1 Thess 5:8-11 and 16-18, But since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation. For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with Him. Therefore encourage one another, and build up one another, just as you also are doing.…Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. Amen
	As we return to this first epistle of Paul to the church at Thessalonica, please be reminded that in our last consideration of this chapter, we looked at the fact that God is all goodness. It is because of that fact that we need to deal with others in the love with which we have been loved in Christ Jesus. We are not to seek revenge or return evil for evil. We need to present the goodness of God to all those in our lives, even to those who consider themselves to be our enemies.
	In line with this truth, the Apostle Paul brings to the forefront the fact that because of what has been accomplished in our lives by the death and resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ, we need to live according to the will of God in absolute thanksgiving unto God. It is because we are so showered in all the goodness of God that we are to rejoice and to give thanks always.
	This duty of rejoicing was evident in the Old Testament as recorded in Deut 12:5-7, But you shall seek the Lord at the place which the Lord your God shall choose from all your tribes, to establish His name there for His dwelling, and there you shall come. And there you shall bring your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, the contribution of your hand, your votive offerings, your freewill offerings, and the first-born of your herd and of your flock. There also you and your households shall eat before the Lord your God, and rejoice in all your undertakings in which the Lord your God has blessed you. As is apparent in this passage, there are very specific instructions as to how we are to honor the Holiness of God. Among these is the requirement to rejoice in all that which God has blessed in our lives.
	Deut 16:10+11, Then you shall celebrate the Feast of Weeks to the Lord your God with a tribute of a freewill offering of your hand, which you shall give just as the Lord your God blesses you; and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God, you and your son and your daughter and your male and female servants and the Levite who is in your town, and the stranger and the orphan and the widow who are in your midst, in the place where the Lord your God chooses to establish His name. 
Notice that this duty to rejoice is not just placed on an individual. It is upon the family, the servants, the entire community so blessed by God. This is not just an individual responsibility; it is a corporate obligation to include all the members of the fellowship of God’s people. We are all to rejoice in the goodness of the Lord with hearts of thankfulness.
	Ps 5:11+12 But let all who take refuge in Thee be glad, Let them ever sing for joy; And mayest Thou shelter them, That those who love Thy name may exult in Thee. For it is Thou who dost bless the righteous man, O Lord, Thou dost surround him with favor as with a shield. God, in all His goodness, deserves the thanksgiving that we are to offer Him. Yes, it is a sacrifice of thanksgiving. It does take time and effort and commitment and readjustment of priorities to open our hearts in complete and perfect thanksgiving, but God deserves nothing less than that true and perfect honor. He, Alone, is worthy of all our tie and effort and must be considered, with all thanksgiving, the highest priority of our lives.
	Ps 32:10+11, Many are the sorrows of the wicked; But he who trusts in the Lord, lovingkindness shall surround him. Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous ones, And shout for joy, all you who are upright in heart. In the goodness of the Lord, we find every avenue of His faithfulness and trustworthiness as He surrounds us with His loving-kindness. As He proves Himself over and over again, we should find our trust in Him becomes more and more established and sure. As we learn that complete trust, our hearts will find themselves unable to do anything other than exude thanksgiving and joy.
	Zeph 3:14-17, Shout for joy, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem! The Lord has taken away His judgments against you, He has cleared away your enemies. The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst; You will fear disaster no more. In that day it will be said to Jerusalem: "Do not be afraid, O Zion; Do not let your hands fall limp. "The Lord your God is in your midst, A victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy. Just as our joy is found in the Lord, so is His joy found in the good work of His hand. He rejoices in the goodness of our salvation and our communion with Him in Jesus Christ. 
	We find this reality pronounced in Zech 9:9. Zechariah was shown the coming of the Christ and as such encouraged the people to Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey. 
When Christ arrived, He declared the victory of the Lord in Luke 10:19-21. Greg dealt with this passage last week in terms of the laborers of the Lord of the Harvest. Please note the fact, as well, that we are to rejoice in the certainty of our salvation according to the divine plan and purpose of God. Our rejoicing is to be centered in God and not in us in any form or fashion. "Behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall injure you. "Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven." At that very time He rejoiced greatly in the Holy Spirit, and said, "I praise Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that Thou didst hide these things from the wise and intelligent and didst reveal them to babes. Yes, Father, for thus it was well-pleasing in Thy sight. 
	The Apostle Paul expands this into the most practicable of terms in Rom. 12:9-15. It is another of his encouragements to the church to live lives that reflect the One in Whom we have life, day in and day out. Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and curse not. Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. This is the life into which we have been placed in Christ Jesus. This is a listing of the practical characteristics that are now ours in Christ. These elements are to be in full evidence in us, both individually and corporately.
	The Apostle Paul also gives very specific instructions to each of us in Phil 4:4-7, Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Let your forbearing spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 
In this glorious passage, he calls our attention to the fact that we are to rejoice in the faithfulness of God, no matter what! We are to be settled in the truth that God makes every provision of our daily lives. In that truth, we are to recognize that there is no reason for us to be anxious about anything. God meets our every need, even before we ask Him. We are to ask Him to have His complete will accomplished in our lives and we are to do so with thanksgiving, knowing that He has only the best in His heart for us. We really do not know what the best is for us, but we can count on God to rule and to overrule to His pleasure in our lives. In that knowledge, we will soon discover that we live daily in the peace of God that guards our every step. In that, we should be exceedingly thankful.
