David's Penitent Psalm

 Temple Baptist Church - 5-29-2022

2 Samuel 12:13-23; Psalm 51:1-15

 

Introduction:

 

A.  Here we find possibly the darkest period of Israel’s history as the greatest king their nation ever had sinned a great sin.  Sin has consequences but with confession comes forgiveness.

 

B.  God forgave King David's sin with Bathsheba and greatly used him for the rest of his life.  There are some tremendous lessons to be learned from David’s fall and restoration:  though God does not condone or excuse our sinfulness, He will forgive us and allow us to rise again from the dust of failure to be greatly used of God once more.

 

C.  I want to look at David’s forgiveness: the basis, the requirements, and the fullness of it. 

 

1.  For seven days, David fasted and lay upon his face before God.

 

2.  I personally believe that Psalm 51 is a record of David’s penitent prayer made somewhere between verse 6 where he said, “I have sinned against the Lord” and “David arose … and worshipped” in verse 20.

 

3.  David sought for his child’s life.

 

4.  After the child’s death, went into the house of the Lord and worshipped His God.  Both of these acts require holiness.

 

Psalm 51:1-17

 

1.  The Basis of God’s Forgiveness.  (Love, mercy, propitiation)

 

a.  Verse 1 - “According to thy lovingkindness” - Jeremiah 31:3  The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.  (God’s forgiveness is founded in His great love for His children.)

 

b.  Verse 1 - “According unto the multitude of thy tender mercies” - Lamentations 3:22-23  It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.  (23)  They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.  (God’s forgiveness is founded upon His great mercy toward His children.)

 

c.  Verse 1 - “Blot out my transgressions” - Leviticus 17:11  For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.  (God’s forgiveness is founded is His precious blood shed for His children.)

 

Colossians 1:14  In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:

 

2.  The Requirements of God’s Forgiveness.

 

a. Verse 4 - “I have sinned against the LORD.” – Realization - Psalms 51:4  Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.  (Technically, David had also sinned against Uriah, Bathsheba [though she was not without guilt, David’s was the greater sin], and against all Israel but his sin against God caused all of the rest to fade into the distance.  In this verse, we see that God will accept our tears but not our excuses!  David did not blame the woman as Adam did nor did he blame his failure on society, heredity, or environment.  David took full responsibility for his actions.)

 

b.  Verse 3 - “For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.” – Confession – 1 John 1:9  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

 

Psalms 32:5  I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah.  (Confession and forgiveness are both Old and New Testament doctrines.  The Apostle Paul quoted the last part of verse 4, “that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest” in Romans 3:4.  Confession is both acknowledgement to God and agreement with God on sin.)

 

c.  Verse 17 - “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit.” – Humility - 1 Peter 5:6  Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:  (The great “King” became just a man before both God and Israel.  No pride, no special privileges, and no excuses!  “I have sinned!”  He lay unashamed upon his face before his God.)

 

d.  Verse 17 - “A broken and a contrite heart.” – Godly Sorrow - 2 Corinthians 7:10  For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.  (David’s sin had broken his heart.  Godly sorrow works repentance and repentance a change of heart and actions.)

 

3.  The Fullness of God’s Forgiveness.  (In verses 16, we find that David realized that there was no sacrifice for the sin of adultery.  The penalty for this particular sin was to be stoned!  David understood this and he bypassed the Levitical sacrifices by throwing himself completely upon the mercy of God.  In our text we find David’s desire in these words: purge me, make me to hear joy, hide thy face from my sins, create in me a clean heart, renew a right spirit within me, cast me not away, take not thy holy spirit, restore unto me the joy, uphold me, deliver me from bloodguiltiness, open my lips and my mouth.)

 

a.  “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.” - Complete Remission - Psalms 51:9  Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.

 

b.  “Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation.” - Complete Restoration - Psalms 51:8-12  Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.  (9)  Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.  (10)  Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.  (11)  Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.  (12)  Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.

 

c.  “Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.” - Certified Reusable!  - Luke 22:32  But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.  (I am still glad that the Potter does not throw the “clay” away!  If you sin, get right—get up—get going!)

Memorial Day 2022 - Fight the Good Fight of Faith

 

Temple Baptist Church - 5-29-2022

1 Timothy 6:11-12

 

Introduction: 

 

A.  Tomorrow, May 30, 2022, is Memorial Day. 

 

1.  The day in which we honor our war dead: men and women who paid the ultimate price for our freedom that we enjoy today.  

