Well, we come tonight to the
words that we find in Philippians chapter 4 and verse 4, the last
chapter. We read the opening words, those
first 18 verses in chapter 1, but we turn now to chapter 4
as we come to the fourth verse. And the third exhortation that
we have in the opening part of this portion. Rejoice in the Lord always, in
the game I say rejoice. Rejoice in the Lord always, in
the game I say rejoice. In Philippians 4 and verse 4.
We've looked at the previous exhortations. We've looked at
verse 1. where really the verse can be
summed up with that exhortation, stand fast in the Lord. And I remarked when we were looking
at that particular verse that the preposition there, in, could
easily have been rendered differently, could have been rendered as by,
stand fast by the Lord. As we stand fast in the Lord,
it is of course that we do so only by the grace of God. And we are to stand fast, we
are to persevere. We profess that great truth,
the perseverance of the saints. Amongst the five points of the
canons of Dort, the five points of Calvinism, the last of them
the perseverance of the saints. Stand fast in the Lord, he that
shall endure unto the end, says Christ, the same shall be saved. And we have to keep on going
on in that narrow way that leads to life. When we looked at that
first exhortation, and then last time we were looking at the second
exhortation in verses two and three, summed up really in those
words, be of the same mind in the Lord. The Lord speaks to two particular
individuals, two women, Eurydice and Syntyche, that they be of
the same mind in the Lord. Whether there was some difference
between each of these people or whether together they were
at odds with others in the church there at Philippi, we don't know.
but the exhortation is that they be of the same mind. We are to
endeavor to keep the unity of the Church in peace. The Lord Jesus very much prays
concerning that in that great high priestly prayer of John
chapter 17. This evening we come to this
exhortation to joy. And the theme I want to take
up really is that of rejoicing in the Lord. Rejoicing in the
Lord. Stand fast in the Lord. Be of
the same mind in the Lord. Well, here we have rejoicing
in the Lord. And Dealing with some three points,
really, as we consider the text. First of all, there's a commandment. Secondly, there's the motivation.
And then finally, there's the experience. And those are the
three things that I want us briefly to consider as we look at this
short text here in Philippians 4.4. First of all, the command. And these two verbs are very
much in the imperative mood. Twice then he says, rejoice,
rejoice. And we know that God's commandments
are not grievous. These gospel precepts that we
find so often at the end of Paul's epistles are not grievous. And
surely it's a good thing to be those who are rejoicing. And here there's an emphasis
because there's a repetition. As I say, twice we have that
imperative. These Christians are to be a
rejoicing people. And it's interesting that when
He turns, as it were, from the more doctrinal part of the epistle.
You know Paul's pattern in the various letters. He often begins
with the doctrinal part, and then after that, in the second
part of the epistles, he spells out the implications of the doctrine,
that there is to be a practice. of those truths. There is to
be an increasing conformity to the Lord Jesus Christ. Well,
here in Philippians we have great doctrinal truths in the first
part. We can think of how in the second
chapter he has a great section of course on the doctrine of
the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ and then chapter
3 really introduces us to the to the practical part of the
epistle and how does the third chapter begin finally my brethren
rejoice in the Lord he says to write the same things to you
to me indeed he's not grievous but for you it is safe he's going
to give them some instruction but he begins by saying to them
there in the opening words of the third chapter, rejoice in
the Lord. He has much to say really with
regards to rejoicing in this epistle. I quite deliberately read those
opening verses because we see him for example in verse 4 of
chapter 1 speaking of prayer in terms of rejoicing, in terms
of joy. He says at verse 3, I thank my
God upon every remembrance of you. He begins to address them
in the epistle, having given them a word of exhortation, I
thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always, in every prayer
of mine for you all, making request with joy. he rejoiced to pray
for them and was forever only seeking their spiritual good
and then we read to verse 18 of that opening chapter and of
course there in verse 18 we see how he rejoices in the preaching
of the Lord Jesus Christ even though some might be preaching
in the spirit of contention But others in love, he says. But
what does he say in verse 18 what then? Notwithstanding every
way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached. And
I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice. He rejoices in
praying for the Philippians. He rejoices in hearing of the
preaching of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. And he can
even rejoice in the prospect of dying. As he says in chapter
2 at verse 17 and verse 18, Yea, and if I be offered upon the
sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy and rejoice with
you all. For the same cause also do ye
joy and rejoice with me. Even should his life be forfeited,
even should it come to martyrdom, he can rejoice. Remember what
he says again in the opening chapter, verse 21, for me to
live is Christ. He says, but to die is gain.
