Rejoice Always, Part 2

Introduction and Review of 'Rejoice Always'

0:05 Good morning to our studies in 1 Thessalonians, after a digression, I believe, of some three weeks.

0:14 I might mention I've been grateful for the feedback of the ministries which you were privileged to have in my absence.

0:23 For Mr. Lyon, Mr. Clark, we're grateful that you were fed with solid substance from the Word of God. Now, we come again to 1 Thessalonians, chapter 5, and our study this morning will focus particularly upon verse 16.

0:43 I remind you of the general setting of this particular text of Scripture. These last two chapters of 1 Thessalonians deal with the subject so clearly announced in the first couple of verses of chapter 4, namely, how the believer is to walk so as...

1:01 The apostle has dealt with several specific areas in some detail, and then, as though he were running out of time, or papyrus, or some ink for his quill, beginning with verse 12 through to verse 22, he groups together a number of brief exhortations and directives for Christians, some, more particularly individual exhortations, others, more for the corporate life of the Church. They're very brief, most of them, and because of their brevity, we tend to just slide over them and take very lightly the instruction and exhortation which they convey to us. Perhaps this is no more true than of this trilogy, this little triad, these three commands that come to us, beginning with verse 16. Rejoice! Always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus, to you work.

2:13 Rejoice evermore, the King James says, better translated as the ASV has it, rejoice always. Simple text, even the youngest child can take away the whole text of the morning. Rejoice always, two words, shortest verse in the Bible, and yet as we began to consider it a few weeks ago, we see that the brevity and simplicity of the words is deceptive, for the duty is no simple thing, either to understand it, much less to perform it. In our previous study, we tried to do two things.

2:49 Number one, define what joy is. If God says rejoice always, we better know what joy is. What is it to rejoice? And then second, finally, how to perform the duty.

3:04 The definition of joy which I gave you, and it was not original with me, is this. Joy is an affection of the soul which springs from the anticipation or possession of some suitable good. As you hold up the bone to the dog, his tail wags. He has joy, he anticipates some good.

3:28 And in anticipation of the good, he's happy. In that sense, joy is common even to the animals. As the child looks at the calendar, school is done June 22nd, and he notices that it's June 17th, he says, one more week of school. In anticipation of the end of the school year, he has joy.

3:51 Throw the bone to the dog, and he yaks for joy. The last day of school, and the kids come running out into the playground singing that famous little ditty that we sang, years ago, you know all about it, no more teachers, dirty looks, no more pencils, books, etc. In the anticipation of some good, joy. In the actual possession of good, joy.

4:16 But now when the apostle says rejoice always, he's speaking of a joy that is not natural or animal, but a joy that is spiritual. A joy that is the affection of the soul, rooted in the possession of, or the anticipation, anticipation of, spiritual good.

4:39 The child of God is to rejoice on the basis of what he now possesses of spiritual good, and that which God has pledged to him in the covenant of grace as his future inheritance. Therefore, this kind of joy is called one of the fruit of the Spirit. It is one of the marks of the operation of the power of the kingdom, the kingdom of God, Romans 14. The kingdom of God is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.

5:13 And so when we're commanded to rejoice always, we are commanded to exhibit, as the general tenor of our lives, that delightful affection of the soul, rooted in the possession and anticipation of spiritual blessings. Then we just spend a little time, seeking to answer the question, how do you perform it? And I gave you two principles. Number one, you must continually inform your mind with the facts of what is your suitable good now, and what your good shall be in the world to come.

5:53 The child of God, who is bereft of loved ones, of his health, of possessions, how can he rejoice? Well, if he informs his mind, what do I have? I don't have my loved ones, I don't have wealth, I don't have ease, but I have forgiveness of sins. I have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

6:13 I have an acceptable standing before God in Jesus Christ. All these present possessions can cause him to rejoice in the midst of the most adverse circumstances. Then, if that's not enough, when he realizes that everything he has now is but a pittance compared to what he's going to have, that'll just blast him into orbit.

6:34 Joy unspeakable, and full of glory. So that the Christian is a mystery to the world, for the source of his joy is not temporal or earthly. Circumstances can't take it away from him. Enemies can't rob him of it.

6:48 And so he is commanded to rejoice always for the simple reason that the things that are the cause of his rejoicing never change, no matter how much circumstances change. But if he doesn't inform his mind with those facts, he'll lose his joy when his circumstances, his altar. So the first thing in performing the duty is informing the mind with the facts, and then secondly, exercising faith with respect to those facts. The word preach did not profit, it says in Hebrews, not being mixed with faith.

