THIS IS THE DAY: REJOICE!
Ps. 118:24
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR: THE SOUR INTERVIEW
1. Some people have a knack for picking things. Hannah went to a citrus Farm and asked Henry, the manager, if there are any jobs available at the farm.
2. He told her that the only job available was for a part-time lemon picker. Hannah says the job would suit her well.
3. After Henry has asked her some questions about her education and previous jobs, he told her, "You’re really far too qualified for such a lowly position."
4. "But I would still like the job," said Hannah. "I would be very good at it." Henry asked, "Do you have any experience in picking lemons?"
5. "Well, actually, I do," replies Hannah. "I’ve been divorced three times."
6. That statement betrays a negative view of life that we need to beat. God wants us to be positive; people of hope and good expectation. That’s our direction tonight.
B. TEXT
“This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” Ps. 118:24.
C. THESIS
1. We’re going to Look at what is this “Day,” the reasons we should rejoice, and that happiness is a state of mind.
2. The title of this message is, “This is the Day: Rejoice!”
I. THIS IS THE DAY THE LORD HAS MADE
A. THIS SPECIFIC DAY
1. Is this referring to a 24 hour period? Yes! Every day is a gift from God; a special creation. Each day is unique: in its sunrise & sunset, its temperature & its rain. It’s another day to live, breathe, and enjoy the wonders of God’s world.
2. Today, we can forget about the troubles of yesterday; they’re gone. God says, “Forget what happened in the past….I am going to do something new” Isa. 43:18-19, GW. Put yesterday behind you. You can’t change it.
3. We get a fresh new day today to start over with. Was yesterday a failure? Today can be a victory! God’s grace is new every morning. His provision was renewed this morning. “The Lord's mercies….are new every morning” Lam. 3:22-23. We have a new cup of blessing to drink today.
4. Also, we shouldn’t worry about tomorrow. The Lord Jesus said, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” Mt. 6:34.
B. A DAY AS A PERIOD OF TIME
1. Isaiah tells us (49:8) “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (Paul quotes in 2 Cor. 6:2).
Bible expositors refer to the period between the Law and the Judgment as the “Day of Grace.”
2. The Lord Jesus said, “As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work” John 9:4. He referred figuratively to Day as the period in which redemptive activity can still take place.
3. So, praise God, “This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it!” Next David said to “Rejoice in it!”
II. REASONS TO REJOICE THIS DAY
There are a multitude of things we ought to praise God for every day. What are some of those things? Let’s look at what David or the other psalm writers thanked God for.
A. THINGS DAVID/OTHERS PRAISED GOD FOR
Psalm 13:6 Praise…he has been good to me.
Psalm 16:7 Praise the Lord, who counsels me
Psalm 18:3 Praise…I have been saved from my enemies.
Psalm 26:7 Praise…telling of all your wonderful deeds.
Psalm 28:6 Praise…for he has heard my cry for mercy.
Psalm 31:21Praise…he showed me the wonders of his love
Psalm 59:17 Praise…my God on whom I can rely
Psalm 63:6 Praise…satisfied as with the richest of foods
Psalm 66:20 Praise...He has not rejected my prayer
Psalm 68:19 Praise…who daily bears our burdens
Psalm 103:2-3 Praise…forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases
Psalm 117:2 Praise…the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever
Psalm 139:14 Praise…I am fearfully and wonderfully made
Psalm 144:1 Praise…trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle
Psalm 150:2 Praise him for his acts of power
Paul summed it up when preaching to the Athenians in Acts 17:25, God “gives to everyone life and breath and everything else.”
B. IF THERE’S NOT MUCH TO REJOICE OVER?
1. Maybe right now we don’t like our situation; we think God has dealt us a hard, sad, difficult life.
2. We must trust that God knows what He’s doing. He didn’t make a mistake. He’s going to take our troubles and turn them into blessings!
3. When God finished creating, He looked over His work, and said that it was “Good.” Life is filled with good thing, if we look for them.