 

2.  “All gave some but some gave all.”  Their lives were cut short; they died in their youth; they had no chance to grow old; their dreams were never realized; their lives can only be lived through us; their dreams can only be realized through us!

 

3.  Those who died would have been friends, neighbors, doctors, lawyers, teachers, mill workers, miners, store owners, moms, and dads—America’s youth, America’s strength, America’s future!

 

B.  As we enjoy our freedom and blessings tomorrow, our day trips, picnics lunches, grilled favorites, do not fail to remember those who will not be there to enjoy them with us! 

 

1.  These statistics are several years old.  In all the American wars, either by our country or within our country, over 45,000,000 men and women have served in wartime with over 1,175,000 war dead and over 1,500,000 wounded in action. 

 

2.  That is a tremendous number of young lives that have been given and families forever changed while affording us the freedom that we now enjoy. 

 

3.  I knew a soldier who, as an 18-year-old was carrying a machine gun, wading through the waters of the Pacific Islands under heavy fire, watching his buddies die before his eyes and seeing the waves filled with the bodies of the dead.  He grew up that day. 

 

4.  I remember a man who, as young artillery man, coming on shore at Omaha Beach on D+2, watching them as they carried away the dead and wounded.  He grew up that day!

 

5.  I have known men who fought in WWII, through the harsh winters of Korea, walked through the jungles of Viet Nam, died in the middle east, and continue to die until this day for our freedom. 

 

6.  My thoughts go to Arlington National Cemetery and to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and read the inscription, “Here rests in honored glory an American soldier known but to God.”

 

C.  Freedom in a privilege, not a right!  Citizenship is a privilege, not a right!  There are many living in this country that enjoy the freedoms while misusing them. 

 

1.  We do not have the freedom to do wrong in this land. 

 

2.  We do not have the freedom to live here and defame this land.

 

3.  We have not right to burn the American Flag.

 

4.  America has had some sad things in its history and still is not a perfect land, but it is my country and I say, “Love it or leave it.”

 

5.  Come to America but come legal, learn the language (I do not speak Spanish), salute the flag, pay your taxes, be productive, get a job, and be a good citizen!

 

6.  You are not here because it is your right; you are here because you are privileged to live here.  This is our country, one nation under GOD, paid for with the blood of our valiant youth!  When you came to America, you joined us, we did not join you.

 

D.  War is not something that any sane man or woman wants, but we find in our text that war is sometimes a necessity. 

 

1.  Men who will not fight will not remain free. 

 

2.  Patrick Henry said, “Give me liberty or give me death!”  It is the cry of the patriot and is the prerequisite for freedom.  To live free, some must sometimes die.

 

E.  God bless the memory of our war dead; God bless our troops; God bless America!

 

F.  This morning, for a few minutes, I want to look at a different type of war casualty.  You and I are in a spiritual warfare today.  It is a war just as real as physical wars are real.  We have spiritually what we have this morning because someone paid a great price.

 

1.  From the blood of Abel to those who are martyred in other countries today, blood has been shed as men earnestly contended for the faith once delivered.

 

2.  Throughout history, men and women have been tortured and died because they were not willing to recant concerning their faith.  Over 50 million died for their faith in the Dark Ages alone.

 

3.  We have the witness of both church and secular historians who have brought to us the reality of these sacrifices.  Millions upon millions have and will die for their faith. 

 

G.  Because of the sufferings and death of these and countless others like them, we are spiritually blessed!  NOW, we are the generation that needs to fight for our posterity!  A short three-fold application is given in our text:  Flee, Follow, and Fight.

 

1.  Flee the Things that Distract us.  Luke 9:62  And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.  (There are so many things that distract us from living a consistent life for Christ.  Paul spoke of "the weight" that slows us the "sins" that beset us.  Weights are things that may not be sinful but keep us from doing the things that have eternal weight.  Then there is the distraction of sin.)

 

Philippians 1:10  That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ;

 

2.  Follow the Paths that Directs us.  Jeremiah 6:16  Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.  (I often ask the question, "Were our forefathers right or were they wrong?"  I believe that they were right, and their paths are still right ones.  MAINTAIN the old ways wherein are the good ways.)

 

3.  Fight the Truth that Anchors us.  Jude 3  Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.  (Without the Truth of the Bible, people will NEVER be free!)

