Sermon – Philippians 4:1-9 - Joy

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard
Sermon – Philippians 4:1-9 - Joy
Eagle Rock Presbyterian Church
October 12, 2008

This morning in your bulletin I put an excerpt from C.S. Lewis’ book The Screwtape Letters in the For Reflection section. This reference requires a little explanation. I love this book very much, but you have to read it in a special way. The book consists of a series of letters supposedly written by the devil or Screwtape to his assistant Wormwood for the purpose of discouraging people from becoming Christians. So the letters are from the perspective of the devil and must be read by us in reverse. In this passage we can see the frustration of the devil when Christians experience great joy in worship. The devil, it seems, has no idea where joy comes from; it is a total mystery. So today I will be talking about where joy originates and if the devil would like to listen in he is welcome to do so.

But first let’s pray. Father in heaven bless us this day with your presence and give us the great joy of your kingdom. We have brought our concerns with us this morning and we ask that you quiet our minds so that we may experience your peace. We pray this in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Philippians 4:1-9 – My Translation

Thus, my beloved and longed for brothers and sisters, my joy and reason for boasting, in this way, stand firm in the Lord, beloved ones.

I urge Euodia and Syntyche to both think in the Lord. Indeed I ask you also, loyal Syzygus, help these women who in the gospel struggled with me also with Clement and with the rest of my co-workers whose names are in the book of life.

Rejoice in the Lord always again I will say, rejoice.
Let your gentleness be known to all people for the Lord is near.
Do not worry, but do everything in prayer and supplication with thanksgiving and let your requests be known to God.

And the peace of God which rises above your thinking will guard your heart and your thinking in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is praiseworthy, if something is virtuous and if something is worthy of praise, think about these things. And whatever you learned, whatever you received, whatever you heard, whatever you saw in me, do these things. And the God of peace will be with you.

According to scripture all Christians should be experiencing great joy. Joy, after all, came in the world with our blessed savior Jesus Christ. Every Christmas we sing “Joy the World the Savior Comes.” Scripture also teaches us that the reason why Jesus came into the world and taught us as he did was for us to have joy in its fullness. We first experience this joy when we realize that our sins are forgiven and the salvation of our souls is assured. And this joy continues as we continue in faith in Jesus Christ. Whenever Christians come together this joy is present and whenever a sinner repents heaven too is filled with joy. Peter tells us that the joy we experience is both indescribable and glorious. The Apostle Paul experienced this joy whenever he saw his churches growing with new believers. And he tells us that joy is a gift from God brought to us by the Holy Spirit. Joy is an integral part of the Kingdom of God. Certainly joy is to be our experience whenever we come into contact with God in worship and prayer.

But I suspect that many of us today in worship are not experiencing joy. We have come into this sanctuary with heavy hearts. We have a lot on our minds. We have all experienced troubling times when we experience sadness and grief and turn to God in prayer hoping to receive a little of the joy scripture promises. Many of us are concerned about the falling value of our investments. Others are concerned about health and family. We have so many things to think about that our minds are often overwhelmed. And when this happens it is very difficult to experience the joy God wants us to have.

In our Old Testament reading this morning the Hebrews had come into the presence of God. They stood before an exploding volcano surrounded by a great hurricane. Their God was right there with them. This was a time for great joy. Yet they experienced fear. They feared that Moses was dead. They feared for their own lives. So they decided that their joy rested not in the God of their ancestors, but in the god of their wealth. They though that joy could be found in their gold and this joy would be magnified if all their gold and wealth was molded into a golden calf. Surely a festival around the most beautiful and expensive object humanity had ever created would be the source of their greatest joy. But they were wrong because gold and wealth can never bring us great joy.

In Philippi two important women of the church were quarrelling over some issue. We don’t know what the issue was, but we know that the argument was preventing them and probably the entire church from experiencing the great joy that comes from the Holy Spirit whenever we come into the presence of God in worship and prayer. Paul addressed this situation in the passage I read earlier. He asked his loyal friend Syzygus to help these women to leave behind their cares and worries so that they could experience great joy in the Lord.

According to Paul whenever we come into the presence of God in prayer or worship we should feel and act appropriately. Our feelings should be joyous and our actions should be gentle. Gentleness is how we signal to other that the Lord has come near us. Often when we are upset, angry, or grieving we become surly, aggressive, or uncaring. This prevents us from experiencing joy as we should. So the first step in finding joy is to become gentle and caring demonstrating to others the love that God is giving you. When you act gently your feelings of sadness and grief will be lessened and you are on the road to joy.

But being gentle is just a beginning. It is not enough to bring you all the way to joy. Something more is needed. And this something more is called prayer. Whatever is troubling you and preventing you from experiencing the promised joy you should take to God in prayer. Express all your fears, your needs, and your worries to God. And as you pray always remember to thank God for all the blessings you have received. This is the second step on our way to joy, always approach God with a thankful heart for taking our cares and concerns away and leading us to joy.

When you do these two things, act gently and approach God with gratitude, a miracle will occur. We receive a gift from God. This gift is in the form of new thoughts. Here’s how it works. We are all thinking all the time. It is as if we have a tape in our heads that runs over and over again. We remember past hurts and past grieving. The same thoughts just keep coming. We can’t get them out of our minds. The tape loops on and on. I know of people still grieving the death of loved ones decades ago. I know others still reliving the awful hurts of a troubled childhood or a broken relationship. Once you begin thinking negative thoughts it is very difficult to stop. And negative thinking in incompatible with joy.

But when we act in gentleness, pray in gratitude, and receive the gift of God’s peace new thoughts will replace the old ones that have tormented us for so long. This is why it is so important to fill our thinking with Christ Jesus. Thoughts about Christ will replace the negative thoughts we have had about ourselves for years. This is why Paul exhorts us to fill our thoughts with what is true, honorable, pure, holy, pleasing and praiseworthy. These are all attributes of Christ. As we think about these things God gives us the gift of His peace.

So, how do we change our thoughts from our own problems to Christ? We do this by reading and hearing scripture and learning from it to change what we think and do. That is why it is essential to place yourself in the presence of God each day by reading and meditating on scripture. On the back table the Deacons place copies of Our Daily Bread. These are free, so take one we you leave today. Inside you will see devotions for every day. A scripture passage is recommended, read it. Read and think about the devotional article for each day. And remember to pray the prayer at the bottom of the page so that you invite God into you presence each and every day. Then take what you read in the Bible and use it in your daily life. Your regular scripture reading and prayer will be used by the Holy Spirit to transform you into what God created you to be a joyous person.

Paul’s promise is that as we act with gentleness, as we offer up our worries in prayer, as we engage in the regular spiritual practices like daily scripture reading, our thoughts will begin to change. We will leave behind all the thoughts of grief and hurt that has plagued us for years. In their place we will begin to think thoughts of Christ with their transformational power. When our minds are filled with thoughts of Jesus Christ then we can experience the presence of God in worship and prayer. And we know that whenever we come into the presence of God the gift we receive is joy. So today I urge you to trade in your old thoughts for new thoughts and begin to think in news ways in Christ. Then you will be able to “rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice”.