The Author of out text is David; you do remember David don’t you?
- His name means “beloved”, a man after God’s own heart
- You remember David, Jesse’s boy; he watched the sheep as a boy
- You know David, he was a musician
- David, an armor bearer for King Saul, he killed Goliath.
- This same David after becoming king brought the arc of the covenant back to Jerusalem
after it had been gone for over 70 years and dance like a mad man
- You remember it was David, while fleeing for his life with trouble on every hand had to
“encourage himself in the Lord”
- It was David who after fighting a battle came back home and the enemy had taken
everything he had including his wife and kids and the Lord to him to pursue his enemies
and he gave him double for his trouble
- This same David schemed and laid up with Bathsheba; Solomon’s momma
He simply starts out by saying (Psalms118:1) (118:29) O Give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good: because his mercy endureth forever.
- But how many know it is hard to give God thanks when you have lost your Joy?
- I wish you would be real honest in here and stand up and tell the truth. And say preacher it is real hard to give thanks when you have lost your Joy!
- Does anybody know that it is hard to give thanks, wave Holy hands and to say how good God is when you don not have any joy?
- I mean it is real hard to give God the praise when you broke as a joke and pulling lent out your pocket during offering time
- It is real hard to give God the praise when your husband tripping. You know what tripping is don’t you? drinking, smoking dope, cheating, staying out all night…
- It is real hard to give God thanks when your wife tripping, you know. will not cook, will not clean, will not have relations with you)….
- I mean pastor it is real hard to have joy when you have members hating on you up in the church and wanting to tell you how to run the church…
- It is just hard to give God joy when you are going through
How many know it is hard to give God joy when you got trouble in your way? (Help in here)
You do not have to front for me because I am a living witness I know the Devil will throw you for a loop! (Won’t he throw you for a loop?)
But how many will stand with me today and say I am going to be like David and say, (Psalms 34:2) I will bless the Lord at all times and his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
- How many will stand and say I refuse to let the devil take my Joy away
- How many will stand and say I refuse to be broke, busted and disgusted
- How many will stand and say I refuse to wallow in a pity party
- How many will say like Nehemiah says, (Nehemiah 8:10) The joy of the Lord is my
strength
Just for a minute, just think of all of the places you could have been. Think of all of the places God has spared you from. I just think of what God has already brought me from.
- Could have been with Will Acklin or Ruffin & Jarrett Funeral Home.
- Could have been in Tucker Max or down at the county jail
- Could have been over at New Baptist or St. Vincent Hospital
- Could have been still on the corner smoking dope
- Could have been dead over in Iraq
- Could have lost my mind, but God blocked it!
When I think about the goodness of Jesus and all that’s he done for me, my soul cries out Hallelujah!
When I think about the goodness of Jesus, I can dance, dance, dance, all night! Anybody got a dance in their spirit? You ought to give God some praise in this place!
Got 5 little reason Why we should rejoice in the Lord and we will be done.
1) Psalms 118:1 It says Give Thanks.
- That is some of our main problems right there, we do not want to give!
- When the preacher asked you to give you got your nose turned up, talking about your job is to preach, and mine is to listen, why we got to give too?
- But the very 1st thing David said was to GIVE thanks! Before we can expect to receive the joy of the Lord we have to be willing to Give!
- Before God can show you that he is good, it requires an action on our part and that is To Give! He wants us to Give Thanks! Any Givers in the house?
2) Psalms 118:5 I called upon the Lord in distress: the Lord answered me and set me in a large place
- That is the next reason we ought to rejoice in the Lord is because we can always call on him.
- Not just when we are happy, but we can call on him anytime!
- He is not like most of us, 1st thing we do when our phone ring is check the caller ID, be like hmmm, what she want, I do not have time for no mess right now, I got my own troubles
- But God will not do us like that because Jesus is always on the main line; just tell him what you want. We can always call on God!
- Anybody know you can call him in the morning, call him in the noon day, call him late in the midnight hour. Anybody had to call on Jesus?
-Psalms 118:6B says, what can man do unto me? Even if you did get through the caller ID, Even if your sister did pick up, what she gone do, that compares to how the Lord can fix it.
3) Psalms 118:8 It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man.
- The 3rd reason to rejoice in the Lord is because we can trust him!
- And trusting in the Lord is better than trusting in man
- But we love to put our trust in man, don’t we?
- We will trust our girlfriends, our homeboys, out mommas with our deepest darkest secrets, won’t we?
- But the bible says it is better to trust in the Lord than man!
You need to know that we all better trust in the Lord! ….y’all do not believe me?
Jeremiah 17:5 Thus said the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusted in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord.
Jeremiah 17:7 Blessed is the man that trusted in the Lord, and whose hope is the Lord. (Why)
Jeremiah 17:10 I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins (mind), even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.
- God is telling us right here, that if you do not trust in me, and trust in man, guess what? You will be cursed!
- God says Blessed is the man that trust in the Lord. Do you want to be blessed? Does anybody need a blessing today?
