The Key To Joyful Living (2)

Introduction

Let me ask you some questions to think about throughout the message:

• Do you feel joyful in the LORD this morning?

• What is motivating or inspiring you to be joyful?

I title this morning’s message: “The Key To Joyful Living.” But, what exactly is this key?

I believe the answer can be found in Psalm 100.

READ PSALM 100

Psalm 100 begins with a title called, “A Psalm for giving thanks.” In some of your Bibles, it could be translated as “A Psalm of Praise or Giving Grateful Praise.”

Psalm 100 is a unique Psalm. Do not underestimate the short length of this psalm. There is spiritual richness in understanding the reason and motive for why we as Christians can glorify God in all that we say and do as an expression of joyful living.

This Psalm could be outlined this way: verses 3 and 5 deal with the aspect of truth; Verses 1, 2, and 4 deal with the aspect of emotion and action. When you read verses 3 and 5, they are the reason and motive for verses 1, 2, and 4.

Knowing God and the truth about God should transform our hearts so deeply that we cannot help but to live life so radically different before the watching world.

[SLIDE 2]The Main Idea of this message is this: Knowing God is the key to joyful living.

Let’s begin understanding the reason and motive for our joyful living found in verses 3 and 5.

Psalm 100:3 commands us to “Know that the LORD, he is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.”

In Hebrew, “know” is in a form of a commandment. The Psalmist is not telling us that knowing the LORD is an option, nor is he making it a suggestion.

Some of you may be brought up with the idea that you do not need to know God in order to know the world around you and know yourself. Some would say, “Man, know yourself. The proper study of mankind is man.”

Charles Spurgeon would respond, “Not so; man, know your God; the proper study of mankind is God. He who knows God knows himself.”

Do you know the LORD? Do you know who He is? Do you know what He is like? Do you know Him as clearly revealed in the authority and supremacy of Scripture? For us to know God, we must read the Bible and make every opportunity to hear His words.

Verse 3 tells us four things about God.

[SLIDE 3] First, the LORD is God. This was Israel’s confession back in Deuteronomy 6:4.

[SLIDE 4]“Hear, O Israel: The Lordour God, the Lordis one.” (Deuteronomy 6:4)

Even though some religions worship many gods, the LORD is the only true and living God.

[SLIDE 5]Isaiah 45:22 says, “Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.”

There is no one like God. He is infinitely perfect, holy, self-sufficient, the foundation of all being, the eternal Spirit, incomprehensible, independent, and unchanging.

[SLIDE 6] Second, the LORD is our Creator. It is He who made us, and we are His. Secular worldview would try to dismiss and eliminate the possibility of a transcendent Creator. But, the heart of the issue is that the secular worldview, in its pride and arrogance, does not want to bow down before their Maker. The fool says in his heart, “there is no god.”

The LORD is the one who formed our bodies and gave us life when we were in our mother’s womb. He is the only one who created our eyes to see, our ears to hear, our brains to think, our lungs to breath. For what purpose though? To glorify God BY enjoying Him forever.

[SLIDE 7] Third, the LORD is our Redeemer. We are His people. The context of that phrase alludes back to the book of Exodus. The LORD chose Israel to be His people by redeeming them from the bondage of Egypt. We, as the church, were once not God’s people. But, God chose us and called us to be His people by redeeming us from the bondage of sin through the death and resurrection of Christ.

To be God’s people means that we have entered into a personal relationship with Himself. It is a relationship filled with great blessing, joy and delight.

[SLIDE 8] Fourth, the LORD is our Shepherd. We are the sheep of His pasture. This idea communicates God’s continual direction, guidance, and care for us

[SLIDE 9]Psalm 23:1-3 says, “The Lordis my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.”

In John 10, Jesus is known as the Good Shepherd who lays down His life for His sheep. The Shepherd knows His own sheep and His sheep know Him. When the Good Shepherd speaks, His sheep hears His voice and would listen, obey and follow Him.

