Rejoice

Philippians 4:4

“Rejoice in the Lord, always, again, I will say rejoice”. 

The first and last of the 10 words of this command are rejoice. Rejoice is an interesting word. If we are honest for moment, I bet we can’t think of the last time we used the word rejoice, other than when we think of this verse or other verses in the Bible. This is a common word in the whole of the Bible though. Rejoice is used multiple times in this 4-chapter book. In fact, this is the 3^rd time rejoice is commanded in this letter. In the Old Testament this word is also translated; gladden, to be merry, or to be of good cheer. Rejoicing is a common picture in the Bible, but not a common word we probably use in our lives. We typically don’t say, “let us rejoice in the Eagles win, rejoice in the raise at work, or I shall rejoice when my son is born”. What does rejoice mean then? Rejoice is the expression of joy. So, what is joy and is joy different than happiness? Understanding what joy is and the difference between joy and happiness is the key to this verse. 

I think it is interesting how Webster’s dictionary defines joy; “A feeling of happiness that comes from success, good fortune, and a sense of well-being”. Joy is a state of being that is deeper than surface level stuff, which Webster’s gets a little right. But if we understand what the Bible says about joy, it goes much deeper than a feeling of happiness. Yes, joy is a state of being. Joy is a mental state. Joy is a condition of the heart. Joy is also a fruit of the Spirit. Joy is a spiritual condition of the soul. This takes it much farther than how the world defines joy. Joy is not; a season of life, a set of circumstances, a situation of goodness, a reaction to pleasure, an emotional feeling, a physical feeling (like goose bumps), or a time in our lives. 

Joy runs deep. Joy is commanded by God, which means it is something we do, control, and “put-on” rather than something dictated from the outside. Joy is rooted deep on the inside. God commands this joy always. Here is what I would define joy as then; it is something that is more than happiness. It is the deep satisfaction of the soul; believing God, obeying His will, receiving His forgiveness, participating in the fellowship of the believers, ministering to others, and sharing the gospel. We become joy.

Here is another reality of joy. Think about all the ways you can be happy. You can be happy when you get a raise at work. You can be happy when your sports team win. You can be happy when your kids obey you. You can be happy while watching a sunset on a beautiful night. You can be happy when you find a parking spot close to the door at Walmart. You can be happy on the last day of school. But when we stop and think about it, happiness comes and goes. Go back to all of those examples. We are not happy when we lose our job. We are not happy when our sports team loses. We are not happy when our kids disobey us. We are not happy on a rainy day in a flooded basement. We are not happy when we have to walk from the back of the parking lot. We are not happy on the first day of school. Happiness comes and goes based upon the life and world around us. But joy stays. 

This means we can be sad and yet joyful at the same time. As 2 Corinthians 6:10 says, “sorrowful yet always rejoicing”. We can be sad and yet still be full of joy. Happiness comes and goes but joy stays. Now let me be clear, being joyful in a sad or painful situations does not mean we put on fake actions or fake faces and grins or fake “feelings”. That is an unreasonable theology. Joy is deeper than happiness, which means happiness can leave, yet we are still joyful. This is what I mean by, “we become joy”. As someone once said, “holy joy is the chief Christian duty”.

And that brings us to the last thought on this single word. Joy is a holy joy because it is a state of being that comes from God within us. Christian joy is a basic and constant orientation of the Christen life, the fruit and evidence of a relationship with the Lord. Our joy comes from our relationship with God. As Augustine once said, “that which God commands, he also gives to His children”. Having joy in our lives is a command of God to His people. But God also empowers us with this joy because of our relationship with him, our union with Christ, and the Holy Spirit within us. Yes, this is a command. But it is a command God endows us with, deep within our hearts with the Holy Spirit. 

It demonstrates on the outside, the inward union we have with God. This is why it is called a fruit of the Spirit. Happiness is a thing the world can have. And for the world, true happiness is all they seek. But for us, as God’s children, we have something deeper, wider, more powerful, and greater than simple happiness. We have joy and we have this joy expression itself on the outside as we rejoice. And understanding this final part of joy, we begin to realize the point of the other 8 words of this simple verse. If joy is deeper, it is continuous, and it comes from our union with Christ, then it will be “in the Lord” and “it will be always”. The key to the Christ life and the key to our relationship with God, and the key to this simple imperative is “ the joy of God flowing in us”.

A Labor Day prayer

Lord, this is another day, like the day before it and the day after it.
But my calendar tells me today is a day to celebrate those who work hard.
Father I thank you that you have given me the strength to work;
Thank you for the energy and power that your grace has shown me to get up each day;
Thank you for providing employment now and in the past for me;
And Father, I know you will provide places to support my life and family in the years ahead,
So God, thank you for the blessing you have given me to work for your glory.

