JOY

“JOY TO THE WORLD” written by Isaac Watts.  It is based on Psalm 98, the 4^th verse reads: “Shout for joy to the Lord all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music.”
“Joy To The World” is one of the most popular songs we sing at Christmas time.  Yet, Watts wrote the words of “Joy To The World” as a hymn to glorify Christ’s triumphant return at the end of the age, rather than a song celebrating His first coming.

The two must not be separated – He came and He is coming back.  This truth should fill our hearts with JOY.  A joyless Christian is a contradiction.  Christians ought to be filled with JOY.  Someone inquired about Christians, “Where has their radiance gone?” There is joy in being a Christian and serving Him.

We strive for happiness in the accumulation of things such as:  pleasure, money, power, popularity.
That is interesting because in the Bible nothing is said that man must be happy.  Instead, the Bible teaches that happiness comes as a result of right living.   Happiness comes from within.  It is not found in outward circumstances.  We can see this so clearly in the lives of two men in the Bible.

The first is SOLOMON.   This man searches for an adequate purpose for life.  He longs for satisfaction, for happiness and does anything to endeavor to obtain it.  He tries wine, women and song. Nothing satisfies; everything is meaningless according to the book of Ecclesiastes.  Do not miss Solomon’s conclusion for life, “FEAR GOD AND KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS.”

The second man, I want you to see, is the APOSTLE PAUL. Paul refused all his advantages as a Jew to be a Christian. Paul left a wealthy life, a career of position and prestige as a rabbi among the Jews to become a follower of Christ.  Paul wrote in the Philippians letter, “But, whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ…I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ.”  He suffered hardships as a Christian being whipped, beaten, stoned, and jailed.  From prison, Paul wrote, “Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say, Rejoice.”  “I rejoice in the Lord greatly.”

This sounds like a man who is really happy, filled with JOY. Outward circumstances have not contributed to this JOY.  Living for Jesus is the secret of Paul’s genuine happiness.

The Hebrew writer points us to Jesus; “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”   Hebrews 12:2    How could Jesus look to the Cross with joy?  Because He knew He was doing His Father’s will.  He learned obedience by the things He suffered.

For every obedient believer in Jesus, there is JOY.  Joy in doing the Father’s will in accordance to His Word.  We can all say or sing, “JOY TO THE WORLD, THE LORD IS COME.”

PEACE

                     A HYMN WE SING:  “When Peace Like A River”
“When peace, like a river, attendeth my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll;
whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say, It is well, it is well with my soul.
It is well with my soul, it is well, it is well with my soul.”

This is where peace comes.  It comes from within, from a right relationship with God through Jesus.
Inner peace comes from a good conscience made so through our trust in Jesus.

How clearly this is seen in Jesus farewell remarks to His disciples in the upper room in city of Jerusalem, recorded in the fourteenth chapter of John.  Jesus is telling them that He is going to leave them.  His concern is for their well-being, those He was going to leave behind at His death.  Jesus said, “Let not your heart be troubled.” He is not stating some nice sounding platitude. He is not whistling in the dark.  He is not talking about some kind of escape, avoidance of trouble. What Jesus said was to comfort, encourage, strengthen His followers.  He offered to them, as He does to us, in the midst of an imperfect world, PEACE.  This is a special kind of peace.  Jesus said, “My peace I give you, not as the world gives.”

The peace of Jesus is not without conflict, trouble, trials.  Jesus peace has to do with relationship with God that brings inner assurance, triumph and victory.  This inner peace from Jesus has to do with faith, trust.  We must believe in God. There can be no ground for peace without an intelligent belief in God. All who come to God must believe that He is and that He is the rewarder of those who diligently search after Him.  “Without faith, it is impossible to please God.”  But, in order to make this mysterious, vague God real, Jesus insist on belief in HIM.  It is not enough to merely believe in God, you must believe in Me, Jesus said.  Believe in Jesus as the Teacher come from God. Believe in Jesus as Deity, God in human flesh, the one who came to make God known.  Believe in Jesus as the Lamb of God, who takes away sin.  Believe in Jesus as the resurrection and the life, who promised “Because I live, you can live also.”  There is no way to the Father except through Jesus.  This we must believe.

We do not place our trust in doctrine, nor a system, nor an organization, nor the wisdom of men but in Jesus, the Christ.  He alone can offer us real peace in the midst of a trouble world.  Nothing grander can come from human lips than to confess from the heart, “I believe Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”   In order to have inner peace, you must trust Jesus.