7:21 And so the child of God with this great legacy of spiritual blessings can be found in the doldrums of doubt and despair. Why? Because he's not believing. And the scripture says in Isaiah, if you will not believe, ye will not be established.

7:37 The God of peace fill you with all joy and peace in believing, we read in the book of Romans. So the conclusion we came to is that God's children should make conscience of rejoicing in God at all times and in all circumstances. So much for our review.

Qualifying the Command: The Need for Balance

7:57 This, however, is not the final word on the subject. And since we have the completed revelation of Holy Scripture, we must consider, some aspects of this truth which qualify and balance this duty. Now, why do I do this? Not because I'm reluctant to go on to verse 17, but because to bind the conscience of a Christian beyond that which God has bound it is a terrible thing for any teacher of the word to do.

8:27 When I say to you, in the name of Christ and the authority of his word, that you are to rejoice always and stop always, only as far as we've gone, I have bound the conscience of some of you serious saints who really want to take this to heart,

8:46 that you'll feel there's never any justification for anything but joy. That would be a wrong understanding of the text. And so I don't want to bind your conscience beyond that which the word of God binds it. Here are some of the questions.

9:01 Should a child of God be convicted of not rejoicing? If he's lost, his loved ones? If someone has to stand by and because of his commitment to the gospel of Christ, see all of his possessions taken away, his loved ones abused physically in his own presence? Is he to click his heels?

9:24 Or is there some ground for legitimate grief in those circumstances?

9:31 What should a child of God do if there are great problems in the church, either the church local or as he looks at the church in its broader perspective, and sees apostasy, sees unbelief, sees the professing followers of Christ more influenced by the world? Is he to act as though all is glorious and have joy all the time? Or is there a legitimate place for the sob of a broken heart? These are serious questions and an earnest Christian confronts those questions.

10:02 And I'd say if you've not wrestled with this, it's either because you're not a child of God or you're a child of God and just half awake to what's going on around you. Here's the command. Rejoice always. And yet here are circumstances that seem to make it psychologically impossible to rejoice when the heart is heavy with legitimate concerns.

10:26 What do we do? Well, I believe a broader view of Scripture will lead to this conclusion that though joy should be the dominant characteristic of the people of God, this joy may be legitimately interrupted for a time, or may coexist with natural sorrow. Now just don't pass that off as so much preacher's talk. It took me a long time to say it that way, so I want to give it to you again.

10:54 The teaching of Scripture is rejoice always. That is, the dominant characteristic of the people of God is to be joy. But the Scripture also teaches that this joy may be legitimately interrupted at its deepest level, or it may coexist with natural grief. So you have the coexistence of natural grief on a substructure of deep spiritual joy, other times when there is a deep substructure of spiritual grief that will interrupt our joy, and legitimately so.

Legitimate Grief of Adversity

11:31 What are those circumstances? I would suggest there are at least three. Number one, there is the grief and sorrow of adversity. Secondly, the grief or sorrow of sympathy.

11:46 And thirdly, the grief or sorrow of true repentance. Adversity, sympathy, and repentance. For the first, we have a very clear illustration in 1 Peter 1, verses 3 to 6.

12:09 I might add, the way I came to this conviction was just to take my concordance that has all the uses of the word grief listed, my Englishman's Greek concordance, and see, what the Bible said about grief. And lo and behold, it said some things that would cause us to interpret 1 Thessalonians 5.16 with a little more latitude than some would perhaps allow. Notice, here we have one of those coexistence passages.

12:41 1 Peter 1.3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy begat us again unto a living hope, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, unto an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, who by the power of God are guarded through faith unto a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. Now notice verse 6. Wherein ye greatly rejoice.

13:19 Now he says the people of God are greatly rejoicing. Why? Two things. Present possession, you've been begotten again unto a living hope.

13:27 Future possession, an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and in the light of those two things, your present and future possessions, you rejoice. But notice the next phrase.

13:40 Though now for a little while if need be, King James says, ye are in heaviness, a better translation as the ASV has it, ye have been put to grief in manifold trials. Well, are they grieving or are they rejoicing?

13:58 You greatly rejoice for a time you're in grief. Well, I ask you, are they grieving or are they rejoicing?

14:07 They're doing both. They're doing both.

14:12 They are grieving and they are rejoicing. And what is causing grief? What Peter calls manifold trials or temptations. And if you read through the book, you glean an idea of what those trials were.

