Good morning and we welcome everyone to our 1st Sunday for the month of March 2022 with a monthly theme “A Joyful Hope” with our theme verse found in Romans 12:12
Romans 12:12 NLT Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying.
"Be joyful in hope." This means that, no matter what is going on around us, and no matter where we are at the time, we are constantly looking ahead.
ERV Be happy because of the hope you have. Be patient when you have troubles. Pray all the time.
To rejoice is a command. Jesus promised us His joy, but at times, it can evade us. Let us therefore give voice to joy…
Philippians 4:4 ERV Always be filled with joy in the Lord. I will say it again. Be filled with joy.
What Paul is saying here is that we should rejoice at all times, whether we are sad, happy, angry, confused, or even tired: there shouldn’t be a moment that goes by that we aren’t giving thanks to the Lord for His love and provision.
You cannot make yourself happy, but you can make yourself rejoice, in the sense that you will rejoice in the Lord.
Illustration:
A doctor told his patients that the most dangerous disease of the world is “unhappiness”. It spreads chaos not only in the mind and soul and in one’s relationships but in one’s body as well.
Introduction:
• Joy is distinctly a Christian word and a Christian thing.
• The word ‘joy’ appears nearly 200 times in the Bible, which helps us understand just how important it is.
• True joy comes not from circumstances but from our relationship with Jesus.
The Christian redemption from unhappiness is a needed redemption. If we are not redeemed from unhappiness, we are not fully redeemed.
A very cultured unhappy woman said: “If I had what you have, I wouldn’t be in the mess I am in.” She surrendered the “mess” to Christ and was transformed.
• A joyful heart is a normal result of a heart burning with hope.
• But there is all the difference in the world between rejoicing and being happy.
You cannot make yourself happy, but you can make yourself rejoice, in the sense that you will rejoice in the Lord.
• Happiness is something within ourselves, rejoice is “in the Lord.”
But how do you rejoice when things have turned against you?
How can you rejoice when someone has walked out on you, or you have lost a loved one? How can you rejoice when you have been diagnosed with a terminal disease, or when you live your life in a wheelchair? How can you rejoice when, no matter how hard you try, things are not going right in your church?
• The Scripture conveys that to rejoice in the Lord is to have joy or delight in the Lord; to feel joy when you think of Him always.
Paul does not tell us to rejoice in tragedy that might come our way. He is not asking us to rejoice over the fact that someone we love is gone. He wants us to rejoice "in the Lord."
Paul wants us to rejoice in the God who never changes, who forgives, who always takes us home, and who never turns his back on us.
The closer we live to this Lord, the more we will be able to rejoice in him, even when things turn against us.
Jeremiah 33:11 (AMP Classic Edition)
[There shall be heard again] the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voices of those who sing as they bring sacrifices of thanksgiving into the house of the Lord… Give praise and thanks to the Lord of hosts, for the Lord is good; for His mercy and kindness and steadfast love endure forever! For I will cause the captivity of the land to be reversed and return to be as it was at first, says the Lord.
Do you know that joy has voice? This is our title for today’s exhortation…
The Voice of Joy
There are 3 truths that I would like everyone to understand whenever we discussed the subject of joy in us particularly the voice of joy.
Truth No. 1 is that Joy is a Spiritual Force
• Joy is not just a state of mind or a fleeting emotion. Joy is a very real force, and the devil doesn’t have anything that can stand up against it.
Joy is not a luxury. Laughter is a powerful force against the wiles of the enemy.
God laughs… Learn to rejoice and laugh.
Now, the world will tell you that joy is a rare and fleeting emotion that only a blessed few experience on a regular basis. But what the world doesn’t know is that Bible joy is not the same thing as worldly happiness.
• There is no greater possession on earth than a joyful heart.
• The most important attribute of joy is that you can find joy in adversity.
“A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” –Proverbs 17:22 (ESV)
Isaiah 64:5 (NLV)
You meet him who finds joy in doing what is right and good, who remembers You in Your ways.
When you are joyful in doing right God meets you… and releases upon you the oil of joy. You join forces with God who is with you.
You can’t run the world but you can entrust it to God!
Truth No.2 is that The Word Produces Joy
The Word is good news, and good news produces joy.
That’s why Satan wants to steal your joy… Matthew 13
When you put your focus on the goodness of God and His Word, it is impossible to be depressed, sad, and be hopeless. That’s because depression is self-focused; joy is God-focused.
Focusing on Jesus is the key to joy, even during times of distress.
