The Joy of the Lord
The Joy of the Lord
Sermon Summary:
In this powerful message, we’re reminded that the joy of the Lord is our strength, as taught in Nehemiah 8. This isn’t just a fleeting happiness, but a deep, abiding sense of well-being rooted in our relationship with God. We’re challenged to examine our own lives and ask: How joyful are we? The world, our sinful nature, and Satan himself are identified as ‘joy stealers,’ but we’re encouraged to choose joy as an act of faith. The story of Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah facing the fiery furnace illustrates this choice beautifully. We’re reminded that joy is both a gift from God and a choice we make, even in difficult circumstances. This message urges us to draw near to the ‘joy giver’ and trust in God’s eternal plan, where our future joy will be full and complete.
Sermon Points:
CONTEXT: Nehemiah and Ezra led Israel in a revival service recorded in Nehemiah 8. After hearing the Word of God read aloud, these Jews were convicted. However, their leaders led them to a time of celebration, worship, remembrance, service, and . . . JOY!
How joyful, happy, blessed are you? How often do you rejoice? How do you express your delight in the Lord?
The Joy of the LORD is . . . your . . . strength!
JOY STEALERS: This sinful world, your sinful nature, and Satan!
When we seek joy from things, from others, from achievement, or accolade — we will always be disappointed. In fact, we are placing our joy in the hands of something or someone else!
The Joy of the LORD is . . . your . . . strength!
The Joy of the LORD is . . . a gift!
“Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.”
-The Angel of the Lord (Luke 2:10)
“Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love . . . I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.”
-Jesus (John 10:10-11)
The Joy of the LORD is . . . a choice!
“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
-Philippians 4:4
“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 . . .”
-1 Peter 1:8
“If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”
-Hananiah, Mishael, Azariah (Daniel 3:17-18)
“Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior.”
-Habakkuk 3:17-18
The Joy of the LORD is . . . our future!
“Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready.”
-Revelation 19:7
The Joy of the LORD is . . . your . . . strength!
Key Takeaways:
- Joy is a gift from God and a fruit of the Spirit
- Christians can choose joy even in challenging circumstances
- The joy of the Lord is our strength (Nehemiah 8:10)
- Joy stealers include the sinful world, our sinful nature, and Satan
- Rejoicing in the Lord is a choice and requires discipline
- Our brains have a negativity bias, so we must intentionally focus on positive things
- Joy is our future eternal state
Scripture References:
- Nehemiah 8:7-18 (primary)
- Philippians 4:4-8
- 1 Peter 1:8
- Habakkuk 3:17-18
- 2 Corinthians 6:10
- Revelation 19:7
Stories:
- The pastor’s experience at a preaching conference where he met someone named Jamin, referencing the biblical character in Nehemiah 8
- The story of the prodigal son seeking joy in worldly pleasures
- The account of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (referred to as Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah) choosing to trust God even in the face of death
- The pastor’s experience preaching to Fulani farmers in West Africa and explaining the concept of heaven as a great feast
Transcript
And worship today. If you had been with us at all this year, some of you may be new today, you haven’t been here before. But those of you that have been, you know that. Our theme for this year is Together. And as we look forward to the future, I’m excited about where the Lord is leading us.
As I shared with you briefly last Sunday morning, we’ve already chosen our theme for the next three years. 25, 26, and 27. Our theme is going to be Flourishing Together. And we’ll learn more about that as we get closer to it. Our theme for the fall is Together for the Future.
And what we’ve been doing this fall is we have been reading together the books of Ezra and Nehemiah in our Old Testament. And there are various lenses through which you can read and study. Ezra, Nehemiah. We have chosen the rebuilding lens. And so we’ve been learning together what does it mean to rebuild your life?
And as we’ve said, there are all kinds of reasons that challenge us and put us in a place of rebuilding. It could be a job change. It could be a situation economically, or it could be physically. It could be you’ve recently been through a failed marriage, you’ve had a death in your family. There are just so many reasons.
It could just be you’re at a place where you’re just sensing that God’s calling you to a new season in your life. There are many reasons for it, but we’ve been studying together how to do it. And so let me just remind you of the lessons we’ve already learned from Ezrane Nehemiah. We began with the first lesson that we called neology. We have to begin with prayer.
