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Benefits of Justification
Romans 5:1-2
What are the benefits of
justification? Escaping hell?
Going to heaven? Yes!
In the future. But how
about right now?
The first few chapters
have shown us our need for justification and how we receive it.
Then he illustrated it thru Abraham in chapter 4.
Now we're in a new section looking at the blessings and benefits of
justification. Not just the
benefits in the sweet by and by, but in the nasty now and now.
1.
Peace with God.
v. 1
There are many kinds of peace in the Bible, like world peace, which
will never happen until the Prince of Peace establishes it.
As long as there's sin in the hearts of humans it won't happen.
Then there's the peace OF
God, which is tranquility in your soul.
Contentment and anxiety free living.
John 14:27
Peace I leave with you, my peace I
give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart
be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
It's the peace that passes
[surpasses] understanding.
Sometimes I have this
peace of God, it is always available to me, but often I allow life to rob me
of this. I become worried,
paranoid, fearful, bitter, aggravated.
That's not the peace of God.
They are mutually exclusive.
I cannot be bitter and have the peace of God.
If I'm worried them I'm not trusting.
If I'm aggravated w/ someone I'm not praying for them.
But peace WITH God is
different. It's the opposite of
being under the wrath of God.
It's taking care of the state of hostility that exists between God and man
prior to salvation. The war
between God's holiness and man's sinfulness is won thru justification and a
benefit is we are at peace with God!
Before salvation we are
God's enemies.
v. 7-10a
ill.--an atheist was on
his deathbed. His Godly
grandmother visited and asked if he made his peace with God.
Smarting off he replied, "I didn't know we'd been fighting."
Most lost people don't
know they are God's enemy because they don't actively oppose the work of
God. They feel they are neutral
towards God...but there's no such thing.
Matthew 12:30
He that is not with me is against
me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.
John 8:44
Ye are of your father the
devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do.
You're a child of God or
of the devil. A citizen of
God's kingdom of the devil's. A
friend of God or an enemy.
Romans 8:6-8
6
For to be carnally minded is death; but to be
spiritually minded is life and peace.
7 Because the carnal mind is
enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed
can be.
8 So then they that
are in the flesh cannot please God.
All unbelievers are the
enemy of God. Let's take it a
step further: God is the enemy
of all unbelievers. He is angry
with them and condemns them.
Romans 1:8
First, I thank my God through Jesus
Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.
Psalm 7:1
O LORD my God, in thee do I put my trust: save
me from all them that persecute me, and deliver me:
Deuteronomy
32:21-24
21 They have
moved me to jealousy with that which is not God; they have provoked
me to anger with their vanities: and I will move them to jealousy with
those which are not a people; I will provoke them to anger with a
foolish nation.
22 For a
fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and
shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations
of the mountains.
23 I will
heap mischiefs upon them; I will spend mine arrows upon them.
24 They shall be burnt with
hunger, and devoured with burning heat, and with bitter destruction: I will
also send the teeth of beasts upon them, with the poison of serpents of the
dust.
Joshua 23:16
16 When ye have transgressed the
covenant of the LORD your God, which he commanded you, and have gone and
served other gods, and bowed yourselves to them; then shall the anger of the
LORD be kindled against you, and ye shall perish quickly from off the good
land which he hath given unto you.
"But God would never send
anyone to hell."
Ephesians 5:6
Let no man deceive you with vain
words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children
of disobedience.
'these things' is a list
of sins in previous verses.
If we are at enmity with
God, what can be done? There
has to be a mediator!
v. 1
'through Jesus'
A mediator tries to bring
reconciliation, but it has to be agreeable to both sides.
[baseball strike /
1 Timothy 2:5-6
5 For there is one God, and
one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
6 Who gave himself a ransom for all,
to be testified in due time.
Colossians 1:19-22
19 For it pleased the Father
that in him should all fulness dwell;
20
And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him
to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they
be things in earth, or things in heaven.
21 And you, that were sometime
alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he
reconciled
22 In the body
of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and
unreproveable in his sight:
Jesus is our go between.
Hanging on the cross He was suspended between heaven and earth.
He reached down to sinful man and reached up to the Holy Father and
brought us together by paying our penalty and breaking down the wall of
division between us!
"Peace on earth and mercy
mild, God and sinner reconciled!"
That peace is permanent.
