Coming Joys For The Christian

HEBREWS 12:2 “COMING JOYS FOR THE CHRISTIAN”

A) Joy: Cheerfulness; Delight; Gladness ... What was the joy that was set before Him?

* It was the redemption of creation through doing His Father’s will.

* Jesus endured the cross, He didn’t enjoy it! * He despised the shame of it .......

* But He came into this world to do the will of the Father, and that was His one desire!

* The joy that was set before Him pointed to that happy day when He would receive honor, glory,

majesty, and power at the right hand of God, the Father where He is now seated!

B) The Son was with the Father from the beginning .......

* And part of that joy set before Him was His reunion with the Heavenly Father and with the

heavenly host.

* Therefore, for the joy that was set before Him, He endured the agony and shame of the cross, and

is now seated at the right hand of the Father in Heaven!

C) There are some coming joys for the Christian too ... Let’s look at a few of them .......

(1) THE JOY OF SIGHT! * 1 John 3:2 “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth ...”

A) We are redeemed now ... We do not pray, “Lord, at last, save us in heaven!”

* We are sons of God now ... We are members of the body of Christ now ... Our citizenship is in

heaven now ... We sit together in heavenly places now ... “Beloved, now are we the sons of ...”

B) Every truly born again believer knows he is born again!

* It’s impossible to be saved, washed in the blood, indwelt by the Spirit, and not know it!

* You ask some people are they saved, and they’ll say, “I hope so.” * “Are you married?”

C) Notice what else John said ... “And it doth not yet appear what we shall be ...”

* What we shall be hereafter is not fully revealed, but we know that we are the sons of God now!

* And we are predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son – Rom. 8:29.

D) “But we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him ...”

* What is involved in this tremendous declaration, we do not fully know now!

* Even if God revealed it to us, we couldn’t understand it with our feeble, finite minds!

* Why do I say that? * Because of Luke 24:33-44, and John 20:19-28 .......

E) After His resurrection, He ascended back to the Father and back to earth again, perhaps in

a matter of seconds! * He entered into a room, where the doors was shut .......

* We can’t understand a body like that, therefore God didn’t explain in detail what it meant to be

like Jesus ... We’ll just wait and let Him show us on that glorious resurrection morning!

* To be like Christ is too wonderful for words ... It would require heaven’s language to explain!

F) But we know by assurance of God’s Word that, “We shall be like Him, for we shall see ...”

* Beloved, weigh those words ... What a glorious, magnificent moment that will be when we

experience our first sight of Jesus, our Savior! * We’ll have to have glorified bodies to stand it!

(2) THE JOY OF MEETING HIM!

A) Meet: To encounter, to come upon suddenly, to meet face to face!

* Meeting people ... Jack Roper ... Phil Mickleson ... Tiger Woods ... President of the U.S.

* On our honeymoon, I met Vern Gosdin, the country singer.

* But there is nothing to be compared to meeting Jesus! * 1 Thess. 4:17 “Then we which ...”

B) This will be an unexpected meeting for some! * 1 Thess. 5:2 .......

* “For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.”

* 2 Peter 3:10 “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens

shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also

and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” * Turn to Matthew 24:36-44 .......

* TO THE SAVED, IT WILL BE A JOY TO MEET JESUS CHRIST!

(3) THE JOY OF RECEPTION! * John 14:1-3 “Let not your heart be .......”

A) “Receive” means “to take, accept, to welcome and entertain as guests!”

* We have already received our wedding invitations!

* Marriage supper of the Lamb – Rev. 19:7-9 “Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: