Rejoice Always - 1 Thess Lesson 37

CTW 1 Peter 1:1-9

Rejoice Always

1 Thessalonians 5:16

 It is good to be back in the pulpit. I always enjoy getting a break. Thanks to Matthew, Jay, and Thom for taking over the teaching responsibilities and allowing me to take my wife away to celebrate our 49th wedding anniversary and her 7-0 birthday.

 Let’s open our Bible’s again this morning to 1 Thessalonians 5. Let’s stand together as we read this passage that begins in verse 12 and goes down through verse 22. 

 These are the final exhortations from the Apostle Paul to a good church. Paul has addressed no major doctrinal concerns. He has had to correct no significant behavioral issues. He has commended these believers for their faith, hope, and love and answered their questions about some end times issues. He has shown us the heart of a pastor and the health of this fellowship. As he brings this letter toward a close he addresses several important aspects of the Christian life. This paragraph includes instructions regarding how we relate with one another (v. 12-15), how we relate to God (v. 16-21), and how we related to the world (v. 22). 

 I don’t know about you, but I was deeply convicted by the message from last week. I do “ok” I think with verse 14, or at least most of it. I will admonish the unruly. I hope I do “ok” encouraging the faint-hearted. I try. I don’t always have what I think are adequate words of encouragement, especially when I am trying to help someone who struggles for a long time with discouraging and difficult situations. I try to help the weak. I am not, however, as good at being patient with everyone. That, most often, reveals itself in the fact that I am guilty, far too often, of repaying evil for evil, especially when I think I am being treated in a way that I don’t deserve.

 The command to not repay evil for evil doesn’t have a clause that provides for that exception. It doesn’t say, “see to it that no one repays another with evil for evil, except when the first one doing evil has it coming.” If you are married, and that message did not hit you in between the eyes, one of two things is true. Either you weren’t listening, or you should be up here preaching the rest of these verses because we could all benefit from your spiritual prowess. We who are married are probably the worst at repaying evil for evil. I know Donna and I were both convicted by that message.

 Our text for today is verse 16. It is a rare verse in the New Testament. It only has two words, but they are a mouthful. “Rejoice always.” The Greek text only has two words but they are in reverse order from the English. The Greek puts the adverb before the verb. It literally reads, “always rejoicing.” Since the verb is in the imperative mood we know that is not descriptive but prescriptive. We are commanded to always be rejoicing. Let me begin with a question. I might be able to save us a lot of time. Is there anyone here who does not need this message? Is everyone here already good at rejoicing always? If you had all raised your hands I would have closed in prayer and for the first time in the history of GBC we could have all been first in line at the pizza buffet.

 We need this because we probably all struggle with this, another of those commands that “says easy but does hard.” We need this because there are probably many of us who, like our unregenerate counterparts in the world, are fairly good at rejoicing when our circumstances are favorable and we are happy, comfortable and satisfied. Most of us struggle with a joyful response to the things that disrupt our happiness, make us uncomfortable, or send us down the path of dissatisfaction. Let’s be honest. It isn’t necessarily the “rejoice” part of this command that trips us up. It is the “always” part.

 This command is important enough that it is repeated in other places in the New Testament. Strangely enough, it is emphasized in Philippians. Philippians is commonly called the epistle of joy. Interestingly, the epistle of joy was written from Roman prison cell. Yes, Paul was in chains when he wrote of his own continuous joy. In that letter he wrote in Phil. 3:1 “Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord.” He wrote again in 4:4, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say rejoice.”

 There is something important about understanding this command. It is alone in that it was given its own verse. But it is not alone in the text. This command stands together with other commands, including, “pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus,” as well as those commandments before this and after these.

 Paul has more than one purpose for giving these commands. He gives them because they inform us regarding the Christian life. This is how we are to deal with one another. This is how we are to respond to the grace and goodness of God who has saved us. But this is also how we show the world that we are different. This is how we demonstrate the reality of the saving power of the gospel. This is how we know that we are growing in grace and being conformed to the image of Jesus Christ. This is how we accomplish the will of God in growing together until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. (Ephesians 4:13)

 True Christianity is not simply to believe in Jesus. Genuine Christians are followers of Christ. Followers of Christ are becoming like Christ. Followers of Christ who are becoming like Christ will be empowered to, and have a desire to, and the motivation to “rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and in everything give thanks.” These were the responses of Jesus to everything that He encountered in life and these are to be increasing realities for us. The grace that saves us will be making us more into the image of Christ and as we become more like Christ we will be rejoicing always, praying unceasingly, and giving thanks in everything.

 Rejoicing always isn’t a natural way to walk through life. It is a supernatural way to walk through life. The Christian life is a supernatural walk through a natural world. The only way that we walk supernaturally through this world is if we are empowered by a supernatural power source. We must be filled with the Holy Spirit to rejoice always. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, etc. You can name them all. If we are filled with the Holy Spirit, as we are commanded to be, we will be joyful. The supernatural power of God’s indwelling Spirit will make us joyful always.

