His Joy Our Strength

Today we embark on a new series of messages that will be centered around a single word we use quite often within our Christian circles.

This topic is one we speak of, we sing of, we praise with and live by. It is much more than an emotion, it is much more than a feeling, it is something that we have received (implying that it was given to us) something that this world can never take away.

While our minds are beginning to try to process what it is I’m speaking of consider this into your equation. I believe God is setting up the stage for something BIG! This something goes directly against the current flow of the land.

We are entering into a new year, but we continue to face the same old problems within our culture. I believe a day of breakthrough is coming… days that will be marked by… revival. Watch this: while our worldly circumstance might remain grim… our hearts can come alive through the power of God’s Word and the empowerment of God’s Spirit.

I believe God is going to shake loose the chains. I believe 2022 is going to be a year of spiritual freedom! I believe it will be a year different from every other year! I believe… the best is yet to come!

With all of this in mind… I want to look at a series that will talk about a much needed character of revival… a characteristic we know as Joy.

We will get to why I consider joy as a characteristic of revival in a moment. But let’s first take a quick look at what joy is.

Joy is not an emotion. Happiness and joy must never be mistaken as the same thing. Joy goes beyond even being a state of mind. It is much deeper than that. Joy is a reflection of the condition of our soul. Joy is something that can and will endure no matter the outward circumstances that may surround us.

I do not find joy in my possessions. Yes they make me happy, but in them I find no hope.

I REALLY like my Jeep! It leaks, it squeaks, and it keeps me in constant contact with Napa in Smith Center! It is my dream car! Yet, the only hope that Jeep brings me is the hope it will start on a cold morning!

I do not find joy by gaining monetary wealth. Money may bring financial security but it can never buy that which brings me eternal security.

I do not find joy in my interests and hobbies. That which I construct with my hands will break down and wither away. But that which I build with my heart will last beyond my lifetime.

People are looking for Joy. I believe people desire to experience the fulness of Joy in life! Problem is… we often look for that joy in all the wrong things and in all the wrong places. So where is a person to look for Joy? Where do we find Joy that is not dependent upon our outward circumstance? We find that Joy in the Lord!

True joy comes from knowing the Lord! True joy is not of this earth, but comes from having a relationship with Jesus!

Joy is a distinguishing mark of all believers. It is the result of what God has done in our lives! We are to be a joyful people!

In worship – Psalms 100:1-5 says.

The New International Version Psalm 100

1 Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.

2 Worship the LORD with gladness;

come before him with joyful songs.

3 Know that the LORD is God.

It is he who made us, and we are his;

we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving

and his courts with praise;

give thanks to him and praise his name.

5 For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;

his faithfulness continues through all generations.

In trials – James 1:2 says

The New International Version Chapter 1

2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.

In His Word – Jeremiah 15:16 reads,

The New International Version Chapter 15

16 When your words came, I ate them;

they were my joy and my heart’s delight,

for I bear your name,

LORD God Almighty.

In His Love – 1 Peter 1:8

The New International Version Chapter 1

8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

My point is, Scripture lays out many reason to be joyful today! My concern is: People struggle in feeling joyful. We feel busy, tired, overwhelmed, anxious, worried, frantic, and stressed. These are all feelings that ROB us of strength. Joy is feeling that gives strength to our soul.

We begin by looking at a story found in Nehemiah that concludes with probably the most quoted, but not fully understood passage of scripture of our time.

We find the text in Nehemiah 8:10 It reads

The New International Version Chapter 8

This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”

How many fully understand the idea of finding strength in the Lord’s joy? What exactly is the Lord’s joy in the first place? We quote this phrase, but I do not believe we understand its full contextual meaning.

Our study today will cover a vast area of scripture that will bring us to the final point that yes His joy is our strength. That yes, in God, we can find joy that will help us through any situation or hardship. Yes, in God, we find joy that is evident in our worship and our soul. This joy is so powerful that it becomes a source of strength that cannot be extinguished as long as we remain in God and He remains in us.

Israel is in the process of restoration. They have been through a time of difficulty and are slowly beginning to rebuild and re-situate themselves.

While in the midst of difficulty, their faith had become a distant memory. They were unable to exercise certain religious duties causing a distance between themselves and the will of God.

If you look in scripture you will find a detailed account of the rebuilding process. Certain things had taken place leading up to the point where Nehemiah encourages the people that the time of sorrow is now over and it is time for the joy of the Lord to become their strength.

You see, over the course of time they had witnessed the destruction of the temple. More than just a building, this was the established place of worship where the Spirit of God literally called home.

They also witnessed the destruction of the walls of Jerusalem leaving the city vulnerable to attacks from the enemy. Their defenses were down and the city lie in ruins.

