WEBVTT

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 The foundation of Christian joy is profoundly deeper than things going well in life.

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 Where does it come from?

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 Let me give you a bunch of suggestions.

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 Number one, it's taught by Jesus.

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 Luke 6, blessed are you when men hate you.

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 Rejoice in that day and leap for joy because great is your rewarded heaven.

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 You see, far as Jesus is concerned, troubles compound your interest in heaven, which goes on for eternity.

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 Second, it comes from the Holy Spirit.

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 That is, joy doesn't come from your efforts.

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 It doesn't come from your imagination.

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 It doesn't come from your family upbringing.

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 It doesn't come from your DNA.

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 You're not wired a particular way.

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 It doesn't come from a psychiatrist.

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 It doesn't come from your medication.

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 The fruit of the Spirit is joy, Galatians 5.22.

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 Third, it comes from belonging to the kingdom.

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 Remember when Jesus sent the 72 disciples out as his witnesses in Luke chapter 10,

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 and they had great success, and they came back filled with joy.

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 They're like, man, it was fantastic.

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 Things happened you wouldn't believe.

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 And Jesus said, that's right.

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 He said, I saw Satan fall like lightning.

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 I gave you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions, and nothing's going to harm you.

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 So, Jesus agreed.

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 You were successful.

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 However, he said, do not rejoice that the Spirit submit to you,

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 but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.

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 Fourthly, it comes from faith.

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 That is, from believing God.

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 Romans 15.13.

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 Now, may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, in trusting.

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 Fifthly, it comes from seeing and knowing Jesus, the Lord, as Lord.

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 Philippians 4.4.

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 Rejoice in the Lord always.

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 Sixthly, it comes from fellow believers who work hard to help you focus on these sources of joy

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 rather than deceitful circumstances.

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 2 Corinthians 1.

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 We are workers with you for your joy.

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 Seventhly, where does joy come from?

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 Seventhly, it comes from the sanctifying effects of hard times.

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 Romans 5.3.

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 We also rejoice in our sufferings because we know that suffering produces perseverance,

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 perseverance character, and character hope.

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 Or, as we saw a few weeks ago, a number of weeks ago, James 1.

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 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you face trials of many kinds,

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 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.

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 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

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 So the very foundation of Christian joy is that our names are written in heaven.

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 It's everything that we have as a gift from God.

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 It's not good circumstances in life.

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 And I want to dwell on that little bit for that bit.

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 Number seven, for a bit, I think.

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 Because that's the situation for most of us is when things go bad, all of a sudden joy leaves.

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 This is what this world needs so much.

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 Christian joy and difficult times are not mutually exclusive.

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 So I want to focus on Psalm 43 because we see the issue there and how to overcome the issue as well.

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 That is, how do we fight for joy when our circumstances aren't helping us get joy?

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 Verse 1, Psalm 43.

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 Verse 1 describes what is going on in the psalmist's life.

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 Verse 2 describes what's going on in his soul in response to the situation.

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 Verse 1,

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 What makes his situation painful is that he has enemies and they're oppressing him.

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 They are ungodly people.

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 They are threatening his life or in some way making it just plain miserable.

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 Verse 2 describes what's going on in his soul.

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 You are God my stronghold.

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 Why have you rejected me?

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 Why do I go about mourning oppressed by the enemy?

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 Now, what is most striking about his soul is that it's divided.

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 Part of his heart, it seems, is right now taking refuge in God.

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 God has not let him go and he has not let God go.

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 But he is perplexed as to why God would allow his enemies to get the upper hand on me.

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 When he says, why have you rejected me?

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 He simply means, why have you turned your back on me and let the enemy make me miserable?

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 Now, I think that's not an uncommon experience among many Christians.

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 A divided heart, a torn heart.

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 I'm not saying that we should have the experience.

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 I'm just saying that many Christians do.

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 And so we are not as joy-filled as we might possibly be.

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 And so let's look at this man in Psalm 43 and the practical steps he takes against this divided heart and fighting for joy.

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 He begins the psalm by crying out to God.

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 He's crying out against the circumstances and asking God to change them.