 

John 8:31-32  Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;  (32)  And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

In The Beginning Was The Word

 Temple Baptist Church - 5-25-2022

John 1:1

 

Introduction:

 

A.  As we begin our study of John’s Gospel, we need to understand its principle thought: The Deity of Christ Jesus: the Eternal Word of God.  The first chapter of the Book of John is one of the most amazing of all chapters in the Bible as it introduces us to the Eternal Word of God.  Each of the four Gospels portrays Christ in a different way thus giving us a complete look at His person and His work.

 

1.  Matthew – Portrays Christ as the Lion of the tribe of Judah.  He is the coming King of Israel.  He is called the son of David - His lineage is reckoned from David.

 

2.  Mark - Portrays Christ as the Ox. He is the Servant of Man. No genealogy is recorded – a servant or slave had no recorded birth.

 

3.  Luke - Portrays Christ as the Son of Man.  100% Man on His mother's side through the virgin birth and 100% God on His Father's side.  His genealogy reckoned from Joseph back to Adam who was the son of God.

 

Luke 3:23, 38  And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of  Heli,  ... Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God. 

 

4.  John - Portrays Christ as the Son of God: His Divinity.  No genealogy - eternality of His Divinity (always was God)

 

B.  There are three portions of Scripture, including our verse for tonight, that record Christ's 

 

Genesis 1:1  In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.  (I call the first four words of this verse the "greatest theological statement in the Bible."  It is a statement about God, not an argument for His existence.)

 

John 1:1  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  (This verse is the greatest theological statement in the Bible concerning Christ as the "Word" found in the Bible.  You cannot divorce Christ from the Word.  To do so will cause theological error concerning the Person and Work of Christ.)

 

1 John 1:1-2  That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;  (2)  (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;)  (These verses contain the availability of Christ the Word to all who seek Him.)

 

C.  These verses are not an argument for the eternality of Jesus Christ, they are statements of a fact to be believed.  God is!

 

D.  When we think of eternity, it is a thought that boggles our minds. 

 

1.  Eternity is a truth that goes beyond our experience. Beginningless so as to have no record and endless so that it cannot be measured. Eternity has no past, it has no future, it has no ends, it has no middle, it has no parts, thus it cannot be analyzed nor perfectly understood.  Eternity can only be experienced. 

 

2.  It is something which was, and is, always will be. Eternity is God's realm.  It had no beginning because God has no beginning, and it has no end because God has no end.  It has no origin and, therefore, eternity is beginningless, endless, measureless, imperishable, indescribable, and undefinable. Eternity itself is its only definition.

 

3.  When asked, "What is eternity?" We can only answer that “Eternity was and is forever!”  I can tell you what time it is...what day it is, what month it is, what year it is, but eternity has no time, days, months, or years.  Eternity has no calendars; eternity has no clocks; eternity has no measure.

 

E.  The Bible declares Jehovah God (Our Lord Jesus Christ) to be eternal.

 

Proverbs 8:22-23  The LORD possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old.  (23)  I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was.

 

Colossians 1:15-17  Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:  (16)  For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:  (17)  And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

 

Hebrews 1:10-12  And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands:  (11)  They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment;  (12)  And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail.

 

Hebrews 13:8  Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.

 

F.  Jehovah God (Our Lord Jesus Christ) declared Himself to be eternal - Exodus 3:14  And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.

 

1.  This verse speaks of God’s eternality.  It is not “I WAS” but “I AM.”  God is a “present tense” God.  The sense is of this title for God is not only I am what I am at present, but I am what I have been, and I am what I shall be, and shall be what I am.

 

2.  This verse also speaks of God’s immutability.  Every time you find or perceive God, He is always the same.  Finite man is subject to change, but an infinite God is not because the constancy of His name.

 

3.  This verse speaks of God’s self-existence.  Not “I want to be” or “I should be” or “I need to be” or “I will be” but I AM!  From before recorded time, Jesus and His Father were one in essence, one in equally, and one in eternality.

G.  Jesus Christ declared Himself to be the eternal God.  John 8:58  Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.

 

Revelation 1:8  I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.

 

H.  I do not claim to understand God as He is infinite and eternal, and I am finite and temporal. God can be known, and I am glad that I do know God!

 

J.  Eternity is an eternal moment that is totally occupied by God, and we will soon be there!

Eternity is God’s signature: it is who He is!

The Blessed Man

 Temple Baptist Church - 5-22-2022

Psalms 1

 

Introduction:

 

A.  It is interesting that the first Psalm pronounces both a blessing (the Righteous) and a cursing (the Rebellious).  As we read the admonitions found in this Book, it shows us the way of happiness in the Lord as well as the wrath of God upon the wicked who refuse to repent and turn to Him.

