My Joy I give to you!
As I was walking along just mulling over Isaiah “
Surely God is my salvation,I will trust and not be afraid;
The Lord, is my strength and song;
He has become my salvation3 And with joy I will draw water
From the wells of salvation.
Just thinking.. what is this joy of salvation? Do I have this joy? What do they mean joy? I was just chewing on this when I felt very clearly in my spirit the words “My Joy I give to you!” And I remember thinking at the time, that’s great, this must be what God wants me to talk about and will make a good heading! