Rejoice (Part I): Fix Your Face!

Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice. (Philippians 4:4; KJV) This Scripture may be one of the most well-known in the Bible. Part of the reason for this is because many of us love the version of this Scripture made into song by Israel Houghton & New Breed. The more likely reason is that it is one of the shortest verses in the Bible. And, unfortunately, because it is such a short verse, we tend to think that we fully understand what it means to really rejoice. In these times of emotional stress caused by people feeling unsafe for a variety of reasons, as well as economic stress, we really need to experience the joy of the Lord as our strength on a daily basis (Nehemiah 8:10). So, because we see the word “joy” in the word “rejoice”, we can probably see our need to fully understand this simple word in order for us to live our lives in the full strength of God, as He empowers us through His Holy Spirit. But what does it really mean to rejoice? The word “rejoice” in this particular verse comes from a Greek word that means: Be Cheerful. Thus, the command is: Be cheerful in the Lord always, and again I say, Be Cheerful! Well, what does it mean to really be cheerful? Our English word for “cheer” interestingly enough is derived from a Late Latin word that means “Face”. This metaphorically means one’s mood, demeanor, or mental condition as reflected in one’s face. So being cheerful means to have a face full of, in this case, joy. Because the word “joy” means “satisfaction”, this verse is telling us to have a face that is “full of satisfaction”. I realize this is tedious, but hang with me here! The word “satisfaction” or “satisfy” literally means “to do enough” or “enough has been done”. Thus, when I express that I am satisfied, I am saying that I’ve had enough or enough has been done for me. So, what are we saying here? The term “rejoice in the Lord always” means: Have a face that fully expresses that the Lord has done enough for you! Put a smile on your face. Brighten up your eyes. Push up your cheeks. Let the reflection of your face in the mirror express that God not only has done enough, but the Lord is...
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Singing Life in the Key of C

Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. (Philippians 1:6; KJV) If racing against mere men makes you tired, how will you race against horses? (Jeremiah 12:5; NLT) The word “Philippians” literally means “Lover of Horses”. I believe that God does not only desire that we keep up in the horse race of life, but that we actually love and enjoy this rapid pace. But the question is: How? How can we keep this rapid pace without being anxious, annoyed or even angry with life? I believe that Paul’s letter to the church at Philippi holds the answer. This is why during this month we’ve been speaking on a series entitled “Running with the Big Dogs”. By “Big Dogs” we mean people of influence. People who are impacting their worlds. People of great accomplishment. In other words, folks who get significant things done!!! Big Dogs have to eat. Big Dogs like to C.H.O.W. In other words, they feed on four types of attitudes: • Confidence • Humility • Oblivion (oblivious; they forget the past) • Worship During last week’s sermon, we discovered that the Greek word for “Confidence” means “Assenting [to the evidence]”. We also noted that one definition of “assent” is the word “accord”, which speaks of “being in harmony”. Thus, God desires that we live our lives in harmony with the evidence that since He began His good (God) work in us, He will certainly complete it. What evidence? Evidence such as how God saved us. Evidence such as the condition we were in when Christ found us. Evidence such as the difficult, if not impossible, situations through which God has brought us. We need to assent to the clear evidence that what God started in our lives, He will finish. And yet, there is one problem with this concept called harmony. Harmony means that we must sing the same note as another person, in this case God’s Spirit. What I love about the book of Philippians is that the Apostle Paul is very clear regarding what it takes to possess an attitude of Joy. In chapter one alone, Paul mentions the word “Christ” eighteen times. In other words, if we are going to live lives full of God’s joy, then Christ has to be at the center of our...
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The Performance Enhancer

Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:6; KJV) Mark McGwire, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Alex Rodriguez, Manny Ramirez, and, as of two weeks ago, Sammy Sosa. These are the names of players who were considered some of the best baseball players in the history of Major League Baseball, but were caught or highly suspected of taking performance-enhancing drugs. Performance-enhancing drugs are substances used by athletes to improve their performance in the sports in which they engage. Thus, these individuals, who were once a sure bet to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame will more than likely be denied admittance. Why? Because they have been accused of cheating. They’ve taken a substance that assisted them in performing far better in their sport than they would have without it. Unlike in baseball or any other sport, we Christians are encouraged to allow “The Performance Enhancer” to work regularly in our lives (Philippians 2:13). In fact, we are to be confident that He is determined to work in us to produce a “Hall of Faith” (see: Hebrews Chapter 11) performance in our lives. So stop worrying about the mistakes and failures you’ve made during your Christian journey. Stop trying to perform your God-given purpose through your own natural ability. Because the word “performance” means “toward completion and conclusion”, be confident in this one thing: it is God who started His work in your life by saving you from sin, and He is the same person who will bring the work that He started in your life toward its completion and conclusion. And I have even better news for you! Not only will He keep at it until the very end of your life, but He encourages you to allow Him to daily enhance your performance. For without Him, you will not make His Hall of Faith (John 15:5). I invite your...
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Fresh Bread: SPEED

