The Fruit of the Spirit: Joy
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A Song of Ascents.
1 When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion,
we were like those who dream.
2 Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
and our tongue with shouts of joy;
then they said among the nations,
“The Lord has done great things for them.”
3 The Lord has done great things for us;
we are glad.
4 Restore our fortunes, O Lord,
like streams in the Negeb!
5 Those who sow in tears
shall reap with shouts of joy!
6 He who goes out weeping,
bearing the seed for sowing,
shall come home with shouts of joy,
bringing his sheaves with him.
—page 613
Grab your Bibles and turn to Psalm 126
A song of ascents.
The last few weeks we have been in a new series titled The Fruit of the Spirit. Looking at -23In which the Apostle Paul, first century Christ follower, church planter, missionary, is saying listen ultimately you desire freedom, and there are two ways that offer freedom…one is the way of Christ, the way fo the Spirit of God, and the other is the flesh.And they both promise identity, purpose, freedom…but the way of the flesh will turn to ash in your mouth, will never truly satisfy, and it will turn on you.
Like a mirage in the desert, it will promise refreshment but you will find your mouth full of sand.
1 When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion,
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
These are characteristics of what it looks like when the spirit of God has a hold on your life.
And today I want to pose the question…Are you joyful?
Or are you grumpy!
Is what you call joy, really just happiness and can come and go as the wind changes?
O
ESV22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
we were like those who dreamed.
2 Our mouths were filled with laughter,
our tongues with songs of joy.
Then it was said among the nations,
“The LORD has done great things for them.”
A Song of Ascents.
1 When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion,
we were like those who dream.
2 Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
and our tongue with shouts of joy;
then they said among the nations,
“The Lord has done great things for them.”
3 The Lord has done great things for us;
we are glad.
4 Restore our fortunes, O Lord,
like streams in the Negeb!
5 Those who sow in tears
shall reap with shouts of joy!
6 He who goes out weeping,
bearing the seed for sowing,
shall come home with shouts of joy,
bringing his sheaves with him.
3 The LORD has done great things for us,
and we are filled with joy.
4 Restore our fortunes, LORD,
like streams in the Negev.
5 Those who sow with tears
will reap with songs of joy.
6 Those who go out weeping,
carrying seed to sow,
Psalm 126, was written in response to a time of deliverance. a time of release from slavery from captivity to the nation of Babylon. In 538 BC after seven decades of this captivity. King Cyrus of the Babylonians allowed the people of Judah to return home to Jerusalem. And you can imagine the joy that, that kind of release that that kind of ransom would bring about. Especially after years of nothing but hope to hold onto, prophecies by prophets with names like Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Amos, all comforting God’s people, saying God will return you to your home.
will return with songs of joy,
carrying sheaves with them.
Intro
Last week Mark introduced this series called Ascent, we are looking at a collection of Psalms written by several different authors used during the three most important worship events in the ancient Israelites calendar. Psalms are ancient Hebrew songs of worship. Hymnbook of the Israelite nation.
Three times a year the people of Israel, would make their way up Mount Zion the mountain where Jerusalem was. And as they would gather with the rest of their extended family and the rest of their clan and make their way to Jerusalem; to the temple to worship. And as would travel together they would sing these songs together. which Mark introduced us to last week all the way through to . And these were songs which were meant to prepare their hearts for approaching and engaging with their God. With our God.
And so many of the psalms were written responding to certain events of deliverance and reflections on God’s grace and goodness, and then they were collected and used during these times of worship. And so although they may have not been written originally for the purpose of reciting during a pilgrimage to Jerusalem for worship, they found their way into the Psalms of Ascent because they helped prepare the heart and mind and soul for the worship of the Almighty God.
, was written in response to a time of deliverance. a time of release from slavery from captivity to the nation of Babylon. In 538 BC after seven decades of this captivity. King Cyrus of the Babylonians allowed the people of Judah to return home to Jerusalem. And you can imagine the joy that, that kind of release that that kind of ransom would bring about. Especially after years of nothing but hope to hold onto, prophecies by prophets with names like Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Amos, all comforting God’s people, saying God will return you to your home.