Hebrews 7:25
25
Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that
come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.
1.
Peace with God
2.
Access
v. 2
Ever tried to call the President?
You don't have access!
But thru justification we
have access to the Author of life, of salvation, and of the Bible!
Ephesians 2:14-18
14 For he is our peace, who hath
made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between
us;
15 Having abolished
in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained
in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making
peace;
16 And that he might
reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity
thereby:
17 And came and
preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.
18 For through him we both have
access by one Spirit unto the Father.
Ephesians 3:11-12
11 According to the eternal purpose
which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:
12 In whom we have boldness and
access with confidence by the faith of him.
'Access' means entrance to
the king thru the favor of another.
ill.--years ago a little
boy living in the British Isles wanted to see the king of
The only thing that changed was he was holding the hand of the
prince, the king's son! That's
how he got access to the king.
Just like Jesus did for us!
The veil of the temple
kept the Jew out, and a wall kept the Gentile out.
Eph. 2 says Jesus tore
down that wall of partition.
And that veil was torn in two.
Knowing the price paid so
we might have access, I wonder how Jesus must feel when we do not avail
ourselves to that access thru constant prayer?
Not just having a prayer time, but a prayer life!
There are more benefits to justification we'll continue looking at in coming weeks.
Streaming Audio:
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Benefits of Justification, pt. 2
Romans 5:2b
Last time:
1.
Peace with God
2.
Access to God
3.
Hope of the glory of God.
v. 2b Man can live weeks without
food, days without water, but only hours without hope.
ill.--In 1965 James
Stockdale became one of the first American pilots shot down over
We have an endless
hope, but this world has a hopeless end.
A great cloud of pessimism and hopelessness covers the earth.
Students were asked
their philosophy of life and answered:
Life is a punishment
for the crime of being born.
Life is a disease for
which the only cure is death.
"Oh yeah, life goes on.
Long after the thrill of living is gone!" [Mellencamp]
No wonder scores of
Americans end their life each day.
The theory of evolution
leaves man without hope.
Godless philosophies leave people empty inside.
Socialism steals away man's desire to thrive and prosper.
Atheism is supposed to close the door on God but instead it
leaves man incomplete and inwardly void.
George Barnard Shaw
pinned his hope on atheism while he was alive.
The closer he got to death the more empty and hopeless he felt.
Just before he died he said, "You are looking at an atheist who
has lost his faith!"
When the atheist loses his
faith there's nothing else left.
Thank God the believer
has a Bible full of the promises of hope!
Titus 2:13
Looking for that blessed hope,
and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus
Christ;
Jesus gives meaning to
life, purpose in life, and hope for the future.
One of the great
present benefits of justification is hope.
"Because He lives I can
face tomorrow, all fear is gone, I know He holds the future, and life is
worth the living!"
Let's get a firm grasp
on the Biblical meaning of hope, as many have a wrong concept of it.
Hope in the Bible does not mean 'wishful thinking'.
Today we say I hope it doesn't rain [wishful thinking] or I hope
the Cubs win the pennant [really wishful thinking!]
In the Bible, hope is
seldom a verb, and usually a noun.
It is not something we do, it is something we have.
It is a concrete object, not an airy ideal.
It is synonymous with 'promise.'
The blessed hope of His return is a promise, not a wish.
And I don't hope for
salvation, I have hope in my salvation.
"I hope I'm saved."
That's not good enough. I
know I'm saved because of the hope I received thru justification!
Philippians 3:20
For our conversation is in
heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:
I'm as sure of heaven
as if I'm already there.
Heaven isn't my home someday, it is my home right now, and I'm just
away. We're pilgrims and
strangers in a foreign land and this world is not our home...
Philippians 1:6
Being confident of this
very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform
it until the day of Jesus Christ:
God began the mammoth
building project of your life at salvation and he never abandons the
jobsite. What He starts He
finishes.
2 Timothy 1:12
For the which cause I also
suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I
have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I
have committed unto him against that day.
It's not me holding
out, it's God holding on!
Some say it's all about
your perseverance in the faith that maintains your salvation.
Oh no! It's simply an
evidence of the salvation that is already there.
1 John 2:19
They went out from us, but they
were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt
have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be
made manifest that they were not all of us.
A person who makes a
profession of faith and turns his back on it all permanently was never
truly saved.
