The Joy of The Lord
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Having broken away from the Psalms last week to address Father’s day and our baby dedication...
what I’d like to do next is to begin making our way through the book of Ecclesiastes...
BUT…before we do that, I’d like to spend this week on something I think would be beneficial for us...
to sort of CATAPULT us into Ecclesiastes...
During the week this past week, i went back and listened to the sermon from last Sunday...
…and I came away from it...
…thinking what I thought I was going to think heading into listening to it...
I came away from it feeling like the overall tone of the sermon was - anger
And it didn’t sit well with me...
I just sounded - in my mind - like i was angry...
And so hence the topic we’re going to look at today...
I probably need this more than all of you and so...
I get to drag you with me :)
Today we’re going to look at - “the JOY of the LORD” -
I know that I often get caught up in - thinking about the lost..of this world...
thinking about ALL those i know who are lost...
co-workers
friends
family
And - I KNOW that it’s GOOD for me to contemplate the lost - AND...
to … hurt for them...
BUT
AT the SAME TIME, i need to always remember - The JOY of THE LORD!
How many of you guys think of God as being - HAPPY?
Ok, how many of you instead think of God as being NEUTRAL...waiting for us to MAKE Him happy? ...thru obedience?
I think if you were to go out and gather up some random people and asked them if they think God is HAPPY, the majority of the responses would be - NO...
And so I think, I hope that this sermon is helpful...I know it was for me this week as i prepared it.
SLIDE: 1. The Joy of The Lord: Grounds Your Joy
The Joy of The Lord
The Joy of The Lord
How many of you are happy when you're sitting in front of your favorite meal, at your favorite restaurant?
How many of you are happy when you're driving, and you look up and see the flashing lights behind you, ready to pull you over?
How many of you are happy when it's your first day of a 2 week vacation?
How many of you are happy when it's tax time, and you realize you actually owe the government more money?
Can you picture the plot line we just made, based on our joyfulness?
Up, down, up, down
This is who we are no?
We're SO prone to be UP one minute, and then down the next...
Excited and happy about THIS thing....
..and then a second later, SAD about THIS thing...
It's that Emotional Roller Coaster of life...
Different THINGS make us happy....or DON'T
Our happiness, our joy is soo dependent on other things, OUTSIDE of ourselves....
money
food
family
kids
vacation
food
achievement
success
where if we DON'T get these things, we go the opposite way of JOY...
If we DON'T get that raise...we're sad...
if we DON'T get to eat...we get HANGRY
if we DON'T get to have kids...or see our family...
DON'T get to go on vacation...
DON'T achieve what we had hoped....
We become sad...
So it seems that through life...we're NEUTRAL...
and then depending on what happens from moment to moment, we either increase in JOY or SADNESS!
God is NOT this way!
His JOY is not dependent on - ANYTHING
11 You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Now, there ARE no conditions placed on this verse...
It doesn’t say - ONLY on Sundays is there fullness of JOY in Your presence...
ONLY after hearing a sermon is there fullness of joy in Your presence...
God's supply never runs out...
His supply is never LACKING
in and of Himself - is JOY
When you stand in the presence of God - you stand in the presence of JOY...
And so what does that DO for us?
- It takes our IMPERFECT Joy....our DEPENDENT Joy...
and give it a place to STAND...or to REACH for!
I think - in a nutshell - the Christian life is:
Man living...and moving...and being confronted at every turn - with potential IDOLS...with DECISIONS...
"Where will my JOY take root - in this situation?"
I'm walking down the street...and the lady in front of me drops a $50 on the ground (has no idea)
Where will my JOY take root in this situation?
Will it take root in OBEYING Christ and giving it back to her?
Or will it take root in the MONEY itself, as I put it in my pocket?
It's tax time...
Where will my joy take root in this situation?
Will it take root in OBEYING Christ and being honest with my earnings?
OR will it take root in the MONEY itself as I lie on my taxes so i can keep more of it?