Lord, but I stop today and thank you for those other who work hard.
Thank you for those who work hard to keep my life safe.
God, thank you for the police and firefighters who keep my life safe at home
Thank you for those across the seas, in the military who keep my life safe abroad.
God, thank you for those who work in the medical fields and the manufacturing fields,
who help me to stay warm and keep me healthy
Thank you Lord for those who work hard in the construction and industrial fields;
And God thank you for those who make my life comfortable,
like those in the entertainment industry, like news people and actors.
God, I praise your name for all those who work hard around me in your goodness

God on this Labor day, I thank you for those who labor well for you;
I praise you for those who labor for you in churches, for the Pastors and Elders,
For those who labor well around the world as missionaries, in foreign places
And for those who labor well by volunteering in your faith communities, here at home.
And I ask, that as a laborer for you God, in the Spirit,
Help me to labor well for your glory;
So that many lives will be touched for all eternity

In your goodness, Lord, I pray today that I will continue to work for your glory.
Father, I pray that you will give me the strength to wake tomorrow and work hard for you,
Praying that you will show me grace to desire to work hard for you.
I pray that you give me the power to drive through the pain and sweat for your glory.
God, on this Labor day, I am asking for more of your goodness so I can be a light,
A light for your love, grace, holiness, comfort, and goodness
In the years ahead Lord, I pray that you will show your favor upon me,
Showing your favor so I can work and labor well for the spread of the Gospel

On this Labor day, Father make me a laborer for you,
A laborer who shines light and love so that others can see your glory and work for them
I thank you for this Labor day celebration, Father
In the name of Jesus, the perfect Laborer, Amen.

The Fear

Church growth. The topic that either excites a Pastor or causes him to loose sleep at night. Every Pastor thinks about church growth. I am no exception. Even during this transition period, as I think about past ministry and look forward to future ministry, church growth is on the mind. The Bible is very plain and clear on how churches grow. Church do not grow through kids ministry. Churches do not grow through events. Churches do not grow through fellowship activities or social activities. Churches do not grow through being relevant or being seeker friendly. Churches do not grow through great music, smoke machines, coffee booths, or engaging personalities. The Bible is clear; the church grows through the reverberation of God's Word, empowering God's people to tell others about Jesus and inviting others to know Jesus and see Jesus through His visible body, the local church.

So the question is, what stops people from sharing Christ with others and inviting them to know the Savior and see the Savior in His body? The answer is simply fear. It is fear that stops God's people from sharing their faith and extending an invitation. But it is fear in two different forms.

First, it is fear of being rejected. Every single person hates being rejected. Instead, we all have a desire to be accepted, loved, and welcomed. We all want to be loved. But when we are rejected, turned away, or worse responded to with negativity, we feel unloved and unwanted. This is the fear of being rejected. And it is the fear of rejection that stops us from preaching the Gospel and extending an invitation. We do not want Jesus to be rejected. We don't want to loose a friend. We don't want to be ridiculed, made fun of, or persecuted. So the fear of rejection holds our tongue, keeps our mouth shut, and leads us on a path around the opportunity for Gospel proclamation and invitation. The fear of rejection is the first obstacle to overcome to share our faith and invite others to know Christ.

The second reasons we don't share our faith and invite others to Christ, is the fear of failure. What if the person asks a question we don't know the answer to? What if the person says no? What if I misspeak and do not clearly articulate the message or the truth? What if I fail at actually inviting the person? The fear of failure is real. We have all experienced this in our own lives in many ways. We do not want to fail at our jobs, so we work hard and put time in. We don't want to fail for the sports team, so we compete and push ourselves to succeed. We don't want to fail at having a retirement account or a comfortable house, so we seek promotions and better paychecks. The fear of failure drives our lives. Yet it is this fear, that stops us from sharing our faith and inviting others to Christ. The fear of failure is the second obstacle that must be overcome to share our faith and invite others to know Christ.

Yes, there are multiple other reasons why we don't share our faith. But even the other reasons are tied to fear and are rooted in the fear of rejection and the fear of failure. We can't let fear stop us. Fear is sin and a lack of trust in God. Fear comes becasue we don't know God's sovereignty. And it is fear that cripples us and causes us to sin by not sharing our faith. Whichever fear is stopping us, repent and turn it over to God, because it is only through His power flowing through the Spirit in us, that will drive us to share your faith, invite others to know Jesus and His body, and grow the church that we are a part of.

Baptism by Immersion

Does the Bible teach more than one form of baptism?  If the Bible does not explicitly identify immersion as the mode, are we to assume that it was not by immersion?

