The Joy Of Your Salvation

Introduction

1. Friends, you and me have reasons to rejoice. As believers, we are people who have reason to have joy.

* - we have a heavenly father who created us and gave us this rich and bounteous earth to live in

* - He has provided all that we need for life and for the enjoyment of life

* - and He cares for us

* - He watches over us and makes sure that everything works out for our good

* - He talks to us and we are able to talk to Him as well

* - He has sent His Son to earth to tell us about Him

* - and to die for us so that we might have our sins forgiven

* - He chose us to be His children

* - He made us part of His church

* - and He rules all creation for our sake, the sake of His church

* - He creates within us a desire to worship and praise Him

* - and to experience His presence in that worship

* - he has promised us that one day we will live in a new heaven and a new earth

* - where there will be no pain or suffering or tears or death

* - where we will live forever in perfect fellowship with God and with each other

2. Friends God has given us and provided for us more than we could ever ask for or could ever imagine. We do have reason for joy. As believers we should be the most joyful of all people on this earth.

3. And yet I ask you this morning. "Do you have this joy? If I were to ask a neighbour, a co-worker, a friend to describe you, would one of the first things they say is that you are a person who is filled with joy?"

4. One criticism of the church or Christians that I often hear from those outside the church is that we do not have much joy . And some of us may even consider it a sin to be joyful.

5. But I say to you that God wants us to be people filled with joy. Jesus says that is why He came to us.

John 15:11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.

He wants our joy to be complete.

John 17:13 "I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them.

6. This morning I offer to you the way to become people who are filled with joy. How you have the joy of God’s salvation restored within you.

Teaching

1. David had lost His joy. He longed to again experience the joy he had once known. And as we look at his words in our passage, we see how we can have this joy and how this joy will affect our lives.

2. Tto have true joy we need two things, according to David.

3. The first thing is pardon.One thing that takes away from many Christians is the sense of guilt and failure. We can feel overcome by our past sins. And Satan loves to accuse us to discourage us.

4. David shows us how we can receive pardon in verses 1-9. He does not hide his sin or justify it. He does not even just see sin as something wrong he does. He says that he is sinful from birth and in his innermost being. Hhe knows his sin and it is ever before him.

5. And the reason he sees his sin is because God brought him low. In vs. 8 he says that God had crushed his bones. David had felt defeated - either by God’s judgement on sin or because of his own awareness of sin. I am reminded of how Wilma shared with us at New Years how God had broken her in order that she would turn to Him and learn to obey Him.

6. The first step to receiving pardon is a brokeness, a broken spirit. An acknowledgement on our part that we are trapped in our own sin. Not a half-heartened "Sorry, God, I’ll try better next time."

7. To have joy we must first have sorrow. To be lifted up we need to come to God and admit that we need His mercy. That is why David begins this psalm with the words "Have mercy on me, O God."

8. The good news is when we take this step - of coming to God, he takes the next step. Hear how James explains this.