TEXT:
Neh 8:10 "Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and
drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared:
for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of
the LORD is your strength." KJV
Neh 8:10 Nehemiah said, "Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength." NIV
INTRODUCTION:
A. SPURGEON’S ADVICE TO PREACHERS
1. C.H. Spurgeon in LECTURES TO MY STUDENTS
2. Sad tones may fit an UNDERTAKER but not someone who
is called to preach GOOD
NEWS!
3. Spurgeon said there are brethren who DRESS TO LOOK SAD.
a. From head to toe they present a tone of
sadness and death
b. They don’t know how to smile or show joy.
4. They might as well bury the dead, they’ll "never influence
the living."
5. If you would lead men to heaven, wear heaven on your face
B. BEEN TO CHURCH AND NOT DEPRESSED
1. Robert Louis Stevenson once entered in his diary what he
considered to be extraordinary
thing.
2. He said, "I have been to Church today, and (surprisingly)
I am
not depressed."
C. NOT SUPPOSED TO GIVE UP JOY TO BE A CHRISTIAN
1. Some claim you must GIVE UP EVERYTHING to be a Christian.
2. I always want to stop them and ask a few questions.
a. Do you mean a husband and wife should separate?
b. Do you mean a student should give up his
studies?
c. Do you mean a businessman should give up
a lawful, honorable
business to serve
the Lord?
3. What do you mean when you say the Saviour requires me to
give up
EVERYTHING?
4. Christ never asked me to give up anything except what was
sinful.
5. I didn’t have to give up being HAPPY in order to be a Christian.
6. The fulness of Christ’s love was never designed to make anyone
sad.
7. Christ only wishes to take from us what is sinful.
8. He only wishes to remove those things which would hinder
our
highest enjoyment here,
and our eternal happiness beyond.
9. He hasn’t come that you might have sadness, He has come that
you
might have LIFE, and have
it more abundantly! (John 10:10) His
Spirit is your JOY-WELL!
10. Who needs an OIL WELL when you have the JOY WELL?
D. HEBREW FAITH -VS- OTHER EASTERN RELIGIONS
1. The Jewish Encyclopedia states that no language has as many
words for joy and
rejoicing as Hebrew.
2. In the Old Testament there are twenty-seven different words
used
for some aspect of joy.
3. Hebrew worship sees God as the source of joy.
4. In contrast, the historic rituals of other Eastern faiths
were filled with
sadness and even human
sacrifice.
5. Psalm 16:11 "Thou dost show me the path of life; in thy presence
there is fullness
of joy, in thy right hand are pleasures forevermore".
I. WHERE DOES JOY COME FROM?
A. NOT FROM TEMPORAL THINGS
An observant author once wrote:
"The most miserable people
I have known have not been those who
suffered from catastrophes
-- which they could blame on fate or
accident -- but those who
had everything they wanted, except the
power to enjoy it."
B. LET ME TELL YOU WHERE JOY IS NOT FOUND!
1. Not in unbelief --
Voltaire was a famed infidel,
yet he wrote: "I wish I had never
been born."
2. Not in pleasure --
Lord Byron lived a life
of sinful pleasures, yet he wrote: "The
worm, the canker, and the
grief are mine alone."
3. Not in money --
Jay Gould, the American
millionaire, had plenty of money, yet
he said on his death bed:
"I suppose I am the most miserable
man on earth."
4. Joy is not found in military glory --
Alexander the Great conquered
the known world in his day. Having
done so, he wept, because,
he said, "There are no more worlds to
conquer."
II. THE WELLS OF JOY (Genesis 26)
A. THE PHILISTINES STOPPED UP ALL THE WELLS
1. They thought this would drive Isaac away.
2. They attempted to cover up his source of refreshing and strength.
3. The devil would like to do the same to you.
4. He wants to stop up your JOY WELL and cover it up.
B. GOD COMMANDED ISAAC TO REDIG THE WELLS
1. Some of you need to redig the wells.
2. You need to uncover the well which the devil has sought to
hide from you.
3. Isa 12:3 "Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out
of the wells
of salvation."
4. The devil may try to stop your JOY-WELL up, but you're going
to
unstop those wells.
III. BIBLE CHARACTERS WITH JOY
A. SHADRACH, MESHACH, AND ABEDNEGO
1. Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego rejoiced even though they
were being cast into
the fire.
2. Why?
3. Because they knew they were coming out.
B. DANIEL
1. Daniel rejoiced when they bound him and cast him into the
lion's den.
2. Why?
3. Because he knew he was coming out.
a. God was sending an angel
to give those lions lockjaw.
b. He knew those lions wouldn’t
be interested in what he
tasted like.
c. He knew he was coming
out. (Can I have an Amen?)
C. PAUL AND SILAS (ACTS 16)
1. Paul and Silas rejoiced when they were cast into prison.
2. Why?
3. Because they knew they were coming out!
a. They cast a demon out
of little girl who told fortunes.
b. Did they bring him a
key to the city? No!
c. They had a riot and tried
to kill him over it!
d. They threw him and Silas
in jail.
e. Did they worry and get
depressed? No!
f. They knew they were coming
out!
D. THEY WERE ON A DIFFERENT FREQUENCY
1. You can take a dog whistle and blow it real loud and nobody
will pay any attention to
it.
2. But every dog in the neighborhood will perk up his ears.
3. The dogs are on a different frequency than we are.
4. They hear things that we don’t hear.
5. Christians are on a different frequency from the world.
6. We are on a frequency that the world doesn't know anything
about.
7. How can we rejoice when everything's going wrong?
8. We’re hearing something that they can't hear.
a. They are hearing defeat,
but we are hearing VICTORY!
b. They are hearing sickness
and we are hearing HEALING!
c. They are hearing condemnation
and we are hearing MERCY!
d. They are hearing despair
and sadness, we are hearing JOY!
Can you say, AMEN!
IV. YOU NEED TO TRY SOME JOY!
A. TAKE YOUR MEDICINE
1. The Bible says: "A merry heart doeth good like a medicine."
2. You take your medicine. Take your medication!
3. God’s got some good stuff for you!
4. Take three tablespoons three times a day.
a. Take it when you feel
like it!
b. Take it when you don’t
feel like it!
c. And take it when you
don’t know how you feel!
B. SOMETIMES GOD SENDS A SONG TO GET YOU THROUGH
1. One of our ladies said "BECAUSE HE LIVES" got her through
4 years of her life.
2. Another said the same thing about the song "MAJESTY"!
3. The song that gets me through the hard times is:
"He’s my glory and the lifter
of my head!"
He’s my glory and the lifter
of my head.
For thou Oh Lord, art a
shield for me!
My glory and the lifter
of my head!"
C. TAKE THE LONG LOOK!
1. Some of you are asking, How can I have joy?
2. The reason you are asking is because you are on the wrong
frequency.
3. You are taking the short look at what’s going on.
4. You need to take the LONG LOOK!
5. It’s not a thing of me and my four and no more.
6. It’s a thing of GOD AND ALL HIS SAINTS THROUGHOUT
ETERNITY!
7. Psa 30:5 "...weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh
in
the morning."
8. Weeping may endure for the night, but JOY COMETH!
a. Joy is on it’s way!
b. Everybody say, "Joy cometh!"
c. If you take the long
look, you know that JOY IS COMING!
JESUS IS HERE! HE IS YOUR SOURCE OF JOY!
JOY IS THE FRUIT OF HIS SPIRIT!
WILL YOU CALL UPON HIS NAME AND ASK HIM TO
SAVE YOU? ASK HIM TO GIVE YOU THE JOY OF HIS
SALVATION.
Background by Windy