We begin to understand why joy was a thing of the past!

I wonder how many can relate to this condition: praise-less, defenseless, and distanced from God. Ever been there?

Today I want to look at what turned this desperate situation around. I want to take a deep look at what brought joy back to the people of Israel. We are going to literally rewind time from the point Nehemiah spoke this well-known phrase “the joy of the Lord is your strength” to see what took place that resulted in the return of joy to the people of God.

And as we do so I challenge you to do this: get out your personal joy meter and take a reading. Where is your level of joy in the Lord? If you find yourself struggling in this area then take to heart the next few points I present this morning. There is a road that leads to joy so get your traveling clothes on and get ready for the journey! It’s time to reclaim our joy in the Lord.

Joy is restored through repentance

We begin in Nehemiah chapter 8. To paraphrase the passage the Israelites were about to do something that had not been done for a long time. As mentioned before, certain religious duties had been denied and their faith was built on memories and fragments of the law.

Ezra stood upon a high wooden platform surrounded by men and women of Jerusalem and had with him the book of the Law of Moses. Nehemiah 8:3 states:

The New International Version Chapter 8

3 He read it aloud from daybreak till noon as he faced the square before the Water Gate in the presence of the men, women and others who could understand. And all the people listened attentively to the Book of the Law.

Skip down to verse 5 which reads

The New International Version Chapter 8

5 Ezra opened the book. All the people could see him because he was standing above them; and as he opened it, the people all stood up. 6 Ezra praised the LORD, the great God; and all the people lifted their hands and responded, “Amen! Amen!” Then they bowed down and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground.

The reading of God’s law had returned, but as it was being read, the people began to realize how far from the will of the Lord they had truly drifted. They began to weep and were filled with sorrow.

This caused great sorrow as their sins were realized.

Such a feeling is not unwarranted, but actually encouraged when dealing with sin. Sin should grieve us. Sin should cause us sorrow. In fact, such sorrow is consider Godly as we read in 2 Cor 7:10

The New International Version Chapter 7

10 Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret

Such sorrow leads us to repentance as it did in Nehemiah’s day.

His words to the people that day were this: yes our sin should cause us sorrow, but it leads us to repentance. That repentance results in our salvation and leaves no regret.

Now, Should we as believers continue to grieve over past sins once we have repented? Absolutely not! Such sorrow would only indicate a lack of assurance in our redemption.

Our sorrow turns to dancing the moment we pray for forgiveness! Our night has turned to day! Gone are the days of death and despair. Gone are the days of the old life, and we now embrace the new life found through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Our sorrow of sin is replaced with joy from repentance. For repentance is the choice to leave sin behind and to draw nearer to the Lord.

This joy, this new reality cannot be taken away from you. But the enemy will try to convince you otherwise.

Today I want you to realize the truth of this joy: if you have called upon the name of the Lord YOU ARE SAVED.

However the enemy would like to try to pull you back from joyous to joyless. Why? Because joyful righteous people are a threat to his kingdom of darkness and despair.

What more does our world need right now? Yes things are tricky, but imagine what would happen if the church of God would allow His joy to be our strength once again! It’s time we rejoice in our salvation and let the world see it! Not to boast of our good works, but to give testimony of God’s grace mercy and love!

Our first step to joy is repentance. We must turn loose of sin and grab a hold of God.

We must believe His Words and trust in His power. We must also be on our guard. For the enemy will stop at nothing to try to rob us of our joy.

Joy is restored through rebuilding defenses.

Recall from the introduction that the walls of Jerusalem were destroyed. These walls were in place as a system of protection from outside enemies.

Before the reading of the law took place, the Israelites began rebuilding the walls. Jerusalem’s walls were destroyed and the city was left in ruins. They were defenseless against aggressive enemies.

Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem with the very task of rebuilding and refortifying the walls of this great city.

I bring this to light for this sole purpose: We have an enemy, his name is Satan. He hates your guts and hates the joy within you.

He will attack, he will deceive, and he will destroy IF our defenses are down. Satan delights in the destruction of God’s people. He will try to hold your sin over your head to try to make you question your salvation to rob you of your joy. Don’t believe me? Have you ever had any of these thoughts?

You’re no good.

God’s not pleased with you and He never will be.

You are a spiritual loser.

You have so many faults and weaknesses, you’ll never be able to successfully live the Christian life.

You have messed up so many times, He is not going to continue to forgive you.

You might as well give-up because you’ll never make it.

You don’t have a chance in reaching Heaven.

You are going to hell and you know it. T

That list I read just a minute ago are lies, lies, and more lies with one and only one purpose: to take your joy away.

