Let Us Rejoice

It seems like people are having a more difficult time these days in the area of rejoicing. One pastor recently told me that during their church services people were engaging less and less in worship. He wondered if it was the songs, the projection, the band. So He asked some people and they simply shared they had become tired and in some cases did not have a whole lot of reasons to rejoice right now. So, the pastor took several weeks and taught on Philippians 4 and various other texts. Question: Do you have a reason to rejoice in the Lord, right now?
Philippians 4:4 – Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!
A short but powerful passage is Philippians 4:4, a short verse that is packed full of meaning for us as believers.
Some Questions to ponder:
Why Rejoice?
What Should Limit Rejoicing?
When Should I Rejoice?
Why is there a Repeated Command to Rejoice?
The subject of joy seems to keep popping up again and again in the book of Philippians.
Philippians 1:4 always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy,
Philippians 1:25 And being confident of this, I know that I shall remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy of faith,
Philippians 2:2 fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.
Philippians 4:1 Therefore, my beloved and longed-for brethren, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, beloved.
1. Why Rejoice?
Rejoicing is a privilege—think about it. God is good. He is a good and loving heavenly Father and as such He gives us a command that is a joy to keep. Being joyful is good for the soul and for those around you but above all it is for God. It brings God great joy when you are joyful and rejoicing. Try it.
We all have experiences in life, on the job, in school, at home—under the authority of your parents—not all things we’re told to do are enjoyable. But not a command to rejoice. What a privilege we have to rejoice! We serve a good God who has given us a command that is a joy to obey. This command to rejoice is a command to be full of joy, to be delighted, to be glad, to smile, to praise, to worship, to be rejoicing! Rejoicing is something that is pleasant for you and me and will make us feel good when we rejoice. It is something you can enjoy. Rejoicing is a wonderful privilege that we have as believers. Another reason we should rejoice is that our rejoicing points to the Joy Giver. Our rejoicing points to the Joy Giver
True joy that comes from our relationship with the Lord is going to speak of the One who fills us with joy. The presence of joy in our lives reflects to others the presence of the Lord in our lives. When you tell someone that "God is your hope and joy" and then you are sour - well you have a hard time making the point live. Joy points others to God.

“There are many more flies caught with honey than with vinegar; and there are many more sinners brought to Christ by happy Christians than by doleful Christians.” (Spurgeon)

Joy flowing from our lives as believers is going to be far more convincing and appealing to unbelievers than if we walk around grumbling and complaining. The joy that the Lord gives the Christian is joy the world doesn’t possess. If we are rejoicing in the Lord always others will notice. It will speak to them of the One who gives us such remarkable joy. Another reason we should rejoice is because our rejoicing in the Lord will influence others to rejoice also.
Rejoicing in the Lord influences others to rejoice. Joy is contagious and encourages others. When we are rejoicing in the Lord it is going to bless and encourage others. Rejoice in the Lord always and spread joy wherever you go. But what’s most important is that we rejoice in the Lord always because it’s a command. For the Christian rejoicing in the Lord is not optional
Sometimes we just don’t feel like rejoicing. But when Paul says, “rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say rejoice!” he isn’t just making a suggestion. It’s a command. This is a command from God’s Word that still applies to us today. If we are going to stand fast in the Lord then we need to be rejoicing in the Lord. It’s not optional. It’s not something we do if and when we feel like it. It’s something that God expects of us as His children.
Psalm 33:1 – Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous! For praise from the upright is beautiful.
1 Thessalonians 5:16 – Rejoice always,