LOVE

On many occasions I have listened to an eloquent speaker rise to the heights of oratory, and have thought, “How I wish I could preach like that man.”  How often I have listened to a learned man and said, “I wish I were that well educated.”  How often I have seen heroic missionaries go out to lands of darkness and danger and said, “I wish I had that kind of faith.”
But, have I ever asked as I looked at Jesus, “I wish I could love people like that man?”   We need to learn to love.

How do you spell love?  John tells us in His letter, “God is love.”  You spell love, GOD.
What  do you say when you talk about God’s love?   The golden text of the Bible states it, “God so loved us that He gave us His son.” 

“Could we with ink the ocean fill, and were the skies of parchment made; were every blade of grass a quill, and every man a scribe by trade, to write the love of God above would drain the ocean dry; nor could the scroll contain the whole, though spread from sky to sky.”

We cannot earn or buy such love as the love of God.  Love is born out of forgiveness.  Love does not bring forgiveness rather forgiveness brings love.  “We love Him because He first loved us.”

The good news is that God so loved people,  that he gave His only Son to save us.
This is God’s grace to mankind.  Now, this grace is not irrestible.  Some people don’t come to God.  There will be those who will not be saved as God desires.  Why?  Certainly it is not God’s fault.  He wants everyone to be saved.  Then, it has to be either the fault of the individual or our fault.  It may be the fault of the individual because of their stubbornness, preconceived ideas, sinfulness that causes them to refuse God.  Possibly, it is our fault.  We fail to tell God’s  story effectively. We tell it but still people do not respond to God’s love by accepting Christ.  Might it be because we do not tell His story with love?
It is not sufficient just to know the Old, Old Story of God’s love; we must be concerned about effectively telling it.  We have a responsibility to say the right thing but also the responsibility to say the thing right.
The Apostle Paul clearly defines the Christian’s task when he wrote to the church in Ephesus telling them to “Speak the Truth in Love.”  God’s revealed truth is what we speak and love is the means of making it effective.   With great compassion, out of hearts of love, tell the story of God’s love to everyone.

We have sung that chorus, “Jesus loves me, this I know for the Bible tells me so.”

An elder minister, 92 years of age, was being honored by his church.  They asked him to speak to the congregation about his long ministry.  When he got up to speak, this is what he said:
“When I was asked to come here today and talk to you, your pastor asked me to tell you what was the greatest lesson ever learned in my 50 odd years of preaching.  I thought about it for a few days and boiled it down to just one thing that made the most difference in my life and sustained me through all my trials.   The one thing I could always rely on when tears and heartbreak and pain and fear and sorrow paralyzed me…the only thing that would comfort was this verse:

“Jesus loves me this I know.  For the Bible tells me so.
Little ones to Him belong, we are weak but He is strong.
Yes,  Jesus loves me…the Bible tells me so.”

 

 

“CHOICES”

My good friend, Chuck Schumann in Louisville, Kentucky is a master with words.  He has written several poems, one of which I want to share with you.

“Choices”

“I sit here in the calm of night, and stroke my beard of snowy white,
I’ve reached that nasty stage, I give advice to any age.

My life is filled with memories, Of…wish I hadn’t…and…sorry I did.
But I still say in a loud clear voice, each of them was a matter of choice.

We’ve got a problem in our land, it really is getting out of hand.
No one wants to take the blame, when things they do, brings them shame.

Smoke or not, Drugs or pot, Beer and booze, it’s up to you to choose.

Who you date, what you do, sex or not, it’s up to you.

Cheat on the final test, or study hard and do your best.
Take a stand when things are wrong, or just be quiet and go along.

Obey the law as best you can, or steal from and cheat your fellow man.
The truth is, no matter what you do, the choice is strictly up to you.

Don’t blame Mom or Dad, or how much money your family had,
Or that you are just misunderstood.  Choices you made were just not good.

No one forced you to tell a lie, the truth was there, standing by.
No one made you drink and drive. Just be thankful, you’re still alive.

How you live and what you choose, determines whether you win or lose.
Whether your life is good or bad, whether you’re happy or really sad.

Before you say that this is not so, read these words from long ago.
Words that may help you as you choose and determine whether you win or loose.

Stupidity is easy to detect
Ignorance is easy to correct
Education you should select
Honesty will cause respect.

One more thing before I go.  One last thing I want you to know.
Before you choose, please fully analyze, please make the choice that is good and wise.”

We want to make the right decisions.  The decisions we make turn around and make us.
As we choose one end of the road, we choose the other.  How do I make good decisions?
God has given us a compass pointing in the right direction, namely the BIBLE.
Decisions for life must be made in harmony with the Word of God.

Read it to be wise. Believe it to be saved.  The choice is yours…