Rejoicing

Rejoicing - Philippians 4:4

Our joy doesn't depend on our circumstances, but on what we wear!

Isaiah 61:10 says 'I will greatly rejoice because He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, covered me with the robe of righteousness ...' (cleansed by the blood of Jesus) - it is our salvation that brings us joy.

Ephesians 6:11 always brings joy - there is a God and he has bestowed this upon us. The armour of God - good shoes to take the gospel out, a breastplate to cover our heart, a helmet to protect our thinking, a shield to attack our problems with faith (a defensive and offensive weapon). God has well equipped his saints to overcome all things, and in the story of the prodigal son (Luke 115:21-30) his father brought out the best robe for him (the metaphor of clothing to imply forgiveness).

Romans 13:12 tells us to cast off darkness, and put on the armour of light - God is light. The electro-magnetic spectrum is very broad and we can only see the visible spectrum in the middle. But everything warm emits light and much of the luminous quality of our armour is only visible to God - he sees this luminous quality in us (we have been clothed in his light).

Habbakuk 3:17-19. Maybe nothing is going right in our personal circumstances. A much deeper sense of joy will be ours if we spend just five minutes reflecting on our state before God. Is this how we value our salvation - 'no matter what, we will not give this up or cast it away'. Isaiah 12:2-6 says 'with joy shall you draw water from the wells of salvation'.

We are also clothed with a special type of person - we put on Christ (Galatians 3:27-29). We look like Jesus - when God looks at us he sees Jesus. It's not about us, but the work of the Holy Ghost in us. So we don't have to strive.

Colossians 3:10, Ephesians 4:24. The flesh is our default, so we have to renew our thinking through prayer. In putting on the new man, prayer is intimately linked with the garment.

The last piece of clothing is in James 1:12 - the CROWN OF LIFE.

So our joy DOES depend on what we wear!

Pastor Michael Nagy