Well, this has been a demanding week, with one book deadline (met in the nick of time), one out-of-town trip (an overnight getaway), two deaths, two conversions, five sermons or Bible studies (if you count the Sundays on each end), and a handful of meetings, visits, and other routine obligations. Thank goodness the topic for my sermon at TDF for tomorrow is on rejoicing in the Lord. The passage is Philippians 4:4-9, which everyone on earth should know by heart. Here’s an excerpt from the printed manuscript:
We may not be able to rejoice in our load, but we can rejoice in our Lord. You may have little joy in your situation, but you can rejoice in your Savior. You may be encased in shadows, but you can still walk in the light as He is in the light.
To rejoice in the Lord means that we rejoice in our unassailable, unchanging relationship with the Sovereign Lord and in His qualities, gifts, promises, and attributes.
- Deuteronomy 26:11 says we should rejoice in all the Lord’s good gifts.
- 2 Chronicles 6:41 says we should rejoice in God’s goodness.
- Psalm 9:14 says we should rejoice in His salvation.
- Psalm 31:7 says we should rejoice in His love.
- Psalm 89:16 says that we can rejoice in His name all day long.
- Psalm 119:14 tells us to rejoice in following His statutes as one rejoices in great riches.
- Psalm 119:162 tells us to rejoice in God’s promises.
- Isaiah 65:18 tells us to rejoice forever in what God has created.
- Jeremiah 31:12 tells us to rejoice in the bounty of the Lord.
- And Romans 5:2 tells us to rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.
So why be down in the dumps? Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice!