SundaySermon - Prince

Find the Joy of the Lord

Something that draws other people is the joy that you carry. No one wants to be with a grumpy person. And for people of God, this source of joy is the Lord because of His Word and the salvation it brings

Verse: Nehemiah 8:10

10 Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

Verse: Philippians 4:4

4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!

Verse: Isaiah 12:3

3 With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.

But sometimes our joy can be snuffed out due to various reasons. For the people of Israel, it was the Egyption Task Masters. They worked them ruthlessly

Verse: Exodus 1:13-14

13 and worked them ruthlessly. 

14 They made their lives bitter with harsh labor

But inspite of our conditions, we can find joy. Here are 5 points

  1. Fighting Sin
  2. Fight the silence
  3. PRAY ... until the burden lifts
  4. Enter the assembly of God
  5. Look to the coming Kingdom

1) Fighting sin

Sin is a violation of God's law. And God's law is in place for our good and it's violation is a heavy burden

Verse: Psalm 38:4

4 My guilt has overwhelmed me like a burden too heavy to bear.

Why is the struggle against sin a fight. Because we are naturally inclined to sinning

Verse: Hebrews 12:1

1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us

Repentance

But inspite of the sin that so easily entangles us, the way out is genuine repentance. Consider how David repented and how Saul repented

Verse: 2 Samuel 12:13

13 Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.”

David offerred no justification for his sin

Verse: 1 Samuel 15:24

24 Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned. I violated the Lord’s command and your instructions. I was afraid of the men and so I gave in to them.

Saul also acknowledged his sin but blamed other people for his fall.

2) Fight the silence

In our fight for joy, the people of God have willfully and delibrately fought the silence with the sound of praise. They remained steadfast in their commitment to praise God, no matter what!

Verse: Psalm 108:1-3

1 My heart, O God, is steadfast; I will sing and make music with all my soul.

2 Awake, harp and lyre! I will awaken the dawn.

3 I will praise you, Lord, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples.

The awakening of the dawn is the breakthrough the silence of the night and darkness and gloom. And again whent he people wept, Nehemiah encouraged them to rejoice in the Lord

Verse: Nehemiah 8:10

10 Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

3) PRAY ... until the burden lifts

We neeed to pray like Hannah prayed. How did she pray? Let us study her condition and her prayer response to this situation

1 Samuel 1:6

6 Because the Lord had closed Hannah’s womb, her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her.

But Hannah prayed until the assurance of the answer came

Verse:1 Samuel 1:17-18

17 Eli answered, “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him.”

18 She said, “May your servant find favor in your eyes.” Then she went her way and ate something, and her face was no longer downcast.

4) Enter the assembly of God

Fellowship with God's people helps you bring joy into your life. There is joy when you are blessed by someone and there is joy when you bless someone. So if this is the way fellowship works, your joy will never run dry. Look at David

Verse: Psalm 122:1

1 I rejoiced with those who said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord.”

Verse: Psalm 16:11

11 You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

5) Look to the coming Kingdom

Our joy can never be robbed, because we look to an coming Kingdom that is sure and endures for ever. Look at Jesus.... inspite of shame

Verse: Hebrews 12:2

2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

The enduring of the cross brought this new Jerusalem for all the people who believe in Jesus.

Verse: Isaiah 65:17

18 But be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create, for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight and its people a joy.

The assurance of salvation brings joy and no one can take this away. Let us rejoice in the hope of salvation.

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