“One day you will return to your home. God will see to that. You will grow crops again and reap harvests again in your own land and for yourselves.
And so, this is a psalm of hope that produces joy, in response to a freedom that God orchestrated.
And we are going to walk through this text now and glean from the writer of this psalm, as he speaks of joy.
The first point he makes; and I think it is easy to miss at first glance is the fact that true joy is not based on current circumstances.
I. Sustainable JOY stands vv.1-2
it is not happiness that is based on circumstance, it runs deeper and wider
The psalmist makes it very clear that the freedom, the gift of returning home to Jerusalem was the hand of God. Not the decision of a king to be merciful. God was at work to bring about the ransom of his people.
There is no question to this psalmist (that’s what we call a psalm writer) of how their ransom came about. God is in control.
One common underlying theme in scripture, is that there is much more going on than what we can see. That as we are confined by space and time, by our finite selves, by our tunnel vision, our circumstance,… something much greater is going on.
So, although Cyrus may believe that it is on his own whim that he would release Judah, in reality it is God at work. Although it appeared that this king was working on his own the prophet Jeremiah says that it was God who took the hand of the king, it was God who equipped Cyrus to do God’s work.
And so the psalmist uses this recollection of deliverance as an example that God is at work. And that present problems ought to be seen in this light.
He understands that perspective is a powerful thing and when we lose it, we lose hope, and when we lose hope we lose joy.
A. Perspective gives us hope, and hope gives us joy.
Because....Those without perspective cannot see beyond their circumstance; but sustainable joy stands strong even when life stinks!
ILL:
Many of you know that Lalainia is an actress who has done film, television and theatre since she was 11. Earlier if you count church stuff.
They just opened the show on Tuesday, so my son and I went down to watch.
Now like all cheesy musicals this one has its share of cheesy romance.
there are a lot of romantic songs, dancing together, hugs and even some kissing. There are words of undying love shared between the characters.
Now imagine if I had no context.
My children and I sit down to watch my wife as she dances and kisses other people. Pronouncing her undying love for some cowboy!
“This is how you tell me?!?!”
If I walked in and saw my wife pledging her undying love to this guy. Dancing and singing.
Imagine if my children had no concept of perspective and using it to interpret a situation.
I would have been like, “Who is this guy? And why is my wife dancing with him? You love him? What about me?
My children and I would have just been holding onto each other crying. Has she forgotten about us? Why is she parading this in front of us?
During one show I think Caedence was about 8, he said,… “Dad you gotta punch this guy.”
My life would have come undone before my eyes and I would have lost hope.
Perspective is important.
Any experience my wife and I have, whether it is on stage or in other experience in our life are interpreted through faithfulness.
God faithfulness gives us the ability to judge our situation beyond what we are experiencing at that moment.
B. God’s faithfulness is the anchor of our hope
So let me ask you…
How do you see your current circumstance? How do you see your current situation? How is your perspective? Do you have a wider vision that allows you to interpret your situation with hope?
Or does your heart move up and down influenced by each circumstance you find yourself in?
PAUSE:
He says in verse 1 that returning home is like a dream!
You ever ask someone about their dreams?
If anyone ever asks me to explain one of my dreams, it takes me like 10 seconds, tops!
In my dreams, I usually switch from one situation to another, play several parts and there is never a logical order to it; im in elementary school for awhile, then I’m an adult, but I’m still in elementary school. It just doesn’t make any logical sense.
Sometimes my wife will ask me if I want to hear her dream, and I’m, thinking OK, this’ll just take a few seconds, NO, when my wife dream there are logical plot lines and developing characters, camera angles, lighting cues, and extravagant musical numbers. Sometimes she is played by other famous people in her own dreams.
I can guarantee if you asked an Israelite in captivity in Babylon, what he or she dreamed about, they would all answer the same thing. I dream, I yearn to go to the House of God and worship. I want to go to Jerusalem the home of my people. I wish I had never stopped following my God. I wish I had never stopped trusting him. I want to go home.
And again we find ourselves empathizing with the Israelites.
Some of us may find ourselves here this morning saying. My way is not working. I want God. I need to be close to my creator, as I was created to be.