If you’re a follower of Jesus and you find yourself in a season of rebuilding, you begin to pray. We learn that from both Ezra and Nehemiah. Second lesson. You are here. We must accept an honest assessment of our current situation.
Remember, we’ve talked about this. You can’t start from where you wish you were. You have to start from where you are. And then third, planning and zoning. We have to make a plan and get to work.
Remember, a dream is not a plan. And then overcoming obstacles. Ezra, Nehemiah had to face all kinds of obstacles in Zeribabel also, as they were rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem in the wall. But obstacles can be overcome. And then we talked about how easy it is to be detoured by distractions, and we don’t want to get sidetracked in our journey.
Last Sunday morning, we talked about the Bible, how Firm, a foundation. God’s word is trustworthy to guide us in our journey. Today, I just want to remind us all of a reality that’s available to you in your season of rebuilding, and we don’t want you to miss it. And that is the joy of the Lord. There is great joy in walking with our Lord.
The lesson is found in Nehemiah 8. So if you have your copy of the Old Testament. We looked at Nehemiah 8 last Sunday. We kind of introduced this, this service of consecration after the wall had been completed around Jerusalem. The wall will not be dedicatedill later in Nehemiah, Nehemiah 12.
But here’s a time of consecration. And you remember, this revival broke out. So we finished at verse 6 last Sunday of Nehemiah 8, where the people of God have heard the Bible being read, they’ve heard the law being read, they’ve bowed down, they’ve worshiped. And then we pick up the story in verse seven. So if you have your copy of the Old Testament, look with me at Nehemiah 8, verse 7.
The Levites, Jeshua, Bonnie, Shebiah, Jamin. Y’all remember I told y’all a couple weeks ago I led this preaching conference at Hardin Simmons, and there was another pastor with me who helped lead it. And his name was Jammin. And Jammin, I’ve never met anybody the name. I thought maybe his name was Benjamin and it was short.
And he said no, he said in Nehemiah 8, My dad is a pastor and he was reading Nehemiah 8 and he named me Jaman because he said, this is one of the men that interpreted the Bible to the people of God. And I hope that one day this child is going to grow up and do the very same, which I thought was kind of cool. And I told him, you know, my name is in the Bible too. And the Bible says to put on the full armor of God so that you can withstand the wiles of the devil. That’s what the Bible says.
So I just want to. I don’t want to be outdone. I mean, it’s that competitive nature I have. I on’t know I’m in the Bible too. So.
But anyway, back to this text. Verse 7. Ahubat, Shabbathiah, Hodiah, Messah, Khalida, Azariah, Joseabad, Hanan, and Palayh. All of these instructed the people in the law while the people were standing. In other words, they were teaching as well.
They read from the book of the law of God, making it clear there’s the interpretation given the meanings, so that the people understood what was being read, maybe even translating in the Hebrew for some of them. Verse 9. Then Nehemiah, the governor, Ezra, the priest and the teacher of the law, and the Levites who were instructing the people, said to them, all this day is holy to the Lord your God. Do not mourn nor weep, for all the people have been weeping as they listened to the words of the law. Nehemiah said, go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared, because this day is holy to our Lord.
Do not grieve for the joy of the Lord, your strength. The Levites calmed all the people, saying, be still, for this is a holy day. Do not grieve. Then all the people went away to eat and drink and send portions of food and celebrate with great joy, because they now understood the words that had been made known to them. On the second day of the month, the heads of all the families along, the priests and the Levites, gathered around Ezra, the teacher, to give attention to the words of the law.
They found written in the law which the Lord had commanded through Moses, that the Israelites were to live in temporary shelters during the festival of the seventh month. And they should proclaim this word and spread it throughout their towns. In Jerusalem, it’s the feast of the Tabernacles, which is just this past week in the life of Israel. Today, go out in the hill country, bring back branches from alllive and wild olive trees, from myrtles, palms, shade trees, to make temporary shelters, as it is written. So the people went out and brought back branches, built themselves temporary shelters on their own roofs and their courtyards in the court courts of the house of God and the square by the watergate and the one by the gate of Ephraim.
The whole company that had returned from exile built temporary shelters and lived in them. From the days of Joshua the son of Nun. Until that day, the Israelites had not celebrated it like this, and their joy was very great. So at this service, this consecration service, if you will, here’s the context. Nehemiah and Ezra had led Israel in this revival service, this recorded here in Nehemiah 8.
After hearing the Word of God read aloud, the Jews were convicted. However, their leaders led them to a time of celebration, of worship, remembrance, service, and joy. And this text describes that to us. They were instructed by Nehemiah, be joyful. The joy of the Lord is your strength.
They heard the word of God read. They were convicted because they hadn’t been doing everything that God had commanded them. Now they had been keeping the fish of the tabernacles, just not to the level they were supposed to. And now there was this great renewal in the life of God’s people. And they actually shared with one another, they served one another, they celebrated in the Lord’s presence and they had great joy together.
It’s a very beautiful thing. Where they were instructed, don’t grieve, but rejoice, exalt, because the joy of the Lord is your strength. So with that said, let me begin today with a question for you. Here’s what I want you to reflect on this week. How joyful, happy, blessed are you.
How often do you rejoice? How do you express your delight in the Lord? So I don’t know what season you’re in in your life right now, not sure what it is you’re facing, but that’s my question for you. How joyful are you and how do you express your delight in the Lord? That word joy is found so many times in the scripture.
It is great pleasure. It is delight, gladness. It’s an abiding sense of well being. It’s a settled state by faith. It’s rooted in our intimacy with God.
You know, when you study the Scripture, what happens is if you look at some of these words, these theological terms, scholars refer to what happens sometimes as semantic domains or reality. Well, what is a semantic domain? Well, that is a cluster of closely related words that are all connected. The Old Testament was written in Hebrew, the New Testament is written in Greek. And so there’s a cluster of words that are all connected.
As a matter of fact, it’certainly true about joy. When you’re reading your Bibles, you’ll find words like this. Joy, happiness, gladness, pleasure, celebration, cheer, delight, jubilation, laughter, exaltation, blessed, blessing. In fact, in the Old Testament, in Hebrew there are over 18 root words that are part of that semantic domain of joy, happiness or gladness. In the Greek New Testament, There are over 300 instances where there are synonyms for joy.
As a matter of fact, if you were to take the time to study the Bible, Old and New Testament and look at every passage that has to do with joy or celebration or merriment or laughter or cheer. There are over 2,700 of them because the Bible is a joy filled book. So I want to ask you, do you have that experience of the deep abiding reality of joy? Because here’s what the scripture teaches us in this text today. The joy of the Lord is your strength.
And so joy in him, through him, because of him, because of every relationship with him. The joy of the Lord. How joyful are you? Well, here’s what I know. I’ve lived life long enough to know this.
Joy can be challenging because life can be difficult. I remember I heard Beth Moore say a few years ago, somebody said to her, they said, you know, when we come here, you speak, you’re not as funny as you used to be. And she said, well, life is not as funny as it used to be. It can be hard, right? Here’s what you’re going to encounter in your life, what I would call joy stealers.
Okay? Now I’m not talking about your brother in law or you know, your re family member, okay? Because you’re already thinking that. Oh yeah, we got a couple of those in our family, we know who they are. I’m not talking about that.
I want to raise your gaze a little bit. Think more theologically with me. Joy stealers. Here’s what I would say. I would isolate them this way.
The sinful world we live in, your sinful nature and Satan, all of those are joy stealers. You, you and I live in a broken world. And the last thing Satan wants is a bunch of flourishing, joy filled Christians. He doesn’t want to do battle with us. He wants us to never experience the joy of the Lord.
You know why? Because it’s our strength. So it’s challenging this world that we live in, it’s a broken world, my goodness, look at it. Is filled with pain and sorrow and death and violence and abuse. And the world is challenging.
The Bible tells us in one John chapter two, don’t love this world. The things of this world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life, they’re all destructive in the life of a Christian. And our sinful nature, you know, our sinful selves, they will just lead us astray. Our sinful nature, it’s like gravity, it just pulls us back down into this world. And then Satan, the last thing Satan wants for you is for you to be joyful.
Martin Luther used to say that Satan cannot stand gaiety. What does the Bible say about Satan? The Bible says that Satan prowls around like a roaring lion seeking whom he can bless. Right? What does it say?
