2024-05-19AM- The Joy of the LORD

Nehemiah chapter 8 is about the importance of reading and obeying the Word of God. The people gathered to hear Ezra read the book of the law and realized their sins. They were convicted and wept, but Nehemiah told them it was a good day because they had decided to repent and obey God. The joy of the Lord comes from following His commands. In Hebrews chapter 12, it mentions Jesus enduring the cross for the joy set before Him. We should look to Jesus and consider Him as we run our race in life. It is important to value and seek the unchanging truth of God's Word in a world of ever-changing perspectives. Nehemiah chapter 8, I want to read one verse here, and then I want to go over to Hebrews chapter 12, and read from there. Nehemiah chapter 8, and you'll know when we're there, just exactly this portion of Scripture, so remember it, all right, if you have it, Nehemiah chapter 8 and verse 10, Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared, for this day is holy unto our Lord. Never be ye sorry, for the joy of the Lord is your strength. That's that familiar place there, you've heard it, you've said it, the joy of the Lord is your strength. And in Hebrews chapter 12, verse 1, 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, 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. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself. And there again in verse 2, 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. And then we are encouraged in verse 3, Consider him. Consider him. I want to try to preach today for a title, The Joy of the Lord. Would you help me to pray? Lord, thank you so much for your mercy on us. Thank you for the service, the Sunday school lessons that were taught here today. Thank you for what we have learned and heard and been awakened to. Thank you for the songs. What a precious friend you have proven to be. And Lord, I'm asking you today to settle in this place. I'm asking for the power, the anointing with which to preach. Let me not just say words or string together phrases that make sense, but I pray for the power that makes a difference in this place. In Jesus' name, Amen. Amen. The joy of the Lord. Quoting Nehemiah there, that great man of God, the governor over the people of Israel at that time. The joy of the Lord. The original portion of Scripture that we read from mentioned joy. Nehemiah says, the joy of the Lord. And then in Hebrews, he spoke of a joy that Jesus had that was set before Him. You refer back to Nehemiah chapter 8 where we began our reading here today. This chapter gives a picture here of the people that have called upon Ezra, the scribe. And Ezra the scribe is standing up before all of these people and he's reading the Word of God. That was where we came from there in Nehemiah chapter 8. And I only read verse 10 there. But Ezra is standing above the congregation on a platform and he's reading the Word of God. Now, he's not a preacher that was up there doing his very best to convince these people, listen to the Word of God. He wasn't doing that that day. He was not like one of the prophets who had to go out and preach against the will of a stubborn people and tell them, this is what God says, you need to listen to what God is saying. Instead, and what a wonderful opportunity this was for a man of God, the people asked Ezra, we want you to give us good instruction. And there in Nehemiah chapter 8, in the very first verse of the chapter says, all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the street that was before the water gate. There's this large crowd of people gathered together in one place. They spake unto Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses which the Lord had commanded to Israel. Their request to the man of God, you bring the book of the law of Moses. Bring the book. You're going to come. We want you to step up here. There's things that we need to learn. I want you, Ezra, you bring that book. Because they had learned to value the importance of this all-important book. They gathered themselves together and they demanded of the preacher, I'm not asking for flowery stories. I'm not asking you to tell me what the heathen tell and what they believe and what they're teaching. But Ezra, you bring the book. Bring the book of the law of Moses. That's what we want to hear. We've heard what the world has to say. We've heard what the pagans and the heathens are telling people out there. We've listened to the philosophers of our generation. We've heard from the scoffers. We know what the humanists of our day are out there saying. We want to know, what does God say? Ezra, bring the book. When you stand before us, you bring that awesome, wonderful book. Now when we get to the place where we grow weary of these unsatisfying answers that the world gives and keeps on giving, when we get tired of the inconsistencies and the ever-changing views of this world that change with every generation, and now it seems faster that it's even within every generation, when the politicians have made their arguments and public opinion shifts one way, and when we get tired of all that, and when we recognize that this world's perspective on right and wrong, it's always different from one day to the next, it makes a hungry soul to cry out for something that never changes. So what we're having to deal with in this world is things that are always changing. I want something that does not change. And therefore, the people said, Ezra, bring the book. Bring the book of the law. And I know that there are those who will always want their ears to be tickled with information that pleases the lust of the flesh. There will always be those who say, I'm really not interested in truth. But there are those who get tired enough of sin and get tired enough of the ways of this world that they'll stand up and say, I want the truth. I need the truth. And if I can get the truth, I'm going to buy it and I'm not going to sell it. I'm not going to rid myself of it. There are many people today, they don't want a message that makes them feel uncomfortable. But for those who desire