Anyway, it is, again, a pleasure to be here with you, and it's also humbling, and when
I look out and see some that I remember from my youth, our family moved to Longview when
I was in fifth grade at Imperial School, and then moved away after a year and a half,
and then when the Big Sandy campus reopened in 81, I had been a student in Pasadena for
one year, and I had to come back to Big Sandy.
To me, that was very exciting to do.
The funny thing was, my first class every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday was in my fifth
grade classroom, and so whenever I would go there, especially the first time, I thought
I had to hang up my little jacket and put my lunch pail on the back shelf there, but
I had Dr. Torrance as my instructor, and he put up with me there, but anyway, I have a
lot of memories whenever I come back to this area.
In fact, it was during the special music I was remembering.
How many of you remember Treasure City?
That's where I got my first guitar, and it was an exciting thing.
I saw a price tag on it that said $4.95, so I ran over to my father and I said, Dad,
I found a guitar, and it's only $4.95, can I get it?
He thought about it, and he said, well, yes, I guess so.
Well, when we checked out, it happened to be $21.95.
Everything went on pause, and I said, but I know I saw that price tag, and we went back
to the same spot, and I pulled up the price tag, and the clerk said, well, yes, that's
for the guitar stand that it is on, but my father still got it for me.
I don't still have it.
It didn't make as nice music as that either, anyway.
Again, it's very nice to be with you.
It's also amazing to me, and I think it is to you, when something happens, when it is
so incredibly inspiring when there's been no communication between the speakers, and
the messages seem to fit together so amazingly, it's like it was all planned out.
That to me is so inspiring.
It didn't happen today, but when that has happened, actually it did, and that's what
I really don't have anything more to say, it's been nice being with you.
I did really appreciate the sermon, and it does amazingly tie into what I plan to speak
about today.
When was the last time you had a celebration?
Perhaps it was an anniversary, perhaps a special one, 25th, 50th, something, the ones that stand
out as celebrations or special times, perhaps it was a wedding, especially if it was yours
or a family member, a very close friend, perhaps the birth of a child or a grandchild, and
we find out a lot more about these on Facebook nowadays, don't we, from friends and family,
or perhaps finding out that you were going to have a child and had such an excitement
that you could barely contain yourself if indeed you could.
Perhaps it was the last time you got a job, or the first time you got a job, or perhaps
getting a bonus or a raise or a commendation that deserved some special activity.
Perhaps it was finishing high school or college, getting a good grade in a class or on a final
test or passing a class, time to celebrate.
I know my daughter who's 15, she was thrilled to have the winter break for two weeks, but
just yesterday she said, man, I wish we had another week of vacation, but it was a very
exciting time for her to finish another semester to be done with it, especially after finals
week, a time for celebration.
And there are quite a few times when we can think about them being occasions to celebrate,
times of excitement can sometimes be overwhelming because of the thrill involved in the circumstances.
Now maybe this sounds like an odd time to talk about celebrations considering different
situations that we're in, in the world right now.
I'm sure all of us who have been watching the news recently over the past few days, weeks,
months, year, or so, have been astonished to see the things that keep happening in the
world around us.
And we see that things are progressing in a way that we have seen in prophecy.
So perhaps it's a little bit of an odd time to talk about celebrations, and perhaps it
is for you personally as well, to think about, due to your circumstances, maybe difficulties
you're going through, trials that seem to never end, be they large or small, distancing
your mind from celebrating.
But let's turn to 1 Thessalonians 5.
To a scripture I'm sure most, if not all of us have read, though perhaps with a different
emphasis, or not much emphasis at all, especially at certain times.
Here we're given an instruction that, yes, was given to the church at Thessalonica and
was preserved and passed on to us as a congregation and as individuals today.
First Thessalonians 5, verse 16, and here we read, rejoice always.
Rejoice always.
Now how do we read that?
Do we think, to Thessalonica, in times of old, yea, verily, rejoice if, always if.
Sometimes it's easy to do that when reading the Bible, isn't it?
Not exactly in that way, but in a way that we kind of distance ourselves from or don't
feel as tied into as we should, as we want to.
