The Joy of the Lord is your strength

Advent Sunday 12/13/20 third Sunday Joy

Title: The joy of the Lord is your strength

Theme: The joy of walking with the Savior

Text Psalm 126; Luke 1:36-38; Romans 10:9; Nehemiah 8:10

Goal: The joy of the Lord is your strength

Nehemiah 8:10

ME: ORIENTATION: FIND COMMON GROUND WITH THE AUDIENCE

If you could say in one word what you want more of in life, what would that be?

The number 1 response was happiness. Joy came in at number 5. Money — which, one would assume, would help you grab number 1 or number 5 — was number 2. Other answers were freedom, peace, balance, fulfillment and confidence.

I think Covid 19 Has simplified our lives.

WE: IDENTIFICATION (MAKE IT CLEAR THAT YOU STRUGGLE)

As we struggle with the circumstances we find ourself in these days.

As we wrestle with how to handle them and how others handle them.

As Zion faces a shut down for the greater good and hears the threat of shut down of holiday celebrations we cry out.

It feels too long and we are frustrate greatly.

How can we find joy?

During the Advent season:

Christ’s Birth

Salvation offered and received

Walking as Believers and people in joy

We can face it all.

GOD: ILLUMINATION (THE GOAL IS TO RESOLVE THE TENSION

In your life live in the joy of your salvation.

Lk 1:36–38

36 And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.” 38 And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

A. The joy of Salvation

1. Have you ever dreamed about being a mother or parent of a child.

2. Young children might have hoped a fanticised about being the mother of the Christ which scripture foretold.

3. This was the gift offered to Mary!

4. She would have to choose to believe and receive it.

B. “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.”

1. She had to believe and be willing to receive this gift.

2. She did so with out:

a. Fully understanding how this worked

b. Will to receive.

c. Walk in faith through this which dealt with the unknown further.

d. Mary pondered an treasured these things in her heart.

B. The gift of salvation must be received and believed

Romans 10:9

10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Ro 10:10). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

confess:

ⓑ of profession of allegiance (ὁμολογῶ εἶναι χριστιανός Theoph. Ant. 1, 1 [p. 58, 11])—Esp. of confessing Christ, or the teaching of his community/church; w. double acc. (B-D-F §157, 2; 416, 3; Rob. 480.—Jos., Ant. 5, 52; Just., A II, 5, 1 εἰ θεὸν ὡμολογοῦμεν βοηθόν, D. 35, 2 Ἰησοῦν ὁμολογεῖν καὶ κύριον καὶ χριστόν) ἐὰν ὁμολογήσῃς κύριον Ἰησοῦν if you confess Jesus as Lord Ro 10:91

1 Arndt, W., Danker, F. W., Bauer, W., & Gingrich, F. W. (2000). A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament and other early Christian literature (3rd ed., p. 708). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Heart

καρδία (kardia). n. fem. heart, mind, will. Signifies the inner person, where the will and decision-making faculties exist.

This word is the usual Septuagint translation of Hebrew לֵבָב (lēbāb, “heart”) and לֵב (lēb, “heart”). It is used similarly in the nt. Thus, the expression “in the heart (kardia)” defines processes taking place in the mind, depicting various types of thought, and the place where thinking occurs (Luke 1:66). In Matthew 24:48 the heart (kardia) represents the place where the slave speaks to himself, or thinks (see also Rev 18:7). It is the place where belief in something is held (Mark 11:23; see also Rom 10:9) and where events are pondered and thought about (Luke 2:19, 51; see also Phil 1:7). An individual’s doubts may also exist in the heart (kardia; Luke 24:38).1

1 Emanuel, D. M. (2014). Thinking. D. Mangum, D. R. Brown, R. Klippenstein, & R. Hurst (Eds.), Lexham Theological Wordbook. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.

Believe

πιστεύω (pisteuō). vb. to trust; to believe; to be faithful. This verbal form expresses the idea of trust in or faithfulness to someone or something.

This is the most frequent verb in the nt concerning faith or trust. It can be used to indicate believing facts (e.g., believing that God raised Jesus from the dead; Rom 10:9), believing a person (e.g., John 4:21), or believing in a person—i.e., placing trust in that person (e.g., Matt 18:6). It can also mean “to entrust”—i.e., to trust someone with something. Thus, Rom 3:2 says that the Jews “were entrusted (pisteuō) with the oracles of God.”1

1 Kugler, C. (2014). Faith. D. Mangum, D. R. Brown, R. Klippenstein, & R. Hurst (Eds.), Lexham Theological Wordbook. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press

II. Remind yourself daily of the joy and faith.

Psalm 126

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.

A. The past

The generation of Jews that conquered the Promised Land was true to the Lord, and so were their children, but the third generation broke the covenant and turned to idols (Judg. 2:7–23)

God punished His people in the land by allowing seven nations to invade, rob, and destroy.

When Israel’s rebellion became so great that the land itself was being defiled, God took them out of the land and sent them to Babylon for seventy years.

Now they had been set free and they could not believe what was happening. Yes, they knew that both Isaiah and Jeremiah had promised this “second exodus,” but it was too good to be true

B. Reminder

1. This psalm became a reminder of Israel’s return to the promise Land.

2. It became a reminder of victories past and by faith a trust the joy of future victories.

C. During this journey to victory :

1. In captivity it was a dream.

2. They had to be willing to return to a devastated land believing that God could bless them again.

3. To remain jews they had to believe that God was their God and return home.

C. Their current joy was the reminder of God’s hand in their lives from past to present to future.

III. The Joy of the Lord is your strength

Ne 8:10

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.”

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

IV. God is engaged in your life: have joy and live in faith.

When a believing person prays, great things happen.

James 5:16

Prayer is the recognition that if God had not engaged himself in our problems, we would still be lost in the blackness. It is by his mercy that we have been lifted up. Prayer is that whole process that reminds us of who God is and who we are.

I believe there’s great power in prayer. I believe God heals the wounded, and that he can raise the dead. But I don’t believe we tell God what to do and when to do it.

God knows that we, with our limited vision, don’t even know that for which we should pray. When we entrust our requests to him, we trust him to honor our prayers with holy judgment.

Walking with the Savior

YOU: APPLICATION (TELL PEOPLE WHAT TO DO AND WHAT THEY HAVE HEARD)

Conclusion:

In your life live in the joy of your salvation.

Remind yourself daily of the joy and faith.

The joy of the Lord is your strength

God is engaged in your life have joy and live in faith.