2. What should limit rejoicing?
We are limited to rejoicing in the Lord. Christians should do nothing that can’t be done in the Lord—therefore we cannot rejoice in things against God or contrary to His way. 1 Corinthians 10:31 that we are to do everything to God’s glory. So we are limited to rejoicing in the Lord. We should not rejoice in anything that is sinful or doesn’t honor the Lord. We shouldn’t find our joy in disobedience, but in the Lord. Also we shouldn’t rejoice when others suffer or sin or fail. We need to…
Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. (Romans 12:15)
We shouldn’t rejoice when things go badly for others. Our rejoicing should focus on God
He is the object of our rejoicing. The more we know the Lord, the more we understand about Him, the deeper our relationship with Him is, the better able we are to rejoice in the Lord. Sometimes we may have trouble rejoicing in the Lord because we don’t really know Him as well as we should or we have allowed our relationship with Him to grow cold.
We need to deepen our relationship with Him and as we do this we will find so many wonderful reasons to rejoice in Him! We can rejoice in His provision, in His grace, in His mercy, in His faithfulness, in His goodness, in His love. We can rejoice that He is in control. We can rejoice that He comforts us and helps us. We can rejoice in the salvation He has made available to us. We can rejoice that He never leaves us or forsakes us. We can rejoice in the family, friends and our church community that He allows to be a vital part of our lives. We should count our blessings and NAME THEM ONE BY ONE - we have countless reasons for rejoicing in the Lord. The more you know the Lord the more you realize how amazing and wonderful He is and the more you have reason for rejoicing in Him! The next question is when should we rejoice?
3. When should we rejoice?
Always—it seems obvious doesn’t it since that’s what Paul says here. We should rejoice in the Lord when there’s nothing to rejoice about. We are to rejoice in the Lord always. Not once in a while. Not when we feel like it. Not when everything is going fine, but always. There may be times when we feel like we have no reason to rejoice. Our circumstances aren’t always worthy of rejoicing but in the Lord we can always rejoice. We should also rejoice in the Lord when there is something to rejoice about—being certain that we are rejoicing more in the Lord than in the blessing. When we rejoice too much in the object of blessing we run the risk of loosing our joy when that object is no more. We need to be certain that we are rejoicing more in the Lord and than in the object with which He’s blessed us. We should also rejoice in the Lord in the presence of others—but continue to rejoice even if no one joins you. It doesn’t matter whether others around you are rejoicing or not, you should to rejoice in the Lord always. Rejoice in the Lord always even if those around you aren’t.
4. Why the repeated command to rejoice?
Why does Paul say rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Why does he clearly emphasize rejoicing in the Lord by repeating himself?
I think it’s pretty obvious that Paul loved the Philippian believers so much he wanted them to rejoice in the Lord—to experience true joy. But I believe that Paul loved the Philippian believers so much that he wanted them to rejoice in the Lord like he did. He wanted them to experience the same true joy that he had experienced. He’s made it clear, throughout his letter to the Philippians, his love for them. He did not want them to miss out on the joy - the joy of the Lord and the joy in the Lord. By repeating the command to rejoice, Paul is saying it’s possible! This is something everyone who knows the Lord can do. It may be more difficult for some to rejoice but you too can rejoice! Rejoicing in the Lord is for all believers! Rejoicing in the Lord is for all of us as believers today and I believe that Paul’s repetition here drives that home for us. Life may be more difficult for you than for the one sitting next to you today but it’s still possible for you to rejoice in the Lord. He also may have repeated himself to affirm that it’s not always easy to rejoice in the Lord. We have our ups and downs, don’t we? We have good days and bad days. It’s not always easy to rejoice in the Lord. Yet it is important that we do so.
He also probably wanted them to understand the importance of rejoicing in the Lord.
Regardless of the issues of our life takes and the unexpected things that come our way, we can still rejoice in the Lord who never changes. Paul was probably also testifying of the rejoicing he was doing in the Lord—even in the midst of great difficulty, He was rejoicing and rejoicing and doing it some more. Paul was probably saying, don't just rejoice on Sunday or any time frame but keep it up - keep on rejoicing. Paul is a great one to call others to rejoice and to emphasize the importance of rejoicing in the Lord. He was one who practiced what he preached. He was in prison and on the short chain to the guard when he wrote, “rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say, rejoice.” He suffered through beatings and shipwrecks and all kinds of hardship yet remained joyful. He’s not one we can say, “well that’s easy for you to say, you don’t know how hard my life is.” Paul knew plenty of difficulty and yet his strength was in the joy of the Lord.
How are you doing today? Are you standing fast in the Lord by rejoicing in the Lord always? Life is difficult. You may face enormous challenges. Your circumstances may not give you very much reason to rejoice but if you know the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior, no matter how bad your situation is you can still rejoice in the Lord. You can rejoice in the Lord always.
Maybe you can’t rejoice in the Lord right now because you have never accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior. Maybe you have never said, "YES" to Jesus - the most eternal decision you will ever make. Maybe you are a believer but you haven’t been rejoicing in the Lord. Maybe you need to ask God for His joy to fill your heart and for you to get back on the track of rejoicing. Maybe you have allowed pettiness to fill your heart and or a lack of forgiveness. It is time to rejoice! Not just go through the motions - but rejoice in the Lord. Go ahead and try it. Rejoice even now...you are able to read and read this from Pastor Bernie and - you know what? We have reason to rejoice - for God is good and He is good to you. Rejoice!
I believe once you begin to rejoice in the Lord you’ll never rejoice the same way again. Let’s grow closer to the Lord and know Him better and enjoy the many reasons we have to rejoice in the Lord. REJOICE! and Let us EXALT His Name Together.