The fruits—I’ll read ‘flowers’–of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, self-control, and some of these grow only in the canyon.”
–Ralph Connor (The Sky Pilot)
“Instead, rejoice as you share Christ’s suffering. You share his suffering now so that you may also have overwhelming joy when his glory is revealed.”
–1 Peter 4:13 (CEB)
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I want to throw a few things at you to ponder this morning and throughout the day. We’ll start at Acts 16, with Paul and Silas arriving in Philippi. They were having success in ministering, so much so that it was threatening local businesses and the leadership of the city. When Paul cast a demon out of a girl who was a wage-earner, the men became outraged and drug them before the city officials who then had them whipped and thrown into prison.
There is so much to this story, but I want us to concentrate on verse 25, “But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.” (NKJV) They were not singing the blues, they were not moaning and groaning over their situation. See, they understood that the steps of a righteous man are ordered by God and thus were singing His praises for He was with them in the midst of their woes. They weren’t singing the theme-song of so many, “Gloom, despair, agony on me…”. More likely it was something like, “There’s power, power, wonder-working power…”. There was enough power to cause an earthquake and release them from their chains. Even in the worst of circumstances we can rejoice in the Lord. “When the pressure is on, you don’t have to run or retreat. You can rejoice, smile, skip, and clap your hands because you know that God is with you, always.” (James Merritt)
Praising the Lord in prison while at Philippi. Rejoicing in the Spirit despite their circumstances. Friends, if circumstances dictate our attitudes, especially towards the Lord, we have a poor relationship with Him. But now, fast forward ten to fifteen years, Paul is again in prison, not in Philippi, but he has the Philippians on his mind and so writes them a letter–a letter of rejoicing. Right from the start, his pen moves under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and he writes, “I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine making request for all of you with joy.” (1:3, NKJV)
Prison again, and while there is some debate as to whether this was Paul’s first or second imprisonment in Rome, it doesn’t matter. He has no idea of what tomorrow may bring; it could be his execution, but while waiting he writes this wonderful letter to the Philippian church about rejoicing. Lydia would have heard it, perhaps the girl that was freed from the demonic spirit was there. Surely, Paul thought of the old jailer who came to the Lord and brought his family. He would be smiling, thinking of that night many years ago when he heard two men singing praises instead of cursing in their prison cells. Paul sang in prison, now he writes a letter from another prison.
He writes, “Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord…”. (3:1, NKJV) It is important that we grasp the concept here. Rejoicing was not just a happenstance with the Philippians. Rejoicing was part of the lifestyle of Paul, part of his character. Life was not going to get him down, the devil was not going to defeat him, instead he was going to rejoice. He wrote the Thessalonian church to, “Rejoice always.” (5:16) In his letter he admonishes the Philippians, and thus to all believers everywhere, to “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!” (4:4, NKJV) In the midst of all difficulties, in the midst of all situations, we are called to rejoice! Jack Graham says, “Find your joy in God’s blessings, not your immediate circumstances.” In that same vein, Matthew Henry states, “It is our duty and privilege to rejoice in God, and to rejoice in him always; at all times, in all conditions. There is enough in God to furnish us with matter of joy in the worst circumstance on earth.”
So rejoice! Again I say rejoice!
—————————————
I want to throw a few things at you to ponder this morning and throughout the day. We’ll start at Acts 16, with Paul and Silas arriving in Philippi. They were having success in ministering, so much so that it was threatening local businesses and the leadership of the city. When Paul cast a demon out of a girl who was a wage-earner, the men became outraged and drug them before the city officials who then had them whipped and thrown into prison.
There is so much to this story, but I want us to concentrate on verse 25, “But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.” (NKJV) They were not singing the blues, they were not moaning and groaning over their situation. See, they understood that the steps of a righteous man are ordered by God and thus were singing His praises for He was with them in the midst of their woes. They weren’t singing the theme-song of so many, “Gloom, despair, agony on me…”. More likely it was something like, “There’s power, power, wonder-working power…”. There was enough power to cause an earthquake and release them from their chains. Even in the worst of circumstances we can rejoice in the Lord. “When the pressure is on, you don’t have to run or retreat. You can rejoice, smile, skip, and clap your hands because you know that God is with you, always.” (James Merritt)
Praising the Lord in prison while at Philippi. Rejoicing in the Spirit despite their circumstances. Friends, if circumstances dictate our attitudes, especially towards the Lord, we have a poor relationship with Him. But now, fast forward ten to fifteen years, Paul is again in prison, not in Philippi, but he has the Philippians on his mind and so writes them a letter–a letter of rejoicing. Right from the start, his pen moves under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and he writes, “I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine making request for all of you with joy.” (1:3, NKJV)
Prison again, and while there is some debate as to whether this was Paul’s first or second imprisonment in Rome, it doesn’t matter. He has no idea of what tomorrow may bring; it could be his execution, but while waiting he writes this wonderful letter to the Philippian church about rejoicing. Lydia would have heard it, perhaps the girl that was freed from the demonic spirit was there. Surely, Paul thought of the old jailer who came to the Lord and brought his family. He would be smiling, thinking of that night many years ago when he heard two men singing praises instead of cursing in their prison cells. Paul sang in prison, now he writes a letter from another prison.
He writes, “Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord…”. (3:1, NKJV) It is important that we grasp the concept here. Rejoicing was not just a happenstance with the Philippians. Rejoicing was part of the lifestyle of Paul, part of his character. Life was not going to get him down, the devil was not going to defeat him, instead he was going to rejoice. He wrote the Thessalonian church to, “Rejoice always.” (5:16) In his letter he admonishes the Philippians, and thus to all believers everywhere, to “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!” (4:4, NKJV) In the midst of all difficulties, in the midst of all situations, we are called to rejoice! Jack Graham says, “Find your joy in God’s blessings, not your immediate circumstances.” In that same vein, Matthew Henry states, “It is our duty and privilege to rejoice in God, and to rejoice in him always; at all times, in all conditions. There is enough in God to furnish us with matter of joy in the worst circumstance on earth.”
So rejoice! Again I say rejoice!