When one thinks of horses, one thinks about two major things: Power and Speed. For example, horsepower measures the strength of an automobile’s engine. And when it comes to horses, who isn’t at least aware of the sport of horse racing? In fact, watching horses race is such a thing of beauty that movies such as Seabiscuit and Hidalgo were financially successful, both earning over $100 million. Last month a horse by the name of “Rachel Alexander” won The Preakness in Baltimore, which is the middle portion of horse racing’s triple-crown (the other two being The Kentucky Derby and The Belmont Stakes). What made the winner of this race so exceptional was that it was the first time in 85 years that a female horse (a filly) beat out the male horses (colts) in such an event. In these most difficult times, I want to take you on a journey toward victory against the tremendous odds that you are facing today. I want you to join me on an exploration of a book in the Bible that I believe was written specifically to produce a winning attitude. That book is called “Philippians”. The word “Philippians,” which is derived from the name Philip, means: Lover of Horses. There’s a Scripture found in Jeremiah that states “So, Jeremiah, if you’re worn out in this footrace with men, what makes you think you can race against horses? And if you can’t keep your wits during times of calm, what’s going to happen when troubles break loose like the Jordan in flood?” (Jeremiah 12:5, The Message Bible). Today life seems to be racing at such a pace that people of all ages are growing both weary and exhausted. And, as Jeremiah indicates, it’s only going to get worst. There are very few individuals in the Bible who’ve had a more hectic and challenging life than the Apostle Paul. Yet, he not only exceeded the foot speed of other men, he seemed to thrive during when life’s challenges came with the speed of horses. How else could he write such words as “Rejoice in the Lord always…” while he was in prison for doing God’s work? The Book of Philippians is Paul’s thank you letter to the Philippians, and it focuses on “living a life full of joy in Christ.” I believe that during these challenging and discouraging times, the verses within this letter...
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Things Remembered

There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian Regiment, a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, who gave alms generously to the people, and prayed to God always. About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God coming in and saying to him, “Cornelius!” And when he observed him, he was afraid, and said, “What is it, lord?” So the angel said to him, “Your prayers and your alms have come up for a MEMORIAL before God.” (Acts 10:1-4; NKJV) As a boy growing up, I used to look forward to this weekend. Not simply because I got the day off from school, but because our city held one of its very few parades: The Memorial Day Parade. Though our nation was engulfed in the Vietnam War at the time, I never really understood what Memorial Day meant. As a boy, all I cared about was seeing the marching bands and getting my parents to purchase a souvenir from a vendor. Of course, as I got older I realized the seriousness of this holiday due to the sacrifices soldiers, both living and deceased, have made and continue to make for our country. And that’s not even including the sacrifices required of their families. So I was intrigued by the wording in the King James Bible describing a prayer coming up to God as a “memorial”, especially since God never forgets. I discovered that in Greek the word “memorial” means “memorandum”. Memorandum is derived from a Latin word which means, “a thing to be remembered”. Thus, the angel says to Cornelius, “Your prayers…have come up as a ‘thing to be remembered’ before God”. Picture your prayers as little “Post It” notes all around Heaven. However, do not for one minute think that your many prayers are reminding God in case He forgets. No! No! A thousand times No! I believe these many prayers are a declaration to God and the angels in Heaven who run His errands that though we’ve been praying for many, many years, WE STILL BELIEVE! I encourage you to use part of your holiday weekend to take some of your old, forgotten prayers and dust them off! Then, remind both Heaven and Hell that you still believe. (Luke...
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Fresh Bread: Holy Joy

And the disciples were filled with JOY, and with the Holy Ghost. (Acts 13:52; KJV) For the kingdom of God is…JOY in the Holy Ghost. (Romans 14:17; KJV) And ye became followers…of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with JOY of the Holy Ghost. (1 Thessalonians 1:6; KJV) But the fruit of the Spirit is…JOY… (Galatians 5:22; KJV) One of the reasons that I began to study the fruit* (result, harvest, outcome, advantage, benefit, consequence, effect, reward, product) of the Holy Spirit was that one day I became sick and tired of hearing myself whining and sighing (deep exhaling of breath in response to frustration) about life. I wanted a holy (different) kind of joy. We all can come to a place in our lives where no news is good news, and that’s not good! It certainly doesn’t describe the kind of joy that comes from the Lord, which provides us with enough strength (Nehemiah 8:10; NLT) to live the kind of life we all desire to live. In my search for a definition of joy that I could “wrap my brain around” and pursue as a God-given objective, I fell in love with Eugene Peterson’s definition of the word in The Message Bible, which calls joy an “exuberance about life”. Exuberance means “. . . having an almost uninhibited enthusiasm (origin: en = inside + Theos = God)”. Thus, “uninhibited enthusiasm” means “having God uninhibited in our lives.” This is the kind of life that I want for the remainder of 2009. In fact, the etymology of the word exuberance is “characterized (marked) by beyond having plenty and beyond being fully content.” Exuberance has several other definitions such as: energetic, animated, bouncy, buoyant (can’t be held down), cheerful, chipper, eager, elated, excited, exhilarated (bringing in a breath of fresh air), high-spirited, lively, passionate, sparkling, vigorous, vivacious (full of life), zestful, NOT depressed, NOT discouraged, NOT lifeless, NOT unexcited. The joy that comes from the Holy Spirit leaves a mark on us that goes beyond being full of fruit, beyond being productive, beyond having plenty, and beyond feeling a rich contentment. This is what I want for my life! This is what I want for my wife and my daughters! This is what I want for my friends and my congregation. I want an energy, a buoyancy, a passion, a vivaciousness, and an excitement about my...
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