“Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.” Philippians 4:4
“Rejoice evermore.” I Thessalonians 5:16
The Bible clearly tells us to rejoice always and in all things and that would include in the work of ministry. Some Christians fail to show forth the attitude of happiness for all of the things that God has done for them. Many walk around with sour faces, sour hearts and sour attitudes that end up leaving sour impressions. This old world is dying already so we as Christians should bring it some joy. One of the greatest ways that we can do that is by rejoicing. A Christian who is full of the things of God will be a rejoicing Christian. Nothing is quite as sweet as a Christian who joyfully ministers for the Lord, delighting in all the opportunities God has given them. A little child rejoices in everything because they are so happy. Some “outgrow” it and that rejoicing nature turns into a sour nature; one that is negative and filled with complaints. The Christian should be as that child with an attitude constantly overflowing with rejoicing to our Lord. Let us consider some ways we should rejoice in the Lord.
I. Rejoice in salvation. Luke 10:20 says, “Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in Heaven.” Psalms 35:9 says, “And my soul shall be joyful in the Lord: it shall rejoice in his salvation.” Each of us are sinners who deserve to go to hell, but by the grace of God we have been redeemed. We are on our way to Heaven. We, sinners, have been made the righteousness of God. How exciting that should be to every one of us! A young Christian seems to always be rejoicing in the Lord. As we get older in the Lord, we should become more aware of all that God did for us to bring us salvation, which leads us to even greater rejoicing. Rejoicing should never leave the Christian. That delight of salvation should become more and more joyous to us as it gets closer and closer to the time of our redemption. The older we get the closer to Heaven we get. Rejoicing in salvation should be a daily practice. It should be something that people see in us at all times as we excitedly look forward to the day we see our Lord.
II. Rejoice in God’s blessings. Deuteronomy 26:11 says, “And thou shalt rejoice in every good thing which the Lord thy God hath given unto thee, and unto thine house, thou, and the Levite, and the stranger that is among you.” Do you have nice warm clothes to wear today? Do you have a nice place to live? Do you have food to eat? Then you have something over which you can rejoice. How spoiled we are as Christians. We are filled with blessings that God has bestowed upon us, yet oftentimes we are more aware of what we do not have than what we do have. It is a selfish, self-centered attitude that gripes instead of rejoices. The child of God should be aware each moment of the day of each individual blessing that God brings to him, a multitude of which are without number.
III. Rejoice in God’s care. Psalms 63:7 says, “Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice.” It is a wonderful thing to know that God takes care of His own. He watches over us and protects us, yet we are like children; we are unappreciative of the parent’s care. We do not show God our appreciation by rejoicing in the good care that He gives to us.
IV. Rejoice in God’s Word. Psalms 119:162 says, “I rejoice at thy word, as one that findeth great spoil.” The Word of God is God’s revelation of Himself to man. It is one gigantic expression of His love, mercy and grace. It is a Book that expresses to us those things that He wants us to know, those things that He wants us to feel and those things that He feels toward us. It is a book of His goodness and a book of His kindness, yet so many of God’s people do not rejoice in having that precious Book as our own. Seldom a day should go by but that we do not look at our Bible and feel a warmth of delight that we have God’s written Word. Oh, how we should rejoice in God’s precious Word! Men and women in history have shed their blood to make it possible for us to have it. How precious it is and how we should rejoice in each portion!
V. Rejoice in persecution. Luke 6:22-23 says, “Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man’s sake. Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in Heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets.” When Paul was in prison, he wrote those beautiful words, “Rejoice in the Lord alway; and again I say rejoice.” It should be a privilege for a Christian to be persecuted for Jesus who was persecuted for us. Each time we are persecuted, we know it is for Christ’s sake and we know that our reward will be great in heaven. It should be almost like an anticipation of delight when we have the privilege of suffering for Him. We do not always understand the persecution and the trials. We cannot always find exactly what God is trying to do, but we can rejoice in knowing that God is in control and that all things will work together for good because we love Him. Rejoice in persecution.
VI. Rejoice when others rejoice. Romans 12:15 says, “Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.” Oftentimes we are selfish. We rejoice in other’s salvation and we rejoice when good things happen in our lives, but oftentimes that little jealousy creeps in that keeps us from rejoicing with others in victories in their lives. Each time a brother or sister in Christ experiences the blessings of God, each one of us should rejoice with them!
Rejoice. The word sparkles when you say it. There should be a joyous singing delight whenever we are with God’s people and in the world. We have too much for which to be thankful to be unthankful. We have too much for which to praise Him to complain. We have too much about which to smile to frown. Dear child of God, rejoice in the Lord; and again I say rejoice.
Pastor Neal, through his preaching and his counseling, displays the compassionate heart of a pastor, follows the true leading of the Holy Spirit, and expresses a fervent desire to see lost souls come to know Christ. It is his ultimate desire to see the greater Jacksonville area reached for the cause of Christ and for revival to come to Northeast Florida.