That was the situation these people were in; dreaming for home.
And God gave it to them.
What they never thought possible, because of God’s faithfulness, had become a reality.
And the more that reality sunk in. Moving from dream to reality. After 7 decades of yearning and crying out for salvation, it had become palpable. It had been realised.
And when freedom comes there is joy.
When reconciliation comes between God and his creation there is joy, and we see that there needs to be an expression of that joy!
Because..
II. Sustainable JOY Expresses vv.2-3
When a poor person wins the lottery and are interviewed, I challenge you to find any that do so with their arms crossed, speaking of the inconvenience of having this fortune dropped in their lap.
Jesus gives us parables that describes how we ought to respond to the joy of salvation—yelling to all our neighbours like a woman who found a precious coin, running to our God like a prodigal son,
When the people of Israel were making the hike up the mountain to Zion, getting closer and closer to Jerusalem, and they reflected on God’s goodness by singing these songs, these psalms together, they were shouting and laughing. It did not look like a funeral march!!
Salvation for the people of God has always resulted in a new perspective. There is now laughter where once there were tears, jumping where there had once been a sense of limping through life, celebration where there had once been sorrow, and parties and feasts where there had once been famine and bland, tasteless life. Lives changed, And other nations responded. They saw that God was at work. Not only in freeing the captive nation of Judah, but in how they responded to their freedom. With dancing and making their way back home to worship their God.
Yet, many of us can recollect people or maybe entire churches that profess salvation, that profess hope, that even profess joy, but we never actually see any evidence to back it up!
So what about those who surround those of us who claim to be saved from the slavery to sin.
Who believe that…
even in the midst of 50 shades of Grey, and the political climate south of the border, and identity politics....there is still hope!!
Not just in here that’s easy!!!
When the nations read our facebook status, what do they see?
Do we see a people who seem to think the sky is falling with every cultural shift, or do they see a strange calm, based on hope. A joy based on the faithfulness of our God who was very clear that this stuff is not outside f his vision!
PAUSE
Sometimes we display the opposite of the results the Gospel should be producing.
We used to know how to laugh, and jump, and joke, and celebrate and party, then we came to know Jesus and our sins were forgiven, so now we are proper and reserved and we don’t laugh as much, we don’t jump and dance and celebrate because we’ve been saved!!
What??
That’s backwards!!!
The prophet Jeremiah gives a great description of how the saved express themselves. Turn to page #783
Speaking of this event in future terms, in prophetic language of the event that speaks of as past, in
12 They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion,
and they shall be radiant over the goodness of the Lord,
over the grain, the wine, and the oil,
and over the young of the flock and the herd;
their life shall be like a watered garden,
and they shall languish no more.
13 Then shall the young women rejoice in the dance,
and the young men and the old shall be merry.
I will turn their mourning into joy;
I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow.
, he says.
12 They will come and shout for joy on the heights of Zion;
they will rejoice- (that word literally means they will light up, they will be radiant—they will beam)
in the bounty of the LORD—
the grain, the new wine and the olive oil,
the young of the flocks and herds.
They will be like a well-watered garden,
and they will sorrow no more.
13 Then young women will dance and be glad,
young men and old as well. –this is not a young person thing, this is a redeemed people kind of thing!!
I will turn their mourning into gladness;
I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow.
In scripture, when people reflected on the fact that they were healed, that they were once blind, but now can see, were lost but now they are found, made well, had sins forgiven, freed from captivity, ransomed from slavery, discovered that they now had the right to be called the children of God. They did not respond with indifference. They responded with singing and dancing.
In v2 of Psalm it talks about tongues “filled with shouts of joy”
2 Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
and our tongue with shouts of joy;
then they said among the nations,
“The Lord has done great things for them.”
Some of the greatest laughs and memories for our family take place when music is involved.
It s a kind of unhindered rejoicing that cannot be contained.
It s a kind of unhindered rejoicing that cannot be contained.
PAUSE
When the Strelau family drives there is music! Now we are at the point where we are all able to sing harmony, it is pretty sweet!
We are like a 2018 Family Von Trapp!!
