“Here’s a little song I wrote
You might want to sing it note by note
Don’t worry
Be happy”
If you can believe it, that song, by Bobby McFerrin. was on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for two weeks in 1988 and won song of the year at the Grammys in 1989.
How many of you like that song and find it super catchy? How many of you can’t stand that song? Regardless, how many of you think “don’t worry, be happy” is practical life advice?
Yeah, the sentiment is nice, but I don’t think the lyrics necessarily stand up to the horrors of a broken world. To anxiety and poverty and death.
“Cause when you worry, your face will frown
and that will bring everybody down
so don't worry
be happy”
Wow. Thanks, Bobby. Will do.
The truth is, when you’re facing grief or hardship or pain, the song sounds a bit like wishful thinking.
Well, the passage we’re going to look at today might, at first glance, seem like the exact same thing. The Apostle Paul writes, “Don’t worry about anything… instead, rejoice in the Lord always.”
Wow. Thanks, Paul. Will do.
It seems like the exact same thing, right? Nice sentiment, but bad advice?
Well, what I want to show you today is that the joy Paul has in mind as he closes his letter to the Philippians is not wishful thinking at all.
SERIES RECAP
Welcome to the final week of “Reimagine.” It has been such a blast diving into this letter with you. And I think these passages have been such a perfect compliment to the Reimagine Initiative that we’ve been launching.
Today as we celebrate and rejoice in what God has done and will do through Reimagine, we have one more passage to explore. So turn with me please to Philippians 4:4, Page ________.
While you’re turning there, let me pray for us.
[PRAY]
REJOICE
Ok the passage we’re about to read is essentially Paul’s parting shot for his dearly loved friends in Philippi. Remember, he was in prison when he wrote this, not sure about whether he’d live or die.
So this is essentially Paul’s last chance to share what is on his heart as he passes the baton to the next generation of leaders in Philippi.
Philippians 4:4-9
Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon. Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.
The key verse I want us to explore today and tease apart is that verse about joy. Verse 4. “Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again - rejoice!”
If you grew up going to Sunday School like me, you may remember the song, “Rejoice in the Lord, always, and again I say, rejoice.” We used to sing it in a round. Oh, man. When that third group came in the song just slapped.
Anyway, the idea of “joy” is clearly an important one to Paul. He uses the words “joy” or “rejoice” 16 times in Philippians alone. It’s why people usually call it “Paul’s most joyful letter.”
Philippians 1:18
I rejoice. And I will continue to rejoice.
Philippians 2:17-18
I want all of you to share that joy. Yes, you should rejoice, and I will share your joy.
Philippians 3:1
Whatever happens, my dear brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord.
Ok, we get it Paul! Rejoice. Will do.
But let’s get back to our question from before. How is this any different than Bobby McFerrin’s song? Especially when you look at verse 6. “Don’t worry about anything.” Isn’t Paul literally just saying, “Don’t worry be happy?”
Ah, well here is the little detail that will start to give us an answer: Paul doesn’t say, “be happy.” He says, “rejoice.” Now that may sound like the same thing, but I want to show you why happiness is not the same thing as biblical joy. So let’s talk about that.
THE LORD IS NEAR
First, I think it’s always helpful to remember that Christ-followers in the ancient world had a lot of reasons to worry - to be anxious. They faced the prospect of war, famine, plague, persecution…
Life in the ancient world was short and brutal. I mean, Paul was writing this while wallowing in a moldy prison cell, possibly shackled to a wall. There was a lot to be anxious about back then.
And the idea of just pretending everything is ok, of just putting on a happy face when life makes you sad, is ridiculous. And it’s not what Paul is saying.
You see, biblical joy is not just some happy-go-lucky ambivalence about life’s problems. Ok, so what is it, then?
Well, I think the answer is at the end of verse 5. “Remember the Lord is coming soon.” Literally in the Greek Paul says simply, “The Lord is near.”
Now, this could mean that the Lord - Christ - is coming soon, as in returning to usher in New Creation once and for all. That’s how the NLT translates it.
But it could also mean that the Lord is close by. Physically near, relationally near, to us.
And I’m inclined to lean more in that direction, because that idea picks right up on an Old Testament thread you see all over the place, especially in the Psalms, about God being near to his people. For example,
Psalm 145:18
The LORD is close to all who call on him…
Psalms 64:10
The godly will rejoice in the LORD and find shelter in him.
Psalms 34:18
The LORD is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.
So there’s this very biblical idea of our God not being some distant, apathetic deity on a mountaintop who couldn’t care less about our problems, but a God who is close, who pays attention, who cares.
Because of this we can have abundant confidence and hope no matter our circumstances. And that’s the source not of happiness, but of joy. We can have joy even in the darkest hour because our Lord is near.
Think of it like this. Imagine a little baby. Happiness is that baby watching Cocomelon. Joy is that baby falling asleep secure in his mother’s arms. Happiness is a cool rattle that plays music. Joy is dad coming home.
Do you see the difference? One is momentary pleasure or delight. The other is a soul-level certainty that I am loved. Mom and dad are here. That is joy.
Yes, sometimes that joy expresses itself in laughter and dancing and smiles. But sometimes joy just looks like a calm heart in a turbulent sea because I know that I am not alone.
“Rejoice in the Lord always… because the Lord is near.”
PEACE
Another word to describe this idea, as Paul says in verse 7, is peace.
Philippians 4:6-7
Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand.
In other words, joy is an emotion that flows out of peace. God’s peace. A peace that Paul says, more literally, goes above and beyond all thought and intellect.
Or, as I would paraphrase it, a peace so extreme it blows your mind.