John 15:11
I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.
Truth No.3 is that No One Can Take Your Joy from You
John 16:22 NLV
You are sad now. I will see you again and then your hearts will be full of joy. No one can take your joy from you.
John 16:22 (ESV)
22 So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.
You have sorrow now – focus on Jesus- your heart will rejoice- and no one will take your joy.
DO NOT LET THE ENEMY STEAL YOUR JOY.
The Enemy Wants Your Joy
• Matthew 13:19
Matthew 13:18 “Listen to the picture-story of the man who planted seeds in the ground. 19 When anyone hears the Word about the holy nation and does not understand it, the devil comes and takes away what was put in his heart. He is like the seed that fell by the side of the road. 20 The seed which fell between rocks is like the person who receives the Word with joy as soon as he hears it. 21 Its root is not deep and it does not last long.
• He does it by stealing the Word that was put in your heart.
• He steals your joy.
Satan is a thief by nature.
HE WANTS YOUR JOY. HE KNOWS THAT JOY IS YOUR POWER.
If Satan Can’t Steal Your Joy…
1. He can’t divide your goods.
• He can’t divide your goods means Satan cannot spoil your blessing, cannot keep your goods nor diminish your possessions.
• And if he was able to strip you of earthly possession and material blessing, you would still have victory because you have the joy of the Lord.
• Prov. 6:30-31 Amplified Bible (AMP)
30 Men do not despise a thief if he steals to satisfy himself when he is hungry;
31 But if he is found out, he must restore seven times [what he stole]; he must give the whole substance of his house [if necessary—to meet his fine].
• God meets you when you rejoice!
If we will give voice to joy, even in the midst of adversity, He will meet us…
• Habakkuk 3:17
2. He can’t deceive you.
• Revelation 12:9 GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)
9 The huge serpent was thrown down. That ancient snake, named Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world, was thrown down to earth. Its angels were thrown down with it.
• He is a counterfeiter
• He is a liar
Deception is one of Satan’s mightiest weapons.
Satan is not a creator – he’s a counterfeiter. For all that God has, the Devil has a counterfeit.
The Word of God brings life – the word of the enemy brings death.
The Word of God produces health – the enemy produces sickness and disease
The word of God begets prosperity – the enemy begets poverty.
Three Types of Deception
• By statement
- He deceives Christians by; telling them not to believe in the Word, there’s no need to pray, injecting ignorance about their authority…
Eve- Genesis 3
Jesus- Matthew 4:4-10
If he can’t deceive you, he can’t get the word in you and he can’t steal your joy.
• By influence
- People cross your path with a bad story and influence your faith.
• By appearance
- Matthew 14:30 But while Peter was walking on the water, he saw the wind and the waves. He was afraid and began sinking into the water. He shouted, “Lord, save me!”
3. He can’t destroy you.
• You can’t beat a joyful believer
Joy is a product of the spoken Word. Joy is strength. Joy is power.
• Nehemiah 8:10 New Life Version (NLV)
Ezra said to them, “Go, eat and drink what you enjoy, and give some to him who has nothing ready. For this day is holy to our Lord. Do not be sad for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
• Paul – Phil. 4:4 “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!”
4. He can’t defeat you.
• John 16:33 “I’ve told you this so that my peace will be with you. In the world you’ll have trouble. But cheer up! I have overcome the world.”
• Satan’s forces don’t know how to handle praises and rejoicings.
Why do we have cheerleaders in our schools? To provoke the people, to generate enthusiasm, to inject life and energy into the players.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 The Message (MSG)
Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live.
God said, give thanks “in everything” and not “for everything…”
You don’t thank God for the cancer, you don’t praise God because your husband is alcoholic and your children are on drugs nor praise Him for the problem…
Praise God in the midst of the problem because praise does stop the avenger… Psalm 8
And according to Nehemiah 8:10, it isn’t optional.
Nehemiah 8:10 ERV
Ezra said to them, “Go, eat and drink what you enjoy, and give some to him who has nothing ready. For this day is holy to our Lord. Do not be sad for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
…because it says, “The joy of the Lord is your strength.” Your strength comes from joy—that’s what makes joy so crucial!
Give Voice to Joy because…
• There is strength in praise.
• There is strength in rejoicing.
• There is strength in thanksgiving.
Joy is manifested through praise, rejoicing, and thanksgiving.
Satan cannot defeat praisers.
As believers, we ought to live in a continual flow of the joy of the Lord! After all, we’re the redeemed.
