the fullness of what God has promised to us? I think very often an initial response to God is one of all. And then as time goes along, as we contemplate and consider, I think out of that can be many other responses, sometimes anger. Sometimes we're angry with God because he didn't do what I thought he was going to do. I thought he's going to do something else. He didn't do what I expected. He didn't do what I wanted. And people can become angry with God. People can become disillusioned with God. Because they had expectations of who he was and what he was going to do. There's no hidden agenda with God. You know, I've heard people speak and preach. Well, if God really loves you, he's going to bless you. And I believe that. I believe that's true. And what I do is I go on and say, he's going to bless you in the same way that he did, Jesus.

He's going to bless you in the same way that he did, Peter. He's going to bless you in the same way that he did, Paul. And if you don't know, all three of those men died as witnesses. For Jesus Christ. One of them was Jesus Christ. Do you remember watching those old cowboy movies when you were growing up? Or maybe those old war movies and the circumstances and the situation is dire and the enemy is just about to wipe everybody out. And all of a sudden there's the sound of the bugle, the sound of a horse's hooves. And the cavalry comes flying over the hill. Or maybe airplanes or tanks come rolling in and save the day. And those people who have been trapped in terrible circumstances burst out and shouting and enjoy because they know they've been rescued. This was the proper response to their situation, just as joy as the proper response to the blessings that have been showered upon his people. In Luke Chapter two, we are told about the birth of Jesus and as the birth of Jesus was coming about in Luke chapter two and verse ten, it said, But the Angels said to them, Do not be afraid for Sye and bringing you good news of great joy for all the people to you is born this day in the City of David.

A Savior who is the Messiah? The Lord. Men have pursued joy in every imaginable way. Some have successfully found it, while others have not. Where then is true joy to be found. I believe that the only answer that is available to the world, the only place that true joy can be found, is in Christ alone. If genuine joy is found in Christ alone, why so often are Christians characterized as miserable, stone faced, stone hearted people devoid of any sense of humor? I think that often we take ourselves far too seriously as if the weight of the entire world we're setting up on our shoulders. Have you ever seen those weightlifters in the Olympics that lift those great big weights? They put them up on their shoulders. And have you seen their faces, their facial expressions? You know, they grunt and they groan and they push. You know, sometimes as I'm standing up here, some of you look like that. I know sometimes it's hard to express the joy that we feel even to blurt out an amen or to raise our hands as we sing. It's not in our tradition. People might look at us funny. They might think we're crazy. They thought Paul was crazy. Some might say that God knows their heart. And so that's what's important. You know, I think perhaps that's a little bit like the story that I heard about a husband who he's been married to his wife for 40 years and she's just getting all over him because.

She says, You've never told me in all these 40 years that you loved me. And he says, But, honey, I told you on the day that we got married that I loved you. And I haven't changed my mind since. You know, it's not like God is insecure that he needs us to tell him each and every day that we love him or to express our love for him. But I think we need. To express our joy and our love for God. It's something that's important for us. Not for God. God doesn't need us for anything. He allows us to participate with him. He allows us to be a part of what he does. But we need joy. Author Leo Buscaglia tells a story about his mother and what he calls their misery dinner. It was the night after his father came home and said as he looked around that he was going to have to declare bankruptcy because his partner had stolen all the money. You know what his mother did at that very moment? She went out and sold some of her jewelry, bought a huge amount of food, and they had a sumptuous banquet that night, that very night. And several of the family members were really indignant with her. They scolded her. Why would you do that now? But she told them the time for joy is now when we need it most.

Not next week. Her courageous act rallied the whole family. You know, Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr was the member of the U.S. Supreme Court for 30 years. His mind, his wit and work earned him the unofficial title of the greatest justice since John Marshall. At one point in his life, Justice Holmes explained his choice of career by saying, I might have entered the ministry. If certain clergymen I knew had not looked and acted so much like undertakers. Our joy can show others the way to Christ, the way to God. Our failure to express it may prove a stumbling block. To others. If the news is as great as we say it is, it will drive us to joy. It will drive us to rejoice. We will be driven to rejoice in the Book of Revelation. There is much that is frightening, much that is dire, much that causes despair. And yet the book is marked by a remarkable joy and rejoicing. There's a passage in Revelation Chapter five. That's one of my favorite in all of Scripture. I have lots of favorite passages in Scripture, but this one, time and time again, I come back to it and I marvel. I do a little bit like what Mark was saying, I imagine what's going on here. Revelation five nine says they took up a new song saying You are worthy to take the scroll and open a seals because you were slain and by your blood you purchase for God persons from every tribe, language, people and nation.

You made them a kingdom and priests of God and they will rule on earth. Then I looked and heard the sound of many angels surrounding the throne, the living creatures and the elders they numbered in the millions, thousands upon thousands, they said, in a loud voice, worthy as the slaughtered lamb to receive power, wisdom, wealth and might and honor, glory and blessing. This is the part that's my favorite. And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea. I heard everything everywhere say blessing, honor, glory and power belong to the one seated on the throne. And to the lamb forever and always. And I've tried to envision this. And the way I envision this is you have shrimp. Sitting on the sea floor praising God. You have tortoises walking across the land praising God. You have birds flying through the air, praising God, rejoicing because of what God has done. We each have the chance today and tomorrow and all the days that Beth remains in our lives. We can be focused upon all that's wrong with our world. We can have a face that will curdle milk. Or we can choose to follow the command of Paul when he says, Rejoice in the Lord. Always and again, I will say Rejoice. The challenge of life each day is how are we going to respond? We're going to respond in faith and trust in God expressed in our rejoicing.

Are we going to wring our hands? In despair and anguish. Anguish. Paul said in Philippians, I know the experience of being in need and of having more than enough. I have learned the secret to being content in any and every circumstance, whether full or hungry, or whether having plenty or being poor. I can endure all these things through the power of the one who gives me strength. Where is the source of your strength and your hope? Do you truly trust in God? Do you take him at his word? And you live your life in the light of that trust? Or will you let the reality of what you see as your circumstances dictate? How you respond in life. And because you live in a broken and miserable world, you become a broken and miserable person. Each of us has that choice. I would challenge each of us this week. Think about the ways that you can express joy, that you can rejoice despite all the bad things that are going on, despite the hardship that you face, all of us face hardship. The loss of a parent, the loss of a child. The loss of a job. The loss of all kinds of things. The loss of health. God didn't promise us. That life would be easy. But he did promise us that if we would be faithful and trust in him.

We would share life with him in all eternity. Westbound prey. Dear Heavenly Father, we come before you today, and we thank you for the sending of your son. We thank you for the promises that you have given us. And we ask Lord that you would help us to rejoice, help us to lift our hearts, to live as people of joy, to express our thankfulness, our gratitude to you. To follow in the example of your great servant, Paul. And even when we are beaten, stripped. And thrown into a dark cell. Help us, Lord, to praise you and glorify your name. In all circumstances. Lord, we pray these things in your most holy name. Today. There may be some of you here that have needs that you want to share with others. That's why we're here. We're here to share those needs with you. Those needs may be that you need somebody to pray with you. I know we've had a prayer time, but we're happy to pray some more with you. Maybe you have another need. Maybe you have the need of expressing that you would like to be a follower of Jesus Christ and you would like to be baptized. The water's ready. We'll wait. And we will baptize you this morning right here. We will share that time with you, whatever your need. I ask that you would come now as we stand and sing.