Or do we read it personally?
Perhaps twice, ah, rejoice always, ah, rejoice like always, seriously?
Is this in here?
Is this expected of me?
Is this a direction I'm being given?
What's up?
What does this mean?
How can we honestly, sincerely, be expected to rejoice always?
That's a bit of a tough question to answer, especially in times of difficulty, in times
of grief, burden, and so on.
Nevertheless, we read this instruction from God through Paul to definitely rejoice always.
This afternoon we're going to take a brief look at this instruction, examine it a bit
and hopefully grow in understanding and in the practice of rejoicing always.
No doubt this is something that separates us or is to separate us from humanity, or
perhaps we should say from our old selves.
It is an instruction that with understanding can and will take place in our daily lives,
no matter what we face, no matter what we deal with.
Now back in Ecclesiastes, we don't need to turn there.
We read a familiar passage regarding there being a time for everything, a time to weep,
a time to laugh, a time to mourn, and a time to dance.
In Romans 12, we read that we are to rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those
who weep.
Yet still, in 1 Thessalonians and not only there, we read that we are to rejoice always.
When was the last time you used the word rejoice?
It's not something that's in our common vocabulary, is it?
We sing it in hymns, we read it in the Bible, we usually hear it before, during, and perhaps
even after the Feast of Tabernacles, but it's not a word that's on our minds, and the concept
isn't that much either on a regular basis.
People in general, especially in the United States, and those in their teens and twenties,
are pretty celebration oriented though, aren't they?
And we see that especially during breaks.
Spring break, you might see on the news, what's happening in New Orleans, with university
out for the spring break, and what's happening with the celebrations taking place.
There are all kinds of reasons to celebrate, aren't there?
And some of them are fine, they're respectable, they're reasonable.
Some are created celebrations with no reason at all, and are based on celebrating to celebrate.
A.K.A. party.
Now I'm not putting her down at all, in fact, I actually like this about my sister, she's
not a wild one or anything, but they moved from New York City to Dallas, Texas last year.
And they were putting their house in order, they were getting different things, getting
settled in and adapting the environment to suit them.
And one day we went over there for lunch and she said, come on out, you've got to see
my furniture that I just bought, I just got some lawn furniture.
And I said, oh great, you know, I'm looking at it and she said, we're going to have to
celebrate this.
To me it's another reason to have a party.
Now she does it in a respectable way, she's not as wild as some think I am from time to
time, but anyway, she likes to do that, and it's a way of celebrating things, a way of
being happy.
So we do see that some celebrate just to celebrate for wrong reasons and in the wrong way.
Some celebrations are even based on things that thrill, which are also an abomination
in the eyes of God.
But we see that in the world around us, don't we?
Rejoicing, that somewhat uncommon word means to be full of joy and or to express joy, re-joy.
And people on their own can have different reasons to be joyful or to be happy, excited,
thrilled, overwhelmed.
Sometimes they are the right reasons and sometimes they're the wrong reasons in even celebrating
sin.
Throughout the Bible, and it is a fascinating study to see what God's word has to say about
this action, this feeling, the right sources, the wrong sources, the varying degrees or levels
of rejoicing.
It's a great study for you to look into more on your own, but we'll just touch on a few
of the points that clarify the instruction that we are given to rejoice always.
When we think about celebrating, we usually think about what people in general think.
These joys, as it were, are usually temporary and vanish, as we also read about in Ecclesiastes.
And I think we see some of this around us during this time of year, with Christmas.
We see all the excitement.
We see all the build-up, all the friendliness, all the niceness that people show, and we
keep thinking, okay, it's going to return to normal pretty soon.
Enjoy it while it lasts, and we see people who are thrilled and excited and then become
depressed and go through all kinds of things in their lives because it's over.
It's done.
And whatever they were rejoicing about is gone.
So the joy which we have as Christians is quite different in that it encompasses or
is to encompass our entire beings, our entire lives, once we are called and drawn to Jesus
Christ and God the Father and are given the understanding that exceeds the reality of
this world.
Let's take a look at the book that carries the name of the second shortest man in the
Bible.