To understand how peace could be mind-blowing, we need to understand the kind of peace that Paul is not referring to. Let’s do a little bit of the world behind the text.
As a Roman colony, the church in Philippi knew all about peace, because the Pax Romana - Roman Peace was a pretty fundamental idea in Roman propaganda. That phrase was all over the place.
Basically, Caesar Augustus, the first Roman Emperor, claimed that he had brought peace on earth. This “truth” was echoed by all future emperors on their coins, their temples, and their monuments all over the empire. Including all over Philippi. Caesar was the prince of peace.
Now, in one sense, it was a relatively peaceful time. There were no major invasions by the Parthians or Roman civil wars for around 200 years. Peace on earth and goodwill towards men, right?
The only problem with this claim is that Roman peace was kept at the end of a sword. “You’re going to pay us taxes and like it. Many of you will be our slaves. You’re never going to revolt. Because if you do, we’re going to murder you, enslave your wives and children and reduce your city to ruins.”
(Which, by the way, is exactly what happened to Jerusalem in 70 A.D.).
This was peace through fear and violence. The Pax Romana is like King George from Hamilton [image: king George]. “I’ll kill your friends and family… to remind you of my love.”
The point is, biblical peace is very different from Roman peace. And Paul is well aware of this, saturated as he is in the Hebrew Bible.
The Old Testament uses the word “peace” over 250 times. In Hebrew, it’s the word
shalom - peace, prosperity, wholeness, well-being
Now, the word shalom does mean peace, but it also includes the concept of wholeness and well-being. It’s living a New Creation kind of life even in the present. Living in the abundance Eden even when you’re in the wilderness.
Biblical peace - shalom - is, as Paul says, a “peace that surpasses all understanding.”
Why? Because biblical peace is not just the absence of warfare. It’s the presence of God, and all that comes with that. His abundance, his life, his love.
It’s not peace at the end of a sword. It’s life lived with an assurance that the Lord is near. That the Creator of Life is closer than a brother. That he is making all things new. That is mind blowing peace - the key to true joy. Again,
Joy is not happiness; it is an overflow of confidence that the God of peace is with us.
This is why Paul has joy while rotting in a prison cell. This is why he calls the Philippians to have joy despite persecution and hardship. Because our joy is not rooted in earthly wellbeing. Wealth, success, safety…
It is rooted in a God so loving, so near to us, that he walked among us and gave his own life for us and defeated death for us, so that we could run once more into his arms.
Oh, and a quick little aside. Think about this: the death of Jesus on that cross was in service of the Pax Romana. The cross was Rome’s greatest instrument for enforcing their dominance in the world. Peace at the end of a sword. Jesus was killed as a rebel against Rome.
And yet it was through the cross, and through Christ’s resurrection, that true peace - shalom - was made available to the world.
The resurrection of Christ showed just how hollow the Roman Peace really was because through it he defeated the power of death itself and opened the door for all people to be reunited with their Creator.
To experience shalom. To live no longer as slaves to the powers of this world but free in the love of God, no matter our circumstances. Returning to the abundance of Eden we were always created to have.
If that is not a source of deep and profound joy, then nothing is.
Philippians 4:4
Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice!
This is not, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.” This is an invitation to remember that the Lord is near.
Our present situation may be incredibly difficult, but we know the end of the story. We will face many hardships in this life, but we know we are not alone. The God of peace is with us.
Rejoice.
PEOPLE OF JOY
Here’s why all of this matters. Why Paul goes to such great lengths to ensure that his dear friends in Philippi have the right heart and mindset. Why he insists on them living like citizens of heaven. Being portals to magnify Christ. To have joy. All the stuff we’ve talked about in this series.
It matters because this isn’t for their benefit alone. It’s for the benefit of all who have not yet experienced the peace of God that “exceeds anything we can understand.”
It’s for those who have not yet experienced the soul-level joy that comes from knowing the Lord is near.
It’s for those who have not yet experienced the grace of Jesus Christ to rescue them from their sin and invite them to live in New Creation now and forever.
This is why Paul passes the baton to the Philippians with so much passion.
Philippians 4:9
Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing.
Because the Philippian church has a job to do. To bring the healing love of Jesus into their broken world. To take the joy of the Lord to neighbors who desperately need it. To be bright lights in a dark world.
Well guess what, Grace Church. We have the same job.
The soil beneath our feet is New Creation. It’s our job to spread it to the places that need it the most.
And my friends, our world needs New Creation right now. Our neighbors, our classmates, our coworkers, our friends… They need hope.
They need something more than the consumerism and the tribalism and the hollow amusements of our time. They need more than the Pax Americana.
Your “one” needs shalom - the wholeness and peace and abundance that comes from the very presence of God.
They need it. And I believe they can find it… in you. In your life. In your love. In your joy.
Philippians 4:4
Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again - rejoice.
This isn’t “happy, shiny people” pretending everything is ok. This isn’t “don’t worry, be happy now.”
This is an overflow of confidence that the God of peace is with you, even in the hard times. That the Spirit of Christ is within you, even in your weakness. That the Lord is near.
Joy is a certainty that the work God began in your heart through Jesus, the race he is calling you to run, is not in vain.
When things get tough, you may wonder if that’s true. You may doubt your abilities here. But I agree with the Apostle Paul.
Philippians 1:6
I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.
Live like that’s true - live with soul-level joy and let your “one” see it - and you will show them that there is another way to live.
If you do that as an individual, you will change lives for Jesus. If we do that as a community, we can change the world.
[PRAY]
Celebrate financial commitments
______ families committed
_______________ total financial commitments
Next steps