14:29 Some were what we would call the inward trials of the saint of God. He doesn't see his Lord. He longs to see him. And the sense of an unseen Christ causes at times grief.

14:42 Oh, that I might see him. For if I see him, perhaps I'll love him more purely and more fervently. There's the problem of opposition. He says later on in the book, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial that is to try you.

14:58 They are experiencing suffering for the cause of Christ, abuse of their persons, probably some spoiling of their goods. And in this realm of these oppositions that come for the sake of Christ, Peter says there is genuine grief. If you have a loved one that cuts you off because you're a Christian, I don't believe God wants you when they do that. Perhaps they write a letter and say, look, we don't want to see you anymore until you give up this religion bit.

15:30 I don't believe God wants us to pick up the letter and dance a jig around the room.

15:38 There is grief over the severance that comes for the cause of Christ. A man who fails to get an advancement in a job to which he is legitimately entitled, but because he's a Christian and those over him know that they can't tolerate his Christian ethics in the higher echelon of the business circle and he's bypassed and he knows that it means he can't provide for his family as he ought. Does that cause grief? Sure it causes grief.

16:05 It causes heaviness.

16:08 And that heaviness is a legitimate heaviness. Ah, but listen. It's not the heaviness of the world that sinks down into the substructure and makes a man bitter and disillusioned and cynical.

16:22 It only feeds his true Christian joy for he says, Lord, it won't always be this way. So through the tears of his grief he rejoices he rejoices. That a time is coming when he'll be gathered home with all the people of God and there'll be no more rub of the reproach of Christ. There'll be the new heavens and the new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness where there'll be no more double standard of ethics.

16:51 One for the employer and one for the employee. In the midst of his grief which is genuine on this level of his human relationships there is this deep joy of the Holy Spirit and the Holy Ghost that the time is coming when things will be different. And so there is a legitimate grief and sorrow of adversity.

17:17 But as I've mentioned that grief can only feed his true Christian joy. He doesn't despair. He doesn't cast off his faith. You find this mentioned in the earlier part of this epistle.

17:30 We dealt with this at some length. Paul writes and says I would not have you ignorant concerned concerning those that are asleep that ye sorrow not as those who have no hope. He doesn't say I write this that ye sorrow not period. It would be inhuman for us not to sorrow at the death of our loved ones.

17:50 The gospel doesn't make us inhuman.

17:55 The whole idea you see that somehow the gospel sets us above these human relations. No, no. It just puts them in their right perspective.

18:06 A man who's loved his wife as Christ loved him and loved the church can he have her suddenly snatched away by death and not experience grief? He'd be less than human if he had no grief. Ah, but his grief is not as the world's grief. And through his tears as he lays that loved one away his true joy is even enlarged for he knows that the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout with the voice of the archangel and the trump of God.

18:40 And there through his bitter tears that cause his eyes to sting he looks upon the lifeless form of that loved one and knows that the grave shall give it forth and the Lord Jesus at his return shall gather them together again. So you see that grief coexists with true joy. Do you see it?

19:05 If you're not convinced just take the apostle Paul. I think his example is sufficient for us and also that of our Lord. The apostle Paul said in 2 Corinthians 6.10 As sorrowful yet always rejoicing.

19:26 He said sorrow and joy coexist in me. What caused his sorrow? Well you read about it in passages like Romans. The unbelief of his fellow Israelites.

19:38 The apostasy of some who started well. Do you think when Demas went back to the world that Paul clicked his heels and rejoiced? Of course. It's not there was grief.

19:50 But then as he saw Demas going back I'm sure he turned around and he thought of John Mark who had a shaky start but who now was going on with God and he rejoiced that the Lord would keep and preserve his own even unto the end. So the grief of adversity is a legitimate grief. Rejoice always does not cancel that responsibility and when rightly handled that natural grief of the sorrow of adversity will simply feed that joy in the Lord. Habakkuk 3.17 and 18 is another beautiful example. The prophet sits back and in prophetic vision sees that the ungodly armies are going to come and utterly raise Jerusalem and utterly put to rout the people of God and he's perplexed. He says Lord how can this be that a wicked nation will come and punish a nation though so much? Sinful certainly not as wicked as they and he waits for what answer God will give him and he sees no answer but coming desolation and judgment but then he says though the vine will not give its fruit though the fig tree doesn't bear yet will I rejoice in the God of my salvation.

