SUBJECT: WE STILL HAVE JOY!
SCRIPTURE: 1Chronicles 4: 9-10
1.) Despite all the things we loose in life, we still have joy. When trouble comes up against you, you got bills coming up behind you, the devil has you botched in on both sides, and stumbling blocks are in front of you, look up be encouraged you still have joy. For Christians the hardest thing to do is to keep joy. Joy has been a limited supply in the lives of God’s people. Well preacher why don’t we keep joy? I know somebody might say, I got saved and things were supposed to change, but everywhere I look its hell. The reason why you have hell is because you have no joy, the joy is gone, or is never there. You lay and wallow in your mess, instead of getting up and moving on. That’s why you aint got joy, because you stuck in the mud. You are stuck in the mud, because you can’t pay that bill, but I stopped by to tell you, don’t let that bill take your joy. Because I know a man that’s able take your joy, look that devil in the eye and tell that devil we still have joy. Too many people fall down and they feel like it’s the end of the world, women will loose their husbands and loose their minds right along with it. Well, let me tell you something just because he’s gone don’t loose yourself, you still have joy. Because if he left he wasn’t yours to begin with, God has something better for you. God took that man away in order to bless you with a better man. So I charge you honey pick your head up and look to the hills from which comes your help, and keep on strutting your stuff, because he may gone, but you still have joy. Men, because that woman left, that’s not the end of the world, you still have joy. Let me tell you, when your bills are due, and you know you don’t have any money, don’t worry just have joy, because the God that I serve is able.
2.) First of all how do you know that God has joy? Well, the Bible says that,“in his presence there is fullness of joy.” Well that’s not good enough I still need some other reason how you know. Well I can’t explain how you feel, but I know God has joy, because when I feel like nothing is going right and all my friends have forsaken me, I just look up and call on God, and when I get off my knees I feel joy. Early in the morning when I get up and look in the mirror all I see is joy. Over in the noonday when it’s hot outside, I still have joy. Late in the midnight hour when the devil tries to attack my soul, and everybody is gone to sleep, I still have joy. Church I don’t know about you, but when I look back over my life and I see all the mountains and all the valley’s God has brought me over my soul cries out Haleuiah I thank God for saving me. Because one day I was in the mulch and miry one afternoon, but God reached down and picked me up, and I don’t have nothing but joy. So when the enemy tries to attack you tell him do what you want I still have joy. You take this job, you can take this house, you can take this man, but on Christ the solid rock I’m going to stand though all other ground is sinking sand. Devil get the behind me, because I still have joy. God wants his children to have that kind of mind frame, and when you begin to think like that then watch things start to work in your favor. And let me tell you when you experience the joy of the Lord you’ll never go back.
3.) For in my conclusion, look at this story. We find where a man named Jabez had been born into some uncontrollable circumstances. If it had not been for Jabez for shaking off his condition and walking in victory, he would have not been able to share in the joy of the Lord. We find where his mother had named Jabez Jabez, because she bare him with much pain and sorrow. You see his name in the Hebrew language means “sorrowful one.” Now because of his mother already from birth had tried to set him back from getting what God had for him, Jabez could have sat back and complained about his situation. But instead Jabez didn’t let his mother or his name take his joy. He said I know I aint supposed to nothing, but I’m going try God and see what he can do. My mother doesn’t have faith in me, but I got faith in God and I still have joy. The Bible says that as time moved on, Jabez prayer was answered. Only because he kept on fighting and he had joy in the midst of. Church I stopped by to tell that no matter what comes your way you got to keep your joy. Tell them bill collectors you can call me all you want, I still have joy. You can take my car, but I still have joy, you can mess up my credit, but I still have joy. Tell them Holy hell raisers you can talk about me, but I still have joy. You can curse me out all you want to, but I still have joy. I want to tell Saddam Hussein, we still have joy. You can kill and try destroy our country, but we still have joy. Tell Bin Laden, you can blow the towers down and kill for no reason, you have shaken our country for a few minutes, but none the less in the middle of a national crisis we still have joy. Well somebody might how you have joy and the world is so messed up? How can you have joy while all this is going on in the world? Well my brothers and my sisters I can have can joy, because this joy that I have, the world didn’t give it and the world can take it away. Through all of my trials and tribulations, I want get discouraged; I’ll just get encouraged. When people hurt my feelings, I’ll just shake it off and keep on stepping, because I got joy. I got the victory; I’ll have joy. I’ll have joy, because despite all I do wrong he sees the good in me and keeps on blessing me, so I’ll have joy.