And the hope is for
now, not just for the rapture and for heaven someday, but hope for
living, and hope for sharing.
And we have the future
hope of His glory, that we will be like Him someday!
This is the primary interpretation of the end of v. 2.
John 17:22
And the glory which thou gavest
me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:
In the mind of God we
already have this glory in the present.
How could this future glory be ours today?
How can we reconcile the two as reality?
I'll tell you how:
because when God makes a promise, it's as good as done!
It's already a reality because it's going to happen and nothing
can stop it!
Faith is the substance
of things hoped for [not just wishful thinking]
Romans 8:28-30
28 And we know that all things
work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called
according to his purpose.
29
For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be
conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among
many brethren.
30
Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he
called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also
glorified.
So it is in the future
I have the glory but it's in the present I have the hope [promise] of
this reality.
1 John 3:2-3
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.
3 And every man that
hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.
In the future I have
the glory and in the present I have the hope.
Our God is not restricted by the constraints of time like we are.
He is timeless. In
His economy I am already in the heavenlies and it's as though I've
always been there and always will be.
One of the benefits of
justification is that although I am not yet what I should be, praise
God, by His grace, I'm not what I used to be, and I'm not what I'm going
to be...like Christ in glory!
And with all of this
hope, what should be our response?
v. 2 'rejoice!'
It means jubilation.
We have no reason to fear the future and every reason to rejoice in it
because Christ Himself is our hope.
1 Timothy 1:1
Paul, an apostle of Jesus
Christ by the commandment of God our Saviour, and Lord Jesus Christ,
which is our hope;
I don't know about
tomorrow
I just live from day to
day
I don't borrow from its
sunshine
For its skies may turn
to gray
And I don't worry oe'r
the future
For I know what Jesus
said
And today He walks
beside me
For He knows what is
ahead
Many things about
tomorrow
I don't seem to
understand
But I know who holds
tomorrow
And I know who holds my
hand!
Now look at the first 3
benefits of justification together:
·
Peace with
God means that in the past Jesus made it possible for me to not be His
enemy but His friend. So my
salvation is anchored in the past.
·
Access to
God means that since Jesus is my High Priest right now, my salvation is
anchored in the present.
·
Hope of
glory means my salvation is anchored in the future.
No matter how you look
at it, my anchor holds!
[there's 4 more
benefits yet to come!]
Benefits of Justification, pt. 3
Romans 5:3
Benefit number 4 to
being saved [a benefit in this life, before the afterlife] is:
We glory in tribulations
When you got saved,
Jesus introduced you to a wonderful friend.
Apart from Christ, he is your best friend.
He will draw you close to God, and make you more like Jesus.
He will help you develop strong character, and perseverance.
His name is Trouble.
He goes by the aliases of Trials or Tribulations.
Generally, it is not when things are going smoothly that we make
great advances for the Lord.
v. 3 This is contrary to the world's thinking, and none of us do
this well, but must try to see the upside of down times.
We are to literally take joy in troubles.
It does not say to have
joy in spite of our troubles...or to just endure it graciously, w/out
complaining or to 'make the most' of a bad situation.
It goes far beyond that and says to glory in our troubles.
This means rejoicing and jubilation.
Could it be a misprint?
2 Corinthians 7:4
... I am exceeding joyful
in all our tribulation.
Elsewhere he said I
take pleasure in adversity.
James 1:2
My brethren, count it all joy
when ye fall into divers temptations;
In verse 2 Paul just
said we have hope of glory.
It is then the critics point out that Christians are so heavenly minded
that they are no earthly good...we're all about the sweet by and by and
not the nasty here and now.
And it's almost as if Paul knows they are gonna say that because of how
he starts out v. 3...
"And not only so" = "I
knew you were gonna say that!"
Paul says that the
troubles of this world are the Christian's friend.
Justification isn't a ceasing of your troubles, it's just
recognizing that God uses them for our benefit.
If being saved is the end to your troubles, it's the front end!
1.
The Reality of Trouble.
Throughout the Bible we
have the record of trouble in the lives of God's people.
Many times troubles increase after salvation as we become public
enemy #1 to Satan. Can you
name anyone in the Bible who didn't have their share of problems?
Moses, Joshua, Daniel,
Jonah, David, etc. Paul
tells about being whipped multiple times, beaten with rods, stoned,
shipwrecked several times.