There is an ongoing issue on our car; it is a small space. It is a space that cannot contain the giant voice that is my 9 year old daughter.
We often have to remind her that our ears are no match for her full out expression of music.
She explodes and gets lost in her song!
I think that is a part of what Jesus meant when he asked his followers to approach him as children. Allowing ourselves to let joy loose and be less concerned with etiquette.
Allow joy to express itself.
Because--
True hope results in joy, and joy grows when it is expressed.
People who live in hope and expectation do not do so with arms folded.
Joy is a natural result of redemption.
And scripture would question strongly those who call themselves Christians, who claim that they have taken up God on his offer of forgiveness of sins, but show no joy. Its not a smile slapped on your face, but an undercurrent of thankfulness.
Have you ever watched a movie that your friend hadn’t seen. or showed a funny clip on Youtube, a meme or something and you want to share it and what do you do while they are watching or listening....you look at them!!
You want to see that they have the joy you are having! Your joy is more fully experienced when it is shared.
C.S. Lewis says it this way...
“I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation. It is not out of compliment that lovers keep on telling one another how beautiful they are; the delight is incomplete till it is expressed. It is frustrating to have discovered a new author and not to be able to tell anyone how good he is; to come suddenly, at the turn of the road, upon some mountain valley of unexpected grandeur and then to have to keep silent because the people with you care for it no more than for a tin can in the ditch; to hear a good joke and find no one to share it with. . . . “
So how do we do this?
How do we keep the “joy of our salvation”, as King David says in .
How do we nurture it?
The biblical prescription is to reflect, to remember our past and possible present!
To understand that it is only by God’s grace and mercy that we are where we are.
The apostle Paul, in tells us to
In fact CS Lewis would say
12 remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
Joy is not completely experienced unless it is expressed!
12 had no idea of any of this, didn’t know the first thing about the way God works, hadn’t the faintest idea of Christ. You knew nothing of that rich history of God’s covenants and promises in Israel, hadn’t a clue about what God was doing in the world at large. 13 Now because of Christ—dying that death, shedding that blood—you who were once out of it altogether are in on everything.
Ephesians
In
21 Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. 22 But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation—
From a scriptural perspective, reflecting and remembering the past was never for the purpose of regret or wallowing, it was always for the benefit of now or strength to face the future. It was to bring strength in our present circumstance and hope for whatever we may face.
III. Sustainable JOY Anticipates v.4-6
Because……
we know where joy comes from
1 “I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away. 2 They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. 3 And they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me. 4 But I have said these things to you, that when their hour comes you may remember that I told them to you.
“I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. 5 But now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ 6 But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. 7 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. 8 And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; 10 concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; 11 concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.
12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.
16 “A little while, and you will see me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see me.” 17 So some of his disciples said to one another, “What is this that he says to us, ‘A little while, and you will not see me, and again a little while, and you will see me’; and, ‘because I am going to the Father’?” 18 So they were saying, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We do not know what he is talking about.” 19 Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, “Is this what you are asking yourselves, what I meant by saying, ‘A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me’? 20 Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. 21 When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. 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. 23 In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. 24 Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.
25 “I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech but will tell you plainly about the Father. 26 In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; 27 for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. 28 I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father.”
29 His disciples said, “Ah, now you are speaking plainly and not using figurative speech! 30 Now we know that you know all things and do not need anyone to question you; this is why we believe that you came from God.” 31 Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? 32 Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. 33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. 9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. 11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.
12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. 17 These things I command you, so that you will love one another.
18 “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 20 Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. 21 But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me. 22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 Whoever hates me hates my Father also. 24 If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. 25 But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: ‘They hated me without a cause.’
26 “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. 27 And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.
III. Sustainable JOY Anticipates v.4-6
Did you notice how the psalmist expects big things from God
Clothing they have. Shelter they are working on, but food they are unsure about.
And we see that he expects big things from God in this arena.
It’s as if he says,
“You have ransomed us, but we are still broken. So in light of the fact that you have proved faithful in the past, we look to you for our future.”
In v. 4 He asks God to Restore their fortunes,
like streams in the Negev.