Do any of you kids know who the second shortest man in the Bible is?
Nehemiah.
Nehemiah, let's turn to Nehemiah, chapter 8.
Now you know why he's the second shortest man in the Bible, right, Nehemiah?
Because he's taller than Bill Dad, the shoe height, Bill Dad the shoe height, yes.
Anyway, Nehemiah, chapter 8.
Here we read an excellent example of natural reaction replaced by godly reaction to certain
circumstances after instruction was given and then understanding provided.
This was a very emotional day for the people being taught from God's word and being brought
to understanding.
Nehemiah, chapter 8, beginning in verse 9, Nehemiah 8, verse 9, and Nehemiah, who was
the governor, Ezra, the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people, said
to all the people, this day is holy to the Lord your God.
We understand this was the feast of trumpets.
Do not mourn nor weep, for all the people wept when they heard the words of the law.
Wow, bummer of a day.
But they were instructed, do not mourn nor weep.
Why were they reacting so negatively to hearing the law?
Don't most people just kind of not care or it's like whatever?
I think some of us have had the opportunity to perhaps discuss certain things that is
a part of our life, a part of our faith, a part of our belief sometimes in small portions
like why are you always dressed up on Saturday and you leave your house for a few hours and
then come back, you know, what is that?
Well we keep the Sabbath.
Oh okay, great, have a nice day.
I mean the law to many is insignificant.
I do have to remember Dr. Ralph Levy, I really liked what he told me that he does around
this time of year when the opportunity presents himself.
He said just a couple weeks ago someone said, so are you doing anything really special for
Christmas this year?
And he said, oh, just the usual.
He didn't feel it necessary to instruct them and he was able to walk away without there
being any, okay, yeah, whatever, bye-bye, that some people can feel.
But here these people were given the law and they were shown that they were actually living
in sin, going against God.
They were shown why they were suffering the way that they were.
And this is being brought to repentance, which many of us have experienced, the feelings
of knowing what you've done wrong, where it was leading and why it must change.
And that's the key, the direction, the focus, the understanding is the will of God.
And so that's why they were given the instruction, do not mourn nor we.
They were, and that is not what God intended after they had gone past that point of understanding
of recognition and were to plod forward.
Verse 10, then he said to them, go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet and send portions
to those for whom nothing is prepared.
For this day is holy to our Lord.
Do not sorrow for the joy of the Lord is your strength.
For the joy of the Lord is your strength.
So the Levites quieted all the people.
They were still making noise, saying, be still for the day is holy.
Do not be grieved.
And all the people went their way.
And when I try to picture this, I don't think they just went, oh, okay, let's go.
No, they had just been going through a very emotional, physical, initial, natural reaction
that had them feeling very low.
And then they were instructed, no, you are to rejoice.
You've been brought to God's truth.
Now you know where you're to be going.
Now you're to know what you're to be doing and God wants you to rejoice.
And all the people went their way to eat and drink, to send portions and to rejoice greatly
because they understood the words that were declared to them.
They came to that point of turning.
They came to that point of the road ahead, being the way God wanted it with the blessings
that would come as well, and the troubles that they had brought upon themselves being
left behind.
When was the last time that you rejoiced celebrated because of the understanding that God has
given to you regarding his word, regarding his plan, his purpose for you.
As an individual.
For those that are around you right now, for all peoples according to his great plan.
How about regarding the world and whose world it is now and whose it will become that we
should have no doubt about.
Perhaps it's something we don't think about too often, but indeed we know that we are
living in an era of acceptance, a time where people respect each other's views, or at
least they say they do, even if they are in clear opposition to each other.
Does God respect different views or opinions regarding his word, his plan, his purpose,
his will, truth, his son, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, who he is as God the Father.
Perhaps some of you saw in a recent write up that was done by Eric Jones, who works
in our office on the Life Open Truth website, where he talked about the evolution of Christianity
and mentioned the following statistics.
Thirty-eight percent of American Christians that were polled say, Jesus definitely or
probably will never return to earth.
Thirty-eight percent of American Christians.
Thirty-three percent, now let me rephrase that, only thirty-three percent of the American
Christians polled believe that the Bible is the Word of God.
Sixty-five percent believe that there are multiple paths to eternal life.
Eighty percent believe that there is at least one non-Christian religion that could lead
to eternal life, including Judaism and Islam.
Remember what I said, American Christians, eighty percent of those polled have this thought.
How blessed we are to know the truth and to have been brought to it, to understand it,
and also to know others who will be brought to the truth, but are blinded now.
What a blessing that that is for you and for me.
The understanding that God has given to us is something that definitely has changed our
lives and should keep our lives having a different perspective than we ever could have any other
way and keeps us remembering the teaching that God has given to us and the understanding
as well.
Remember the way Jesus used parables and explained to his disciples when they asked him, why
are you saying all these parables?
He said, because I'm not giving them understanding.
When I say these things, I'm giving it to you.
And remember the fact, not the opinion, that no one can even come to Jesus Christ unless
God the Father draws him or her.
Certainly we should remember this awesome experience of understanding God's truth, of
being brought to repentance and brought to an amazing hope for ourselves and also for
the whole world, especially as we see the way this world is going and where it is heading.
So hear these people that we just read about, the people of God who had gone from his way
were being brought back to it.
They went from excitement to depression to godly rejoicing once they were brought to
the point of all things considered in God's great plan.
Now that's not at all normal, is it?
And it shows the involvement of God in their lives, similar to his involvement in our own.
We also see here that they did rejoice greatly.
And again, that was after they were totally bummed out.
They rejoiced greatly, which in itself shows us that there can be different levels of rejoicing,
different expressions, or feelings of joy, as we actually can see throughout the Scriptures,
and I'm sure are aware of ourselves.
But talking about Scriptures, I'd like to quote a passage from Psalm 119, I'll just
quote this to you, Psalm 119, verses 162 and 163.
We read, I rejoice at your word as one who finds great treasure.
I hate and abhor lying, but I love your law.
What a contrast there is.
There's a lot of meaning and there's understanding involved.
But when was the last time we have been rejoiced about having our Bibles?
The Word of God, having it at our fingertips 24-7.
When we know, when we think about history, how many millions never even had the Word
of God, and many millions, in fact, over a couple billion have never seen or even heard
of the Word of God, and yet we have it at our fingertips.
We have His Word to read and the understanding He gives to help us through our lives and through
our preparation for His coming Kingdom.
The Hebrew and Greek words that are found throughout the Bible do show that there are
different expressions of rejoicing and of joy as well if you're interested in studying
them more.
There can be slight rejoicing, just like, yes, yes.
There can also be great joy or overwhelming joy in contrast to that, like leaping for
joy, you've heard of that, or jump for joy.
There was one instructor at Ambassador College who many of you probably knew.
He used to always carry his pocket calendar and would always pull it out and write down
little acronyms of lessons that he had learned, and he was trying to teach us as students
to do the same thing.
Learn a lesson, jot something down that will bring it back to mind.
Now he used acronyms.
I don't know if he even remembered 50% of them after a few years, but anyway, when he
was trying to teach us this principle, this lesson, he would pull out his little notebook
and he'd go through and, well, here on September 4th, WJWRS, oh, that was a good lesson.
I can't tell you what it was, but it was a very good lesson.
And he also would mark days on his calendar, JFJ, JFJ stood for jump for joy.
When something would happen that was so exciting or so exhilarating or so inspiring to him,
he would write down JFJ.
And I think some of us, if not all of us, have experienced days like that at one time
or another in our life.
I remember the time, one of the times that that happened to me when I was 18 years old
and I had applied to Ambassador College, after a year before that, I told myself I would never
apply to Ambassador College.
You might say I had a bit of an attitude.
I was never going to apply.
And then I decided after some things that I went through, including just to give a brief
overview, spinal meningitis, heart failure, lung failure, kidney failure, a number of
things like that, I looked at life a little bit more seriously than I had, and I decided
I want to go to Ambassador College.
But I didn't send in an application, oops.