Robbed, turned against by friends, family, and strangers, cold, thirsty,
naked, and on top of all that, the pressure of pastoring all the
churches.
Job was right, man born
of woman is of few days and full of trouble!
Everyone here has
troubles, whether physical, emotional, financial, familial, etc.
The rain falls on both the just and the unjust, and no one is
sheltered from troubles.
Cautions regarding trouble:
·
Don't
manufacture it. You'll have
troubles enough. Some seem
to thrive on conflict and feeling victimized.
They go looking for trouble and boy do they find it.
They feel empty without it!
ill.--a doctor told a
man he had 6 weeks to live.
"What can I do?" Dr. said,
marry a widow w/ 10 kids, buy a hog farm, and leave your TV on C-SPAN at
all times. "Will I live
longer?" No, but those 6
months will seem like an eternity!
Don't go looking for
trouble. And we manufacture
trouble when we disregard Bible principles which were given to bless our
lives. Life is hard
enough...and we make it harder by punishing ourselves by not following
God's plans/morals/family/priorities/money/beliefs
·
Don't
minimize others' troubles.
And don't judge others going thru troubles.
We can be insensitive and say, 'that's nothing compared to what
I've been thru.' Christians
can be evil judges when they try to blame others' troubles on their
obvious sins...we need to focus on our own.
Troubles are not necessarily an indication of sin in the life.
[point the finger/3 more pointing back]
Joseph of the OT is a
rare exception to most OT saints in that you cannot find anything
negative in his life, sin wise, yet he went thru all kinds of troubles,
which by the way, made him the best he could be!
Daniel was exemplary,
and look what he went thru.
Paul is a NT example,
and his middle name was trouble.
Some of the sweetest,
most mature Christians I know have had a lot of trouble, and I've gotta
wonder if that's how they became such mature Christians!
·
Don't
ignore trouble. When we go
into denial and sweep it under the rug it doesn't go away, it is waiting
for us...we must face it square in the eye and ask God to show us how it
is our friend!
The reality of trouble...
2.
The Reason for Trouble.
Why should the
Christian be joyful about troubles?
·
Chastisement is proof that the Father loves us children.
Hebrews 12:6-7
6 For whom the Lord loveth he
chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
7 If ye endure chastening, God
dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father
chasteneth not?
A spanking shows a
child love. You don't want
them to burn themselves on that oven, etc.
Proverbs 3:11-12
11 My son, despise not the
chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction:
12 For whom the LORD loveth he
correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.
·
Trouble
helps us minister to others.
2 Corinthians 1:3-4
3 Blessed be God, even the
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of
all comfort;
4 Who
comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort
them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are
comforted of God.
We go thru trouble, and
experience the sustaining grace of God, and then others can see it and
want it.
Once God has carved a
deep valley in your life, His grace can flow thru it to others!
·
Trouble
draws us closer to God.
v. 3-5a
See the process?
"Tribulation" comes from the Latin 'tribulum', which was a heavy piece
of timber w/ spikes in it, used for threshing grain.
It separated the wheat from the chaff.
And that's one purpose of God for troubles in our lives...we all
have some chaff that needs separated.
The impurities need to be removed.
We need to be put on the fire, and stretched on the rack!
Psalm 119:67
Before I was afflicted I went
astray: but now have I kept thy word.
Psalm 119:71
It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn
thy statutes.
God is more concerned
with our growth than our comfort.
He loves us as we are, but He loves us too much to let us stay
the way we are!
·
Tribulation magnifies:
-Our weaknesses and
God's strength. When things
are going well in the church I get independent and self sufficient, but
when the devil attacks, I rely on God!
-God's will.
Some of you would have never come to God without trouble.
Where was John Bunyan when he wrote Pilgrim's Progress?
In a dark
ill.--the blacksmith
puts metal in the fire to make it bendable.
But if it won't bend, it goes on the scrap heap.
"God, put me on the
fire if you must, dip me in the water when you have to, just don't throw
me on the scrap heap!"
3.
Our Response to Trouble.
v. 3
We glory in it. How
can we do that? We're not
turned that way! It's not
about how we are turned, it's about whether we will trust God and obey
His Word.
Practical suggestions:
·
In times
of trouble, be eager to turn to God's Word.
It may be the last thing you WANT to do, but do it you should.