- No wonder Pastor, no wonder life is going so bad for so many of us, because we are cursed, because we do not trust in the Lord
We have light bill due on Thursday we give God Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, but come Wednesday we may go to the pawn shop or we call momma, daddy or somebody.
(Free point) Psalms 118: 12 they compassed me about like bees; David was talking about all the nations all around him to destroy him.
- I remember when I was a little boy cutting the grass for my granddaddy, and there was a bee hive in the ground and I did not know it. But when I ran that lawnmower over it I found out real quick that big bumble bees can live in the ground. Well you know the rest I took off to running, but that did not help me none, because when I stopped the bees that were swarming all around me, stinging me here and there. So I got to hollering for my granddaddy to come, he said boy where are you, I said out here in the field. I do not know what he did but when he got there, he got to swinging and he unbuttoned his work shirt, and he covered me up in the shirt and hid my face from getting stung.
- That is how God does us! The enemies can be all around us like bees but God covers us. Even though we should be stung, he hides us in his secret place!
We should rejoice:
1. Because he said so
2. Because you can call on him
3. Because we can trust him, and he will cover you
4) Psalms 118:14. The Lord IS my strength and song, and is become my salvation
That will preach by itself! How many know that the Lord IS! David said in Psalms that the Lord IS my shepherd. David is familiar with the Lord being IS.
- How many know that the Lord, IS?
- Has the Lord ever came through not when you wanted him, but right on time?
- Has the Lord ever came in and covered up your mess?
- Has the Lord ever had to bail you out of a sticky situation?
- Has the Lord ever had to pull you out of the murk and miry clay?
- Has the Lord ever had to save your marriage?
- Has the Lord ever had to save your Job
- Has the Lord ever had to put food on your table
- Has the Lord ever had to rock you to sleep?
- Has he ever dried your weeping eyes?
- Has he ever been a bridge over troubled water?
- Has the Lord ever been IS to anybody?
- Somebody know the Lord IS!
- Somebody know that the Lord IS my strength and my salvation
- Somebody know the Lord IS my light whom shall I fear
Has the Lord been IS to anybody in here today?
On top of that, another Free point Psalms 118:17, I shall not die, but live
- 2 or 3 of you all should have shouted right there, because Satan has tried to kill 1 to 2 of you all in here today. The devil tried to kill somebody this week! But you are still here because God said, You shall Live and not die!
I do not know why you are not shouting because some of you all should have been dead a long time ago.
- That car wreck should have killed somebody in here
- Somebody done been through a hard pregnancy and birth (but you still alive)
- That 1st marriage should have taken some of you out
- Those drugs you got high on should have killed somebody in here
- That Bud Lite you were drinking should have caused you to crash, but because
God said, No, I am not through with you yet he let you stay around here a little
while longer God said you shall live; Anybody going to live? Anybody?
5) Psalms 118:24 This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it
If none of the other reasons fit you then this one should. We should rejoice just because God has let us see another day!
- He made this day with us in mind, so we ought to rejoice in it
- He got our best interest at heart when he made this day, so we ought to rejoice
- As a matter of fact he commands that we rejoice! He says WE WILL REJOICE.
It should be an automatic response!
- We do not have a choice, he wakes us up We will rejoice
- He gives us health & strength; We will rejoice
- He gives us our right mind; We will rejoice
- We have ears to hear; We will rejoice
- We have eyes to see; We will rejoice
- We have a tongue to talk; We will rejoice
- We have legs to walk; We will rejoice
- House did not burn down; We will rejoice
- Food on the table to eat; We will rejoice
- Piece of car still starts up; We will rejoice
This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it
I wish somebody was ready to rejoice in this place!
So David closes this Passage with the same way he opens it
O Give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth forever.
I was wondering why he says the same thing when he closes the scriptures as he does when he opens it.
Then the spirit hit me and told me, the reason why he says the same thing is because it is gonna take the same thing. What do you mean?
- The same praise that you gave before the storm, is the same praise you will need during and after the storm
- The same praise you gave before you started having trouble in your way, is the same praise it will take to get you through the trouble
- The same praise it took to get you up, it will take that same praise to get you out
- God is due the same praise in the good, as well as in the Bad!
- The same praise is due because he is the same God today, tomorrow and forever more
I do not know why you still sitting there, because I Thank God that he do not change and I can always call on him.
So I want to let you know after all you go through, You still can have Joy!
I have had some good days and bad days y’all, but I still have joy!
I have had some ups and downs, almost level to the ground, but I still have joy!
I have had some weary days and some sleepless nights, but I still have joy!
I have had some setbacks but I still have joy.
I have had some drawbacks, but I still have joy.
I have had some kickbacks, but I still have joy.
I have had some paybacks, but I still have joy
I have had some broke backs, but I still have joy!
(Neighbor)
No matter, no matter, no matter what comes my way, I still have Joy!
Anybody going to have Joy, say yeah