Now I don't believe it was a result of my not sending an application, but a month and
a half after I got out of the hospital, which I was in for 40 days and 40 nights, a month
and a half later, they discovered that I had a brain abscess.
In fact, I had three brain abscesses.
And now the first time I went in, I was to a point where they said I wasn't going to
live.
They told my parents to call the priest.
They said if he lives, he will be a vegetable the rest of his life.
And his mind, his brain will function at about the age of a five-year-old.
Fortunately, I got up to about 10, and that's why I'm able to speak with you today.
But anyway, the second time in, they said we may have to perform this surgery.
And it was brain surgery that I had to go through.
And I can use that as an excuse when people say he doesn't have it all upstairs.
But it was shortly after I got out of the hospital that I decided I think I'm going
to send in an application because I really want to go to Ambassador College.
And I sent it in.
I had no clue whether I would be accepted.
I went to my pastor, one Bible study, it was an in-home Bible study.
And I walked up to him before the Bible study and I said I'd like to talk to you because
I wondered if you would send in a recommendation for me to go to Ambassador College.
He said I need to talk to you about that after Bible study.
I have no clue what he talked about during Bible study because my brain was not there.
Sometimes I went up to him and he said do you really think you're ready?
Because after all the health issues you've had, I don't know if you really feel that
you will go and be able to make it there.
And I told him I will go and I will not quit.
There is no way I will quit.
I am going if I can go and I want to stick it out.
Well, I found out that the next morning he actually got a call from the college asking
why they had not yet sent in a recommendation and he gave them one verbally.
It was about a month or so later that I received a letter in the mail that said I had been
accepted to Ambassador College.
I was so excited, I looked like I was at about a five-year-old mentality because only one
of my sisters and I were at home and when I opened it up and read it, I screamed for
joy and I started jumping up and down all around the house doing somersaults on the
sofa, I mean just screaming.
It was a jumping for joy day and I'm sure all of us have had different experiences
that have just made us so excited from whatever led up to a certain circumstance that was
happy all the way or was not happy all the way and then became totally thrilling.
Jumping for joy.
Just look at an example that we see in Luke chapter 6 regarding a jumping for joy.
And this is one that emphasizes an aspect of rejoice always quite prominently.
Luke chapter 6 beginning in verse 20, Luke 6 20, then he, Jesus Christ, lifted up his
eyes toward his disciples and said, blessed or happy are you poor, for yours is the kingdom
of God.
Yes, that is happiness, isn't it?
Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be filled.
Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.
Blessed are you when men hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and cast out
your name as evil for the Son of Man's sake.
Rejoice in that day and leap for joy.
Yeah, right.
Huh?
Is that something that we keep in mind, say, okay, I'm just waiting for that to happen
and I am going to jump like nobody has seen jumping.
My smile is going to make my ears hurt.
It's going to be so big.
For indeed, your reward is great in heaven.
For in like manner, their fathers did to the prophets.
This was an instruction as we go through trials, as we go through all kinds of things.
Do we believe what God has promised us?
In Psalm 511 we read, but let all those who rejoice, who put their trust in you.
Let them ever shout for joy, because you defend them.
Let those also who love your name be joyful in you.
Again with God's help, with that thought, with that belief, with that inspiration that
only can come to us by God's intervention and help.
It is with our trust in God that whatever the circumstances, we can rejoice.
Now again, I mentioned the different levels of joy that are shown in Scripture and that
I think we have all experienced.
It doesn't mean that it's always jumping for joy, 24-7.
The alarm clock goes off, first day of school, yippee!
Or a difficulty that we're going through.
I'm to be jumping for joy.
No, that's not what it says.
It does say to rejoice always, but there can be different types of joy, different expressions,
including a simple expression of joy.
There can be a comforting joy, and that is that whenever we're going through grief that
we reflect on and remember God's plan and purpose, the work which He is doing in us,
in you and me, that He will complete unless we ourselves leave Him.
And we can have that comfort from time to time, not necessarily 24-7.
It is to be something that is there, such as with pray without ceasing, that we know
we're not supposed to be praying and never stop praying or we're in big trouble.
And in the rejoicing always, it is to be a frame of mind that we can pause and have a
type of rejoicing that we could not have without God, that without God where would we be?