 

1.  The Righteous will Flourish.  I will deal with this first part as I am preaching to God's people, not the unrighteous!

 

2.  But, The Rebellious will Fall.  Verses 4-6.  The ungodly are not so!!!  They will not be blessed; they will be driven; they will not be happy; they will be judged; and their way will perish!

 

B.  It begins with the word “blessed.”  Many will substitute the word “happy” in the place of “blessed” but I believe that it is a cardinal mistake.  Though both “blessed” and “happy” come from the same root word (which means to be straight, to be level, to go forward, to be honest, to prosper, happy), the words are a little different in their meanings within the context.

 

C.  "Blessed" is found 302x in the Bible while "happy" (in one form or another) is only found 28x in your Bible.  This vast difference in usage is by design. 

 

1.  To be happy is a manner of disposition.  It always means happiness or to be extremely glad in your circumstances.  Everyone wants to be happy, but we are not always so for life is hard at times and we wish things to be different.

 

2.  To be blessed is a word that pertains to our personal welfare.  You can be unhappy and still be blessed.  Do you see what I mean?  In the worst of circumstances, you can be unhappy but still be blessed.  That is what 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says, “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”  Not to be thankful for cancer, death, or sinfulness but to be thankful that you are saved, God is meeting your needs, etc. during these hard times.

 

D.  People substitute “love” for “charity” in 1 Corinthians 13 which is also detrimental to proper Bible interpretation as “charity” is a specific type of love while “love” is an umbrella that covers all love.

 

E.  Psalm 1 tells us how to be “blessed,” not “happy.”  I am glad that the things in this Psalm will ultimately (and sometimes instantly) make you happy, but they will ALWAYS make you blessed.

 

F.  Throughout the Book of Psalms, we find contrasts between good and evil, happy times and hard times, times of victory and times of defeat for God's people.  In Psalms, chapter one, we find blessing and cursing.  I want to use a New Testament verse that helps to explain verse 1.

 

1 Corinthians 15:33  Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.

 

 

1.  The Conditions Of God’s Blessings.  In verse 1, we find a negative progression: walking, standing, and sitting.  If you walk with the world, you will stand with the world, and will ultimately sit with the world!

 

a.  The Blessed Man Finds His Counsel In God’s Word, Not The World – “walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly”  This means to both listen and agree with the counsel of the world.  Their counsel is anti-God.  “Can two walk together, except they be agreed?”

 

b.  The Blessed Man Finds His Pleasure In The Things Of God – “standeth in the way of sinners”  As the wages of sin is still death, the way of sinfulness brings about the certain judgment of God.  “There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”

 

c.  The Blessed Man Finds His Fellowship With The People Of God – “nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful”  Show me your friends and I will tell you who you are.  The world scorns (to have in derision) the things of God.  They mock you if you serve God and will make you mock those who serve the Lord if you run with them.  “Evil communications corrupt good manners!”

 

d.  The Blessed Man Finds His Delight In The Law Of The Lord – “But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.”  Proverbs 19:23 says, “The fear of the LORD tendeth to life: and he that hath it shall abide satisfied; he shall not be visited with evil.”  We will have problems but God will deliver us out of them all!

 

2.  The Characteristics Of God’s Blessed.

 

a.  God’s Blessed Are Prominent - “he shall be like a tree”  God’s people will “stand out” and “stand above” the world!  “They took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.” The world may not like you but they will recognize you and most of the world will respect you.

 

b.  God’s Blessed Are Planted – “planted by the rivers of water”  The child of God will be vibrant, lively, and lovely during the most horrible spiritual droughts!  They will have a constant, unending source of both life and strength.

 

c.  God’s Blessed Are Productive – “that bringeth forth his fruit in his season”  The child of God will produce godly fruit that will be both observed and beneficial to others.  You never know who is watching your life but you do know who you want to follow in your footsteps!  “If my kids follow me they will be drug free” is a familiar bumper sticker.  If my kids follow me, they will follow the Lord!

 

d.  God’s Blessed Are Perpetual – “is leaf also shall not wither”  One of the greatest of spiritual assets is that of predictability!  When the world not only recognizes a life of godliness in the believer but expects to see it every time they come around.  Not shocked that our lives have changed but expectant of our spiritual consistency.