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 It's not wrong to pray that God would rescue us from our enemies, whether they are people or natural disasters or disease or bad relationships or multitude of things.

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 It's right and good to pray for deliverance and for rescue and for healing.

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 And so he does that.

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 But, but, the desire for vindication and rescue and healing can be just a purely natural desire.

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 Everybody wants to be vindicated and rescued and healed.

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 There is nothing particularly Christian about that in and of itself.

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 It doesn't take a spiritual work of God in a person's life to want their enemies to be defeated and to escape the mess that they're in.

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 And so while he prays for that, it isn't the main thing that he prays for.

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 The other two things that the psalmist does here are not natural.

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 They are not something that anyone would do without the work of God in their lives.

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 The first is in verse 3.

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 That's an amazing prayer.

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 Notice that there is not a whiff here of praying for rescue from a tough situation because something far greater is at stake for this psalmist.

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 There is a much more important victory to be won than a victory over disaster or cancer or bankruptcy or city traffic or property prices or Queensland State of Origin team.

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 That's what the psalmist is fighting for right now here.

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 His prayer takes him on four stages.

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 First in verse 3, send forth your light and your truth.

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 Let them guide me.

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 He confesses that he needs God to lead him.

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 Why is that?

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 Because he's in the dark.

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 He knows he's in the dark because his heart is divided.

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 God is his refuge, but he feels forsaken.

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 He feels rejected.

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 And he knows that's not what God is like.

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 He is praying for spiritual light, spiritual illumination.

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 He's praying that God would rescue him, not from his enemies, but from a far more dangerous situation.

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 And that is a darkness that causes the world to look much more attractive than it is.

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 And causes the greatness and the splendor and the majesty of God to bit by bit dimly fade away.

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 The second stage of his prayer is that by this light and truth, God would lead him to his holy dwelling.

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 Second half of verse 3,

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 The altar is the place where the blood of the animal sacrifice was sprinkled to make atonement for the people and God forgave their sins.

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 In other words, the light of God here, the guiding of God, takes him to the truth of his sinfulness,

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 takes him to the place of atonement and forgiveness.

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 For the Christian, for us, this side of the cross, Jesus Christ crucified, risen and standing before the throne of God,

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 he is our altar.

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 That's the place where we go.

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 The light of the gospel leads us to Christ, to the altar, to the cross.

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 And there our hearts are further enlightened to see our sin and our wonderful forgiveness that we have in him.

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 The security that we have in him.

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 Then the third stage of the prayer is that this light and truth,

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 having seen his sinfulness and his forgiveness by God,

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 would lead him to God as his exceeding joy.

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 Verse 4,

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 To God my joy and my delight.

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 The final goal of life is not forgiveness.

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 The final goal of life is not even God's good gifts.

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 It's not vindication by another human being.

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 The final goal of life is God himself experienced as your exceeding joy.

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 That's the goal of life.

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 Every joy that does not have God as the central gladness of the joy is a hollow joy

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 and it will burst like a bubble in the end.

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 Isn't this amazing?

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 Here is a man threatened by enemies, feeling danger from his adversaries,

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 and yet he knows that the ultimate battle in his life is not the defeat of his enemies.

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 It's not the escaping from natural catastrophe.

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 It's not the healing from cancer.

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 The ultimate battle is,

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 Will God be my exceeding joy?

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 Will God be the gladness at the heart of all of my joys?

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 Samuel Rutherford was a Scottish minister who was born about 1600.

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 He became the Presbyterian pastor at Anworth in Scotland in 1627.

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 When the Anglicans gained power over the Scottish church,

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 Rutherford was imprisoned for two years in Aberdeen for nonconformity.

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 So it's not the highest point of Anglican church history.

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 But he survived, which was a miracle,

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 to preach again and to serve on the council that wrote the famous Westminster Confession,

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 which says that the chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever.

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 But while he was in prison, he wrote letters,

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 about 220 letters preserved from his two years in prison,

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 and the spirit of those letters is radiant with glory and the all-sufficiency of Christ.

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 On his way to prison in Aberdeen, he wrote this,

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 I go to my king's palace in Aberdeen.

