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Rejoice
13 Plays2 years ago
Vernon talks through the idea of rejoicing, even when life comes at us hard. We don't pretend that life is not hard or circumstances are not difficult; we rejoice IN the Lord. Vernon also talks about anxiety and how we can work through that in Christ.
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Transcript
Introduction to Walking Free
00:00:02
Speaker
This is your host Vernon Terrell with Grace Ministries International and it's time for Walking Free.
Paul's Imprisonment and Faith
00:00:22
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Welcome back, this is Vernon, and I thought today we'd talk about a word that Paul is bringing to our attention, a word that is in the context of some pretty tough times. And in Philippians, and we just had gone through a little bit of Philippians in the last podcast, and as I'm reading in Philippians,
00:00:52
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you can get the idea that Paul is, he's in prison, obviously, and it's not his best season, if you will, in terms of him enjoying life.
Transformation in Believers
00:01:05
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I think you can relate to having some prison experiences, tough times, maybe for some actual prison experiences, maybe due to a bad decision, but for Paul,
00:01:21
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out there ministering, preaching the gospel. And he says that he's confident in Philippians 1.6 of this very thing that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Christ Jesus. And that right there is amazing that God has begun a good work. When we received Christ,
00:01:53
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that work began in us. We were transformed and pulled out of darkness into the marvelous light. We were dead and made alive. We were not righteous and we were made righteous. We were given this brand new identity in Christ. This brand new creation. We died.
00:02:19
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yet we were raised to new life, and we were joined with him in fellowship that can never be broken.
Abounding Love and Discernment
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And Paul says, I'm confident that he who began a good work in you, he's gonna bring it to completion at the day of Christ Jesus.
00:02:47
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And he says this and he gives them this context in verse seven. It is right for me, Philippians 1.7, to feel this way about all of you because I have you in my heart since both in my what, my imprisonment, and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all share with me in the grace of God. For God is my witness that I long for all of you
00:03:16
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with the affection of Christ Jesus. And he prays that their love will abound more and more with knowledge and all discernment, and what a message for us. I think that's Paul's prayer for all the church, for all of us. That's my prayer for you, that your love
00:03:44
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may abound more and more and more and more with knowledge and all discernment.
Choosing Joy in the Lord
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And I like how Paul clarifies in verse 10, so that you may determine what is essential. And so be pure and without blame on the day of Christ, filled
00:04:11
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with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God. You've been made brand new. You have been made righteous. He wants you filled with the fruit of that righteousness. And that's fruit that's on the outside just exploding from what's already been done on the inside.
00:04:43
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where your love abounds more and more. And that's in the midst of all kind of stuff and that's what Paul is writing and he tells them as you read through this chapter and the next chapter that he says he's been poured out as a drink offering and they're going through tough times and don't be discouraged and in fact he uses the word
00:05:12
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that I started or mentioned or hinted at in the beginning of this podcast.
Warning Against Legalism
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And he says in chapter three, in fact he starts, and then he gets sidetracked a little bit, he says, finally my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. And that's the word I want you to focus on today.
00:05:41
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rejoice in the Lord, that resting in the Lord, rejoice in him. Rejoice in him. That's something that we need to maybe take a pause and ask ourselves, are we rejoicing in him? Paul was in prison.
00:06:11
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The Philippians were worried about some tough times. And he says, look, rejoice in the Lord. And then he goes on a sidebar and says, hey, to write the same things again, no trouble for me. I'll write it a hundred times. It's a safe card for you. And he goes in about,
00:06:39
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those who are, beware of those coming in with the law. And he gives a little bit of sarcasm here and a little, some jabs here on Philippians 3, too, which we won't go into. I wanna jump down and get back to his finally, where he goes in Philippians chapter four. He gets back onto that original train of thought, I think,
00:07:07
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where he says, finally rejoice in the Lord in chapter three. And then he comes back to it in chapter four, verse four, rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I say, rejoice. He's got a message here that he wants you to know that rejoicing is a choice that you make irrespective
00:07:37
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of your circumstances, which can be hard, they can be fearful at times, they can be very challenging and just downright awful at times. Yet, Paul says, I want you to make a choice. I want you to choose something. Choose something that's aligned with this new creation, this new work that God has already done.
00:08:04
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I want you to rejoice in the Lord. Rejoice while inside the Lord, rejoice while in Christ. Rejoice in this new creation, this new position, this new resting place, this new home.