 

e.  God’s Blessed Are Prosperous – “whatsoever he doeth shall prosper”  The believer will be successful in both his public and personal life.  That does not mean that we will have no problems but it does mean that we shall come through them victoriously!  We can overcome hardship with the help of an ever present, all powerful, and graciously loving God at our side.

Joy In Tribulation

 Temple Baptist Church - 5-22-2022

Habakkuk 3:1-19

 

Introduction: 

 

A.  In verse one of the “prayer of Habakkuk,” we see that it was a hard time for both Israel and God’s man.  It was a time of affliction and chastening of God’s Israel and not a pleasant time.  Because of the continued rebellion of Israel, God brought the Chaldeans to spoil the people and the land.

 

B.  In our text, the Holy Ghost bursts our perception of what joy is all about.  Times were hard and certainly not happy for Habakkuk, but there was in his heart a settled peace of God that passeth all understanding.  There is a vast difference between happiness and joy.  His unhappiness with his situation did not dictate the joy in his heart!

 

C.  The Christian life should be one of joy instead of fear and drudgery.  Many erroneously equate joy with happiness.  Happiness is something that comes and goes.  I believe that God wants the child of God happy, but life is often hard and hard to understand. 

 

1.  Happiness is like a bubbling stream.  It is greatly affected by each little bump or rock in the bed over which the water flows.  This world causes sorrow and people try to find happiness in the abundance of their possessions.

 

Luke 12:15 And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.

 

2.  Joy is like the depths of the ocean.  Calm even when the surface is greatly disturbed by the storm.  Christian joy is a result of being filled with the Holy Ghost and has nothing to do with things.

 

Galatians 5:22-24 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. 24 And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.

 

D.  First, let me say that Joy is a choice that we make.  Not one of us (including this pastor) enjoys sickness, hardship, trials, etc. but we often have no choice but to endure these things.  I have often said that, when these times come: and they will, we can come out bitter or better.

 

E.  I want to look at four examples of joy.

 

1.  THE FATHER’S JOY – The death of His Son! 

 

Isaiah 53:10-12  Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. 11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

 

WHY JOY? 

 

a.  It was not the circumstances that brought God the Father joy!  This was the brutal death of His only begotten Son!

 

2 Peter 1:17 For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

 

b.  It was because of His great love for sinful man!  I will never understand a love like this:  the love of God that sacrificed His only begotten Son for sinners like you and me!  Oh, what love!

 

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

 

2.  THE SAVIOUR’S JOY – The sacrifice that He made!

 

Hebrews 12:1-2  Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, 2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

 

Ephesians 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;

 

WHY JOY? 

 

a.  It was not the circumstances that brought God the Son joy! 

 

1)  He was facing the cruel cross.

 

2)  He who knew no sin would become sin for us!

 

b.  It was because of His great love for you and me!  It was because of His great love for the Church, His Bride!  He was not looking forward to Calvary; He was looking beyond Calvary!

 

John 15:13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

 

Romans 5:6-8  For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7  For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. 8  But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

 

3.  THE SINNER’S JOY – The cross of Calvary!

 

Galatians 6:14 But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.

 

WHY JOY! 

 

a.  It is not the circumstances of Christ’s death that brings the sinner joy.  I am sorry that He had to take my shame and disgrace.  I am sorry that my sin nailed Him to Calvary!  I am glad but I am sad.

 

b.  What brings the sinner Joy is the blessed result of Calvary!  Because of his great load of sin that is gone.  Because his sin’s penalty was paid at Calvary!  Because his life was changed completely at Calvary!

 

4.  THE SAINT’S JOY – The soon appearing of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

 

1 Peter 1:8-9  Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: 9  Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.

 

Titus 2:13  Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;

 

1 John 3:2  Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

 

WHY JOY? 

 

          a.  It is not the circumstances of life that brings the saint joy.

 

                    Job 14:1  Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble.

 

1 Peter 1:6-7  Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: 7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:

 

b.  What brings the saint joy is the great longing to see his face!  It is his great longing for home!  It is his great longing to spend an eternity with the One who loved us and gave Himself for us!  It is his great longing to see the One who died for him.  Face to face with Christ for "we shall see Him as He is!"  Oh that will be glory for me!

 

Conclusion:  As a sinner, you will never find joy in the things of this world.  The only joy and peace that you will find will be in Christ and His great salvation.  As a saint, you will never find joy in the things of this world either.  It is not the world that I love.  How I hate it and how it affects me!  You and I that are saved will only find joy and peace in serving the Lord.  Our hearts should cry, “Even so come, Lord Jesus!”