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 And king, capital K, means Jesus' palace in Aberdeen.

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 Tongue, pen, and wit cannot express my joy.

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 And that joy overflowed.

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 One person said of Rutherford in prison for those two years

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 that he was impatient of earth, he was intolerant of his sin,

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 he was wrapped with a continual contemplation of one unseen face,

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 the face of Christ, finding his happiness in Christ's returning smile on him.

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 That was his experience in prison, Sal, for two years.

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 His joy flowed out of his absorption in Jesus.

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 The final stage of this psalmist's prayer is that this light and truth

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 would lead him to express this joy that he feels in God.

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 Verse 4, at the end of it,

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 I will praise you with a harp, O God, my God.

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 C.S. Lewis says in his book on the Psalms,

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 We delight to praise what we enjoy

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 because the praise not merely expresses,

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 but it completes the enjoyment.

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 It is its appointed consummation.

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 That is, praising God for his glory is the goal.

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 Joyful praise of God.

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 And so it's not wrong to say that we were made for God.

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 It's not wrong to say we were made for joy.

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 It's not wrong to say we were made to worship.

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 But it's more fully true to say we were made to enjoy God

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 with overflowing joyful worship.

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 That's the ultimate goal of life,

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 which is why it sits there in our mission statement.

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 We exist for the joy of all people as they find it in Christ.

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 Now, friends, it is true that our hearts are often sluggish.

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 We do not feel the depth or the intensity of affections and joy

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 that are appropriate for God and his cause.

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 And so if right now you're stuck in a rut of joylessness as a Christian,

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 let me give you a few aids to rekindle joy in your soul.

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 That is, I want these things to help you to fight for joy in your life.

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 The context of these aids is that joy is a fruit of the work of the Spirit.

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 Romans 15, 13 says,

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 May the God of hope fill you with joy, with all joy and peace,

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 as you trust him,

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 so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

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 So the first aid to joy is that the Holy Spirit uses the word of God

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 to create joy in our hearts.

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 Again, a little bit earlier in Romans 15, verses 4 and 5,

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 we see that God gives encouragement and endurance through the Scriptures.

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 That is, God is the source,

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 and the Scriptures are the means where he delivers that encouragement and that endurance.

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 And the same truth applies for joy.

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 In Romans 15, 13,

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 it speaks of the God of hope filling us with joy

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 as we trust what he has revealed about his glory.

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 So you have no hope,

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 because joy is a work of the Holy Spirit,

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 you have no hope of getting Christian joy in your life

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 if your face is not planned in the Scriptures

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 reminding you of the glory of God.

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 No hope whatsoever.

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 Secondly,

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 confess the sin of joylessness,

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 or the sin causing joylessness.

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 In Psalm 32,

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 King David had no joy

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 while he failed to deal with the sin in his life.

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 But also acknowledge that joylessness is dishonoring to God,

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 denies his love,

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 his control over your lives.

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 Joylessness in the Christian is functional atheism.

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 German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche,

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 who rejected the existence of and the value of objective truth,

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 he was a major critic of religion,

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 and especially Christianity,

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 once said about Christians

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 that he would be inclined to believe in a redeemer,

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 and the Christian redeemer,

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 if the redeemed looked a little bit more redeemed.

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 He thought,

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 he actually said,

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 that if what Christians believe was true,

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 what they say is true,

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 deserving of hell,

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 rescued by the Lord Jesus,

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 completely free grace,

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 eternity in his presence,

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 he said,

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 if that was true,

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 that is the best news imaginable,

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 your whole life is conformed to that news,

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 he said,

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 but based on the faces of the Christians that I see,

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 it's clearly not true.

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 And so,

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 I want to encourage you to acknowledge the coldness of your heart.

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 Don't,

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 don't say it doesn't matter how you feel.

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 Don't get stuck in a rut and say,

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 just don't have any joy there,

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 but that's okay,

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 I'll get to heaven eventually.

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 Third aid to joy is to trust God.

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 Romans 15,

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 13 speaks of God,

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 filling us with joy and peace as we trust him.