But when we think about things, as I'm sure we do, and hopefully have the frame of mind
where when things are rough, we may think it could be better, but it could be worse.
And knowing that God is with us and that He will bring us through.
And He has an incredible plan and purpose for us that helps us to keep that frame of
mind of having that joy, whatever the mode of expression may be at the time.
But it's never a point in time where we say, I can find no joy at all as long as we keep
God in our minds and ask Him for the help that He does provide.
In the book of Philippians, this is quite an interesting letter from Paul to the members
that he was writing to.
Paul was in prison.
And it wasn't your modern-day prison.
He didn't have any hot showers, he didn't have a rec room, he didn't have a gym, a library,
no internet access, didn't have an opportunity to do that much at all.
In fact, he was in chains as he himself states.
And he also faced a possible death sentence.
Yet this letter is known to be of all that he wrote and placed in the Bible.
This letter is known to be his most joyful letter.
Say what?
Yes, his most joyful letter, Philippians chapter 1, beginning in verse 1.
John Timothy, bond servants of Jesus Christ to all the saints in Christ Jesus, who are
in Philippi with the bishops and deacons, grace to you and peace from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ.
I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine making requests
for you, all with joy.
For your fellowship in the Gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this
very thing, that he who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus
Christ.
Isn't that amazing?
What an incredible example.
And I'm sure he was doing what all of us do when we're going through difficulty, especially
great difficulty praying for others.
That's the first thing we do.
Filled with joy, rejoicing in the calling of others to his truth.
Strong man, filled with the Spirit of God, an example to us and one that can help us
to think, I need to be more like that.
I need to know that God has given me an amazing calling, and not only to me, but for others
that may be going through more difficulty than I, that I don't realize or understand.
And they're probably praying for me.
I need to be praying for them.
I need to be thinking of them, remembering their calling and how exciting it is to know
God's plan.
What's going to happen in the next few years?
If we initially think about what's going to happen in this world in the next few years,
I don't think we think about that with joy, unless we think about what is going to happen
in the fulfillment of prophecy, of God's plan and purpose, and what is going to be the final
straw.
When is it going to be that Jesus Christ is going to return and all shall see him, and
all shall see him coming in great glory, and he's coming for you and he's coming for me.
And he has started to work in us, as Paul was writing to the Philippians, and he's going
to complete it.
That's his plan.
Stick with it.
How did the end of the road?
God has us in his mind, in his heart, and that is his wonderful plan for us.
We see in this letter, throughout the letter, we see several examples of Paul not only rejoicing
but also prodding the members to rejoice with him.
And that's what we see.
Here he was encouraging them to keep in mind, to remember, and understand that God was working
in them.
God began to work in them that would continue.
Do we believe?
Do we believe in our calling?
Some of you may remember the old movie.
I actually watched it a few months ago.
I have been trying to show my daughter, who is 15 now, some of the old classic movies that
she's heard me reference but has never seen.
So one that I had her watch was the old movie from the 1960s.
I think it was the early 60s, The Time Machine.
Anyone remember that?
And here he decided to go forward, backward, and then really forward and expected to find
an amazing world and thought it would be such a peaceful environment, but he wasn't sure.
And when he got there, it seemed perfect until reality set in.
And he saw that, no, this is not a good thing.
And he even came to the, well, I don't want to ruin the movie for you if you haven't seen
it yet.
But there was a big lesson that he learned, and that was that the past cannot be changed,
but the future can be.
When we were called, when God brought us to understanding, the past could not be changed,
but the future could be.
When we come before God in prayer, asking Him for His forgiveness, asking Him for His
strength, asking Him for His help, the past cannot be changed, but the future can be.
And that is what God's plan is, as He does forgive us, as He does strengthen us, as He
does love us.
And as we read His Word, as we study His Word, we know that there is light at the end of
the tunnel, and it's not another train coming in the opposite direction.
We must have the confidence, the trust, the hope, the understanding, the assurance, and
the belief.
And sometimes this can only come through prayer.
Sometimes you might say, we have to close our eyes to see the light.