Gentleness and Peace in Chaos
00:08:30
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Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I say rejoice. Where are you today with that simple word? Where are you today in rejoicing? I didn't say life's easy. I know it can be hard. I'm not saying, hey, don't worry, be hoppy. Fun song.
00:09:00
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in it today. It's not just a positive mental attitude. That's helpful. It's the idea of rejoicing in who you are in him, rejoicing with all that you have
00:09:24
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in Him, rejoicing in the truth that you are victorious in Him. Rejoice in the Lord always. And again, I say, rejoice, rejoice, rejoice. When you feel burdened, overburdened, when you feel pressured, stop. Pause. Time out. Take a time out.
00:09:53
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and say, Father, thank you. I choose joy right now. It hurts, this hurts. I don't know what's happening, what's gonna happen in my career and my job and the next step, but right now, Father, I choose joy. I choose to rejoice in you. And as we sit with that for a moment,
00:10:21
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Paul says in verse five, let your gentleness be known to every person. Isn't that interesting? In the midst of all the chaos that was happening in that day, in the midst of all the chaos that's happening in your day,
00:10:49
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Let your gentleness, that's that unassertiveness, let that be known. It's a passive, it's in this passive tense where let your gentleness, that frame of mind, that attitude of mind, that
00:11:19
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sense of being in peace, let your gentleness be known to every person. Walking in peace, walking in gentleness, a mildness, a meekness, an unassertiveness that's not being weak and its strength
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It's not weak and doormat, it's strong and confident, yet unassertive, fair. Yielding to others, gentleness, let that be known.
00:12:16
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And it's really become, that word is in that passive voice to be becoming known to every person. And you know how something is becoming known? It's a pattern of your life. And that also means you're establishing relationships for something to be kind of unfolded and becoming known
00:12:44
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there is relationship that is in place. So develop relationships and in those relationships where you are, let your gentleness, strength, confident yet unassertive, yielding to others, mild meekness,
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Let that become known to every single person, every relationship in your family relationships, your parenting relationships, your spouse, your work relationships, where work says you got to step on people to get ahead. Let your gentleness
00:13:41
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be becoming known, be known to every person. You're rejoicing, yet you feel like sometimes life is coming against you, yet you're rejoicing in who you are in Him and the strength and power and the victory that you have in Him and the righteousness that you have in Him and yet you're gentle and unassertive.
00:14:12
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And that's known and unfolding that it be known to every person.
Releasing Anxiety through Prayer
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The Lord is at hand. And so he says in that context now, do not be anxious about anything. And anxiety, depression,
00:14:42
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It is rampant. But you know, when we begin to understand that we are secure in Jesus Christ, when we begin to understand that we have value in Christ, when we begin to understand that our God is sovereign over all things,
00:15:12
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When we begin to understand that He always leads us in triumph and that He is my victory and strength, I can rejoice and be glad in Him. Then we don't have to assert ourselves in every situation. We can let that peace that passes all understanding
00:15:42
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express in gentleness to every person. And we can choose a confident and a confidence in Him and not be anxious and fretful and worrisome. But in verse six, in everything,
00:16:09
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by prayer and supplication. With thanksgiving and rejoicing, we let our request be made known to God. That's one way, and a primary way, we release the worry
00:16:40
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We're not anxious because in everything, by prayer and supplication, we let our request be made known. You know, when we can talk to others, and it's good to have someone to talk to you when you're feeling that anxiousness and worry come over you, it's good to talk to somebody. Don't want to downplay that. You should.
00:17:10
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But Paul tells us that we can release that by letting our request be made known. It's okay to let your request be made known. It's okay to say, Father, this is hard. Would you take this from me? Would you fix this for me?
00:17:41
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Jesus did in the garden. If there's any other way, let this cup pass. He let his request be made known. He said, nevertheless, not my will, but your will be done. And you release and let go.
00:18:11
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if something is causing you anxiety or triggering anxiety. First, identify what are the thoughts that are swirling around in your head that is bringing that sense of anxiety. Identify those and first say, is it true?
00:18:40
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And if you don't know, say, Father, please help me understand what am I thinking and believing right now about myself, about life, about you, about my circumstances. And then.