Even should he eventually lose his life and of course this is
one of the prison epistles he's appealed to Caesar because of
what we're told at the end of Acts, the scheming and the plotting
of the Jews, they wanted to destroy this man, but he was a free-born
Roman citizen, he had the right of appeal to the Caesar, he'd
done that, and he'd gone to Rome, and now he's under certain confinement,
he's a prisoner. And maybe his life will finish
up with martyrdom. But even in the prospect of that,
he can rejoice. As he says here in verse 7 of
chapter 1, Even as it is meet for me to think this of you all,
because I have you in my heart, inasmuch as both in my bonds
and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers
of my grace, he says. Again, verse 13, he mentions
his bond, my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace,
or as the margin says, in all of Caesar's courts and in all
other places and this is the spirit of the man, he is prepared
and he is ready should it be necessary that his life will
be given in the cause of the Lord Jesus Christ and he can
rejoice in all of that He can rejoice in all of that. Remember
his experience when he was first ministering there at Philippi.
We have the record in Acts chapter 16 and there was so much opposition
of course that he and Silas are taken, they're arrested, they're
thrust into the prison and the jailer puts them in the inner
prison. But we're told at midnight Paul and Silas prayed and gave
thanks to God. praising the Lord and the prisoners
hear them and there's a wonderful deliverance and even the jailer
himself is saved. Paul was very much a joyous Christian
and there was nothing superficial about his joy. It was a real joy that was rooted
in the truth of God, in the truth of God's Word, rooted in prayers. Nothing superficial about this
man's religion at all. We can think of that little couplet
in the hymn by Joseph Hart concerning the sinner. A sinner may... What does he say? A sinner may
repent and sing, rejoice and be ashamed. We can repent, grieving
over our sins, and yet at the same time be singing the praises
of God, and we can rejoice when we feel so much shame in our
hearts. That's a truth, is it not? There
is shame in what we are ourselves. But we can joy in the Lord Jesus
Christ and that great salvation where sin abounds. Grace does
so much more abound. But indwelling sin Indwelling
sin is such an awful reality in the lives of the people of
God. And a man may feel ashamed when he remembers the manner
of his living. Difficult sometimes to forget
our past follies, and surely there's something of that in
Paul, even as he writes in this epistle. Remember what he says
in the third chapter concerning himself. How he was such a proud,
self-righteous Pharisee. As touching the law he says he
was a Pharisee. Touching the righteousness he
says in the law he really thought himself blameless. Like the Pharisees,
he was a man who despised others, thought himself so much better.
But there he speaks of the zeal that he had in persecuting the
Church, and he was ashamed. Surely he was ashamed of all
that, because he mentions it in several of his epistles. When
he writes to the Galatians, for example. And again, in Galatians
chapter 1, he's recounting something from his experiences. verse 13
he says you have heard of my conversation the manner of my
life in times past in the Jews religion out of beyond measure
I persecuted the church of God and wasted it he mentions it
also when he writes into the Corinthian church in chapter
15 of 1st Corinthians I am the least of all saints he says or
the least of all apostles not me to be called an apostle, because
I persecuted the Church of God." Oh, he was ashamed. He had much really to feel grieved
about. And as he says in the 7th of
Romans, of course, he was so very much aware still of his
old nature. And the good that he would, he
did not. The evil that he would, not that
he was doing, how he grieves over the old nature of the old
man. How necessary then is the exhortation
that he's given. He needed it himself. Rejoice
in the Lord. All one. And again I say, rejoice. He's not just addressing these
people. He needs the word himself. He needs the exhortation himself
to be one who would be rejoicing. All wretched man that I am, who
can deliver me from the body of this death, he says. the end
of Romans 7 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord and so
it is rejoicing the Lord all the way and again I say rejoice
there's the commandment then but this is gospel isn't it gospel
precept and where we find gospel precept we also find that that
is a real motivation to obedience. And what is the motivation here?