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 Consider the amazing statement of Romans 8, 28,

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 in all things,

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 God works for good of those who love him.

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 He is at work in all the circumstances of life

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 to bring about good for those who love him.

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 And that is a source of joy,

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 even in difficulty.

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 A fourth aid to joy is to take the long view in life.

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 The Bible consistently affirms

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 that the focal point of our joy

00:19:10.679 --> 00:19:13.619
 should be our hope of the eternal inheritance

00:19:13.619 --> 00:19:15.119
 that we have in Jesus.

00:19:15.119 --> 00:19:16.759
 The fifth aid to joy,

00:19:16.919 --> 00:19:18.639
 according to 1 Thessalonians 5,

00:19:18.939 --> 00:19:21.399
 is to give thanks in all circumstances.

00:19:22.299 --> 00:19:25.139
 Not necessarily thankful for all circumstances,

00:19:25.639 --> 00:19:28.779
 but certainly in the midst of every circumstance.

00:19:29.399 --> 00:19:32.059
 Be thankful that God is working in this circumstance.

00:19:32.219 --> 00:19:34.019
 Be thankful for his past deliverances.

00:19:34.500 --> 00:19:36.279
 Thankful that God will not burden you

00:19:36.279 --> 00:19:37.979
 beyond what you can bear,

00:19:38.259 --> 00:19:41.579
 and his grace is sufficient for you to bear it.

00:19:41.759 --> 00:19:42.399
 Give thanks.

00:19:42.399 --> 00:19:42.459
 Thanks.

00:19:45.119 --> 00:19:46.819
 And so, I want to say,

00:19:47.919 --> 00:19:49.259
 with the work of the Spirit in your life,

00:19:49.339 --> 00:19:50.339
 the choice is yours.

00:19:51.659 --> 00:19:52.719
 We can be joyless.

00:19:54.839 --> 00:19:55.779
 We can be joyful.

00:19:56.500 --> 00:19:59.239
 We can go through life bored, glum, complaining,

00:19:59.240 --> 00:20:02.140
 or we can rejoice in the Lord,

00:20:02.700 --> 00:20:04.420
 in our names being written in heaven,

00:20:04.420 --> 00:20:06.440
 in the hope of an eternal inheritance.

00:20:07.500 --> 00:20:11.240
 Joy, despite the circumstances of life,

00:20:11.660 --> 00:20:15.640
 is both the duty and the privilege of the Christian.

00:20:17.640 --> 00:20:22.240
 Joyfulness is to experience the power of the Holy Spirit

00:20:22.240 --> 00:20:24.799
 within us in every circumstance.

00:20:24.799 --> 00:20:26.899
 And let me tell you,

00:20:26.960 --> 00:20:30.440
 it declares to a watching world that needs joy.

00:20:31.379 --> 00:20:34.799
 It declares that our God reigns,

00:20:35.139 --> 00:20:38.019
 and that Jesus is magnificent.

00:20:39.819 --> 00:20:40.460
 So friends,

00:20:40.599 --> 00:20:43.019
 St. Paul's exists to know Jesus,

00:20:43.480 --> 00:20:44.639
 to treasure Jesus,

00:20:44.779 --> 00:20:46.819
 to represent Jesus for God's glory,

00:20:47.180 --> 00:20:48.759
 and the joy of all people.

00:20:49.180 --> 00:20:50.599
 Your joy, my joy,

00:20:50.599 --> 00:20:52.180
 joy of Chatswood and beyond.

00:20:52.640 --> 00:20:53.640
 That's why we exist.

00:20:57.380 --> 00:21:00.140
 I want to encourage you to participate in joy

00:21:00.140 --> 00:21:01.940
 right now by giving.

00:21:02.880 --> 00:21:06.480
 We are going to pledge our giving

00:21:06.480 --> 00:21:08.320
 for the next year,

00:21:08.400 --> 00:21:09.700
 plus also for our project,

00:21:09.820 --> 00:21:10.880
 just to give you up to speed.

00:21:11.500 --> 00:21:14.100
 Parish Council set a 5% increase in our budget.