The Bible is explicitly clear and teaches believer’s baptism; the water baptism of those who have made a profession of faith and belief in Jesus Christ. This is the only form of baptism the Bible teaches.

When it comes to the understanding of the mode of baptism, an important rule in correct Bible interpretation is key. When the Bible clearly showcases something, teaches on a topic, or is clear on certain actions and then arrives at an unclear, vague, or unknown situation or action; the clear passage gives implication or implied points to the unclear passage. In the case of baptism, it is clear that John the Baptist was fully immersing people (including Christ) in water, the Apostles practices immersion in water, and the Ethiopian Eunuch was immersed in water. In other stories, when the mode of baptism is not made clear, we can imply (assume) or take the implication that the mode being used to baptize is immersion.

Acts 15

What does the Acts 15 council teach about the interconnection of local congregations?

Acts 15 is an interesting story on church connection in Scripture. First, this story includes the Apostles, which we as a church do not have today. Second, this is a story of one local church (Antioch) consulting another local church (Jerusalem), which happened to be the first church and the Apostles (this is not a story of a “church council”). And lastly, this story is centered around the inclusion of Gentiles into the church, where as most of the founding members of the church where Jews (the church today is almost exclusively Gentile). Acts 15 is a tough passage to make a case for a certain type of church polity or government.

But these three points do not mean this text can’t teach us things about the interconnection of local congregations. This story is very clear on a doctrinal unity among local congregations, that ties them together. Wherever any Christian went, they would know the doctrinal stance of the church, because of this ruling on Gospel issues. The same should apply among a set of local churches today. Doctrine must connect them, especially on Gospel issues. Next, local churches can reach out to other local churches (of like mindedness) and seek council, wisdom, and advice on issues of church life, truth, and ecclesiology. There must be a support, commradery, and partnership between churches as they deal with larger issues in the church universal. Lastly Acts 15 shows a universal church that is not full of autonomous churches that live out the faith individually and isolated. Rather Acts 15 shows a universal church that has local churches tied together, supporting one another, all living under the guide and rule of God’s Word, seeking to expand the Kingdom together, while living in unity as one church.

Independence or Autonomy

How are independence and autonomy between churches different?

Webster’s dictionary defines independence as, “the state of being independent, self-governing, or self-ruling”. Webster’s defines autonomy as, “freedom from external control or influence”. When I think of autonomy, it brings the picture of “disconnectedness” and the picture of having no responsibility or ties to anything else (isolation). Where independence differs is, yes there is an individual aspect to it, but there is also a connected nature to other things and a tie to certain connected elements.

When it comes to the nature of local church, I believe autonomy is going farther than the New Testament illustrates. Autonomy (especially in the SBC) can be taken too far when there is no doctrinal unity between local churches, where there is no partnership or connection between the local church (except on missionaries and a few essentials), and when there is no responsibility or oversight to the local church. Independence on the other hand, gives the local churches space to take in members, discipline their own members, elect their own Elders, reach their own communities, all while having a doctrinal unity with other churches, having accountability to a larger network of churches, and partnering together with other local churches to expand the Kingdom of God.

On a side note, I am in favor of a denominational connection between churches. I believe a denomination should have doctrinal unity in all their churches, on issues that the Bible speaks to. I believe a denomination should connect all their local churches together under the umbrella of accountability to one another and oversight. I even believe a denomination should work together as local churches to expand the Kingdom as a denomination.

Congergational and Presbyterian Polity

What is the difference between congregational and Presbyterian polity?

The largest difference between a Congregational polity and a Presbyterian polity is the answer to the highest human (spiritual) authority. In a congregational style, the highest authority is the individual member, making up the local congregation. This means that members together as a local body, as a congregation, have the highest authority (under God) in that local church. In a Presbyterian polity, the highest authority is the General Assembly, dictating down to the Presbytery down to the Sessions. This removes the highest authority (except on the election of Elders) from the congregation and places it with Godly, wise men (Elders). This is my understanding of the largest difference on the polity issue.

For my own conviction, I believe Scripture shows a balance of the two. The Bible clearly shows a connection between local churches, unified under Godly men, unified under a set of Biblical doctrine and truth, and unified under a common cause and relationship of Kingdom expansion. But the Bible (and Jesus Himself) gives authority in many areas to each individual members in a local congregation on certain issues; such as Elder election, the Ordinances, and membership/discipline issues (along with all the physical stuff). I believe in a denominational structure of local churches but also a denominational structure that supports the local church (and members) to have authority on their own. I believe in a balance between the PCA and the SBC style polities.