21:08 He's grieved that the coming judgment but his grief drives him to that deeper level of joying in God himself so that though there is nothing but destruction all about him and he grieves at the destruction he's able to rejoice in that kingdom which cannot be shaken and in that God whose presence cannot be taken from him. I trust dear child of God you'll never attempt to be something less than a true human being and this idea that God calls us to just clap our hands and smile and click our heels that's an unrealistic view of life and it's an unscriptural understanding of the command rejoice always. However when the child of God allows grief on the human level the grief and sorrow of adversity to rob him of that deep-seated substructure of joy he's being worldly. The world allows the loss of possessions to bring grief to the last fiber of the soul bitterness disappointment loss of loved ones not so the child of God. All the grief on this level feeds his joy. At the deeper level.

Legitimate Grief of Sympathy: Sorrows of Brethren

22:20 We see this in our Lord. I'll just give you a couple of passages you can look them up yourself. Matthew 11 verses 20 through the end of the chapter he's grieved at the unbelief of city after city genuine grief but then it says in that hour he thanked his father saying I thank thee Father Lord of heaven and earth thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent revealed them unto babes the parallel passage in Luke 10 21 says he rejoiced in that hour grieving at the unbelief of those cities and yet rejoicing that God's electing purposes were carried on in spite of the unbelief of men. So much then for that first legitimate grief. Now the second the grief of sympathy. Sympathy is that ability to feel together with someone. And I suggest that scripture says there are two areas where there is a legitimate grief born of true sympathy.

23:21 Number one that of the sorrows of our brethren and secondly the state of the church and of the world. Turn to Romans chapter 12 for a moment. The same apostle who said rejoice always says in Romans 12 and verse 15 rejoice with them that rejoice and then as a contrast to rejoicing weep with them that weep be of the same mind one toward another. Now if weeping for a child of God is sin then the apostle is commanding us to join them in their sin. Here is a saint of God who has such grief that he is brought to weeping. Now if that weeping which is obviously a loss of joy you are not rejoicing you are not rejoicing while you are weeping at the same level. If that is sin and Paul is saying when you see your brother sinning because he isn't rejoicing you go sin with him.

24:31 Now that is unthinkable. The apostle says in another place be not a partaker of other men's sins keep thyself pure. Well then it is obvious that it is not sin for the believer to be found weeping in certain circumstances.

24:46 And the apostle says in order to indicate that there is this ability to feel with your brother when you see him weeping beneath the pressure of adversity then you draw alongside and even though you may feel like clicking your heels seek to enter in to that which breaks his heart and weep with him.

25:10 That is a command to weep with those that weep. The sympathy of the sorrows of our brethren. So when our brethren pass through adversity which for a while is overlaying the gold of their joy with the sackcloth of grief God says you overlay your joy with the sackcloth of grief and grieve with them. Now it doesn't destroy the substructure of true joy my possessions in Christ now and to come but here at that upper level where we move as human beings there is true grief in your brother you identify with him in your grief.

25:55 Again our Lord is the beautiful example turn to the 11th chapter of John here is the situation where some of his most intimate earthly friends are full of grief and some of the grief is even due to unbelief.

26:18 Lazarus has died that home in Bethany which was the scene of so much joy and legitimate diversion for our Lord and true human friendship is a veritable a place of weeping. Mourning heaviness and we read that when our Lord came into that situation of heaviness of weeping and of mourning what did he do? Verse 33 of John 11 When Jesus therefore saw her weeping and the Jews also weeping who came with her he groaned in the spirit and was troubled and said where have you laid him? And they said unto him Lord come and see Jesus wept. The Jews therefore said behold how he loved him. Now preachers love to use their imagination why did Jesus weep? And I think each sermon I hear makes me say well I think maybe that's the reason until I hear the next one and so I'm not going to join the string of them but one thing is clear and it doesn't need a bit of interpretation in a climate of heaviness and grief Jesus did not come clicking his heels he identified with tears why?

