A thought from worship encounters at Emmanuel.
Celebrate God all day every day. I mean revel in Him. Make it as clear as you can to all you meet that you’re on their side, working with them and not against them. Help them see that the Master is about to arrive. He could show up at any minute. -- Phil 4.4 (MSG)
Joy is much less about circumstance and much more about a person. There is a far deeper faith than mere circumstance! As long as you and I live by circumstance, then our joy and our faith are absolutely contingent upon how we interpret events and circumstances around us. I am not sure that God ever intended for us to experience joy based upon a circumstance. An incredibly provocative thought from this weekend was that Jesus sent out a dozen men into the earth to give their lives for the advance of the Kingdom of God. He did not guarantee them safety.... He did not promise them 'good' lives. In fact, He promised that they would be scorned, beaten, and perhaps even give their lives for the Kingdom. GO ANYWAY! 11 of 12 were martyred for the faith! Jesus said, if there is any mystery at all about the trouble you will face, let me make it clear. You will find trouble in this earth! But, take heart, I have overcome this whole deal. Fix your eyes on Jesus and set your hearts on eternity.
The foundation of joy. The foundation of who we are in Christ. The foundation of this journey called the church and the capacity to stand firm is based upon a person and not a circumstance. At the center of everything someone died and someone was raised from the dead! We have to direct our lives away from a current situation and fasten our lives, focus, and passion upon Jesus Christ.
The idea that we want a formula.... a simple little seven step program to our best life today...… Give me 4 steps to faith. The problem with formula is that it never satisfies. I am always let down when the formula just doesn't work. But, answer this… how do I fall in love? Far more ethereal.. far more impassioned… far more stable……far more crazy.... far more founded…. Paul is not inviting you into joy based upon a few principles… I am inviting you to know a person… to fall in love with a person! Paul is asking us to rejoice in the Lord! He is telling us that our ability to live with joy is in Christ alone. He invites us to a person and not a circumstance.
The book of Hebrews was written to a group of Christ followers who were being pressured by their community and difficult circumstances to abandon their faith…. For the first three chapters, the writer challenged them to believe on the basis of their identity in Christ. He presents a mountain of evidence pointing toward the conclusion that Christ is God….. We can have joy… we can stand firm because Jesus walked this earth…. Claimed to be God…. Gave evidence supporting His claim…. Died for our sin… rose from the dead…. And went back to heaven in clear view of hundreds of witnesses….. He concluded that thought by writing. Therefore, since we have a high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jeuss the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess!
Our joy… our foundation rests upon Christ. Hebrews says, Faith is being assured of this identity in Christ… and being convinced of what we can’t see at times… In Hebrews 11, he gives dozens of illustrations of people who showed joy…. Radical faith… Their lives were grounded in their identity in Christ! Noah spent 140 years building an ark… it hadn’t ever rained…. Abe left His home and ventured to destination unknown…. Gideon charged an enemy camp with a few hundred guys because God…. Moses went back to Egypt and stuttered His way through… Joshua walked around walls seven times…. Crazy strategy but God!
There was this confidence that Jesus is who He says He is and He will do what He says He will do. Paul invites us to determine our lives and our joy based upon the character and person of Jesus Christ living in us. Can you imagine the trajectory of our lives if we woke up every day and believed that God is with us? That He longs to live through us? We could be a bunch of Used to be’s who are turned on to radical things in Christ…. Who are turned on to a radical person named Christ…… That’s how Paul writes something crazy like this! Rejoice in the Lord always... Yeah, let me say it again... REJOICE!
Feel free to add to the commentary by clicking on comments Enjoy today, for the Lord God is with you!
Mark
1 comment:
The problem though, is remembering that God has you where He wants you for a reason. To remember that God is with you when you are lonely, when you are sad, when you are hurting, when nothing is working out for you. Remembering that when you're wondering why God isn't providing the simple things in life like a job or a spouse. Remembering that when you're ready to give up. Remembering that when you're wondering where God is in your life - even when it feels like maybe He's with everyone else but has forgotten about you.
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