 This isn’t some fake, unrealistic, front we put up just to give the impression that we are joyful. This is the joy of the Lord. This is joy that is the product of abiding in Jesus. Turn to John 15 for a minute. Read verses 1-11. Turn to John 16. Read verses 16-24. The disciple’s joy was not to be taken from them once they had seen Jesus alive following the resurrection. Why? Because they knew that all He had promised had been provided. The world would treat the disciples with contempt and kill almost all of them. They died rejoicing always because they had seen the risen Christ and knew that their hope was in the Lord. They were able to rejoice in the Lord always.

 For the most part, the lack of a joy for us is related to something unfavorable we are dealing with in life. Is that not true? Most of us find it easy to rejoice in favorable circumstances. So how do we rejoice always, especially in the tough times? By taking our eyes off of the things below and fixing our eyes on things above, things eternal, the only things that will really matter for eternity. An encounter with the resurrected Lord Jesus transformed the disciples radically. They were transformed from cowards on the night of His arrest to men full of confidence and conviction. In Acts 5, when the Apostles were arrested and subsequently flogged and ordered not to speak in the name of Jesus, they went on their way from the presence of the Council, “rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name.”

 I know that when I struggle to rejoice, the problem is one of focus and perspective. My focus is on this world and seeking joy from things that were never intended to provide joy and will never be able to provide enduring joy. Let’s be honest. It really can’t even be called joy that we seek if it is something that comes from good things happening in this world. It’s just happiness, not real joy. It is more of a feeling than a spiritual reality. It is dependent upon circumstances and things going the way I want them to go rather than a focus on, and enduring appreciation for the things that Christ has done for me, things that really matter, things that are of eternal significance.

 We learn to rejoice always as we learn to take our eyes off of the things in this world and put them on eternal things. We learn to see the things of this world for what they really are. They are temporal. They are vanity. They are full of empty promises. They never satisfy. They never accomplish the truly spiritually significant work of God within us. They distract us. They promise us satisfaction that is elusive and empty. The things of this world promise us happiness but the least joyful people in the world are those with the most this world has to offer. We learn to rejoice always as we learn to turn our backs on the pursuit of joy in the things of this world.

 This is exactly what Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew 5:11-12 He said, “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” If my focus is on being happy rather than joyful, I will never rejoice when I am insulted, persecuted, or falsely accused of evil which is not really evil. I don’t remember an insult that I liked and was willing to rejoice over. I can’t imagine any kind of persecution being the occasion of rejoicing. False accusations are the opportunity to defend myself and make sure everyone knows how wrong they are and how right I am. Not in the economy of the kingdom of heaven. These are the occasions of rejoicing. We are citizens of that kingdom. We are children of the King. We are heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ and we are to rejoice always.

 We want our lives to be living examples of the saving grace of God. By rejoicing always we will be examples of the life transformed by the work of God. I want to take you to one more passage that is important because of how it relates to this imperative and what it teaches us about how and why we should rejoice always. I don’t know about you, but I could use a little more instruction on the “how to” rejoice always. So turn with me to 1 Peter 1. It has been almost four years since we preached through this passage so I am confident that we could use a little reinforcement and reminders.

 I will remind you that 1 Peter was written to Christians who had been scattered. Verse 1 tells us this. They were scattered because of persecution. Nero had burned the city of Rome in order to be able to rebuild it as a monument to himself and he blamed the Christians for his actions. Christians were suffering under intense persecution. The first thing Peter does as he writes to these persecuted people is to remind them of all that God has done to secure their eternal blessings. Read verses 1-5. Peter doesn’t get very far into this letter before he gives them this very pertinent instruction. Look at verse 6. “In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trails.”

 The first thing to understand about this verse is what “this” is talking about. “In this you greatly rejoice.” What is “this?” “This” refers back to what Peter had just written. So look back at verses 1-5 with me. Peter writes to them as “aliens” who are “scattered,” but he immediately follows this with the reasons to greatly rejoice. Greatly rejoice because you are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father. Greatly rejoice always because of the sanctifying work of the Spirit who empowers us to obey Jesus Christ. Greatly rejoice because you have been sprinkled with His blood and grace and peace are yours in the fullest measure. Greatly rejoice because God, according to His great mercy, has caused you to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Greatly rejoice because you will obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, which is reserved for you in heaven. Greatly rejoice because you are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

 This is the “how to” instructions on rejoicing. You rejoice greatly, you rejoice always, by directing your focus, your thoughts, your assessment of thing happening upward toward God and His great work of salvation. What happens in this temporal world, not matter how difficult it is, pales in comparison to what has happened for us and what will be provided for us in eternity.

 We will not rejoice always as long as our focus is on this world and things happening around us, or to us, especially things that are not fun or easy to endure. We will only rejoice greatly, and always, if we look at the treasure of our eternal blessings, including what God has done to save us and what He is doing to sanctify us, and the promises He has given to glorify us. Lift up your eyes to the goodness and grace of God and you will rejoice always.