The southern desert
When those trees which have longed for water are quenched and strengthened, the land becomes green, where there was dry, parched land, there are now quenching steams throughout the desert. And everything is affected; the trees, the animals, the people.
The ground is able to produce!
The psalmist is asking God to restore fortunes quickly and abundantly.
He is saying, “We have seen you work in the past, and so we trust you with our future.
We remember where we were, how we got there, and how you have brought us here, and so in light of that.....
we need not lose hope even in those things we are unsure of, because you are faithful.
And it might not be today, or tomorrow, but God if we have learned anything it is that in your time, you deliver.
Do you believe that?
PAUSE
I think we have a lot to learn from this text about prayer.
The hardest ministry for almost every church without fail. Even very large churches, is a healthy prayer ministry.
And I wonder if many people do not like to go to prayer meetings because they do not expect much from God. Or maybe because they are so used to hearing prayers that do not expect much from God.
But if you have ever sat in a group and prayed with people who understand just how big God is and how he has a heart for his people, you will be turned on to prayer.
PAUSE
ILL:
I’m beginning to think that there is a connection to how much God has to offer us and how wide and how high we hold our hands in worship.
Maybe for some of you who are newer to church or our church, you see people lift their hands in worship.
We had a great time. Everyday we spend time on the beach, flipping rocks over and watching the crabs scatter, and look at the different colours, how tiny some of them were. Discovering at what size they could actually pinch you hand.
When we lift our hands in worship we are doing two things…we are submitting and saying all I have is yours, take it!!
But we are also saying, I am ready to receive from you. Like baby bird waiting to be fed, completely reliant it mother.
I think there is a correlation between what we expect from God and how we physically worship.
So we got this guy....
"lose and cupped” kind of saying …OK Jesus, if you want to throw a little something my way…I’ll take it.
But you know, I don’t necessarily want people around me to know that I’m one of those Christians who expects much from you.
“wide and at the side”- (or what some have called the carrying a flat screen ) basically saying I’m ready for a little weight to this Jesus. Ill take what you give me. And I am expecting a little here, so I’m gonna brace myself a little.
“I’m open”--”I’m open!” Hands are high and you are visibly ready to receive!!
Jesus I am here and I am ready sustain me, feed me, knock me over if you half to!!!
(that’s charismatic”)
PAUSE
NOW do you know what the most common stance for men in worship is!?!?
(hands crossed)
what???
Come on!
We were saved by and are sustained by one… who as Paul says in Eph 3:20
But a few times my son call out for me to flip a rock over and I would turn to see a boulder, the size of our car.
Come on dad, flip it over.
Son, I’m glad you think so much of your dad, but I can’t flip that!
He would be like, “well, I’ll help you!”
Although, my son sees great potential in his father, I have my limits.
I am discovering more each year.
is able.....
PAUSE
20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us,
There is no mountain that He cannot enable you to climb.
There is no past, present, or future that is out of God control.
Paul tells us in
7 Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ”
20 God is able to do far more than we could ever ask for or imagine.
20 God is able to do far more than we could ever ask for or imagine.
20 God is able to do far more than we could ever ask for or imagine. He does everything by his power that is working in us.
He does everything by his power that is working in us.
More than fix our sniffles, or help us balance our bank accounts, more than bring us sun on a cloudy day for our camping trip. More than take England to the final!!!
I mean, I can imagine some pretty big things. He can do far more than that!!!
Now of course we need to balance our concept of answered prayer with verses like I
14 Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you.”
14 And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.
, that along with the confidence we ought to have in our prayer, we need to seek out the will of God and aim to pray in a fashion that seeks out the heart of God.
But God seeks to give good gifts to us. As it says in Luke chapter 11, He will not give us a scorpion when we ask for an egg, or a snake when we ask for a fish. He seeks to sustain us and strengthen us; spiritually and physically.
I think we could also say he will not give us a scorpion even if we really want it and cannot recognize its a scorpion
PAUSE
**I believe that one of the reasons that our lives become stagnant, that some churches and denominations end up as empty heritage buildings or rec centres, is because God’s people have stopped expecting great things from him.
