“The Cause and Characteristics of Christian Joy”
Philippians 4:4-7

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Pastor Kevin Vogts
Trinity Lutheran Church
Paola, Kansas
Twenty-Third Sunday after Pentecost—November 8, 2020

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

We continue our Fall Sermon Series on the book of Philippians with today’s Epistle Reading: “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!  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, let your requests be made known unto God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”

Everything that is happening to us, as the months of lockdowns, restrictions, and isolation drag on, is taking a much bigger toll than we realize.  Many individuals I’ve visited with have expressed how depressed it all has made them.  Several people have broken down in sobs of despair over it all.  I’ve found over the years when that happens people will often try to stifle their tears and say something like, “I’m sorry pastor, I know I shouldn’t be crying.  I should have more faith.”

Is THAT what Paul means when he says, “Rejoice in the Lord always,” that we should put on a smile and pretend everything’s alright?  Does Christian joy mean we should never show sad emotions, like pain and grief and hurt and disappointment, but instead wear the impenetrable mask of a constant smile?

Paul says in 1st Corinthians, “If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.”  If all Christianity means is that we gloss over our troubles with a thin veneer of phony happiness, we are to be pitied more than all men.

But that’s not REALLY what Christian joy is.  In our text, Paul tells us “The Cause and Characteristics of Christian Joy.”

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!”  Christian joy is “in the Lord.”  So the first cause of Christian joy is all that the Lord has done for us.  All the earthly blessings he bestows upon us, but especially his spiritual blessings of forgiveness, salvation, eternal life in Jesus Christ.  As Isaiah says, “Let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.”  Rejoice and be glad, for your sins are all forgiven on account of Jesus Christ.

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!  Let your gentleness be evident to all.”  The first characteristic of Christian joy is expressed with a Greek word difficult to translate into English: “Gentleness,” “ kindness,” “meekness,” being “big-hearted,” showing toward others the same disposition of patience and love and forgiveness that God shows toward you.  John says, “This is how God showed his love for us: He sent his only-begotten Son into the world that we would have life through him. . .  He loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.  Beloved, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. . .  We love because he first loved us.”  Paul says in Ephesians, “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. . .  Live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us . . .”

“Let your gentleness be evident to all.  The Lord is near.”  The second cause of Christian joy is the imminent second coming of the Lord, and our anticipation of eternal life.  Along with “Hallelujah” and “Amen,” the early Christians had another shout of praise: “Maranatha,” which means “O Lord, Come!”  The imminent second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ is a great cause of joy for us, for we believe, as Martin Luther says in the Small Catechism, that he “will at the Last Day raise up me and all the dead, and give unto me and all believers in Christ eternal life.”  Our hope of eternal life is a great cause of joy and a comfort for us, as Paul says in 2 Corinthians, “We know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus. . .  Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.  For our troubles are light and momentary compared to the eternal glory that far outweighs them all.  So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

“The Lord is near.  Do not be anxious about anything.”  The second characteristic of Christian joy is a lack of anxiety, a lack of anxiety because you trust in the Lord.  As Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?  Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?  Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? . . .  So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’  For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.  But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.”

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God.”  The third cause of Christian joy is the unique privilege we have as Christians to call upon God in prayer.  Jesus promises, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. . .  the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.”  That doesn’t mean our heavenly Father will necessarily answer every prayer the way we think it should be, just as earthly parents know best what to give and to withhold.  That is why we pray as Jesus did, “Nevertheless, not my will be thine be done.”  Our heavenly Father DOES always hear and answer every prayer we utter in Jesus’ name, but he answers in the way he knows to be best.  As Paul says in Romans, “We know that God works all things together for the good of those who love him.”

Acts says of the early Christians, “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.”  Like those early Christians, devote yourself to prayer, as Paul says in Ephesians, “Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.”

“But in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God.”  The third characteristic of Christian joy is a life of thanksgiving, as the Psalms say, “Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.  Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. . .  O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good, and his mercy endures forever.”  Paul says in 1st Thessalonians, “Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

“With thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”  The fourth cause of Christian joy is the peace of God, the peace which God has established between us and himself through his Son, as Paul says in Romans, “Since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”  God is not angry with you.  He loves you and forgives you!  What greater cause for joy can there be than to know you are at peace with God?

“And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”  The fourth characteristic of Christian joy is peace within ourselves.  Because we know we are at peace with God, because we know that our troubles and sufferings are not ever a punishment from him, we have peace in our hearts and minds.  As Paul says in Romans, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

So does Christian joy mean we should never show sad emotions, but instead wear a constant smile?  More than anyone, we Christians do have something to smile about, and we should show our joy.  As the children’s song says, “If you’re happy and you know it, then your face will surely show it.” But, at the same time, the shortest verse in the Bible tells us “Jesus wept” at the grave of his friend Lazarus.  I think that emotion of Jesus is recorded for a reason.  Jesus shows us it’s okay to cry.  Jesus shows us that expressing and sharing your painful emotions does NOT indicate a lack of faith.  What makes Christian joy truly comforting is that it’s NOT just a veneer, a mask we put on for the world.  It is rooted in the reality of God’s love for us in Jesus Christ, so that even in the midst of tears we still have peace, comfort, hope, joy.

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!  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, let your requests be made known unto God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”