C. ILLUS.: LEAVING THE PAST BEHIND
1. Chris Baker is a tattoo artist who transforms symbols of pain and enslavement into works of art.
2. Many of his clients are former gang members and victims of human trafficking who have been marked with identifying names, symbols, or codes.
3. Chris transforms these into beautiful art by tattooing over them with new images.
4. Jesus does for the soul what Chris Baker does for the skin—He takes us as we are and transforms us. [Jesus transforms our mistakes]. DB 6/28/16 Jennifer Benson Schuldt
III. “I WILL BE GLAD IN IT”
A. HUMOR. If you can’t think what to be thankful for, here’s some:
1. I am Thankful that we only elect presidents once every four years. I am Thankful that teenagers will grow up and that one day they will have children that will become teenagers of their own. I am Thankful that the space available for messages on T-shirts and bumpers is limited.
2. I am Thankful that hugs and kisses do not add weight or cause cancer. I am Thankful that TVs, Radios, & CD players can be turned off.
3. I am Thankful that God’s love never fails. I am Thankful that we can come together this evening in unity. SOURCE: R Duane Gryder.
B. HAPPINESS IS A STATE OF MIND
1. THE HAPPIEST PEOPLE IN THE WORLD. Gallup Polls did a
10-year study assessing happiness across the world. It found that people living in Paraguay, Colombia and Ecuador are most likely to experience happiness (positive emotions on a daily basis), while residents of Sudan, Tunisia and Bangladesh were the most unhappy in 2014.
2. It’s not that people in those countries had more possessions than others, or less troubles than others, but they have a greater “tendency… to focus on the positives in life,” the Gallup report suggests.
3. In other words, HAPPINESS IS A STATE OF MIND!
a. As Denis Waitley says, “Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude.”
b. “True happiness is... to enjoy the present, without anxious dependence upon the future” Lucius Annaeus Seneca.
C. FOCUSING ON WHAT WE DO HAVE
1. Americans are the most privileged and prosperous people who have ever lived on the face of the earth, and yet many Americans are not happy. Even when good things happen, we figure out why it was not good enough.
2. Chuck Colson reported that:
a. Life expectancy has nearly doubled in the past century and continues to increase.
b. The average real per-capita income has doubled just since 1960.
c. At the same time, the price of food and many durable goods keeps falling.
d. Our standard of living has risen to levels our great-grandparents couldn’t have imagined.
3. During the same period, the percentage of Americans and Europeans who suffer bouts of depression have climbed to 25 percent and show no signs of abating. 7% of all Americans suffer at least one incidence of major, debilitating depression a year.
4. “Grateful” is defined as “warmly or deeply appreciative of kindness or benefits received.” Thankfulness is focusing on what we DO HAVE, and being grateful, instead of focusing on what we DON’T HAVE and being unhappy.
5. Like the oft used adage, “I cried because I had no shoes until I met a man who had no feet!” We need to be thankful for all the things we DO have!
6. THE SECRET? CONTENTMENT! 6 But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8 But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 9 Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.” I Tim. 6:6-10.
D. GET THE JOY OF THE LORD
1. Neh. 8:10, “the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
2. Happiness comes from circumstances; joy comes from the Lord!
3. Happiness is only available temporarily; the joy of the Lord can be tapped at all times. It originates in God.
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION
1. A very wealthy old man was on the operating table, about to be operated on by his only son, a famous surgeon. The son was in his will as the main beneficiary.
2. Just before they put him under, he asked to speak to his son: "Don’t be nervous, boy, just do your best and just remember, if it doesn’t go well, if something happens to me… your mother is going to come and live with you and your family."
3. Maybe he thought he needed to give his son a little extra incentive to make the surgery come out good.
4. But you and I never need to question God’s intentions. He has the purest and highest motives!
B. THE CALL
1. “This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” Ps. 118:24.
2. Can you think of 1 or 2 things God has done for you recently? Let’s stand and thank Him for all His blessings to us.
3. Prayer & Salvation Call.
