Faith Church is not the same as it was 3 months ago. We have expanded our ministry and our reach by providing worship online and from now on we will be a church that welcomes people both here and in other places, many other places. We aren’t returning to what we were, we are working to be more faithful to God’s purpose and plan. We don’t want to restore the church to what it was, we want to renovate so that we can be all God wants it to be.
As we renovate the church, we are taking the lessons learned through our COVID-19 shutdown and applying them to our future. Last week we looked at the importance of priorities and remembering our first love which is to love God and others. Our commitment to love has to be the foundation on which we build. Today, as we rejoice in being able to meet in person again, we want to talk about the need for us to rejoice always as we move to a better future.
The Apostle Paul said, Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Philippians 4:4. This does not come to us as a suggestion but a command. We are told to rejoice always, at all times and in all places, which means that the word rejoice has to mean something more than being happy. Happiness is usually connected to our circumstances. We are happy when things go well and unhappy when they don’t, we can’t be happy all the time, but we are told to rejoice all the time so joy must be different from happiness. Here’s the difference, joy doesn’t find its source in our circumstances but in our creator. Joy springs forth from our faith and trust in God.
As bad as things have been these past few months, we have also been able to rejoice. Just about every day you could find stories and see pictures of people doing amazing things that lifted us up. An 11 year old boy held a food drive that gathered hundreds of pounds of food. Medical professionals and caregivers endured all kinds of personal protection equipment in order to serve and care for those in need. A parade of cars or a yard full of balloons helped celebrate a birthday, and a drive through graduation lifted our community. One of the lessons we have learned through COVID-19 is that no matter how bad things are we can still rejoice. Rejoice Always. We can do this - and we need to do this as we move forward to make the church better.
As our nation and world seems to get more chaotic, more confused, more divided, and more angry - the church needs to become more joyful. We have to provide light in the darkness, hope in despair, and joy in the midst of everything. This doesn’t mean we paint a smile on our masks and pretend nothing is wrong, but it does mean we give ourselves to inspire and lift up others. This is exactly what Jesus did. He was often accused of having too much fun because he was always spreading joy and people came to him because they were hungry for it. Yes, they wanted hope and help and healing, but they were always hungry for joy. The world is still hungry for joy and the church is at its best when we can rejoice always and offer joy to the world. So here is how we can do it.
1. Seek God in all things. Paul doesn’t tell us to rejoice always without giving us some guidance and the first thing he tells us is that we need to seek God. Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord Is Near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Philippians 4:5-6.
How do we know the Lord is near? Because we have sought him and we have found him with us. When things are going well it is often easy to turn to God or feel God’s presence, but when things aren’t going well, when we are going through difficult times of pain and loss, we need to intentionally seek God because we will find that in those times God is still near.
The Bible clearly says that if we seek God, we will find God, and when we find God, we find that he is not far off but by our side. God is with us, which allows us to pray and praise God, which in turn helps keep us from fear. These past few months we have searched for God during a pandemic and we have found him right by our side. One of the great things about worshipping at home has been that we have experienced God with us at home. God isn’t just with us here, he is with us everywhere, and everywhere God is with us, God is with us to help us. No matter what we are going through, if we seek God, we will experience God’s powerful presence and that causes us to rejoice.
2. Sing at all times. I had to put this in because there is a lot of talk these days about singing in church. Someone asked me if we were going to sing when we came together today and I said, yes, because what’s worship without singing? Music has a way of speaking to us during times of triumph and tragedy. It expresses our faith, feelings, and emotions in ways that nothing else can. We even sing at funerals to celebrate life and faith, and to remind us that even in the midst of death we can rejoice.
In many ways the Psalms are lyrics to songs. Many of the psalms were actually sung by God’s people and they continue to speak to us about God’s presence with us in good times and bad. They acknowledge the highs and lows of life and they are there for us to use no matter what is going on. The church needs to sing at all times and these past few months we have sung together.
8:15 Hymns
Great is thy faithfulness O God my father.
There is no shadow of turning with the Thee
Thou changest not, thy compassions they fail not,
Great is thy faithfulness, Lord unto me.
O God our help in ages past, our hope for years to come.
Our shelter from the stormy blast and our eternal home.
Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in his wonderful face,
and the things of earth will grow strangely dim
by the light of his glory and grace.
10:45 Worship Songs
I will praise you on the mountain, and I will praise You when the mountain's in my way.
You're the summit where my feet are
So I will praise you in the valleys all the same.
No less God within the shadows. No less faithful when the night leads me astray.
You're the heaven where my heart is
In the highlands and the heartache all the same
The God of the mountain, Is the God of the valley
There's not a place your mercy and grace Won't find me again
3. Set our minds and hearts on all that’s good. Our ability to rejoice will also come from a heart and mind that stays focused on things that are good. Again, Paul said, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things. Philippians 4:8.
Our ability to “rejoice always” requires us not to focus on all that’s going wrong in the world but on what is going right. This doesn’t mean we don’t address problems and injustice, at times this is absolutely needed, but as we heard last week, to repent means to turn, so there comes a point, when after we acknowledge the problems and pain, we need to turn away from the darkness and toward the light. We need to turn to all that is good and right and noble, and all that will move us forward and make us better.
Sometimes this actually means we turn off social media and the news media, but it also means we have to turn on messages of hope and inspiration. Find a positive message that you can listen to each and every day to help keep your mind focused on all that is good. And pray every day to keep your heart and mind centered on God.
And then finally we need to...
4. Serve all people. Paul finished his letter to the Philippians by saying, I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have renewed your concern for me. Philippians 4:10. The church in Philippi was one of the few churches that supported Paul in his missionary journeys and he thanked them for once again renewing their support and service. There is a direct connection between service and joy. I heard a counsellor once say that every time a person comes into her office depressed she would ask them, who are you serving? While it doesn’t take all our problems away, serving others does lift us up because we discover that serving others doesn’t just help them, it helps us. It helps us to rejoice.
When things in our own lives might be difficult, if we will serve others, it will help us to find joy. Some of the most profound moments for many of us during these past three months have been the opportunities we have had to serve our family, friends, neighbors and strangers. In the midst of fear and anxiety, serving others has helped us feel calm, and given us purpose. Serving others gives us opportunities to rejoice. To rejoice always we simply need to serve others always.
Rejoice Always is a command we are given because our ability to rejoice is not based on our happiness and the circumstances around us, it comes when we step out and seek God in all things, sing at all times, set our minds and hearts on all that is good, and serve all people. Our ability to rejoice helps us offer the world what it needs, so as we rejoice always, we renovate the church.
Next Steps
Renovate - Rejoice Always
Read Philippians 4:4-20
List three ways you have been able to rejoice during these past few months? Share these experiences with others.
We can rejoice always if we will:
1. Seek God in all things.
● Read Jeremiah 29:11-14, and Matthew 6:33-34.
● In what area of life do you need to seek God’s will?
● Each morning ask God to reveal himself to you in both the triumphs and the tragedies of the day.
2. Sing at all times.
● What songs help you feel God’s presence? What songs bring you comfort and help you praise God?
● Use a Psalm each day as a song to God from your heart.
3. Set our mind and heart on all that is good.
● Turn off negative messages. (news media, social media, gossip)
● Turn on positive messages. (podcasts, sermons, books, music, uplifting people)
4. Serve all people.
● How has being served by others been a blessing?
● How has serving others lifted you up during a difficult time?
● How can you serve one more person this week?