For encouragement, for strength, and for answers.
It pertains to all things of life and Godliness.
·
In times
of trouble, be eager to thank God.
I Thess. 5:18 says to give thanks in all things, including the
bad things. You have really
grown when you are able to thank God before you see the light at the end
of the tunnel. [Corrie Ten
Boom - thank God for the fleas]
·
In times
of trouble, be eager to live by faith in difficulty.
By faith we understand that God loves us, would never hurt us,
and wants to conform us to the image of His Son.
·
In times
of trouble, be eager to pray.
For encouragement, relief, direction, and revelation!
Pray to learn what God has for you to learn, so you aren't
destined to repeat more trouble!
ill.--a biologist
watched an ant burdened carrying a piece of straw.
He came to a big crack in the ground that he couldn't cross.
He paused and seemed almost to think about it, then laid the
straw across the gap and crossed...what a lesson on turning burdens into
bridges!
Burdens become bridges,
trials become triumphs, problems are possibilities!
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Benefits of Justification, pt. 4
Romans 5:5-10
The love of God is the
5th benefit we find in our text.
And it goes together with the 6th benefit we'll see in a few
minutes.
It's God's love for us,
not our love for Him we find.
And this passage may be the greatest in Scripture on this
subject. The most
overwhelming truth in the Bible is that God loved sinful, fallen,
rebellious mankind. He loves
us not because we are lovely or lovable.
It was while we were still dead in sin.
It's like He dug up an
old casket in the graveyard and peered inside and said, "Oh, how I love
you!" He saw potential in what He saw.
And if He loved us that much when we were still His enemies, how
much more does He love us now?
Today we have a warped
view of love/lust/infatuation.
Even when it is real, we talk more about it than we show it.
We say it more than we mean it.
But God demonstrated/proved it.
v. 5b 'shed abroad'
This is the first mention of the Holy Spirit in Romans.
The Spirit in our hearts is the 6th benefit of justification, and
the fact that He is deposited in our hearts is proof positive of God's
love for us!
1.
The Spirit
is our guarantee of heaven.
[seal=ownership, earnest=down payment/deposit] Ephesians 1 does away w/
the concept of losing your salvation.
2.
The Spirit
makes God's love real to us.
'Shed abroad' in our hearts.
It means 'poured out'.
Imagine a bucket poured over your head.
It's not a picture of drops or a trickle, but an immeasurable
downpour that overtakes you and leaves you breathless.
An outlandish, lavish outpouring to the point of overflowing.
John 7:38
He that believeth on me, as the
scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
It can only flow out
because it has been poured in!
Before salvation the
Spirit convicts...after He communicates...the love of God!
He makes it real...actualizes it!
3.
The Spirit
places the power and the presence of God in us immediately at the moment
of salvation.
Many believe you get
saved and then wait and hope for the Spirit.
I don't want the Spirit to CALL me, CONVICT me, CONVINCE me, and
then CUT and run, abandoning me right after I agree...and I assure you
on the authority of God's Word that's not what happens.
We can draw on the
power of the Spirit from that very moment.
These 4 things happen, and you don't seek or ask for these:
·
Regeneration - your dead Spirit which died in Adam is
quickened...brought back to life!
Born Again of the Spirit!
·
Indwelling
- He takes up residence in us, Col. 1:27.
·
Baptism -
this is the 'shed abroad' thing...not water baptism.
·
Sealing
But there is one other
ministry of the Spirit we are to ask for and seek...the filling of the
Spirit. He may be resident
but we need to seek to make Him president!
Ephesians 5:18
And be not drunk with wine,
wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;
It doesn't mean you get
more of the Spirit, but He gets more of you!
ill.--why do they say
cows give milk? You have to
fight for every drop. A city
slicker bought a cow to save money, and she went dry.
He asked a farmer why?
"Did you milk her every day?"
No. "When you did
milk her, did you take all she'd give?"
No, just a bowl here or a glass there.
That was the problem.
And so it is w/ the Spirit...we should seek all we can get, not
just what is convenient...or don't be surprised if we run low!
We need to seek the filling on a daily basis!
You say, when I got
saved I had victory and joy, and could say no to sin easily, and now it
has been a while and I seem to have run out of gas.
It may be that when you first got saved you were filled w/ the
Spirit but didn't realize that is a continuous command to seek after.