In doing so, we can rejoice always.
Romans chapter 8.
This is one of the scriptures that I believe many quote as their favorite scripture.
But when I hear it quoted, not in the church, but elsewhere, I often don't hear the entire
scripture quoted, just the first part of it.
The second part is very important.
Romans chapter 8, beginning in verse 28.
And we know that all things work together for good, and it doesn't stop there, does it?
To those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
Verse 29.
For whom He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, the
work that He is doing in us now, that He might be the firstborn of many brethren.
Moreover, whom He predestined, those He also called, whom He called these He also justified,
and whom He justified these He also glorified.
Verse 31, what then shall we say to these things?
If God is for us, who can be against us?
Do we believe?
As we believe, that is where we have the confidence and the trust in God, not in ourselves, but
in God.
And that brings us to the point of always having the element, whatever that element might be
of joy in whatever we are going through, that we know God is going to pull us through.
That is His plan.
In Galatians 5, of course, we read that joy is a fruit of the Spirit.
It is one of the elements that is not considered to be a fruit for every once in a while.
You know, the fruit of the Spirit, it's not, well, love is a fruit of the Spirit on Thursday
afternoons if you've had a really good week.
Joy is on the Sabbath if you slept well and have a really nice breakfast.
No, these are the fruits that are to be always there, always growing, always developing with
God in us as we strive for them, as we seek them and ask Him to fill us with them, to
help us with them, and to help us grow in them.
Again, sometimes the joy may be a comforting joy, sometimes a peaceful joy, sometimes maybe
not always an overwhelming joy.
But that overwhelming joy has to be within us because of what God's plan is for us.
Let's turn to 1 Peter now.
1 Peter 1, and here we read something that does have a lot in it regarding this very
subject and regarding what is the food for this subject or what is producing this subject,
what is to be in our minds, what we are to reflect on, what we are to remember, what we
are to pray for, what we are to be asking for guidance in, in whatever we are doing,
whatever we are going through.
1 Peter chapter 1 beginning in verse 3, 1 Peter 1 verse 3, blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to
a living hope.
You know, a lot of people in this world have hopes that, again, are temporary and they're
gone, they die.
We have a living hope.
Through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead to an inheritance incorruptible,
it can't be destroyed and undefiled, and it does not fade away, reserved in heaven for
you.
Verse 5, who are kept by the power of God, as we need to ask for that, don't we?
Through faith for salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time, up ahead, the end of the
story.
Verse 6, in this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have
been grieved by various trials, if need be, okay, I guess need be, and we all go through
different things like that, don't we?
We've been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much
more precious than gold, the parishes, though it is tested by fire, what are we here about
in the sermon at?
Now, you know why I said they did tie in?
Maybe found a praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having
not seen you love, though now you do not see him yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible
and full of glory, verse 9, receiving the end of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
The incredible plan, this is an encouraging passage of Scripture that I like to read when
I need encouragement, because this again is a confirmation that God has called us, and
Jesus Christ went through the amazing suffering he did on my behalf, on your behalf.
And he has great joy as he sees us grow, develop, mature to become a part of his eternal family,
which he is going to keep working with us on unless we abandon it, unless we give up
this hope that he has given to us, that we need to keep on going.
We need to always keep these things in mind, and we know that we must pray and study to
keep them in mind.
We must be always able to step back from circumstances, remember how awesome God's calling is, how
wonderful it is to have the understanding that he has given to us and continues to help
us develop in.
Though we are given through the Holy Spirit that God is working in us, that he will never
leave us, and that all things are going to work out beyond our imagination.
That's what our lives are all about.
That's what we are made of, or are to be made of, and stronger and stronger in that, more
and more as time goes on.
Philippians 4, let's go back to this book, that again showed Paul in prison in chains,
possibly facing death, and yet he was exhorting the brethren and exhorting us, and encouraging
us, remember the end of the story, remember whose plan it is, your father, your elder
brother, Jesus Christ, who consider you a precious part of their family.
Philippians 4, Paul wrote, Rejoice in the Lord always, and he wrote again.
I will say, Rejoice.