00:18:59
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Say, Father, I choose right now to rejoice in who you are. I rejoice in who I am in you. I rejoice in who you've made me to be. I rejoice that you are sovereign overall. And Father, I have a request. I know that these things don't define me. I know
00:19:27
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that you are my provider. I know the truth. Here's my request. I give it to you. I release it to you. Yet not my will, but your will be done. And the Lord listens and you are heard. You are heard.
00:20:00
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and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus when you come to the Father. Because you can come confidently before the throne. Because number one, you're already pure.
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You're already righteous. He's paved a way. You are already forgiven. It's already done. You can let those requests be made known to your Heavenly Father, and He hears you. And His peace, that supernatural peace which surpasses all understanding, you can't explain it.
00:20:56
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that will guard your heart and your mind in Christ Jesus. And then he gives you a follow-up.
Focusing on Virtues
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The word is rejoice. The word is rejoice. And it's expressed in gentleness, for the Lord is at hand
00:21:28
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But life comes at you and the reality is it hurts at times. Yet you can choose to let your request be made known and you are heard. He says finally brethren, whatever is true, there's a lot of thoughts going on in your head right now. A lot of lies that the enemy's throwing at you.
00:22:00
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But Paul tells you your follow-up after you release that. Whatever's true, always ask, is this true? If not, throw it away. Whatever is honorable, if the thinking is dishonorable, throw it away. Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable,
00:22:30
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If there's any excellence, if there's anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things. Your mind is going to dwell somewhere. Dwell on truth. Dwell on honor, purity, what's lovely. Dwell on anything that's worthy of praise. That's the follow-up.
00:23:00
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And that is worthy of rejoicing. That is the recipe for rejoicing. That's rejoicing in the Lord always. And that's walking in gentleness. That's your gentleness being
00:23:29
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shown and known to every person. That's when reality hits. That's what you do. People often say, Vernon, I need something to do. Well, Paul just gave you something. He said, look, anxiety, stop. Let that be a timeout. Don't be anxious. And it's not enough to say, hey, just don't worry about it.
00:23:57
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What do I do with it? It's hitting at me. My feeler's up. My emotions are revving. He says, okay, I hear you. Stop. Pray. Release. Let your requests be made known and release. You're heard. Your Heavenly Father hears you.
Learning from Paul's Example
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Allow His peace to fill you.
00:24:26
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Allow your mind and choose to think and dwell on truth and honor and justice and purity and lovely excellence and anything worthy of praise that your mind dwell there. And what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, Paul says,
00:24:53
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because you know I've been in trouble, you know I've been mistreated, you know I have been unlawfully imprisoned, yet I rejoice. Put these things into practice. And he says, and I promise you that God of peace will be with you. I want you to focus on that word rejoice.
00:25:24
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I want you to choose joy. I want you to walk in gentleness with that joyful spirit that no one can explain. And when life hits, and it will, and when circumstances go south, and they will.
00:25:50
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Talk to your Heavenly Father. Let your requests be made known through prayer. Don't let anxiety overwhelm you. And if you have a friend, if you're walking with someone and you see that they're anxious
00:26:17
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They're fearful. Do you know you can be that messenger of the Lord in person? Do you know that people who are anxious, they often just need someone to listen and to sit with them and to hear them? That could be you for someone else. And if you're anxious and you say, I need somebody, you may need to talk to someone.
00:26:48
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It may be so overwhelming right now, you may need to talk to a counselor, a mentor, somebody, maybe somebody at Grace Ministries, that's what we do, or a friend, or a pastor, or a leader. Don't let anxiety win.
00:27:16
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Talk to somebody. Open up to somebody that you trust. And then, as they strengthen you through their listening, then maybe you can have the courage to go to the Lord.
00:27:35
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and say, Father, thank you for bringing this person into my life. And now I just want to give this to you, whatever is happening. And you can go through the same steps, if you will, the same idea and release it and choose joy. And you don't have to feel it. You can say, Father, I just rejoice.
00:28:01
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The joy will come. I just choose right now to rejoice. You made me righteous, thank you. You made me acceptable. I am valued, I am accepted because you did it, not me, not my performance, but you. And I rejoice. Look, it's great in theory, right? It reads great on the page.
00:28:30
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But it may, for you, be time for you to just stop talking about it and reading about it. But right now, when this podcast ends, it may be time for you to start walking and start rejoicing.
Closing Remarks
00:28:48
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You've been listening to Walking Free, a production of Grace Ministries International in Marietta, Georgia. For more information, go to our website at gmint.org. That's gminc.org.