unchangeable truth, if somebody wants something that is enduring, that is eternal, that is infallible, they'll stand up and say, bring me the book, because I want to learn truth. It's not that different from what the Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy. He said, son, preach the Word. There is enough in this Bible that will instruct us in our ways. And when we can get a congregation to come together to the place that says, bring the book, preach the Word, we're getting somewhere then. Tell me the error of my ways. Show me where I've gone wrong. It was Jesus who said this. This is the condemnation, that light is coming to the world. And men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. Everyone that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. Now there in Nehemiah, from the morning to midday, the people stood. They didn't have padded pews. They didn't have nice chairs. They stood listening to Ezra read out of the book of the law. And while Ezra taught the people, and while the other servants of the Lord were there, and they taught the people, let me tell you, this is what the Word of God is saying. And at some point in that meeting that day that we're reading about here, at some point, just like what happens when somebody will open their eyes and trust God and believe what the Bible says and read what this Bible says with an open spirit towards God, they're going to realize, just like these people did, something is terribly wrong in my life. I'm finding things, I'm hearing things, I'm reading things that go against what I find in my life. And those people that day, they realized that their own lives were inconsistent with what the Bible said in God's law. They were living in a manner that was inconsistent with the righteousness that was found within the book of the law. And on that day, as Ezra read, when he brought the book, and they were ready to hear it, they found out, I've got sins, and I'm contrary to the Word of God. And instead of these people making excuses for their own sins and their lives, they recognize we've got a problem here. There is a problem that is within me. What happened was, their hearts were smitten with conviction. The Bible says in verse 9 there in Nehemiah chapter 8, that all the people wept when they heard the words of the law. That's what happens when your heart gets touched with the Word of God and with the Spirit of God. Change begins to take place. And this is why it's familiar with you that when your eyes begin to fill with tears when God has pointed out your own inconsistencies with His Word, all of a sudden you come to the realization that the Judge of all the earth knows who I am and where I am. And He knows all about my sin. And there comes on a terrible feeling of dread upon an individual. Somebody who's been saved knows exactly what I'm talking about. When you realize that your sins have placed you in a position opposing Almighty God, that brings on a terrible feeling of regret that those things which were so enjoyable, now all of a sudden I feel so filthy and so dirty. And it brings upon a godly sorrow, which is wonderful because it's that which leads us so to repentance. Now Nehemiah addressed that crowd that day and we read that in verse 10. And he really told them and tried to make them understand on that day that this was actually a good day. I mean, the book got opened. Those eyes were opened to their own sins. And when they began to weep, he said, hold on here, wait a minute. This is actually a really, really good day because this is a day when you've made up your mind, I'm going to do what God wants me to do. It's a day that no longer am I going to live in the pleasures of my own flesh, but I am going to obey the Word of God. And it was a day for this people of repentance. It was a day marked by salvation because they came willing before God and said, yes, we're willing to do what You would have us to do. Now like people today, when they didn't know what God required of them, they were content to live in their sin. It didn't bother them. I mean, there's people doing things. You here today, you know there was a time in your life you were doing things and you were fine. It didn't bother you at all. It was fine to live that way. You didn't feel the conviction. You didn't feel condemned by it. But when your mind is opened up, when your heart is opened up, when the book is brought, and when its pages are opened and read, and you find out there's a decision that's there to be made. And the people on that day, they had made up their mind. It's about time we started serving God the way that He wants it to. When the conscience was stirred, they went ahead. They looked to God and said, we need relief from this. And they said, we're going to walk in His way. We're going to do what He says. And so Nehemiah gives them this phrase with which we are so accustomed to hearing, the joy of the Lord is your strength. He talked to these weeping people, okay, stop the crying. You've repented. You've come under God's authority. I want you to understand it's the joy of the Lord that is your strength. The deliverance that every individual needs is found within the joy of the Lord. If anybody's going to be restored, if anybody's sins are going to be forgiven and forgotten, if you're going to be delivered from a life of disobedience to the Word of God, it's all going to come under this umbrella that is called the joy of the Lord. I want to explain myself here in a little bit, because I want you to understand that verse 10 there doesn't say that your joy is your strength. It doesn't say that God's going to make you so happy that you're going to have strength within yourself, because you're not going to be able to find something that makes you happy enough that's going to deliver you from your sin. Instead, Nehemiah says that it is His joy that is going to make the difference in an individual. And that's my message today, the joy of the Lord. This is the joy that is able to give strength. It is able to make a difference. It is His joy that brings about salvation. Now there's things in life