He prowls around like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. He wants to destroy you. So anything good in your life, he’s declared war against it. And the last thing he wants is for you to be filled with joy. And so he’ll work overtime to rob you, steal you of your joy.
If he can t do that, then he will misdirect you. And he’s really good at it because of our sinful nature. And so here’s what happens. Here’s a real temptation for many people. And this is what a lot of people do.
When we seek joy, ultimate joy from things, from others, from achievement or accolade, will always be disappointed. In fact, when you and I do that, we’re placing our joy in the hands of something or someone else. Think about it. If. If you and I choose to find joy, ultimate joy, in the wrong things, we’re placing our joy in the hands of those things.
Aquinas said many years ago, no one can live without delight. And that is why a man deprived of spiritual joy goes over to carnal pleasures. You remember the story of the prodigal son? The younger son said, I want everything right now. And his father gave it to him.
And he went out and he expended it on so many things, trying to find joy. And he found himself at a dead end. That just happens over and over and over and over because there are so many people that are looking for joy in all the wrong places. Here’s what they say, man, that joy is just around the bend, man. If only this man.
If only she would return my text. If only he would that make that decision. If only that next job, man, I could. I could find joy. That next relationship, man, I’m going to be filled with joy.
That next expression of congratulations, that next election.
Hello.
Here’s what’s happening. If you put your joy in the next thing, if you put your joy in another person, if you choose to put ultimate joy in all those things, what you’re really doing is, y’all, you’re putting your joy in the hands of somebody else. Do you really want to do that? Do you want to trust somebody else with your joy? Do you want to let everything about your joy hinge on some other thing that needs to happen in your life?
Do you want to put it in the hands of fill in the blank? I’m going to tell you right now, I don’t want to trust anybody with my joy but God, I’m not going to hand my joy off. Last thing I’m going to do is give it to the devil. I just stay there right now. I’m not going to let Satan rob me of my joy.
I’m just not going to do it. I’m not going to let Satan down there, wherever he is. As y’all know, and let him just one day Mark it off. Say, boom. God, Dennis Wiles today.
Let me Mark that off right there. I ride him of his joy. No, I’m not going to let him have. I’m not giving my joy to the devil. In fact, I will tell the devil, you can go straight to where you belong.
Y’all know that, right? But you can’t go there with my joy. I’m not giving it to you because my joy is in the Lord. It’s not out there. It’s in here.
It’s powerful. Remember this. The joy of the Lord. Nehemiah 8 is your strength. You may say.
I’m a preacher right now. I’m just. Gosh, I just feel weak. Well, then, let’s do a joy check. How joyful are you?
How often are you rejoicing in the Lord? How often are you exalting in him? Because the joy of the Lord brings strength to you, brings resiliency to you. So let me just walk you through a couple of truths about joy. Here’s the first one.
The joy of the Lord is a gift. Praise God, it’s a gift. What does the Bible say in Galatians 5, the four fruit of the presence of God’s spirit at work in your life? Love. Joy.
It’s a gift from God. Romans 15, verse 13. May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him. Why should I be surprised that joy is there for me? What did the angels say on the night Jesus was born?
Do y’all remember? Recorded in Luke, chapter two? Well, the angels say, the angel said, do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause a little bit of joy to some people. Celebrate it.
Is that what he said? What did the angel of the Lord say? I bring you good news that will cause great joy that shall be for all the people. So why am I surprised? The Gospel is good news, y’all.
It brings joy to us. It makes joy accessible. You see, T, you don’t create joy as a Christian. You don’t conjure it up. Joy is available to you.
So you claim it. God has made it accessible to you. You don’t have to create it inside of you. He will do that because the good news of the Gospel is centered around joy. And he wants to fill his people with joy.
And so it’s a beautiful thing. It’s a gift from God. You have to receive it. Jesus promised that you could have it. In fact, here’s what Jesus said in John 10 now remain in my love.
If you keep my commands, you remain in my love. And I’ve told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete. What a powerful word from Jesus. Jesus says, I want to give you my joy. Now, come on, y’all.