I'm alone in front of the computer...
anything i want to look at is one click away...
Where will my JOY take root in this situation?
Will it take root in OBEYING Christ and not destroying my mind with that?
Or will it take root in the fleating pleasure of looking at it?
ALL day long....the question IS ANSWERED - THIS is where my JOY will take root!
AND How often do we FAIL?
HOW often does our JOY take root in:
anger
lust
revenge
bitterness
worry
hatred
doubt in God
And so THINK about how UNSTABLE our JOY is...
How consistently UNSTABLE our Joy is...
NOW - God's JOY....
NEVER wavers!
Never faulters!
And so if we then PLANT our joy in GOD and who He is...
then here's what that does for us...and OUR JOY...
22 So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.
- So IN Christ...it's as though HIS JOY....which is...
everlasting
never-ending
BECOMES our joy!
CAN YOU imagine? Our JOY not dependent on our CIRCUMSTANCES?
Did you know that this is what God wants for you!
12 While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.
13 But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves.
Jesus Christ wants your UNSTABLE joy…to be ROOTED in HIS JOY!
His EVERLASTING joy!
unWAVERING JOY!
When our joy is ROOTED in Jesus Christ...
We understand that Jesus is our REWARD...
We see HIM as our DELIGHT...
SO THAT - when trials come…our JOY ENDURES!
In Christ's prayer here to the Father - He asks that HIS joy would be fulfilled IN US!
- And God wants us to have His joy because God Himself...
SLIDE 2: The Joy of The Lord: Delights In You
The Joy of The Lord
The Joy of The Lord
God DELIGHTS in you!
It all started when we look at creation…and see that God delighted in what He had made
In the creation account in Genesis 1, we see over and over again...
God declaring that what He had made as - GOOD.
“And it was good” (repeat)
Later in Scripture we see the Father say this about Christ...
17 and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
The Father - delighting in the Son...
NOW - you might be thinking, well scripture does say that we can GRIEVE the Spirit..
that God also has SORROW over us...
7 So the Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.”
So yes, God - in His holiness - reacts to SIN and its effects...
BUT God is NOT like us!
He isn’t bound by the same limitations that we have...
His sorrow over sin and its effects doesn’t overshadow, even for a second, the FULLNESS of JOY that resides in His presence!
Yes, by His character - He HATES sin and is sorrowful over it...
AND - at the same time -
THE FULLNESS of JOY He is!
A couple of times we see this phrase in Scripture:
“Enter into the JOY of your master”
And we see this phrase attributed to FAITHFUL servants of Christ!
In Matthew 25 we see a parable about 3 men - each one given TALENTS (money) by a Master.
2 of the men are faithful and with the talents given them, they returned with more talents...
and for each man - the Master replies...
21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’
The reward here for the SERVANTS is that they ENTER into the JOY of their Master...
Their master is a JOYFUL master...
The one who wasn’t faithful…here’s how he viewed the master:
24 He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed,
25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.’
This guy didn’t view the master as being GRACIOUS…or joyful...
He viewed his master as being a HARD man...
And so he didn’t return with more talents...
RESULT?
30 And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
On one side - the JOY of the master
On the other side - Outer Darkness
The LORD delights in His children!
17 The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.
Do we believe this?
I go back to my question from before:
If you were to close your eyes right now and pretend to look up at God’s face...
What would you see?
A neutral God? = waiting to see how you respond to this or that?
Or would you see a God who DELIGHTS in you!
I think we often think of God as the TEACHER at the front of the class - just watching us and waiting for us to mess up!
NO - He sings over His children!!
God says he sings and rejoices over his people (Zephaniah 3:14–17).
He sings over those for whom He has removed his judgements (verse 15).
He sings over a rebelling people, who have been restored.
He sings over a people who have no righteousness in themselves.
He sings over those who have every reason to fear the face of God
Feel that today!