 In this you greatly rejoice, by looking up, by focusing on the greatness of God’s good pleasure in saving us. This we do “even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials.” There are some great insights here that help us rejoice always and to greatly rejoice. First, those things that hinder our rejoicing now are only experienced for “a little while.” How long do the irritants of life last? How long do the blessings of salvation last? Is there any comparison?

 Second, “if necessary…” Were the distressing various trials necessary in the lives of those Christians to whom Peter first wrote? They might not have thought them necessary, but God did. They were enduring this persecution in order that God’s purpose and plan would be fulfilled. The gospel was to be a “to every nation” endeavor. Jesus told His disciples they would start in Jerusalem, then take the gospel to Judea, and ultimately to the uttermost part of world. Persecution aided in the fulfilling of that plan. God found that the persecution was necessary. God is sovereign. We are not. We can rejoice greatly, we can rejoice always, knowing that God is sovereign in bringing things that make rejoicing a little difficult to do sometimes. We will only rejoice in things like persecution when we come to realize that life isn’t about us. It is about His glory.

 It is also insightful to realize that Peter says, “you have been distressed by various trials.” He doesn’t say, “you have been distressed by persecution.” The various trials were difficulties of many kinds. This makes me think of James’ instruction. “Consider it all joy when you encounter various trials.” Why? Because God is using those trials to test and prove our faith.

 Peter goes on to tell us not only how to rejoice greatly. He also tells us why it is important to rejoice greatly. Look at verse 7. “So that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

 It is clear from the words of Jesus that a great threat exists for many who claim faith. Jesus warns that many of those who claim faith and believe in Him and do great acts of religious service will hear Him say, “Depart from Me you workers of iniquity. I never knew you.” (Matt. 7:21) It is important to have a faith that is proven as genuine. The only way to have a faith that is proven is to have a faith that is tested. Faith that is proven to be genuine is more precious than gold, even gold that is tested by fire. Greatly rejoicing, even though we are going through the distress of various trials, is the proof that our faith will result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

 What Peter is showing us is that when we greatly rejoice in the middle of trials, we show that our hope is not in favorable circumstances, but in the Lord. Our focus is on the eternal rather than the temporal. We prove our faith to be a faith that results in a life radically different than what is found among the unregenerate. We prove our faith to be a faith that results in eternal glory. Rejoice always. Greatly rejoice always, even when distressed by various trials.

 This rejoicing is the product of an understanding of who Jesus is and what He has done for us. Look at verse 8. “and though you have not seen Him, you love Him…” Listen, we love Him because He first loved us. We love Him because of who He is and what He has done to save us. Peter goes on to say, “and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory…” Do you see the connection here between believing in Jesus and greatly rejoicing? To truly believe in Jesus is to understand all He has done. This cannot produce anything but great rejoicing.

 The claim of most people today who call themselves Christians is that they believe in Jesus. I don’t know how you study the whole counsel of God’s word and come to the conclusion that all you have to do is believe in Jesus. If all your theology comes from a study of John 3:16 and that is the only Bible you know, you will conclude that all you do is believe in Jesus. Genuine salvation includes believing, but salvation that results from believing produces a whole lot more than just belief. It also produces obedience to the word of God, love for God and His Son Jesus Christ, love for other believers, love for the truth of God’s word, a desire to live for the glory of God, among other things. And one thing produced by genuine saving belief is greatly rejoicing with joy inexpressible and full of glory.

 These are those who, according to Peter, can have confidence of obtaining as the outcome of their faith the salvation of their souls. (verse 9) If we are those who can greatly rejoice, even in difficult trials, we can be sure we are those who are saved.

 Let’s memorize a verse of Scripture. It is an easy one to memorize. “Rejoice always.” Repeat that with me. How many of you now have that one memorized? I think we have it. I have a challenge for you. Now that you have it memorized I want you to meditate on it. I want you to ask God to help you to obey it. I want you to remember what it tells you to do, why you are to do it, and how. The next time you find yourself doing anything other than rejoicing, I pray that the Holy Spirit will bring this verse to mind. And I pray that as you meditate on this truth, you thoughts will be lifted above your present circumstances to those things that are of eternal significance, like God’s choice of you according to His foreknowledge, His sanctifying work that is enabling you to obey Jesus Christ, His sprinkled blood that cleansed you from all your sin, the grace and peace that is yours in fullest measure, the blessings of God including His great mercy, His causing you to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, the imperishable inheritance you have obtained which is undefiled and will not fade away, which is reserved for you in heaven, and the protection by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

 By lifting your thoughts to these great truths you will not only rejoice always, you will greatly rejoice. You will prove your faith to be genuine. You will demonstrate a love for Christ that is consistent with a belief in Him that saves. You will greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory. You will obtain as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your soul.

 This is a command of no small importance. Rejoice always. Rejoice in the Lord always, again I will say rejoice.

 Let’s pray.