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LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 2016, Page 87

Scan: The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod

Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

CONVENTION
SERMON • 8

Joy Has Found Us!
PHIL. 4:4–7

by t he R ev. Alla n R. Bu ss, Pa stor of I m m a n ue l Luth era n C h urc h , B e lv id e re , I l l .
66th Regular Convention of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod • July 13, 2016 • Matins

How does that passage go? “Rejoice in the Lord
_______!” If we are never to say never, do you feel
uncomfortable with “always”? And it is the fourth full
day of the 2016 LCMS convention. We have had long
days filled with sometimes tedious work. (No offense
to the chair.) We have agreed and disagreed. Rejoice?
A convention of the church can bring out the best in
us and also some of the worst. We must admit and
confess that sin also shows up before, during, and
after a convention. Satan and our sinful nature see an
opportunity and seize the opportunity.
Rejoice? Have you been watching the news? We look
at the political realm of our country. People are angry
and distrustful. Rejoice always—are you kidding?
Then we take a look at our personal lives and our
families. Not all is good or easy there either. Many
areas of church life have little rejoicing going on.

Like my wife, Paul repeats himself to make his point.
“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.”
(She did give me permission to say that.) This is joy
in the Lord Jesus! It’s a gift of His redeeming work in
His sinless life, His innocent suffering and substitutionary death, His rest in the grave, His bodily resurrection and ascension into heaven. He shares this joy
with us in His saving gifts! Satan hates this joy in the
Lord, and so does our sinful nature. Rejoice always in
the Lord!
Joy and rejoicing are cheered on. Paul is our joy
cheerleader. This gift of joy refocuses us at this convention. Conventions, resolutions, and elections can
be good, but they are no substitute for who we are in
Christ. This is our real identity. We are baptized with
each other into the death and resurrection of Jesus
(Rom. 6:4). We are ‘‘in the Lord.”

The church in Philippi had Euodia and Syntyche.
They were feuding, and the disagreement poured
out into church life. Others were being hurt, and the
church could easily take her focus off of Jesus and
become joyless and missionless. Paul challenges them
very simply to “agree in the Lord” (Phil. 4:2). But
Paul, the founding pastor, is in prison for the Gospel.
Will evil win? Rejoice?
Perhaps we should join in one, big pity party in Milwaukee. Let’s be The Angry Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. But we are turned back to Jesus by Paul,
the Lord’s apostle! The Holy Spirit is at work. We find
our agreement “in the Lord.”

“Joy Has Found Us!”

U P O N T H I S R O C K • Sermon