Rejoice, Again I Say Rejoice
Speaker: Dustin Aguilar, Lead Pastor
Scripture: Phil. 4:4-8, 2 Peter 3:9, Rom 2:4
What we Believe
Philippians 4:4-8 exhorts and encourages us to rejoice and to let our reasonableness be known. Reasonableness can be described as being charitable towards the faults of others, compassionate and merciful in our judgments.
God guards our hearts with peace when we ask Him for things with thanksgiving.
Christians should be known for our mercy and charity toward outsiders (and obviously toward each other).
Follow Phil 4:6 by doing the following:
Give thanks to God for who He is.
Give thanks about your situation. See if there is anything in the situation you can thank God for.
Make your request to God.
Phil. 4:7–The peace of God which surpasses all understanding, will guard your heart and your mind in Christ Jesus.
Phil 4:8–Think about these things: whatsoever is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, worthy of praise.
How to Obey
The goal isn’t to bury our heads in the sand. Our response to what is happening in the world should be rooted in God’s heart. God has promised that He will deal with sin and evil. We should not doom-scroll and feed anxiety and anger. We need to take the cares and concerns of the world to God in prayer.
Consider setting up social media rules for yourself to help you strike a balance between staying informed, but not anxious or angry. Some ideas: No social media after a specific time each day, no social media on the phone, social media on only certain days of the week or a social media fast. Ask yourself if you are limiting the constant flow of information to allow you to think on the things in Phil 4:8 enough.
How to Walk Intimately with God
Ask God for wisdom in staying informed, praying and thinking of the good things in Phil 4:8.