Pastor Scott Jonas
Phil. 2
10/1/17
Rejoice Together
Jesus
met a woman at the well in the noontime son.
This woman went at the hottest point in the day because of her
scandalous reputation. She had 6 men in
her bed at one time or another. Yet
Jesus talked with her saying “Please get me a drink.” She smiled and a conversation began. As this woman engaged Jesus she felt this
wonder and joy build up inside of her.
Somehow he knew her better than any man ever had. He treated her with respect and maybe even
delight. For the first time in her life
she could feel God working inside her.
After their conversation, she ran to her neighbors and said, “Make my
joy complete and listen to my story.”
Jesus
sees a bunch of lepers. They stayed at a
distance maybe because they didn’t want to scare him away. Jesus yelled to them. They went to the priests and as they walked
their skin was restored. Their ears were
their original shape. They looked
healthy and normal. They ran to the
priests and said, “Make my joy complete and listen to my story.”
Jesus was entering
a town called Nain. A funeral procession
was exiting the gates as he was entering.
Men carried the body of a man on a bier.
Following the dead man was his mother.
Jesus put out his hand onto the bier and stopped the procession. The pallbearers grief turned to shock. Jesus went up to the crying mother, wiped her
cheeks and said “No more weeping. Young Man, arise.” The dead man sat up and the whole crowd was
gripped with fear. The woman and her son
went home forehead to forehead, arms around each other. When they saw someone they knew they said,
“Make my joy complete and listen to my story.”
That is how the
relationship between Paul and the Philippians began in the beginning. Paul had this crazy story and a deep well of
happiness bubbling up inside. Jesus
appeared as a bright light on the road to Damascus and this changed Paul
forever. Through that encounter he
learned that Jesus was Lord and Savior.
He followed wherever Jesus led him.
That journey brought him to Philippi.
Some of the people there sat with him, listened to his story and
believed. This made Paul’s joy complete.
Phil. 2:1-2 Paul says, “If there is any encouragement in
Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection
and sympathy, complete my by being of the same mind, having the same love,
being in full accord and of one mind.”
Do you see this process that Paul is laying out? Jesus does something miraculous that changes
a person on the inside. That person feels
compelled to share the experience with others.
The process isn’t complete until the other person believes the story and
feels the same joy. Miracle, Joy, share
the miracle, joy. That is what the woman
at the well, the lepers, and the widow all experienced.
So Paul has
already completed that Joy loop with the Philippians. He shared the good news of Jesus, they
listened and believed. Then they
celebrated that good news through worship.
Now he has a new joy loop story.
He is a prisoner because of his faith in Jesus. He is suffering through loss of freedom, loss
of creature comforts, loss of physical connection to the churches he has
started. Yet Jesus is still working through
him. God’s word is working. The Gospel is progressing. Paul is compelled to share this with his
friends. He needs them to hear this new
story, believe and celebrate.
Haven’t you
experienced this process? Something big
has happened and you need not just to share but for someone to believe
you. My family once was in a cabin near
Lake Pinecrest in California. Our cabin
was about 30 minutes from my mom’s cabin which was right on the lake. Ann and the girls went back to our cabin
early but I stayed until past midnight.
The way home was a two lane road bordered by huge pine trees. All of a sudden, there was a bright light
that filled the whole road. My first
thought was that it was a construction crew.
But the light disappeared and there was no light night crew. I continued to the cabin and woke up
Ann. She was not pleased and didn’t
really understand what I was saying. I
had this amazing experience but my joy was not complete. Ann listened but didn’t believe and certainly
did not share my joy at 1am. The next
afternoon there was a front page article in the Sonora Newspaper. Comet lands near Lake Pinecrest. My family believed me and completed my joy.
This is an
absolutely necessary process of the Christian life. Jesus has done something miraculous to us on
the inside through baptism. This gives
us forgiveness of sins, eternal life and joy.
But our joy is not complete until we loop someone else in. We need to tell the story of how Jesus saved
us so that others may believe. When they
do then its celebration time.
This goes not just
for our salvation but also anytime we see God working. Paul’s prison experience wasn’t about his
salvation. That happened before he met
the Philippians. Paul’s prison experience
was about seeing God work through your everyday life. When you recognize God working through you,
you must share that with the church.
I hope I have
shared with you how God used Glendale in my life. I’m so excited to be your pastor. I prayed for a congregation where I could
lead worship, preach, teach, baptize, wed, bury, counsel, and lead. I asked God for a church that fit my
personality. I asked him for a school
where I could play with kids and connect with parents and teachers. I asked God for a place where my family could
thrive. God heard my prayers. Do you know how amazing that is? That is so much more amazing than seeing a
comet. The Creator of the universe heard
my prayers and brought me to you. When I
share that with you and I have you make my joy complete when you believe
me. Then we can celebrate together.
This is what
rejoicing together really means. We see
God working through his word and we celebrate.
Last week we had a baptism. That
made me want to share that with others.
Didn’t you? I don’t know if
you’ve met our new organist Jim Thielker yet but if you do be ready to
rejoice. Jim is beside himself with joy
over joining our staff. It isn’t just
that it’s a good fit. It isn’t just that
he missed playing every week for a Lutheran church. It’s because he recognizes that God heard his
prayers those spoken and not spoken. God
is using Jim Thielker and he wants to share that story.
How has God been
working in your life? Recognizing it is
just the first step in the process. You
need to share it with others, especially the church. If you have a loved one who is dealing with
drug or alcohol addiction and they meet a milestone that you’ve been praying
for, make your joy complete and share it.
If you have a family member who has been dealing with depression and the
doctors find the right medication, make your joy complete and share it. If your adult child stepped back into a
Christian church after a long absence, make your joy complete and share
it. If you had the opportunity to give
money and God used it for his glory, make your joy complete and share it. If you tried to do family devotions for the
first time and you could feel God move through his word, make your joy complete
and share it.
That is one of the
great reasons to have these dinner for eights.
Sunday morning just isn’t enough time to really be connected. You can’t feel connected to everyone in the
church. Even though you are connected
through the Spirit. But you can develop
friendships though things like dinner for eight. There we can be our real self and share.