PAUSE
Notice that after the psalmist asks God, he continues as if the prayer has already been answered.
5 Those who sow in tears
shall reap with shouts of joy!
6 He who goes out weeping,
bearing the seed for sowing,
shall come home with shouts of joy,
bringing his sheaves with him.
Psalm 126:
will reap with songs of joy.
6 Those who go out weeping,
carrying seed to sow,
will return with songs of joy,
carrying sheaves with them.
He trusts God wholeheartedly with His future.
And it is not arrogance? It is not an unhealthy sense of entitlement?
It is simply that the psalmist has learned that he can take God on His word
It is almost as if he himself has come to this realization. Through witnessing the faithfulness of God.
Maybe after spending years in captivity saying, “Can God really do this?”
“Sure I’ve heard the words of the prophets that our captivity will only be for time, but can I believe it. Or will we just be left forever in ruins as the nations around us laugh?”
But now after seeing God’s promises fulfilled, he looks to the other promises and says you have done what you have said HERE, and therefore I KNOW you will do this as well.
He is simply learning to trust. He has witnessed first hand the hand of God fulfilling his promises and is beginning to put the dots together.
You have fulfilled your promises in so many places, why would I not trust you in all of them.
For the past, for current circumstances, for a future of hope and joy.
He’s got it. He is in control. What he has promised he will do!!
CONCLUSION
There is a good reason that the psalms of the ancient Israelites have been the songs of Christians for the past 2000 years.
Because any glimpse in scripture, or story of redemption, where the people of God are redeemed, where they are saved from captivity, or brought from a faraway land back home.
They are all a foretaste, all a foreshadowing of the ultimate work of redemption, the ultimate work of salvation, of bringing captives to Himself that took place on the cross of Jesus Christ.
Christianity is about thew joy of deliverance!
And a lack of fundamental joy can only reign in a Christian who lacks an understanding of how dire our circumstance is without Christ!
Joy for deliverance from past sins. Sins that no longer need have hold on us. Addiction, habits, patterns that have held us captive, destroyed marriages, broken relationships between children and their parents.
Hope for captives. Hope for you and I!!
This hope is the soil of Christian joy
And it doesn’t make sense. It is counter to everything we understand about how punishment ought to be laid out. But it is true and it is a free gift from God, scripture tells us.
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—
And we can’t earn our freedom. We can’t just put in years to cover our sentence. We cannot get out on good behaviour.
The message of scripture is that our ransom has already been paid by Jesus,
It isn’t captivity to Babylon, or the Persians, but it is very real captivity, to the reign of sin that tells us we are without purpose unless we create it for ourselves. We are without peace unless we create it ourselves; we need to save ourselves; produce our own identity and run from one dream to another to find fuller humanity.
Jesus says I am the truth and the way.
Into a new reality of forgiveness, hope, and joy
And it is the kind of joy that does not rely on circumstance!! Its not mere happiness!
He says…I am here, now, in Port Coquitlam on July 15, 2018 to proclaim...
good news to the poor.
healing for the brokenhearted,
freedom for the captives
release from darkness for the prisoners,
comfort all who mourn,
to provide for those who grieve
to offer a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
joy instead of mourning,
PAUSE
So where are you with all this? Where do you find yourself in this message?
Are you a joyless follower of Jesus? Biblically, that is a contradiction.
Do you need to spend time remembering? Counting your blessings? Expecting!!??
Are you enslaved and in need of salvation? A release from captivity? An outlook larger than what is immediately in front of you; joylessness.
Jesus invites you to leave the prison cell behind and accept his offer of forgiveness, hope, and joy
And if that is something you would like to talk about today after the service. If you want to know more about what it means to be forgiven, to be ushered into a new life of hope, I invite you to come forward after we close with one more song and there will be people here who will be willing to speak to you about that and to pray with you.
that stands, joy that must be expressed, it cannot be contained, and joy that anticipates.
So.
A Psalm for giving thanks.
1 Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
2 Serve the Lord with gladness!
Come into his presence with singing!
3 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.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name!
5 For the Lord is good;
his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations.
Let’s pray.
Benediction
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