Jesus said, I want to give you my joy. Isn’t that awesome? Who better to give me joy than Jesus? He’s the most joy filled man who’s ever lived. Everybody wanted to be with Jesus.
They flocked around him all the time. He was the man who was filled with joy. So the joy of the Lord is a gift. Now, are y’all still with me? Because here’s where it gets dicey.
The joy of the Lord is a choice. Now this is where it gets a little dicey, because you can choose it. You can, as a Christian, you can choose joy. It’s a step of faith to choose to exalt in God, to rejoice in God, to give God praise. What I’ve discovered about joy is it’s deep and loud in a person’s life.
What does the hundredth psalm say? Huter Psalm says, shout to the. Shout for the Lord. Shout for joy rather to the Lord. All the earth, worship the Lord with gladness.
Come before him with joyful songs. It means that we need to rejoice. The apostle Paul, Philippians. I love Philippians. The apostle Paul goes to Rome as a prisoner.
He’s under house arrest, unsure of his future. And he writes Ephesians, Colossians, and Philippians Philemon and sends them out from homeme. And Philippians 4. What does Paul say in Philippians 4? Rejoice in the Lord on Mondays.
Rejoice in the Lord when everything adds up. Rejoice in the Lord. When she does text you back, Rejoice in the Lord. When you get that new job, what does it say? Rejoice in the Lord.
When? Always. And Paul said, let me go and say it to you again. Rejoice in the Lord. He goes on and says, the Lord is near.
In Philippians 4, verse 5, he says in verse 6, don’t be anxious, but pray and pray with gratitude, with thanksgiving. And then he says in verse eight, think about these things. Think about them. Discipline your mind. Well, there’s some powerful insight there, y’all, about rejoicing in the Lord.
It’s a choice. Well, how do you rejoice in the Lord? You may say, well, wait a minute now. You don’t know what’s going on in my life. You’re right.
I know what’s going on in mine. And I can choose joy or not. The Lord has given me that option, and I want to choose it. And sometimes it’s difficult to do. Well, here’s how you do it.
First of all, the Lord is near. The text says in Philippians’s V, you got to draw near to him because it’s not always going to come natural to you. Some people are more joyful, some people are less joyful. Just in general. Right.
Some people are a little more. What do you say, Melancholy. What’s the right word? I don’t know. What the wr.
What’s the politically correct word? Some people are more that. Some people more this. Okay, whatever it is, I get that doesn’t matter. Here’s the thing.
Regardless of who we are, draw near to the Lord and then be grateful. Offer up prayers to him, Draw near to him and pray with a thankful heart. That’s what the Bible says. Be grateful. Express your gratitude even in your grief, even in your loss, even in the point.
The points. Times in your life where you’re just not sure what’s happening. And then discipline your mind. Paul says in Philippians 4, think on these things. Whatever is pure and true.
He says, think on these things. You got to discipline your mind. You know what’s interesting about our brains? Do you know that in the amygdala of your brain, that’s where your brain imprints positive and negative images? Do y’all know this?
You know what’s fascinating? What neuroscientists tell us about our brains? We have in our brains, for some reason, it’s quite fascinating. They’ve tested this, that whenever someone has a negative experience and someone has a positive experience, they just measure the activity in our brains. What’s fascinating is in our amygdala we have what scientists call a negativity bias.
In other words, our brains process negative images more quickly and more feverishly than positive images. One pastor that I read was talking about this, and he said it’s almost like our brains when it comes to negative images or like fly paper. And when it comes to positive images are like Teflon. Here’s what we’ve discovered. Whenever you experience experience something negative, it takes your brain three seconds to imprint that negative image on your brain.
If you experience something positive, it takes 14 seconds for your brain to process it and imprint it. So John Mark Comer, he is s a pastor in California. He says their family has a practice whenever they are encountering something together as a family that’s positive. He says they have a discipline. They pause, just keep their eyes open, look at it, reflect on whatever it is for 14 seconds.
They call it the discipline of imprinting. In other words, we’re not going to let this good experience go by until we can positively make sure we’ve embraced it. Even from a neuroscience perspective, isn’t that fascinating? Discipline your minds’what. The Bible says.
Think about these things. It’s so easy to think the wrong things, y’all. And my goodness, I am surrounded by a culture that has enough wrong headed views to choke a mule. My daddy would say it is so easy to be captivated by negativity, positive things. Think on these things.