Well, the motivation is the Lord Jesus Christ himself. It is in
the Lord. It's in the Lord. We've observed
this already in the previous commandments that he's given.
How are they to stand fast? They are to stand fast in the
Lord. And remember, the preposition it really is an instrumental
preposition it has that idea of by the Lord stand fast by
the Lord that gracious help of the Lord is so necessary if the
man is going to be held up if the man is going to endure to
the end The psalmist says, Thy right hand hath holden me up. And again, when we think of what
we were considering last week, there in that second verse, we
have the same mind in the Lord or by the Lord. By the Lord. If there is going to be unity,
that oneness of spirit, where is it found? It's found in the
Lord Jesus Christ, and he makes that abundantly clear. in what
he says in the second chapter, that great doctrinal portion,
speaking so much of Christ. What does he say as he introduces
that subject? Verse 2 in chapter 2, Fulfill
ye my joy, that ye be like-minded, having the same love, being of
one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through strife
or vainglory, But in lowliness of mind let each esteem other
better than themselves. Look not every man on his own
things, but every man also on the things of others. Let this
mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus." And then that
remarkable statement that he makes concerning the person of
Christ, God, God manifest in the flesh, the work, the obedience
unto death, even the death of the cross, and how God therefore
has highly exalted him and given him a name above every name how
can anyone know true unity in the spirit of the gospel only
by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and how the Lord is that one
of course who who prays he prays there in that 17th chapter of
John concerning the unity of his disciples in verse 20 he says neither pray I for these
alone the disciples but for them also which I believe on me through
their word that they all may be one as thou father art in
me and I in thee that they also may be one in us that the world
may believe that thou hast sent me and the glory which thou gavest
me I have given them that they may be one even as we are one
I in them and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one,
that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved
them as thou hast loved me. How this oneness is rooted and
grounded in the Lord Jesus Christ. And so also with regard to this
joy, It is rejoicing in the Lord, it's rejoicing by the Lord. This
joy is one of the fruits of the Spirit. It's not in the man by
nature. And it's one of the first of
those fruits of the Spirit that are mentioned in Galatians chapter
5. The fruit of the Spirit is love,
joy, peace, longsuffering and so on. The first fruit of the
Spirit that's mentioned is love. But then that next fruit is spoken
of as joy. All rejoice in the Lord, rejoice
by the Lord. And the word that we have here
for Lord is that that emphasizes the sovereignty, the sovereignty
of the Lord Jesus Christ. And how important it is when
we come to exhortations and commandments to remember the relationship
that there is between our duty as those who are the Lord's and
yet at the same time our complete and utter dependence upon the
Lord. He goes on to say, doesn't he,
I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me, here
at verse 13. We can do nothing without Him.
He says, from me is thy fruit found. Notice two things here
then with regards to this dependence upon the Lord Jesus Christ. As
I said, the word Lord emphasizes the idea of His sovereignty.
He is the Lord. And that's a great word, isn't
it, that we find back in the book of Nehemiah. Remember those
words in Nehemiah 8, at the end of verse 10, he says, The joy
of the Lord is thy strength. Oh, if we're those who are rejoicing
in the Lord, surely we will see that we need to be rejoicing
in His sovereignty. That's a glorious truth. the
sovereignty of God and God's sovereignty everywhere. God's
sovereignty in creation, God's sovereignty in providence, God's
sovereignty in grace. It is such a comforting truth.