that cause a man to rejoice, that makes us happy at one time or another. When you find your soulmate, boy, that makes a man happy. It brings joy into his life. When a new baby is introduced into a family, boy, I've heard Daddy speak about the time that I first held that one in my arms. And it is a great joy. And we were talking this morning about watching the children grow. And it brings great joy to us, even as grandparents. And so there's things that we rejoice in. Some people, it makes them real happy if they can find themselves a good deal. Somebody else, they may get real happy if they catch a real big fish or take down a big buck. But I want to talk about what makes God happy. I want to talk about the joy of the Lord this morning. And we read there in Hebrews 12, verses 1 and 2, Now after we've read chapter 11, this famous chapter of faith, of all those Old Testament heroes that came through by believing and trusting in God, and they have inspired us. He's telling us, you also have people as examples around you that you can look to for inspiration. Seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, there is something that we can have. And He says, just let us lay aside every weight and the sin which doth so easily beset us. Now I really believe in looking at this portion of Scripture, that I don't believe that this is one of those scathing rebukes of the warning of getting away from worldliness. There's plenty in our Bible that speaks to that. But I really believe that what He's saying here, He's giving an encouragement. Anything that's going to slow you down in your pursuit of God. Anything that's going to get in your way while you're running this race with patience. Get rid of the hindrances. They're going to hold you back. Free yourself from the things that keep you from drawing nigh to God. Just cast aside the weight. Get rid of the sins which doth so easily beset us. And now we are, not just to simply look to those around us for inspiration, for all they can do is lead us to the place, but He says, looking unto Jesus. Praise God the author and the finisher of our faith. All of our confidence is to be placed in Jesus Christ and in Him alone. And here, following our words where it says, it speaks and defines the joy of the Lord. Hebrews 12 and 2 says that there was a joy that was set before Jesus. This is talking about a gladness, a rejoicing which belongs only to the Lord. There is something that will bring God joy. Some people may say, well, no, you can't do any, well, there is something that brings God joy. Now upon mentioning joy here in the scripture, the Bible immediately points us back to Calvary. Takes us to the cross upon which Jesus was crucified. And so then I have to ask my question when He says, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, can the cross really be that which He speaks about when He is talking about joy? And I come to the conclusion, surely not, because there is no joy in the cross. The night before Jesus went to His crucifixion, He spent the night in agonizing prayer, preparing Himself for this horrific event. Today, the cross symbolizes who we are and the faith that we have. It is an emblem that symbolizes our faith in God, our Christian religion. We sing with affection to the cross, I will cling to the old rugged cross, and somebody will stand and testify and speak of the significance of Jesus' cross in their life. We use the cross to identify ourselves as believers. We display it on our churches. We display it in our churches. But while we cherish the old rugged cross, it was not always a symbol of hope. In Jesus' day when He was crucified, the cross was recognized by everybody as a horribly cruel method of capital punishment. It was known to be a despised method to dispose of despised people. The victims of crucifixion would die a horrible, horrible death. Crowds would gather around, and I really don't believe that it was a gross pleasure for them to watch somebody die. But they had this sense of judgment and justice that if somebody was hanging on that cross, they were glad to see a scourge that was removed from our society and receiving His just rewards. It was, in that day, an effective method for crime reduction. It let everybody know just exactly who was in charge. There wasn't much hope for insurrection when the insurrectionists would find themselves on a cross being crucified. Public executions were a big, potent reminder of who was in charge at that time. And the Roman government wanted to make sure people knew. So this was not always, when you would see a cross, it wasn't a sign of hope. But it was a sign of death, a sign of destruction. And when Jesus went to Calvary's cross and He hung there on that cross, He was not like some great general riding into battle on a steed with a sword in His hand and heroically dying in the midst of a battle and people calling Him a martyr for that reason. The crowd that day was not in awe at this man dying on the cross. There He died like a thief, hung between two thieves. And they're crying out for His crucifixion. They yell with hatred for this man, inspired by the religious people of the day. Call for His crucifixion. Call for this man to die. At that point He was forsaken by those who were closest to Him. Remember when Peter, when those people came up, first of all, He pulls out a sword and takes a swing at a man. It didn't take Peter long to realize this isn't going to end well. And so Peter flees and he takes off just like all of the other disciples. He runs away and in fear, attempting to save his own skin, he even denies Jesus Christ. This is not the heroic death of a king, of a leader, and he's not getting accolades by everybody around him. Those religious leaders of that day, they could start to whisper it through the crowd. Remember the law of Moses. Any man that's hung on a tree is cursed of God. Surely this man cannot be the Messiah that he claimed to be. So you've got to wonder just how joyful was this. How could joy be mentioned in the same verse as the crucifixion of Jesus Christ? Jesus was innocent. There was never anybody as