Paul said, "I die
daily." He yielded himself
to the Spirit. He laid aside
the flesh. We are no more
expected to be sanctified in our own strength and power than we are
expected to be saved of our own accord.
ill.--a drunkard got
saved and immediately quit drinking.
A few months later he walked down the street and he had some
business to do next to a tavern he used to frequent often.
As he got close he got nervous...he broke out in a sweat and
stopped dead in his tracks.
He didn't think he could pass by w/out going in.
He was flat scared!
What am I going to do?
He turned around went
the other way to a diner and had a buttermilk.
Then another...pour me one Sam!
He got so full he had no desire to turn into that tavern!
That's silly, but it's
exactly how it is supposed to work w/ the filling of the Spirit...no
room for sin!
D.L. Moody stood before
a crowd one day and asked, "How can I get the air out of this glass?"
Suck it out w/ a pump!
"No, it would create a vacuum and it would shatter."
Other suggestions wouldn't work.
Moody simply filled it w/ water, and all the air was gone.
Like me, do you have a
besetting sin? You think
about giving up because it gets you down so often...you can't seem to
get permanent victory. You
feel guilty and you are reminded often of your king sin.
Yet you know that you don't
pray about it every day, yielding to the filling of the Spirit.
Don't say you can't do it until you've tried to do it God's way.
God hasn't asked us to live the victorious Christian life in our
own strength. He will do it
for us if we will allow Him to, and seek His help.
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Benefits of Justification, pt. 5
Romans 5:11
Joy is one of the
trademarks of God's people, and it is expressed in a variety of ways --
running, jumping, leaping, and shouting are all responses we see in the
Bible, but don't seem to see too much today, except in cases where it is
superficial and forced, fleshly and worked up.
ill.--Years ago
Missionaries in the great white north attempted to translate the Bible
into the language of the Eskimos.
They ran into a problem:
there was no word for joy.
So they watched the Eskimos to try to draw up a word from their
lifestyle. They noticed that
the most joyful moments they observed were in the evenings when they
went out to feed their sled dogs.
The dogs would jump, bark, and wag their tales.
Ever had a dog that had a shouting fit?!
One Bible passage says when
the disciples saw Jesus after the resurrection they were filled with
joy. It is reported that the
missionaries translated this [or considered doing so] as ...'they wagged
their tails.' I have to say
I hope they didn't translate it that way, but it sure is a good word
picture of joy!
As a Pastor I am
somewhat of a people watcher...a student of human nature.
A great paradox I see in Christians is the distinct lack of joy
in so many who claim to know Christ.
If you are saved, you should notify your face!
Christians should be the most joyful folks on earth.
V. 11 says joy is our
7th benefit of justification, and it is just a summary of all we've seen
in the first 10 vv. and the first 6 benefits.
I have joy because I
have a peace treaty with God, access to God, hope in life, I can rejoice
even in troubles and problems, I have divine love and the gift of the
Holy Spirit.
You don't want
happiness, you want joy.
Happiness:
Joy:
external
internal
based on chance
based on choice
based on circumstance
based on Christ
So, why do so many
Christians have such little joy?
3 reasons:
1.
A wrong source of power.
'Lookin' for love in
all the wrong places.' Many
look for joy in the wrong places too.
·
People--friends, lovers, or seeking the approval of others.
These have their importance, but none give permanent and real
joy. You can have joy even
if you have none of the above relationships intact.
Because permanent joy can only be found in one cemented solid
relationship w/ Christ, who will never leave us nor forsake us.
I don't like singing
secular love songs at weddings.
They all say, my life is worthless without you, I am nothing,
could never live without you.
Is that a good message to build a marriage on?
My significance is not about how people feel about me, but
because God loves for me, Jesus died for me, and would have done it if I
was the only person to ever live.
My value and worth are based on what God thinks, not what anybody
may say about me.
We can't find permanent
joy in people for 2 reasons:
People
change--circumstances change people.
I know of a pastor
whose first wife died when she was in her 30s.
He remarried and his 2nd wife got a severe case of spinal
meningitis and her fever rose so high it erased her brain and she
reverted to childhood. He
found himself taking care of an adult baby who had to be potty trained
and learn to talk and walk.
She didn't even know who he was.
He is more of a father to her than a husband.
But you'll never meet a more joy filled Christian, in spite of
these circumstances, because he walks with God and has a power source
outside of human relationships.