Israel rebuilt the walls of their city to give them a place of refuge from the enemy.

Their enemies scorned them and mocked them. Their enemies stood in opposition as the walls began to reshape and reform.

I LOVE what scripture says the Israelites did in response: Nehemiah 4:16

The New International Version Chapter 4

16 From that day on, half of my men did the work, while the other half were equipped with spears, shields, bows and armor. The officers posted themselves behind all the people of Judah 17 who were building the wall. Those who carried materials did their work with one hand and held a weapon in the other, 18 and each of the builders wore his sword at his side as he worked. But the man who sounded the trumpet stayed with me.

The men did not leave themselves vulnerable to an attack. As they rebuilt the wall with one hand they stayed battle ready in the other.

In our lives we must take on this same mentality. As we build our faith in God brick by brick may we also remain battle ready at all times. We don’t carry a sword of metal or steel, but we carry a sword freedom and truth. That sword is the Word of God.

When was the last time you went to work battle ready? When was the last time you approached the trials of life battle ready?

Should the enemy be throwing out deceptive phrases to you like before mentioned then you begin to fire back words of truth that come straight out of God’s Word.

Devil, you say I’m no good that I displease the Lord and that I’m a spiritual loser but His Word tells me that I am a child of the one true King. He calls me friend.

Devil you say that I have too many faults and weaknesses and that I have messed up to many times, but His Word tells me that His grace is sufficient for me! His blood has covered ALL my sins!

Devil you say I should give up, that I should throw in the towel and that I’ll never make it, but God’s Word tells me that we will overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony.

We must defend ourselves against the powers of darkness and principalities. God will certainly give strength to those who will build their faith in Him. Yes the walls will be tested, but they will hold strong as long as they are founded in His Word.

I find joy in the fact that the enemy cannot penetrate our defenses! His deception is no match for God’s truth!

Reject the deception, embrace His truth, be filled with His joy.

Joy is restored through re-establishing praise.

Again recall from the introduction that the temple had been destroyed. The temple was a place of worship and sacrifice and had yet to be restored.

In Ezra 6, we see the construction of the temple, once again restoring worship to the people of Israel.

This last point is plain and simple folks. If we want to experience the joy of the Lord in our lives then we must be people of worship.

Worship is in fact the expression of such joy back to God. Praise is an outward appreciation of the inward spiritual change. What change am I speaking of? The change from dead to living. The change for sinner to redeemed!

Our God is so incredibly good! He is worthy of our praise! If you struggle to find praise in your heart for God, then I struggle with your acknowledgement of His goodness and love!

If you know God then you also know of His works and His goodness. If you know of His works and goodness then you know how awesome He is. If you know how awesome He is, His praise will be like a fire shut up in your bones. It will be an uncontainable, and undeniable joyful noise to the Lord!

I speak boldly on this matter because I fear we take for granted the blessings of the Lord.

When our lives were brought down by the effects of sin He lifted us back up with His grace. And if these facts are not enough to get you on your feet praising the Lord then I weep for this generation!

God deserves our praise! Recognize His goodness and may His praise be restored within you today!

At the time of the restoration of the temple, Ezra 6:16 says “Then the people of Israel—the priests, the Levites and the rest of the exiles—celebrated the dedication of the house of God with joy.”

I wonder how many people in here would dedicate themselves as a temple of praise?

You see, the temple was the housing place of the spirit of God. When Christ died on the cross God’s spirit no longer resided within the temple but now dwells within the hearts of believers.

You are His temple! Will YOU be a temple of praise?

Tonight we conclude in what I feel is the most appropriate way possible. In a moment, we will receive communion to celebrate what Christ did on the cross.

It was through His death that repentance was made possible. It was through His death that we became a temple of praise. It was through His death that the enemy was defeated.

All these things we have spoken of today were made possible through Jesus.

Our suffering has certainly turned to joy! Jesus paid the price we could not pay. Jesus died the death we should have died. Jesus faced the enemy we should have faced. He conquered sin, He conquered death, He was raised to life and through Him, we are more than conquerors!

With every head bowed and every eye closed I wonder how many would acknowledge that your joy levels are not where you desire them to be?

You find yourself struggling to praise. You find yourself defenseless against the enemy. You find yourself in need of repentance.

If you raised your hand, then it’s time we begin the rebuilding process. It’s time you allow His joy to become your strength today. That process starts with Jesus.

Prayer

First, we ask God to forgive us of the distractions. We ask God to forgive us for looking elsewhere to find our joy. It’s time to place Him first in our lives.

Second, we ask God to fill us with joy… to overwhelm our circumstances with His Joy.