Rejoice in the Lord
"Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord." (Philippians 3:1, ESV)
Back to the subject of joy. Now you might be thinking, "Why is he banging the 'joy' drum so much lately?" Because joy is one of the defining characteristics of Christian behavior. A joy-less Christian should be an oxymoron (like "honest politician," "gay marriage," or "French military strength"). Recall I said earlier that joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. Since the Holy Spirit is resident in every believer, believers ought to be bearing fruit in their lives; of which joy should be a part of that fruit.
Now, I want to focus on that last statement: Believers ought to be bearing the fruit of the Holy Spirit in their lives. In John's gospel, Jesus likens Himself to a vine and believers as branches: "I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing" (John 15:5). What Jesus is saying is that anyone who has placed their faith in Him (i.e., "abides in Me") will bear fruit. Notice, bearing fruit is not optional. In the very next verse Jesus says, "If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned" (John 15:6).
There are only two categories here: living branches attached to the vine, and dead branches that are removed and burned. So let's dispense with the notion that you can call yourself a Christian and live anyway you feel like. Christians bear fruit! If you are not noticing the fruit of the Spirit in your life (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, goodness, gentleness & self-control), you need to evaluate whether you're truly connected to the Vine.
All that to say this: Believers ought to be bearing the fruit of the Holy Spirit in their lives. This brings us to our passage for today. Notice Paul's wording in this verse: "Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord." This is worded as a command. We are commanded to rejoice in the Lord. Just in case you think this is an isolated passage, in First Thessalonians, Paul says the same thing ("Rejoice always." 1 Thessalonians 5:16). God is not telling us, "Hey, if you get around to it, you might want to rejoice in me." We are commanded to rejoice! And not just rejoice, but rejoice in the Lord. Let us not lose sight of in whom we are to rejoice.
This begs the obvious question: “How do we rejoice in the Lord?” Recall what we’ve gone through so far. First we said that God is the source of true joy; He alone gives joy to believers. Secondly, we said that joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. Third, the fruit of the Holy Spirit is only present in believers who are filled with the Holy Spirit. Being filled with the Holy Spirit should not be confused with having the Holy Spirit. All believers have the Holy Spirit; it is given to us at conversion. However, not all believers are filled with the Holy Spirit (i.e., allowing the Holy Spirit to guide and direct their lives).
OK, so how does one become filled with the Holy Spirit? Ready to find out how to be filled with the Holy Spirit? Here it goes. Believers are filled with the Holy Spirit when they immerse themselves in the word of God and allow God's truth to transform their lives through faithful obedience. If you read and obey God's word, then the Holy Spirit can fill you and work through you. Once that happens, the fruit of the Spirit flows naturally; including joy! You may say, "That's easier said than done." Right! Living obediently is difficult, even with the Spirit's help, because our human nature gets in the way. I never said it was easy, but it is commanded of us. The bright side in all of this is that God doesn't give a command He doesn't also provide the necessary means to fulfill. Take joy in that truth!