He’s not waiting to TELL YOU OFF!
He’s waiting to WELCOME you!
He’s not busy at His desk...
He will not tell you to come back later!
He.Delights.Over.His.Own.
THIS is the Joy of the LORD…Know this...
AND know this...
SLIDE: The Joy of The Lord: The Strength We Need
The Joy of The Lord
The Joy of The Lord
What have we seen so far?
We’ve seen that God Himself - is pure JOY...
We’ve seen that God wants us to HAVE His joy!!
that our UNSTABLE joy would be GROUNDED in HIS perfectly consistent JOY!
And we’ve seen that His faithful servants will - Enter Into the JOY of their Master!
Enter into HIS Joy!
NOW - that JOY - is our strength!
11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.
We have the WORD of God - why?
For our JOY!
52 And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
6 And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit,
The Holy Spirit is the MEANS by which the Joy of the Lord is conveyed to the Believer!
And so it’s the MINISTRY of the Holy Spirit that produces joy in the life of the Believer...
And so BY FAITH…we RECEIVE the gift of the Holy Spirit...
And JOY - the JOY of the Lord begins to sprout in US!
SO NOW - IN CHRIST - IN JOY....
But also - FOR JOY!
1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
FOR the JOY set before Jesus Christ - He - - finish it...
ENDURED!
the EMBODIMENT of JOY - ENDURED - for - - what? - Joy...
Check this out - In JOY....FOR JOY!
Fo what was AHEAD of Christ - Christ ENDURED!
The JOY of the LORD - LOOKED FORWARD to the JOY that was coming!
That JOY that was coming - FUELED Jesus Christ...
**Have you ever been away from your family for long time…and the mere thought of your family DROVE you to PUSH thru!?
This is what we have before us!
AND so - for every professing believer who GETS CAUGHT up in ANXIETY about a situation...
WHAT’S MISSING?
a MORE CLEAR view of the JOY that is coming!
It’s what we NEED!
Paul put it this way in Romans....
18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
The JOY set before PAUL fueled Paul to get up…after being stoned.
to continue preaching the GOOD NEWS! in the face of opposition!
10 Then he said to them, “Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
These words written to a people who were RAVAGED by war…and constantly reminded of their own fragileness!
His JOY - IS the strength we need!
But maybe you’re not feeling that!
It’s EASY to say THIS…but what about actually FEELING this!!
and being CONFIDENT in this!??
Listen - it’s NOT easy!
LIFE will RUN you over...
So what do we do?!
We ENCOURAGE each other!!
we REMIND each other of the GOD that we SERVE!
We REMIND each other that:
SUMMARY:
SLIDE:
The Joy of The Lord:
1. The Joy of The Lord: Grounds Our Joy
2. The Joy of The Lord: Delights In Us
3. The Joy of The Lord: The Strength You Need
We remind each other of these truths!!
Because we ALL need to be reminded of this..
the JOY of the LORD!
Let’s Pray
The Lord’s Table
The Lord’s Table
This brings us to the Lord’s Table…a time for each of us to reflect on our lives, to examine ourselves spiritually, and to remember the cost of our faith. We were bought with a price, and these elements remind us of this.
1. Have you experienced the Saving Power of Christ at the cross? I ask because IF you haven't...you should not partake.
The Bible says not to take this lightly. Scripture says –
27 Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord.
28 Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup.
2. If you are a child of God - Saved from your sins by the Blood of Christ...then I ask - Are you seeking to KNOW HIM more?
Not MAINLY by working for God
Not MAINLY by DOING things FOR Him...
BUT... by seeking to know Him more IN HIS WORD...
by seeking to know Him more through prayer...
by seeking to know Him more through life in the Body...
Take time now and examine yourself before the Lord.
22 And as they were eating, he took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.”
23 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it.
24 And he said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.
25 Truly, I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”
“do this…in remembrance of me.”
Let’s close with a Song of Praise!