Joy: Philippians 4:4-7

Today is the third Sunday of Advent, and the theme for this week is Joy. Joy is one of the key characteristics of every Christian- or at least it should be! We see all throughout the Bible clear instructions for believers to be joyful and rejoice. In the CSB translation, there are 236 verses that contain the word joy or joyful. If you add in the synonyms of joy, like gladness, cheerfulness, rejoicing, and happiness, then there are hundreds more.

The text I want to look at today is Philippians 4:4-7 (CSB), but before we dive into it, let’s look at some key moments within the Christmas story to see how joy is a major theme of Christmas.

The first example is seen even before Jesus is born. In Luke 1:43-44, we see Elizabeth say to Mary, the mother of Jesus, “How could this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For you see, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped for joy inside me.” The baby inside of Elizabeth, who we know is John the Baptist, rejoiced by leaping for joy when Elizabeth came near baby Jesus, who was growing inside Mary’s womb. Even before his birth, Jesus was causing joy to spring up!

Another example is seen in the shepherds who were out in the fields. An angel appeared to them and told them the message of good news and great joy. After recovering from the shock, they went and found the baby Jesus, and as Luke 2:20 tells us, “The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had seen and heard, which were just as they had been told.” They saw Jesus and it filled them with joy!

Yet another example is seen in the wise men. They followed a star to find the baby Jesus, and as Matthew 3:10 says, “When they saw the star, they were overwhelmed with joy” for it led them to the promised Messiah, and so they worshiped Him, full of joy.

We, too, are filled with joy when we meet the Lord. At our conversion, we are filled with joy at our forgiveness and hope of salvation. Joy is an indicator of whether someone is a Christian, because it is also a fruit of the Spirit, so if we have been born again, then the Holy Spirit will grow joy in our hearts.

Let’s read what Paul wrote about joy, - though he doesn’t use that exact word- in Philippians 4:4-7. It says, “4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your graciousness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. 6 Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”

Looking at this passage again, let’s start with verse 4. It says, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” This is a clear directive. We are being told that we are to rejoice always. That means that in all circumstances, we are to rejoice. In all places, we are to rejoice. At all times, we are to rejoice. Paul says it and repeats it: rejoice!

This word, according to Strong’s Lexicon, is chairó (khah’-ee-ro), and it means, “Rejoice, be glad, be joyful.”

Is it possible to always rejoice and be joyful? There is a lot of trouble and sorrow in the world. Are we meant to rejoice and be joyful, even when things are difficult? According to this verse, yes. And actually, I think that is when it’s most important to rejoice.

Just as the world’s definition of peace is different than God’s definition of peace, so, too, is joy. Worldly joy is temporary and superficial, based on circumstances. Something good or fun happens, and people have temporary happiness. Joy, as a fruit of the Spirit, is lasting. It’s not superficial, it’s deep and bottomless.

That means that even when things are going wrong, we can still rejoice and be full of joy. In fact, that’s when it’s really important that we rejoice and have joy. The key thing to note is what theologian Charles John Ellicott so perfectly says about this verse in his commentary. He says, “It is, of course, a ‘joy in the Lord:’ for only in the Lord is joy possible to any thoughtful mind or feeling heart in such a world as this.”

If our joy is found in the Lord, then it is possible to rejoice always. No matter what is happening to us or around us, for the believer whose heart is rooted in the Lord, we always have reason to rejoice and have joy.

Verse 5 tells us why this is true. It says, “Let your graciousness be known to everyone. The Lord is near.” Graciousness is a complex word that has largely been lost in modern language. It means kindness, courteousness, or benevolence. Wrapped up in that word are all the qualities those other words mean, too. Things like patience, gentleness, self-control; really all the fruit of the Spirit. Joy and graciousness work together because, if you are joyful, you are more likely to be gracious. Have you ever tried to be gracious when you are grumpy? I think it’s impossible to be gracious if you are in a bad mood. Whereas if you are joyful, then it’s a lot easier to be patient, kind, courteous, giving, and unselfish.

Of all people, we Christians should be the most gracious. This is only possible if we are filled with joy. And this is a lot easier to do if we keep something first and foremost in our minds. Do you remember what Paul said? He said, “The Lord is near.” That is why it’s important that we should always have joy.

The Lord is near. This phrase has several meanings. First, we can always rejoice and be filled with joy because the Lord is nearby to us. He is present with us. This is why our joy is not based on circumstances. If we have met the Lord, then He is near. He is always with us.

Second, no matter what, we can rejoice that our sins are forgiven, and our names are written in the book of life, as Luke 10:20 records Jesus saying to the 72 when they returned from traveling to towns that Jesus would be visiting soon. He said, “However, don’t rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” We always have cause to rejoice and be filled with joy because our names are written in heaven, and God is with us.

