Sermon Tone Analysis
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Psalm 16:1–11 (CSB)
Protect me, God, for I take refuge in you.
I said to the Lord, “You are my Lord; I have nothing good besides you.”
As for the holy people who are in the land, they are the noble ones.
All my delight is in them.
The sorrows of those who take another god for themselves will multiply; I will not pour out their drink offerings of blood, and I will not speak their names with my lips.
Lord, you are my portion and my cup of blessing; you hold my future.
The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.
I will bless the Lord who counsels me—even at night when my thoughts trouble me.
I always let the Lord guide me.
Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
Therefore my heart is glad and my whole being rejoices; my body also rests securely.
For you will not abandon me to Sheol; you will not allow your faithful one to see decay.
You reveal the path of life to me; in your presence is abundant joy; at your right hand are eternal pleasures.
Where does joy come from?
I don’t know if you feel the same way as me but it feels like this semester has been a very difficult and frustrating one emotionally.
I have felt burnt out and exhausted.
I’ve felt lonely and discouraged.
For the last six months my heart has just felt worn out.
Stretched thin and at times torn to pieces by the decisions I’ve made and by the decisions others have made.
I have found my call to ministry to be at times less about joy and more duty.
I’m focused on hitting deadlines and covering logistics and all the while I am missing out on the joy of ministry.
I’m sure you guys have felt this way in your walks with Christ as well.
David no doubt had seasons of frustration and emotional turmoil in his life.
Here is a man after God’s own heart yet that journey often led him into valleys of shadows and death.
David tells us where exactly we can go to find joy in the midst of our circumstances.
Joy in Christ as our Rest
David was a man who spent much of his young life either guarding sheep, on the run, or at war.
These three hobbies of David did not lend themselves to rest and relaxation.
To survive you had to stay vigilant.
With sheep you had to make sure your flock was together and safe from wild animals.
David also had to keep an eye out for his enemies to make sure he was safe and out of harms way.
Sometimes our life can feel hostile, like we’ve been thrown into battle and are left on our own to figure out the chaos, but David found a safe place to call home amidst the warfare.
He found refuge in the Lord.
Have you ever wondered where people slept in World War I? Living in trenches on the front lines did not offer many opportunities for soldiers to rest.
However in most trenches there would be holes dug into the walls of the trench, about a foot above ground to keep water out, made so that soldiers could sleep while in the trenches.
These holes became the soldiers hope for rest on the battle field.
Our Lord is a refuge.
He may not pull us out of our conflict but He does promise to give us rest.
With God as our refuge we begin to find joy in even the most strenuous of circumstances.
Rest and joy are not feelings to be had but decisions to be made.
With Christ as our refuge we choose to put our trust in Him.
Joy in Christ Alone
The sooner we recognize that this world cannot satisfy us the sooner we will find that God can.
He alone is good.
There is nothing good apart from Him.
There is nothing good apart from God.
If we try to find joy in anything apart from Him we will just be wasting our time.
Paul experienced this first hand.
Paul tells a story in 2 Corinthians chapter 12 of a time when he was given a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of satan to torment him, to keep him from exalting himself.
He asked the Lord three times to remove it.
Paul had joy in his sufferings because of what Christ was doing in and through him.
James says in his letter
We can find joy in our suffering because we know that God who, apart from Him there is no good, is working all things for our good.
Joy in Community with Christ’s People
Coming to church shouldn’t feel like a burden or an obligation.
It should create joy in us.
Why?
Gathering with other believers is a reminder of what Christ has done for us.
Gathering with other believers offers opportunity for discipleship and accountability
Gathering with other believers offers opportunities for all to uniquely serve in His Kingdom
Joy in Obedience to Christ
The world has a lot to offer us.
It promises sin without consequence and that our selfish living will make us happy.
This is not true.
Sinful living only multiplies our sorrow in life.
Doing the right thing in the moment might feel difficult but doing things the easy way doesn’t make life easier.
If sin is not a part of God, and apart from God there is no good, that means that there is no circumstance or universe where sin could ever offer us the joy we so desperately need.
Here David understands this.
David wants nothing to do with sin and idolatry.
To him they are enemies and thieves of joy.
Joyous, abundant life comes from trusting our Good Shepherd.
Trusting that His ways are greater than our ways.
That He has our best intentions in mind.
Joy is a person and He is calling to us to turn from our sin and follow Him.
Joy in Christ as our Communion
As a king David I’m sure celebrated festivals and feasts throughout his reign.
Any food, as long as it was kosher, cooked by the greatest chefs in Israel.
The language David uses is like that of a feast.
Here is all these options that look promising and look like they could satisfy.
But David chooses the Lord as his portion.
All these options and he says, this is the one that I want.
This is my portion and my cup of blessing.
More than that David is pointing to a specific event and festival that was his favorite.
In calling the Lord his cup of blessing David is reminding the readers of the Passover.
CUP OF BLESSING (τὸ ποτήριον τῆς εὐλογίας, to potērion tēs eulogias).
A term referring to both the cup used in Jewish Passover ceremonies and the cup of wine used in the Lord’s Supper (e.g., 1 Cor 10:16).
Like David, Jesus invites us to make the Lord our portion and cup of blessing.
Our future rests in Christ’s death and resurrection.
This new covenant founded on Christ’s blood and body has made the way for us to have eternal life.
When I come to the table to take communion, I’m reminded of Christ’s sacrifice, and it brings me great joy.
I have joy because I know that if it were left up to me my future would be death.
But praise be to God, my future is in held secure in His nail scarred hands.
Joy in Christ as our Inheritance
I think sometimes it is easy to forget that this world is not our home.
We get so concerned with what we have that we lose sight of what is greater.
David’s inheritance was nice.
He got an large kingdom from Saul.
He had wealth and popularity with the people.
Life was good, real good.
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