People disappear--they
move away, they leave, or they die.
Good news: Your best
friend will never move, never leave, and never die.
·
Things--nothing wrong w/ having nice things if you can afford them w/out
debt, and if they don't come between you and the Lord.
If you have a jet ski and are willing to take me out, it's fine
for you to have! A camper
can be nice unless you use the Lord's Day with it.
But no joy comes from
these temporary trappings, they fade, age, break down, and then they
come out w/ newer, bigger, and better, and look what the neighbors got!
Things lose their luster and you lose the joy.
And then you're on the endless treadmill of things, wanting one
more thing, and going nowhere.
1 Timothy 6:17
Charge them that are rich in
this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches,
but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;
Job 20:28
The increase of his house shall
depart, and his goods shall flow away in the day of his wrath.
This is the picture of
a man standing before God...he has pursued things all his life, and they
float away from him and he is left alone w/ God, facing his eternal
destiny.
Proverbs 23:5
Wilt thou set thine eyes upon
that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings;
they fly away as an eagle toward heaven.
Money talks...it says,
'bye bye'.
Why did so many kill
themselves w/ the big stock market crashes of the depression era and
again in 2008? Because
things were their power source, and what they lived for.
In 1900 a survey asked
how many things you have to have in order to be happy.
72 things were listed.
In 1950 they repeated
the survey, and they came up w/ 496 things.
How many would be list
today?
·
Places--If
I could live here or there / work over there / go to that church ...
then I'd be happy. And they
don't realize that every time they move their problem moves with them.
It's a wrong power source...a wrong foundation to build upon.
Happiness is a choice.
You can decide to miserable no matter what or to be happy no
matter what. You can be a
'grass is always greener', 'glass half empty' person, or a Christian who
obeys this verse:
Philippians 4:8
Finally, brethren,
whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest,
whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure,
whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of
good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any
praise, think on these things.
wrong power source...[people, things,
places]
2.
A wrong perspective.
The miserable person
looks at God thru his circumstances.
A joyful person looks at his circumstances thru God!
Think about it, if in
your life you knew God was in full control, and His providence was
running the show, everything had a purpose, and there is no coincidence
and all that happens is for our growth and God's glory ... how much joy
would we have? It would
confound this world that is only happy when the bills are paid, the
freezer is full, the right toys are in the garage, the neighbors are
jealous, everyone is healthy, and the job is going perfectly.
Christians have as many problems as the lost.
The difference is found not in the problems but in our
perspective!
·
Focus on
God's power, not your problems.
Psalm 62:5-8
5 My soul, wait thou only upon
God; for my expectation is from him.
6 He only is my rock and
my salvation: he is my defence; I shall not be moved.
7 In God is my salvation
and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is
in God.
8 Trust in him
at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God
is a refuge for us. Selah.
I don't know where you
are problem wise, and you don't know where I am...but we BOTH know where
God is! We can focus on His
power and be joyful or on our problems and be miserable.
·
Focus on
giving, rather than receiving.
Selfishness is a thief
of joy. Givers are happy.
It's a paradox, because the selfish thinks he will be happy by
gathering more, but it backfires.
ill.--a man was on a
cruise ship years ago that hit an iceberg and it was going under.
Everyone was abandoning their possessions and running for the
lifeboats...except for this one man who saw it as an opportunity.
He ran from cabin to cabin, filling his pockets and bags w/
valuables. He put on a life
vest and jumped into the water, and sank like an anchor!
Things weigh us down, only God lifts us up!
Live for God and for
others...and do your giving while you're living!
·
Focus on
healing rather than hurting.
Resentment and
bitterness will also rob you of joy.
Colossians 3:13
Forbearing one another, and
forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as
Christ forgave you, so also do ye.
wrong power source, wrong perspective...
3.
Wrong priorities.
We have a lot to fit
into our week. So who is
gonna come first?
We have a lot to fit
into each day. So who is
gonna come first?
Isaiah 43:2
When thou passest through the
waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall
not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be
burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.
I want to give God the
firstfruits of my time, talent, and treasures, and then cash in on this
promise that He will be with me through all the other stresses of this
life because I made Him the priority and put Him first!
Romans 8:28
28 And we know that all things work together for good to
them that love God, to them who are the called according to his
purpose.
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