Let me just offer you some scripture real quickly about that. The apostle Peter wrote this in 1 Peter 1:8. Though you’ve 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. You may say, preacher, I just don’t see him right now.
I get it. Sometimes he’s hard to see, but by faith you still believe in him. And when you do that, he can give you inexpressible joy. Because joy, Bono says joy is an act of defiance. It means that you’re still trusting.
Y’all remember the story of Hananiah, Michel, Aazariah? Three of my favorite guys in the Old Testament, captured by the Babylonians, Debbuchadnezzar sets up this, this idol for them to worship. And these three guys say, well, you know, we’re not going to do it. He says, if you don’t do it, what do he say? He is going to do him.
If you don’t do this, I’m going to throw you we in the fiery furnace. I love what they say back to him. Listen to this. He says, if they say if we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it. And he will deliver us from your majesty’s hand.
But even if he does not, even if he doesn’t, we want you to know, your majesty, we will not serve your gods or worship this image that of gold you have set up. Wow. A what a choice. They said we’re going to choose Joy. We believe God is going to take care of us.
But even if he doesn’t, we’re still going to choose this. K. Warren says joy is the settled assurance that God is in control of my life. You keep choosing joy. It doesn’t mean that you deny the reality of what you’re facing.
That’s not it’s not Pollyannish. It doesn’t mean that you don’t embrace the reality of your pain. It just means that you still choose joy. This may be my favorite one. It’s our passage this week for Together in Word.
If you’re using this devotional guide that we provided for you this fall, it’s from Habakkuk. Listen to this. Habakkuk 3, verse 17. Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls yet, I will rejoice in the Lord. I will be joyful in my God, my Savior.
Wow. Come on, now. Even if there’s no sheep in the pen, no cattle in the stalls, because my joy is not in those things. My joy is in the Lord. I’m still going to rejoice.
I’m still going to give God praise in my life. That means you’ve got a deep trust in God. The apostle Paul Talks about In Second Corinthians 6, Paul talks about his life, all the hardships, the challenges. He says this in 2 Corinthians 6, verse 10. We are sorrowful, yet rejoicing.
It’s powerful, y’all, to rejoice. And then finally, let me say this about joy. The joy of the Lord is our future. It’s our future. You see, the joy of the Lord that we have right now is just a down payment.
We just have a glimpse of it. Our future joy is going to be full and eternal. Joy is our future, eternal state. We’re going to experience eternal joy one day. John caught a glimpse of it in Revelation 19, verse 7.
Listen to what John says. Hallelujah for our Lord, God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory. For the wedding of the lamb has come and his bride has made herself ready. Wow.
One day there’s going to be an incredible banquet, a feast, if you will, a great wedding. And God has prepared us for and prepared his bride. The church and the Lord is going to come, and we’re going to have great joy. You know, people look at me sometimes and say, are you worried about this world? What does that mean?
I’m burdened for this world, but I’m not worried. Well, what do you think is going on in this world? What I think is going on in this world? It’s what’s always been going on in this world. God is preparing this world for the return of his Son.
The Lord Jesus, and he’s going to make everything right. I believe that with everything in me now. I don’t always like what happens. I mean, come on, y’all. My goodness.
I’ve had to learn to have joy. Are you kidding me? I’m a lifelong Auburn fan. You think I don’t know how to have joy in the middle of all the stuff that happens to me? But while I’m living my life, every once in while Alabama gets beaten, it just keeps you going, you know?
So it is what it is. But I know one day something’s coming, and it’s going to be greater than this. You know, years ago, I was in West Africa. I was preaching and teaching to a group of Fulani farmers, very poor men. All I’m about this big around because they don’t have enough food.
De They’ve never had a meal in their life or they’ve been full. They always have to share with their kids and their wives. And so we’re talking about one of them, ask me, what’s heaven going to be like? And this translator said, they want to know about heaven. And we got talking about it.
And I said, I don’t know everything about heaven. And here’s what I do know. The Bible paints a picture for us. One day there’s going to be a great banquet, a great feast, and we’re all going to be invited. And the Lord is s.