27:39 I'm not sure what's significant of he wept I'm not sure maybe in looking for some deep mysterious reason we missed the most obvious thing our Lord is a true man was identifying in true sympathy in a context of grief weep with those who weep it's less than human to do so and grace does not make us inhuman it captures all that is inhuman true to our humanity as seen in the Lord Jesus and makes it the vehicle of demonstrating the power of God's redemptive work and of his grace so when the Lord says to us through the apostle rejoice always he doesn't mean we're to go with some kind of an artificial shallow flippant kind of lightness into the room where someone has lost a loved one and just with a little smile chuck them under the cheek maybe the best thing you can do is put your arm around them and mingle your tears and sobs with theirs and then after you've sobbed a while you've earned the right to say but isn't it wonderful death doesn't have the last word faith if you come in just all smiley well the Lord they say you're in here Jesus was about to show that death didn't have the last word but he wept first he didn't come

Legitimate Grief of Sympathy: State of the Church and World

29:08 as a mighty victor over he came as one who sympathized with the grief of death then he displayed his power isn't that the pattern weep with those who weep then convey something of the encouragement so there is that legitimate grief of sympathy first of all for the sorrows of our brethren then secondly for the state of the church and of the world when the church is revived and walking in her possessions in the light of her birthrights great joy should be the dominant emotion of the people of God you read Psalm 126 when the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion then was our mouth filled with laughter and our tongues singing there have been a few times where I've been places where I believe it was holy laughter came upon the people of God where the Lord had given such wonderful victories God's people just broke out in the laughter I don't know if you've ever been there in that situation there have been a few times where I have and it's been one of the most precious things I remember one dear brother I used to pray with him once in a while the thought of God's triumph and answers to prayer we just would get to laughing on our knees together and I believe the scripture will warn when the Lord is pleased to return the captivity of Zion then was our mouth filled with laughter and our tongue with singing

30:37 joy abounding you read in Acts 8 of that great movement of the spirit at Samaria and it says great joy was in the city ah what about those times when the people of God are in captivity you find in the same book of the Psalms something of their complaint listen as I read from the 137th Psalm here they are in captivity in Babylon by the rivers of Babylon there we sat down yea we wept when we remembered Zion they fought back to Zion the city of God lying in rubbles under the power of foreign governments upon the willows in the midst thereof we hanged up our hearts for the for they that led us captive required of us songs and they that wasted us required of us merch saying sing us one of the songs of Zion we are glad to have you foreigners from Jerusalem pluck your heart sing us a song they said no we found the nearest willow tree and hung our harp upon it and then they asked the question how shall we sing the Lord's song in a foreign land if I forget the old Jerusalem let my right hand forget her skill let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth and then he pours out this complaint that God would yet restore that city Zion to the people of God you see the picture when the Lord brings us back from captivity great joy in the people of God

32:06 but when the people of God are oppressed and in captivity heaviness and sorrow does God call us regardless of the situation of the church local this assembly or the church universal in its broader perspective to abounding joy regardless of our spiritual condition absolutely not you read in the book of Joel there are times when God told the people you're too happy for your condition God says turn unto me with fasting and with weeping and mourning rend your heart and not your garment God says to the people of God you're too happy in the light of your circumstances you're living in a fool's paradise you ought to be on your faces mourning oh again this current idea that the way to attract the world is by God's people in all of their barrenness and carnality somehow to give a bright spring quality that will attack the world it's not true to scripture whenever the church has faced her inability to confront the world with the claims of Christ and been willing to face the causes in her own sin and barrenness and has gone down in brokenness a bent and broken church has always been the precursor of bent and broken sinners in the world

33:33 and when God smites to weeping his carnal saints it isn't long before careless sinners are brought to brokenness rejoice always well what about those times when the people of God are in captivity and there is heaviness and barrenness God calls us at that point for a way of withholding of that abounding joy that we might seek his face so there is the grief of sympathy sympathetic identity with the people of God in their sorrows sympathetic identity with the church in its need not only the church but also the state of the world and there are several very clear passages one is that strange passage in Ezekiel one at times that strikes fear to my own heart if the Lord were to do the same in 1969 the last week of August here in northern Jersey strange passage but suppose the Lord were to do this in our day I'm reading now from Ezekiel 9 then he cried in mine ears with a loud voice saying cause ye them that have charge over the city to draw near every man with his destroying weapon in his hand

35:02 and behold six men came from the way of the upper gate which lieth toward the north every man with his slaughter weapon in his hand and one man in the midst of them clothed in linen with a writer's inkhorn by his side and they went in and stood beside the brazen altar and the glory of the God of Israel was gone up from the cherub whereupon it was to the threshold of the house and he called to the man clothed in linen who had the writer's inkhorn by his side and the Lord said unto him go through the midst of the city through the midst of Jerusalem and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and cry over all the abominations that are done in the midst thereof and to the others he said in my hearing go through the city after him in smite let not your eyes spare neither have pity slay utterly the old man the young man the virgin the little children and women but come not near any man upon whom is the mark and begin at my sanctuary isn't that strange Israel had descended to a state of unprecedented apostasy and wickedness and God says judgment is going to come in the form of these destroyers but there is this strange personage who has the inkhorn and he is commanded