We can rejoice in it. Hallelujah, we say. For the Lord
God omnipotent reigneth. And He is able of course, to
so overrule all things, even persecutions. When Paul is writing
there in that opening chapter, the portion that we read, when he says, I would, you should
understand brethren, that the things which happened unto me
have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel. so that my bonds in Christ are
manifest in all the palace and in all other places as I said
just now the reason he's there in Rome is because of persecution
and in fact what the Jews were intending there at Jerusalem
at the end of Acts was to to kill this man, they wanted rid
of him and that's why he had to make that appeal but all that's
happened has fallen out to the furtherance of the gospel And
we know there's joy in the presence of the angels of God over one
sinner that repenteth. And through the preaching of
the Gospel, sinners were being converted there in the great
imperial city of Rome. Oh, we know that all things work
together for good to them that love God, to them who are called
according to His purpose. And why is that? Because God
is sovereign. and nothing can frustrate his
goodwill and pleasure. But we're not only reminded of
Christ's sovereignty as that one who is the head over all
things to the church, but there's also Christ's exaltation now,
how he has entered into his kingdom. And there in heaven, of course,
he ever lives to make intercession for all that come to God by him. And only is that one who is able,
able to save to the uttermost all who come to God by him. We sometimes sing that hymn of
Isaac Watts, 120, with joy. we meditate the grace of our
high priest above. His heart is made of tenderness,
his bowels melt with love. Oh, we can meditate his position
there and his continual intercession, we can meditate upon that with
joy in our hearts. What a blessed thing it is. And It's by prayer, of course,
that all of our needs are met. And doesn't Paul say as much
as he goes on with his exhortations, verse 6, be careful for nothing,
but in everything by prayer and supplication and thanksgivings,
let your requests be made known unto God. It's by prayer that
every need is met. And Paul's needs were met. And
what does he say? He speaks of rejoicing again
there in verse 10, I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now
at last your care of me hath flourished again, wherein you
were also careful, but ye lacked opportunity. And he says to them, he reminds
them in verse 19, My God shall supply all your needs according
to His riches in glory. by Christ Jesus. Oh, there is much then to cause
the Christian to rejoice, to rejoice in the Lord, to rejoice
in Christ's sovereignty, to rejoice in supplications and prayers
that will be heard and answered because of His intercession.
There is in here, not only the command, but also the motivation. And then finally there's the
experience. And we have it in this word,
all way. All way. This is the believer's
continual experience, rejoicing the Lord all way. And again,
I say, rejoice. How do we walk? We walk by faith. and not by sight. And when we
walk by faith, our eye is upon the Lord Jesus. It's looking
away, always onto Jesus. And Jesus is that one who is
the same yesterday and today and forever. He is the unchanging
one. He is Jehovah. He says, I am the Lord, therefore
ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. And so Peter says we are to rejoice
with joy unspeakable and full of glory, or rejoice in the Lord
all the while. That's our experience, day by
day, moment by moment, we have cause to be rejoicing in the
Lord. But what of our circumstances? And sometimes we're in circumstances
that are sad and grievous, difficult, and we cannot understand the
Lord and His ways. But I want to close with those
remarkable words that we have at the end of Abakuk. Remember
Abakuk 3, verses 17 and 18. And what truth? You know the
passage, I'm sure. Although the fig tree shall not
blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines, the labour of
the olive shall fail, the field shall yield no meat, the flock
shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in
the stores. Yes, I will rejoice in the Lord,
I will joy in the God of my salvation. Oh, the Lord help us. that we
might find much to rejoice in when we consider our Lord Jesus
Christ. May the Lord be pleased to bless
this short meditation consideration of this great verse of scripture.
Rejoice in the Lord always. And again I say, rejoice. We're going to sing Godbe's hymn on this particular
text of scripture we opened of course with that great hymn of
Charles Wesley on the same the same text there in the hymn 127
but we're turning now to 606 the tune is St. Ethelwold number
58. Let saints lift up their hearts and with a cheerful voice
the wonders of their King proclaim and in the Lord Rejoice! 606 tune number 58.