Psalm 32:1-2 also gives this as the reason to always rejoice. It says, “How joyful is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered! How joyful is a person whom the Lord does not charge with iniquity and in whose spirit is no deceit!” Our forgiveness is a cause for constant joy and rejoicing.

For some of us, though, the joy of our salvation has faded. Even King David, who wrote Psalm 32, admitted this happened to him. In Psalm 51:12, he pleads with God and prays, “Restore the joy of your salvation to me, and sustain me by giving me a willing spirit.” David had lost his joy. For him, he needed to repent of what caused him to lose his joy. In that instance, he had sinned and disobeyed God. Some of us might need to reclaim the joy of our salvation by repenting and asking God to restore us to a right relationship with Him. Let me encourage you, don’t delay. If you confess your sins, He is faithful and just to forgive you, cleanse you, and restore to you the joy of salvation, just as 1 John 1:9 promises us. If that is you, draw near to God and He will draw near to you, as James 4:8 says.

In addition to all that, the other way we can look at this phrase, “the Lord is near,” is that we should rejoice and be filled with joy because the Lord is soon to return. He is near in His return; the Lord is at hand and soon will arrive.

Someone told me recently that their pastor said he doesn’t like to preach about the second coming of Christ at Christmas time because it’s too scary for people. I am baffled by that idea. I think Christmas time is a perfect time to mention Christ’s return, because just as the people were waiting for the Messiah to be born, so too are we waiting for the Messiah to return. For the believer, we should be filled with hope and joy at the thought of seeing our Savior. And if it’s scary, then we need to figure out why. For non-believers, perhaps the fear will cause them to cry out to the Lord and repent and be saved. Whatever might move someone to repentance is a good thing! If believers are afraid of Christ’s return because their loved ones do not know Jesus, then let us use that to motivate us to action. Let us not delay any longer in telling them. If our fear is because we doubt our own salvation, then let us examine our hearts. Let me ask you these questions: have you repented of your sin? Have you asked Jesus to forgive you? Are you following Him? Scripture says in Hebrews 3:15, “As it is said: ‘Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.’” It is not too late!  

The Lord is near; He is always with us. He is near to us as we draw near to Him. And He is near in His return. That is why we may always rejoice and always have joy. And that is why the text tells that we don’t need to let anything rob us of this ever-present joy.

But Paul mentions next, the number one thing that threatens to do just that. He says in verse 6, “Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”

I don’t know about you, but the number one thing that robs me of joy is worry. When I am worried about something, it’s a lot harder to rejoice and be joyful. Worry takes away peace, too. Instead of trusting in the Lord, worry fills us with doubt. As George Mueller said, “The beginning of anxiety is the end of faith, and the beginning of true faith is the end of anxiety.” Rather than worrying, we must give our worry to the Lord, and exercise faith by asking Him to help us. Even in the middle of trouble, we can hold on to joy if we “present our requests to God,” knowing the Lord will help us.

But even if it seems like our prayers and requests we presented to God were not answered, even if everything doesn’t work out the way we hoped, even if everything falls apart, even then we should still rejoice. Look at what Habakkuk 3:17-18 says: “Though the fig tree does not bud and there is no fruit on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though the flocks disappear from the pen and there are no herds in the stalls, yet I will celebrate in the Lord; I will rejoice in the God of my salvation!”

If we rejoice in the Lord even when all seems lost, then we will still have joy and we will have peace. Look at what verse 7 says: “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” If we don’t give in to worry, and we give our troubles to the Lord, then He will fill us with peace. He will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Barnes’ Notes on the Bible says, “The word rendered here ‘shall keep,’ is a military term, and means that the mind would be guarded as a camp or castle is. It would be preserved from the intrusion of anxious fears and alarms.”

Anxious or intrusive thoughts threaten all of us every day. This verse is telling us that there is a way to combat them: our minds are kept guarded “in Christ Jesus.” I want to point out that it’s not faith in God in general, but faith in Christ Jesus, which keeps a guard around our minds. I think Paul is wanting to clarify that this peace which guards our hearts and minds is only found in faith in Jesus. I think this is as important to note today as it was for Paul then, because other religions, and certainly the field of psychology, try to give people the answer to peace and happiness, but at the end of the day, all their ideas will fail. Lasting peace and joy can only be found in Christ Jesus.   

Psychology would have us examine our past and assess our personalities and effectively place each of us in boxes, giving us excuses and reasons to not have joy. This is short-sighted. It may offer us some explanations for our struggles, but it should not define who we are in Christ. It is no excuse for a believer to not “rejoice in the Lord always.” As MacLaren writes in his commentary on this verse, “Temperament has a great deal to do with joy; and circumstances have a great deal to do with it; but is not the mission of the Gospel to make us masters of temperament, and independent of circumstances?”