36:31 to go through and to the find those who in the midst of abounding wickedness have not become so callous that they've lost their ability to sigh and to cry and any who was not sighing or crying was to be destroyed even to the little children for it was an indication that they had become absorbed in the very wickedness that was calling forth the judgment of God I believe in great measure this is the point at which we are in the history of our own nation and I believe that we are and the way that we are going to confront the world is not by this cheap facade of bright sprightly tripping through the tulips kind of Christian witness but when we as the people of God take to heart by the enablement of the spirit the state of impending judgment so that there is this sighing and crying in the heart that God would be pleased to bear his arm in gracious reviving power rejoice always ah yes but never interpret that in such a way that we leave no room for this sympathy of identity with the world and its blindness under the judgment of God we see the example of this personalized both in Paul and then in our blessed Lord

38:01 the very one who said these words rejoice always listen as I read his own testimony from Romans 9 1 I say the truth in Christ I lie not my conscience bearing witness in the Holy Ghost in other words I am speaking as truthfully now as I know I must in the day of judgment here is the statement of truth I have great sorrow and unceasing pain wait he said rejoice always how can you have rejoicing and pain in the true child of God they coexist rejoice always rejoice always rejoice always rejoice always rejoice always rejoice always rejoice always rejoice always rejoice always rejoice always rejoice always rejoicing continual pain and what was his pain he tells us for I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren's sake my kinsmen according to the flesh as he beheld the unbelief and impenitence of those dearest to him pain in the heart and God calls us to that pain and then of course the classic statement of our Lord himself in Luke 19 41 it says when he drew near to the city he wept and said oh Jerusalem Jerusalem if only you had known the things that belong to your joy

39:30 and to your peace but they're hid from your eyes here was sympathetic identity the judgment of God about to fall upon Jerusalem and our Lord is not callous to it sure he knows the doctrine of the immutability of the divine purposes our Lord gave to him should come to him but this doesn't make him indifferent to unbelief and impenitence seize that city and by the eye of faith and spiritual sight he sees the judgment that will fall upon it in a few years and he says oh Jerusalem if only you knew and our Lord was not ashamed to have his own disciples beholding him convulse with tears as he prayed and wept over Jerusalem and yet this is the same Lord who said these things I speak unto you that my joy might be in you and my joy and that your joy might be full so however the disciples understood it they never understood it in such a way that would cancel out tears for he said my joy might be in you well what is our Lord's joy not this giddy flippant kind of business that's spawned off this Christian joy but that sense of delight in knowing that I am God's servant doing God's will going to the reward that he's prepared for me and yet

Conclusion: Joy Coexisting with Grief

40:58 in obedience to that there is often this true grief of sympathetic identity with those who are outside of Christ I believe I'm going to have to leave the third for another message the grief of true repentance I think just to touch on it would be wrongly dealing with it and I don't have time my time is already gone perhaps these two will be sufficient for us this morning they'll have to be rejoice all in the Lord and in the Lord the dominant characteristic of the child of God is to be joy this alone is consistent with what he says he is and has if his joy is affected by the stock market it's obvious his possessions are too earthly if his joy is affected by temporal things his own health and well-being it's obvious his joy is too much rooted in temporal earthly things rejoice always child of God your power your possessions in Christ are never altered by circumstances by what people say or do the grounds of your rejoicing are the same your inheritance is sure rejoice always but that rejoicing may coexist with the true grief true grief of adversity it may coexist with the true grief of sympathy

42:27 and at times it ought to be actually replaced with the true grief by the true grief of repentance for a soul in a state of repentance doesn't even have a coexistence of joy and grief there's nothing but the bitterness of grief but blessed be God it's the bulldozer to clear the way for true holy joy rejoice always but only in the context of that grieving consistent with these principles of the word of God now perhaps for some of you you said well all the time all that to do about nothing well if that's been your attitude dear friend then you don't take seriously the word of God but if we've taken seriously those two little words rejoice always then I trust these have been a help to hone our conscience by that clear teaching of scripture that will not be driven beyond the requirement of scripture and be inhuman and rejoice in situations where we ought to grieve or that we be kept from rejoicing in that deep substance structure of joy even when there is grief in this upper level may the Lord help us and give us the grace to rejoice always let us pray