We are commanded to know God. The only way we can know God is by reading the Bible and knowing the Bible because it is the Bible that clearly reveals to us who God is.

But, you may say, “Pastor Tommy, I do not have time to read the Bible. I’m way too busy with life, work and school.” If you say you do not have time to read the Bible because you are “busy,” then you are essentially saying that you do not have time to know God. If you call yourself a Christian and say that you love God, but fail to spend time knowing Him through His Word, then Jesus would have this against you, “You have abandoned the love you had at first.” (Rev 2:4)

Because the LORD is God, Creator, Redeemer, and Shepherd, we are recipients of His lovingkindness and faithfulness.

Psalm 100:5 explains “For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.”

Do you believe that God is indeed good?

Perhaps some of you do not feel that God is good because of all the trials and suffering that you are experiencing. Maybe some of you doubt the goodness of God because of the evil that is happening around the world.

Jesus said, “No one is good except God alone.” If Jesus declares that God alone is good, then do you trust and believe in Jesus’ words?

In your trials and suffering, do you believe that those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called to His purpose? In God’s infinite wisdom, He does work all things for good to us who love God even though we may not always see the way He works.

When there is so much evil happening in this world, do you believe that God, in His goodness, has a morally sufficient reason for allowing evil to happen? You think about Joseph who was sold into slavery by his brothers. Joseph recognized the sovereignty and the goodness of God in his life. Joseph’s brothers meant evil against him, but God meant it for good to accomplish the work of saving many lives.

John Piper said, “God is always doing 10,000 things in your life, and you may be aware of three of them.”

How is this goodness of God expressed?

[SLIDE 10] First, the goodness of God is expressed in His steadfast love (or lovingkindness).

The Hebrew word for lovingkindness is Hesed. REPEAT WITH ME: HESED. (You have learned a Hebrew word). Hesed, God’s lovingkindness, points to His unfailing and everlasting love for His people. HESEDis related to another Hebrew word called “hasidah.” Hasidahis a Hebrew word for STORK.

[SLIDE 11] Stork is a long-legged bird. You may have seen cartoons where a stork carrying a newborn baby in a wrapped cloth by its beak. According to the Hebrews/Israelites, stork is known for its exceptional love, protection and care towards its young. It would make its nest in the tallest trees, safe from its enemies. The Hebrews said, “That’s how God LOVES US!” That is how God loves His children. He nurtures and protects us. He cares and provides for us. He will never leave us nor forsake us.

[SLIDE 12] Second, the goodness of God is expressed in His faithfulness. It points to God’s perfect loyalty and consistency in being true to His name, character and word. God is not a fickle being. Our unfaithfulness and disobedience do not change and negate God’s faithfulness towards us.

When you fear that your faith will fail, Christ will hold you fast. When the tempter would prevail against you, He will hold you fast. Jesus promised this to His sheep...

[SLIDE 13]I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. (John 10:28)

God’s faithfulness for us is everlasting. He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:6).

Do you want to experience God’s goodness? King David invites us to do so:

[SLIDE 14]“Oh, taste and see that the Lordis good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him! Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints, for those who fear him have no lack! The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the Lordlack no good thing.” (Psalm 34:8–10)

We can have total confidence in what the Scripture tells us about God. God is good to those who trust Him.

We are commanded to know the LORD and the truth of who He is as revealed in the Bible.

However, knowing the LORD is not simply an intellectual exercise. It is also not simply knowing facts or stories of the Bible or being able to correctly answer all the questions in Bible trivia - as important as they are.

We see that verses 1, 2, and 4 show us how knowing God should affect the way we live.

Knowing the LORD ought to transform us because theology fuels our doxology and orthopraxy. Steve Lawson said, “A high view of God leads to high worship and holy living, but a low view of God leads to trivial worship and low living.” Knowing God ought to result in experiencing the joy and gladness in Him from our hearts. Our affection for the LORD would then be demonstrated by loving God more deeply, living a godly life AND joyful living.

In Verses 1 - 2, the Psalmist gives three commandments.