00:21:15.000 --> 00:21:17.480
 This is not disconnected from joy,

00:21:17.480 --> 00:21:18.640
 by the way.

00:21:18.640 --> 00:21:21.960
 May you experience the joy of giving.

00:21:23.640 --> 00:21:25.759
 Parish Council has set a target

00:21:25.759 --> 00:21:28.780
 of $10,000 a week

00:21:28.780 --> 00:21:32.280
 next year as general offertory,

00:21:32.540 --> 00:21:36.780
 and also to raise $28,000 today

00:21:36.780 --> 00:21:40.520
 for three student ministers.

00:21:41.259 --> 00:21:43.200
 James, who's been a free gift to us,

00:21:43.200 --> 00:21:44.200
 all year,

00:21:44.880 --> 00:21:46.600
 the guy needs to be fed.

00:21:46.599 --> 00:21:48.039
 And so,

00:21:48.519 --> 00:21:51.259
 we're looking to feed James

00:21:51.259 --> 00:21:52.339
 and Victor,

00:21:52.500 --> 00:21:54.000
 who's in the Chinese congregation,

00:21:54.139 --> 00:21:55.179
 who's Cantonese speaker,

00:21:55.599 --> 00:21:57.579
 and also David,

00:21:57.699 --> 00:21:58.539
 who will be coming,

00:21:59.119 --> 00:22:00.339
 who's a Mandarin speaker.

00:22:01.379 --> 00:22:02.819
 $28,000 today.

00:22:03.240 --> 00:22:03.859
 Let me tell you,

00:22:03.939 --> 00:22:04.819
 as we do every year,

00:22:04.919 --> 00:22:05.859
 Staff and Parish Council

00:22:05.859 --> 00:22:06.919
 lead the process.

00:22:07.819 --> 00:22:09.199
 And they pledge to me

00:22:09.199 --> 00:22:10.059
 before today.

00:22:10.059 --> 00:22:12.099
 Now,

00:22:12.220 --> 00:22:13.299
 I want you to bear in mind,

00:22:13.480 --> 00:22:14.579
 as Nick said before,

00:22:14.740 --> 00:22:17.259
 $10,000 is what we raised last year

00:22:17.259 --> 00:22:18.440
 on this day.

00:22:18.919 --> 00:22:19.200
 And so,

00:22:19.279 --> 00:22:21.099
 $28,000 was like,

00:22:22.099 --> 00:22:24.259
 you know,

00:22:24.919 --> 00:22:25.419
 wow.

00:22:26.559 --> 00:22:27.899
 And I just remember saying,

00:22:27.980 --> 00:22:28.220
 well, look,

00:22:28.259 --> 00:22:29.559
 whatever we get would be fantastic.

00:22:29.899 --> 00:22:30.179
 You know,

00:22:30.220 --> 00:22:31.000
 not expecting

00:22:31.000 --> 00:22:33.399
 what God might do amongst us,

00:22:33.399 --> 00:22:35.279
 and that's my lack of faith there.

00:22:35.279 --> 00:22:40.779
 Staff and Parish Council

00:22:40.779 --> 00:22:43.319
 pledged just short of $5,000.

00:22:44.700 --> 00:22:46.019
 It's just Staff and Parish Council,

00:22:46.160 --> 00:22:49.220
 just short of $5,000 before today.

00:22:50.059 --> 00:22:52.960
 That's 50% of what we're looking for.

00:22:52.960 --> 00:22:56.980
 And they gave

00:22:56.980 --> 00:22:59.400
 $18,300.

00:23:00.840 --> 00:23:02.120
 Nearly twice as much

00:23:02.120 --> 00:23:03.519
 as what we received last year.

00:23:03.640 --> 00:23:04.960
 $18,300

00:23:04.960 --> 00:23:07.259
 for the project.

00:23:07.420 --> 00:23:07.840
 So, Jimmy,

00:23:08.539 --> 00:23:10.680
 more Maccas next year, buddy.