	As an example of this, consider the manner in which Hannah rejoiced as the Lord answered her prayers for a son. 1 Sam 2:1+2 Then Hannah prayed and said, "My heart exults in the Lord; My horn is exalted in the Lord, My mouth speaks boldly against my enemies, Because I rejoice in Thy salvation. "There is no one holy like the Lord, Indeed, there is no one besides Thee, Nor is there any rock like our God. 
 	In this same manner of rejoicing, in Luke 1:46-55, we have the prayer of Mary as she was carrying the incarnate Son of God. In her blessing, she could do nothing but rejoice in the Lord God Almighty. And Mary said: "My soul exalts the Lord, And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. "For He has had regard for the humble state of His bondslave; For behold, from this time on all generations will count me blessed. "For the Mighty One has done great things for me; And holy is His name. "And His mercy is upon generation after generation  Toward those who fear Him. "He has done mighty deeds with His arm; He has scattered those who were proud in the thoughts of their heart. "He has brought down rulers from their thrones, And has exalted those who were humble. "He has filled the hungry with good things; And sent away the rich empty-handed. "He has given help to Israel His servant, In remembrance of His mercy, As He spoke to our fathers, To Abraham and his offspring forever." 
	In another example, please consider the three wise men who rejoiced in the birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ. They were filled with awe and wonder in their hearts for the manner in which God had initiated His salvation process in the Christ child. Matt 2:10+11 And when they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And they came into the house and saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell down and worshiped Him; and opening their treasures they presented to Him gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh. 
I hope and pray that we can all remember the manner in which our hearts rejoiced with the joy of the Lord as we received and believed in Jesus Christ. Our entire being was filled with the refreshing release of our burdens, cares, and sorrows as we celebrated the redemption that is ours in Jesus Christ. This was evidenced in the conversion and baptism of the eunuch by the Apostle Philip. Acts 8:35-39 And Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture he preached Jesus to him. And as they went along the road they came to some water; and the eunuch said, "Look! Water! What prevents me from being baptized?" [And Philip said, "If you believe with all your heart, you may." And he answered and said, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God."] And he ordered the chariot to stop; and they both went down into the water, Philip as well as the eunuch; and he baptized him. And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; and the eunuch saw him no more, but went on his way rejoicing. 
	Paul and Silas are key examples of the power of God that is released as we are giving thanks unto the Lord in the praise and the adoration and the joy of His Love in our salvation. Consider the account of the time that they were shackled in prison, after having been beaten and scourged. They were praying and singing hymns to the Lord in the joy of their salvation, not in the agony and pain of their predicament. About midnight, a large earthquake opened those prison doors and the jailor was in despair that all the prisoners had escaped. He had lost all hope of life and was about to kill himself, when he heard Paul call to him that all the prisoners were still there. This caused the jailor to utter those words that have been embedded in each of our hearts before God. What must I do to be saved? The response of hope and joy and peace is recorded in Acts 16:31-34 And they said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved, you and your household." And they spoke the word of the Lord to him together with all who were in his house. And he took them that very hour of the night and washed their wounds, and immediately he was baptized, he and all his household. And he brought them into his house and set food before them, and rejoiced greatly, having believed in God with his whole household. Notice not only the jailor, but his entire household believed in God. 
	We end today’s consideration with the Word of God as recorded in Rom 5:1-5, Therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God. And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. 
As Paul and Silas were so rejoicing in their freedom from sin and death in that prison, so also are we to lay our hearts before God in the thanksgiving of His so wonderful and marvelous grace in Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. We are to rejoice, to rejoice always in the love of God Who so richly blesses us with life and hope and salvation and glory according to His divine and omnipotent will and grace. In that eternal rejoicing, our hearts must give forth every evidence of thanksgiving unto God. Thankfulness is to be established in the lives that we live in Christ. It is thanksgiving that expresses our heart of love unto God.
But since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation. For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with Him. Therefore encourage one another, and build up one another, just as you also are doing.…Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. Amen

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	This morning’s benediction is Zech 10:6-12, "And I shall strengthen the house of Judah, And I shall save the house of Joseph, And I shall bring them back, Because I have had compassion on them; And they will be as though I had not rejected them, For I am the Lord their God, and I will answer them. "And Ephraim will be like a mighty man, And their heart will be glad as if from wine; Indeed, their children will see it and be glad, Their heart will rejoice in the Lord. "I will whistle for them to gather them together, For I have redeemed them; And they will be as numerous as they were before. "When I scatter them among the peoples, They will remember Me in far countries, And they with their children will live and come back. "I will bring them back from the land of Egypt, And gather them from Assyria; And I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon, Until no room can be found for them. "And He will pass through the sea of distress, And strike the waves in the sea, So that all the depths of the Nile will dry up; And the pride of Assyria will be brought down, And the scepter of Egypt will depart. "And I shall strengthen them in the Lord, And in His name they will walk," declares the Lord. Amen