[SLIDE 15] First, we are commanded to make a joyful noise to the LORD, or shout for joy.

When the Toronto Raptors defeated the Milwaukee Buck, winning the Eastern Conference Finals of the NBA, Toronto Fans were roaring and celebrating with loud cheers and applause for the victory in the streets of Downtown.

Paul Martin, a pastor in Toronto, tweeted, “Tonight, I’m thinking about how a Raptors fan’s happiness will pale in comparison to the joy of seeing God one day and how that joy will never fade.”

Making a joyful noise to the LORD refers to a shout of victory to the King who was coming home from battle. It means joyfully declaring God’s triumph over His enemies. The King would ride through the city and the crowd would shout for joy. Similarly, our joy in the Lord should be exuberant because Jesus has conquered death.

[SLIDE 16] Second, we are commanded to serve the LORD with gladness!

Some of you Bible translations may say, “worship.” Serving the LORD is an act of worship, is it not?

Christians must be people of service. Are you serving the LORD? Are you doing so with gladness and jubilation because of your relationship with Him and what He has done for you?

Perhaps some of you who are serving the LORD are doing so out of burden and guilt instead of joy and a response to God’s grace. Did you know that the LORD threatened Israel with a consequence if they did not serve the LORD with joy and gladness?

[SLIDE 17]Because you did not serve the Lordyour God with joyfulness and gladness of heart, because of the abundance of all things, therefore you shall serve your enemies whom the Lordwill send against you, in hunger and thirst, in nakedness, and lacking everything. And he will put a yoke of iron on your neck until he has destroyed you. (Deuteronomy 28:47–48)

As the church, we have the responsibility to make sure that our pastors and church leaders are serving the LORD with gladness, not making their job even more difficult.

[SLIDE 18]Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you. (Hebrews 13:17)

Joy in the LORD should be expressed in our service to Him.

[SLIDE 19] Third, we are commanded to come into His presence with singing or joyful singing!

To be in the presence of God means to experience an intimate communion and fellowship with the LORD. This experience is reserved for God’s people who walk with the LORD in obedience and faith.

I wonder if you are excited to be in the presence of God? Do you long to be in the presence of God? Scripture tells us that in God’s presence there is fullness of joy.

We are invited to be in the presence of God with joyful singing.

Some of you don’t sing. Some of you don’t even like to sing. You may be too embarrassed to sing. Some of you do sing, but you may not do so joyfully. That is unfortunate because Christians looking gloomy and dejected do not give offer a good testimony to non-Christians.

Joy in the LORD should be expressed in singing.When we sing songs of praise, we are declaring the truth of God, we are praising Him for what He has done and we are thanking Him for His goodness that flows out of our joyful and glad hearts. Scripture does not suggest us to sing, it commands us to sing.

[SLIDE 20]“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” (Colossians 3:16)

I hope that when you exit out of this facility, you would be able to echo David’s words:

[SLIDE 21] “I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord!” (Psalm 122:1)

In Verse 4,the Psalmist gives three more commandments. [SLIDE 22]

First, enter his gateswith thanksgiving and his courts with praise.Second, give thanks to Him Third, bless His name!

The gates and the courts depict the reality of the temple worship. The Israelites were invited to enter into the temple to offer their thanksgiving and praise to the LORD.

Steven J. Cole noted that “to enter those gates with thanksgiving and praise implies preparing your heart beforehand and coming with the deliberate purpose of offering praise to God.” It means disciplining yourself and planning to get up and arrive to church early so that you are prepared to worship the LORD. The unfortunate part about being late for church is that your heart is not ready to worship the LORD because you might be distracted from calming your physiology. Thus, you miss out on the blessing to be prepared and ready to worship the LORD wholeheartedly.

But, perhaps you are not feeling ready to worship the LORD. You may be going through difficult seasons in your life and you are feeling down. But, don’t get discouraged and disappointed. If you’re that person this morning, then I hope that you are encouraged and edified. God is good, patient, gracious and loving to you.

