The Decision to Rejoice - The Ball is in Your Court

Faith ought not make us to become passive. God has done so much for us, and now He looks for us to make the next move. We ought not deflect to God the responsibility for our lives.

Deuteronomy 30:19
I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live…

God looks for us to make choices, and He honours the choices we make.

Philippians 4:4
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.

Eddie Jaku
"I made the promise that from that day until the end of my life, I would be happy, polite, helpful and kind. I would smile".

Eddie Jaku
"Happiness does not fall from the sky, it's in your hands".

Culture is relentlessly pursuing happiness. It seems like happiness has become the goal of almost every area of our life.

Today we enjoy a quality of life unknown to most of humanity for most of human history. Modern living standards for an average person surpass what royalty enjoyed just a few hundred years ago. It’s sadly ironic that while enjoy unprecedented prosperity, at the same time we are experiencing unprecedented levels of depression and anxiety.

Perhaps it’s because we’ve bought into an idea that joy is an emotional state that we can only really reach if all of life’s factors work in our favour.

When Paul wrote the letter to the church in Philippi, his context was not conducive to joy.

•He writes from imprisonment in Rome (Philippians 1:12-13)
•He writes of the pain and limitations of our lowly bodies (Philippians 3:21)
•He knows what it is to have plenty and hunger, abundance and need (Philippians 4:12)
•He is facing opposition, conflict and suffering (Philippians 1:27-29)
•He is dealing with conflict among believers in the church, Euodia and Syntyche, who are at odds with each other (Philippians 4:2)
•He is aware that he’ll soon be “poured out as a drink offering”, meaning death (Philippians 2:17)

All the circumstantial factors are bad – they all seem to be working against his joy. And it’s from this place that Paul pens the epistle of joy. (The word group for ‘rejoice’ or ‘joy’ occurs 16 times in Philippians.)

Clearly joy is not simply an emotional state we hope to reach when life goes well. Clearly joy is not a place we arrive at when all the factors of life are working in our favour. And, clearly joy is not outside of our control.

Joy is an affirmation of God’s presence and power in our lives, regardless of the present circumstances.

Karl Barth
“...'joy' in Philippians is a defiant 'Nevertheless!' that Paul sets like a full stop against the Philippians' anxiety...”

1 Thessalonians 5:16–18
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Proverbs 15:15
All the days of the oppressed are wretched, but the cheerful heart has a continual feast.

Matthew Henry
Joy in God is a duty of great consequence in the Christian life; and Christians need to be again and again called to it. If good men have not a continual feast, it is their own fault.

Philippians 4:4
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.

The three words ‘in the Lord’ are the key to joy.

Habakkuk 3:17–18
Though the fig tree should not blossom,
nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail
and the fields yield no food,
the flock be cut off from the fold
and there be no herd in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the LORD;
I will take joy in the God of my salvation.

1. In the Lord we have joy that is unmerited

Christmas reminds us that the gospel is good news of great joy.

Luke 2:10–11
And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

Joy is the natural response of a heart that has been touched by grace.

Gordon D. Fee in his commentary on Philippians writes:
Joy, unmitigated, untrammelled joy, is – or at least should be – the distinctive mark of the believer in Christ Jesus. The wearing of black and the long face, which so often came to typify some later expressions of Christian piety, are totally foreign to the Pauline version; Paul the theologian of grace is equally the theologian of joy. Christian joy is not the temporal kind, which comes and goes with one’s circumstances; rather, it is predicated altogether on one’s relationship with the Lord, and is thus an abiding, deeply spiritual quality of life.

Psalm 107:2
Let the redeemed of the Lord say so…

We are recipients of an unmerited grace, so of all people we ought have hearts overflowing with joy and mouths that are filled with praise!

2. In the Lord we have joy that is unchanging

When our joy is in earthly things (that are subject to change), our joy is unstable and changing.

Hebrews 13:8
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

We are prone to connecting our joy to our successes.

Luke 10:17–20
The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

If we ground our joy in our successes and what we’ve done, it’s a vulnerable joy at best.

Philippians 4:2–4
I entreat Euodia and I entreat Syntyche to agree in the Lord. Yes, I ask you also, true companion, help these women, who have labored side by side with me in the gospel together with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life. Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.

Whether you’re soaring with success or life is barren, don’t let those things become the basis for your joy. If our joy is in the Lord, our joy will be steadfast and endure through all of the ups and downs.

3. In the Lord we have joy that is unbroken

The things we derive joy from, inevitably end up coming to an end. Because they’re not eternal things. Joy that is in the Lord is different.

Philippians 1:18–26
Yes, and I will rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.

For a person who doesn’t know Jesus, this life is the most joy they will ever know. But for those who know Jesus, this life is the least joy we will ever know.

For a person who doesn’t know Jesus, in their final moments on this earth, all their joy is behind them. For a person who does know Jesus, in their final moments on this earth, all their joy is before them! Because Jesus is the ultimate joy, the ultimate goal, the ultimate prize.

The famed preacher Jonathan Edwards wrote a sermon as an 18 year old called “Christian Happiness”. It perfectly conveys the reason we can live with joy.

1.Our bad things will turn out for good
2.Our good things can never be taken away from us
3.The best things are yet to come

Because of the Lord Jesus, regardless of present circumstances we too can say “Nevertheless, I will rejoice!”