00:23:15.120 --> 00:23:16.660
 After the morning service

00:23:16.660 --> 00:23:17.640
 this morning,

00:23:18.460 --> 00:23:19.960
 I had a look at the pledge cards,

00:23:19.960 --> 00:23:23.180
 and our two morning services

00:23:23.180 --> 00:23:24.559
 plus Staff and Parish Council

00:23:24.559 --> 00:23:25.680
 have so far pledged

00:23:25.680 --> 00:23:28.519
 $9,300 a week

00:23:28.519 --> 00:23:31.220
 of our $10,000 target.

00:23:33.019 --> 00:23:33.539
 And

00:23:33.539 --> 00:23:35.840
 we are just

00:23:35.840 --> 00:23:39.880
 $430 short.

00:23:44.460 --> 00:23:46.140
 $430 short

00:23:46.140 --> 00:23:50.220
 of $45,000.

00:23:57.960 --> 00:23:58.400
 Now,

00:23:58.880 --> 00:24:00.180
 you might be sitting there going,

00:24:00.300 --> 00:24:01.000
 oh, fantastic.

00:24:02.100 --> 00:24:03.460
 The heavy lifting's done.

00:24:05.360 --> 00:24:06.860
 I want to say to you,

00:24:07.240 --> 00:24:08.780
 I want to encourage you

00:24:08.780 --> 00:24:10.540
 to join

00:24:10.540 --> 00:24:12.259
 in the joy

00:24:12.259 --> 00:24:14.200
 of what God has been doing with us

00:24:14.200 --> 00:24:14.920
 as a church

00:24:14.920 --> 00:24:15.800
 and where he's taken us

00:24:15.800 --> 00:24:16.340
 to this point.

00:24:16.800 --> 00:24:18.019
 $9,300,

00:24:18.840 --> 00:24:20.120
 we have not pledged

00:24:20.120 --> 00:24:20.740
 that much

00:24:20.740 --> 00:24:22.400
 since 2011.

00:24:25.840 --> 00:24:26.920
 Since 2011.

00:24:27.140 --> 00:24:28.420
 And I don't ever recall

00:24:28.420 --> 00:24:31.460
 hitting $28,000,

00:24:31.560 --> 00:24:32.519
 let alone currently

00:24:32.519 --> 00:24:34.279
 just short of $45,000.

00:24:36.080 --> 00:24:37.360
 The money is not going

00:24:37.360 --> 00:24:37.900
 to be wasted,

00:24:38.060 --> 00:24:38.380
 clearly.

00:24:38.900 --> 00:24:39.880
 I said to

00:24:39.880 --> 00:24:41.560
 some people this morning,

00:24:41.559 --> 00:24:43.279
 we are very close,

00:24:43.940 --> 00:24:45.480
 potentially God willing,

00:24:45.539 --> 00:24:46.980
 the beginning of 2017,

00:24:47.460 --> 00:24:48.220
 to employ

00:24:48.220 --> 00:24:49.139
 a full-time

00:24:49.139 --> 00:24:50.019
 Chinese pastor

00:24:50.019 --> 00:24:51.599
 on this rate.

00:24:52.259 --> 00:24:52.740
 So,

00:24:52.879 --> 00:24:53.659
 praise God.

00:24:54.220 --> 00:24:55.720
 And I want to encourage you

00:24:55.720 --> 00:24:56.700
 to participate

00:24:56.700 --> 00:24:57.659
 with us

00:24:57.659 --> 00:24:58.759
 in that process

00:24:58.759 --> 00:24:59.980
 and still

00:24:59.980 --> 00:25:00.679
 give generously

00:25:00.679 --> 00:25:01.220
 tonight,

00:25:01.539 --> 00:25:02.599
 knowing that God

00:25:02.599 --> 00:25:03.799
 has been overwhelmingly

00:25:03.799 --> 00:25:04.819
 generous to us

00:25:04.819 --> 00:25:05.899
 in himself,

00:25:06.240 --> 00:25:06.859
 but also

00:25:06.859 --> 00:25:07.899
 this day

00:25:07.899 --> 00:25:08.480
 already.

00:25:08.480 --> 00:25:09.400
 Praise God.

00:25:09.400 --> 00:25:09.480
 Thank you.