The point is that we should come prepared and ready to praise and give thanks to our Great God and Saviour and bless His holy name. We should be people of praise and gratitude because we know who God is and what He has done to save us.

Application

Someone once asked Billy Graham a question: Why are some Christians so grumpy? We have some neighbours like this—always complaining about something and making life difficult for everyone around them. I'm sure they're sincere about their faith, but I wish they weren't so unpleasant.

Billy Graham responded: I wish they weren’t so unpleasant, either, because that’s not the way Christians ought to be! Words like “joy” and “joyful” occur hundreds of times in the Bible, and a grumpy Christian is a contradiction in terms. The Bible says, “Rejoice always” (1 Thessalonians 5:16).

Joyful living is missional. Take a look at verse 1 again. It says, “Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth.” Joyful Living is not reserved only for Israel, but it is a commandment and invitation for everyone around the world to know God and to worship Him.

If you are not living joyfully for the LORD, if you are a grumpy and ungrateful Christian, then those around you who do not know the LORD might think, “I’m not sure if I want to know his/her God. This person looks miserable for going to church on Sundays.”

Warren Wiersbe commented, “If we are controlled by the Holy Spirit of God and the holy Word of God, we will reveal it in the way we worship God. Instead of imitating the world, we will be led by the Word and the Spirit to be joyful in the Lord and thankful to the Lord, and the WORLD will see the difference.

Our joyful living ought to invite the world to see Christ in us because of our relationship with Him. Christians ought to be the most thankful and joyful people in the face of the planet because of their knowledge and relationship with the LORD, and because joyful living is a response to all that God has done for us. Are we continually and faithfully studying and reading God’s Word so that we can know Him more deeply? Are we showing to the watching world that we are joyful in our relationship with God?

GOSPEL PRESENTATION

[SLIDE 23] My main point is that “knowing God is the key to joyful living.”

Money is not the key. Prosperity is not the key. Power and strength are not the key. Having a family is not the key. Success is not the key.

I am sure that all of us want a joyful life. People want to live joyfully, but they do not want to know God. My friends, that’s not how life works. If you do not know God and have a personal relationship with Him, then you have not truly learned to live. You do not know God because you are in sin and disobedience against God, and you need to be saved from your sins.

God desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

If you want to know God, then you need to know Jesus. You need to humbly acknowledge that you and this world do not have the key to joyful living. Jesus said, “If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” (John 8:19) Jesus claimed that He is the way, the truth and the life. No one come to the Father except through Him. (John 14:6)

Jesus is God, the Creator, Redeemer, and Shepherd. His goodness, lovingkindness and faithfulness are shown through His death and resurrection. It is repentance and faith in Jesus that your sins can be forgiven.

The success and prosperity of this world pale in comparison to knowing God that results to living joyfully for Him. If you are not a believer this morning, then you are invited and commanded by the LORD to know Him and to worship Him. You can begin knowing God by reading the Bible, especially start by reading the gospel of John and learn who Jesus is.

Conclusion

Before his conversion, John Wesley was deeply impressed by a conversation he had with the porter of his college. Wesley discovered that the man only had one coat and he had not eaten that day because he was so poor. Yet the man was overflowing with gratitude toward God. Wesley said, “You thank God when you have nothing to wear, nothing to eat, and no bed to lie upon! What else do you thank Him for?”

“I thank Him, answered the porter, “that He has given me my life and being, and a heart to love Him, and a desire to serve Him.”

The porter understood that knowing God is the key to joyful living. He showed his joy in the LORD through his lifestyle. God used this event to bring John Wesley to saving faith.

I invite the worship team to come up as they get ready to lead us in a song of praise.

As they do, given the message that we have heard, I want to invite you to reflect on these questions:

At home, do your children and spouse see in you that “Knowing God is the key to joyful living?” At work, do your coworkers see in you that “knowing God is the key to joyful living?” At school, do your friends and classmates see in you that “knowing God is the key to joyful living?”

The key to joyful living is knowing God. Because of our relationship with Him, we should be people of joy, praise and gratitude.