innocent as Jesus Christ. How could the Scriptures talk of joy when He's enduring a cross, despising the same? I want to tell you the joy was not in the crucifixion. The joy was after the crucifixion. Yes, He endured the cross, just like the Bible says. Yes, He despised the shame that was associated with that cross. But there was a joy that was waiting for Him that He was looking forward to. He was in anticipation that something was going to happen that would bring Him joy. That God Almighty is going to get happy here in a little bit. So what could it be that could bring joy, gladness to the Creator of all things? What really is it that is the joy of the Lord? Let me read to you out of Luke chapter 15, because I believe that we can find the answer to this question here. Verse 4, What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? When he hath found it, he laith it on his shoulders, rejoicing. When he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbors, saying unto them, Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost. I say unto you that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth more than the ninety and nine just persons which need no repentance. Jesus here explains Himself as the Good Shepherd, that He has joy in getting the opportunity to rescue some lost soul, a sinner who will repent of his sins. And He paints us this picture of a shepherd who goes out. He knows that one is missing. One of my sheep is lost. And He said when that man finds that lost sheep, he is so happy, he puts that sheep on his shoulders, he goes to his friends, he goes to his neighbors, and his joy is told in his words, Rejoice with me, the sheep that was lost is now found. This man was happy over recovering a little piece of his livestock. But God is so glad, so glad to give eternal life to a repentant sinner and will receive Jesus Christ as His Lord. This is the joy of the Lord. When this happens, I picture God in heaven and a soul being saved. Rejoice with me. Gather around here where that which is lost has been found. This is the joy of the Lord when somebody recognizes that their own goodness is insufficient and calls upon the name of the Lord to be saved. When somebody confesses, I am a sinner and I need to be saved, this is what brings joy to Almighty God and reverberates through heaven. There is joy in the presence of the angels of heaven when one person is saved. Hebrews continues on and says that Jesus right now, currently, is at the right hand of God. He says in this writing that He is able to save them to the uttermost who come to God by Him. The Bible says that He ever liveth to make intercession for them. The cross was endured. The cross was despised, but now Jesus Christ is alive and the joy set before Him is the saving of a soul from sin. Brother Austin, would you come to the piano, please, and get us a song? The Old Testament prophet Micah testified this of God. He delighteth in mercy. The things that make me smile, you know what makes God smile? Having mercy on somebody. He delighteth in mercy. Isaiah 65 and 19, God said, I will joy in my people. Here in Zephaniah chapter 3, if you'll stand with me this morning. Zephaniah chapter 3, the Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty. He will save. He will rejoice over thee with joy. He will rest in His love. He will joy over thee with singing. Now, we know what it's like sometimes to get so happy that we feel like breaking forth into a song, right? The prophet here says that God will joy over thee with singing. He will save. He will rejoice. We will be joyous over one soul that will be saved. Father, thank You so much for the opportunity to deliver this message today. Thank You for using this vessel. Lord, I know, and everybody in this place knows, I cannot save from sin that is reserved only for You, but nothing can wash away sin but the blood of Jesus. I'm praying today that You'll search through this congregation. If there be a multitude of sins that plague a life, or if there be one sin that has fallen into a life, I'm praying today, oh, that we might make heaven glad, that we might see and hear and experience the joy of the Lord in this house today by the rescue of a lost soul. And I pray that You'll do Your work here, as You did on that day when Ezra read Your Word. I pray You'll do it here today where I have read Your Word, and cause a people to know there is hope in Jesus. There is grace in God, and there is the forgiveness of sins in Jesus' name. Today I want to draw attention to this altar up here, this wonderful place to pray, where You prayed and where You prayed, where we've had others come and pray, where Judson, where I have found relief, where You have found relief. This is a place to lay it all down. And so if there's somebody here today, you feel like God dealing with your soul, it's God's pleasure, His joy to save the lost. And so this invitation is made with just a handful of people to allow God to do the work here that I can't do, that nobody else in this place can do. You want to be free from sin? It's in Jesus. That is the joy of the Lord. Is there someone you'd love to make your way to this altar? It'll be a conversation between you and Him. It'll be a gift that comes from heaven and from no mortal man. Is there anybody in this place you'd love to lay something down here today? One sin or a lifetime of sin, God is ready to take it away in the name of Jesus. Oh, as they sing, do not pass me by. Lord, don't walk by and let me continue in the way that I am, but the Word has been spoken and it's been heard. And if the Holy Ghost is dealing with your heart, now is the time to respond. Now is the acceptable time. Now is the day of salvation. Is there one who would come in this little place today and say, I want to be saved? It's time for me to be saved. Oh, do not pass me by. Oh, let's all come in. Let's find us a place in this altar. And if sin still separates you from God, this is your opportunity. From the youngest to the oldest, for everyone who is willing to pray, do not pass me by. God is willing to save you. God is willing to save you.