Going to prepare a table for us, and we’re all going to eat and enjoy the beauty of the moment. And all of a sudden, the translator tells them that. And these ful Linei men start going, is that right, man? We’re going to be like this, right, man? We’re.
You mean we’re going to get to eat till we’re full? They could not. They’ve never had a meal like that. And I said, y’all, and the table is always going to be set. That’s where we’re headed.
Because you see, here’s what happened, y’all, at this church. We believe and we preach what we call inaugurated eschatology. Inaugurated eschatology. In other words, when you look at how the Jews viewed the world, the Jews divided the world into two ages, this age and the age to come. All that’s all they believed in.
This present evil age, the age to come. Here’s what we believe about Jesus. We believe that when Jesus came, the age to come, all of a sudden now has intersected. This present evil age hasn’t overcome it, but it’s intersected. It’s been established and the roots of it are now being planted.
The seeds of it are because the kingdom of God is now here. And that means that we’re getting a glimpse and a taste of what’s going to be one day in fullest measure. It’s not there yet, but it’s already here. It’s already been established. It’s already happening.
That’s why we read passages like Isaiah 51, where the prophet said, everlasting joy will crown their heads, gladness and joy will overtake them. That’s already beginning to happen because Jesus has come into this world. That’s why you and I can be sorrowful and joyful at the same time. If it weren’t for Jesus, we’d only be sorrowful. But in the midst of our sorrow, we can experience joy in the Lord.
So. But you know what? If you want it, y’all, you got to choose it. And you got to get close to the joy giver. You got to get close to the joy giver.
Let me read you this quote from C.S. lewis. He says this. Good things as well as bad, you know, are caught by a kind of infection. If you want to get warm, you must stand near the fire.
If you want to be wet, you must get into the water. If you want joy, power, peace, eternal life, you must get close to or even into the thing that has them. They are not a sort of prize which God could, if he chose, just hand out to anyone. They are a great foundation of energy and beauty spurting up at the very center of reality. If you’re close to it, the spray will wet you.
If you’re not, you’remain dry. In other words, you’ve got to draw near to the joy giver and let the spray of the joy giver spill over onto you. You’re not going to get it just on your own. And remember this, the lesson is this, y’all. The joy of the Lord is your strength.
And it’s possible to experience it even in the midst of the challenging seasons of your life. You still can have this deep, abiding sense of well being in your soul. You know, when we were kids growing up in my church, we used to sing that song, I’ve got joy, joy, joy, joy. Where al chonder in my next job, in my next relationship, in that next whatever. What is it?
I’ve got joy, joy, joy. Where? Down in my. Where down in my heart. That’s what we used to sing, right?
We’ve got joy. It’s down in our heart. How did it get there? Because that’s where Jesus is. And when he draws me close to himself and I get close to him, what I discover about him is y’all, he’s the joy giver.
And I can live that reality. His joy can be my joy. And then my joy can be complete. May it be so. Let’s pray together.
Lord, we come before you today grateful, thankful for this great gift. But also know, Lord, with us, the sound of my voice. Right now. There are people who’ve lost their joy. The joy has been stolen from them.
They’ve been robbed. Maybe they’ve misplaced it. And right now they find themselves empty. And they’ve tried to fill that void and it just doesn’t work. And they are weak because your word teaches us that the joy of the Lord is our strength.
And so today, Lord, we pray. We ask, Lord, that you would restore joy to those who need it. I come before you on behalf of these people. I love these people. I’m their pastor.
They’re shepherd. And I know some of them are facing really, really hard days, uncertain days. Some of them are rebuilding their lives. They’re having to overcome obstacles. They’re having to face distractions.
They’re dealing with challenges, the incredible valleys that come in a journey of rebuilding. And for some of them, Lord, they may be dangerously close to losing their joy. And so today, I just ask you to draw them close to yourself. And I pray, Lord, that you will restore their joy. Even though we know it doesn’t mean that everything is going to be fixed on this side of glory, we know that.
We know that not everything is going to be resolved. We know that. But somehow, on the face of it, Lord, I just ask you to give them the faith to draw near to you, the jo Giver. And may you impart your joy to them. And may it be a source of great strength.
And we’ll praise your name for it. And we pray in Jesus name, amen.