He is right- this is this mission of the Gospel. When a person is converted and gives his or her life to Jesus, Jesus molds us and reshapes us. His goal is to transform us into reflections of His character. Our past, present, or future circumstances must not stand in the way of this transformation. Our personalities can hold no excuse for us to not “rejoice in the Lord always.” For it is not a matter of outwardly jumping around. Joy in the Lord is expressed in our consistent gracious attitude and behavior to other people.

Why do so many believers find this difficult to do? Part of it has to do with something that Everett said in his sermon. He said that peace follows obedience. Well, so, too, does joy. Joy follows obedience. If we disobey God, we are going to lose our joy. But if we obey the Lord and follow His ways, then we will be filled with joy. As we saw with David’s example, our disobedience robs us of joy.

Sometimes, though, this joy seems elusive to us even when we are obeying the Lord, because sometimes, when we follow the Lord, the immediate result is sorrow. Sometimes obeying God means that relationships end, difficult decisions are made, or old habits are broken. In those instances, the joy that follows is not immediate. But eventually, joy will arrive. After the sorrow, joy will appear. Just like Psalm 30:5 says, “Weeping may stay overnight, but there is joy in the morning.”

The other part of the difficulty is something MacLaren addresses so succinctly in his commentary. He wrote this: “To rule myself because Christ rules me is no small part of the secret of blessedness. And they who thus dwell in Christ have the purest joy, the joy of self-forgetfulness. He that is absorbed in a great cause; he whose pitiful, personal individuality has passed out of his sight; he who is swallowed up by devotion to another, by aspiration after ‘something afar from the sphere of our sorrow,’ has found the secret of gladness. And the man who thus can say, ‘I live: yet not I, but Christ liveth in me,’ this is the man who will ever rejoice.”

That is the formula, or the “secret of gladness” as he said. The key to constant joy is keeping near to Jesus. If we can stop being absorbed in our “pitiful, personal individuality,” and instead, keep near to Jesus, then we find the ability to do as MacLaren says: then we can be the person “who will ever rejoice.” When we look to Jesus, we take our eyes off ourselves. MacLaren called it the “joy of self-forgetfulness.” I love that term. Let us forget ourselves. The past is over. It’s done and gone, if we will let it be forgotten. We don’t need to focus on ourselves. Even our forgiven sins have been erased. Psalm 103:12 says, “As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” Let us focus on Christ and be devoted to Him and to others. If we don’t do this, and instead we live focused on ourselves, then worry and sin will rob us of joy. But if we repent and turn to Jesus, He will fill us with joy again.

It seems to me that Christmas acts as a kind of testing ground, doesn’t it? For many of us, it’s a clear indicator of whether we truly have the joy of the Lord in our hearts. For a lot of people, Christmas time is full of sadness. Some of us miss our loved ones who have passed away. Some of us are dwelling on memories of past hurts. Some of us feel deep loneliness that is amplified by all the Christmas activities going on around us. Rather than allowing those things to cause us to lose our joy, let us choose to push past the sorrow and rejoice. If we don’t feel joy, we should ask ourselves: Am I focused on the past or on myself or what I want for myself? Or am I looking at Jesus, fixing my eyes on Him? If we draw near to Jesus, we cannot help but be filled with joy at all He has done.

Remember, this ‘drawing near’ to Jesus is the key. For when we are near to Jesus, then we will have joy. Even in the midst of sorrow, we can have joy if we are staying near to Jesus. In fact, it is in our sorrow that Jesus draws even nearer to us. Psalm 34:18 tells us, “The Lord is near the brokenhearted; he saves those crushed in spirit.”

The Lord is near. At Christmas we see exactly how near He is. Matthew 1:23 says, “See, the virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they will name him Immanuel, which is translated ‘God is with us.’”  

This Advent season, as we are quickly approaching Christmas Day, let us allow the Holy Spirit to draw us closer to Jesus. Let us lay down our hurts and sorrow. Let us ask Jesus to heal us and set us free from our past sorrows. Let us take our eyes off ourselves and our desires, and instead fix our eyes on Jesus. Let us find the joy of “self-forgetfulness” and be gracious and loving to one another. If we do this, we will be filled with joy, for He is near. He is Immanuel, the God who came near to us to save us.

Pray: Heavenly Father, thank You for sending Jesus to us. Thank You that You are not a god who is far away or distant. Thank You that You are Immanuel, the God who is near to us. Please help us take our eyes off ourselves and instead focus them on You. Show us all the people around us whom You want us to be gracious to. Please mold us, by Your Holy Spirit, into better reflections of Your love and kindness. This Christmas season, may we be good witnesses to the world of the hope, peace and joy You offer to all who would follow You. We love You and praise Your holy name, amen.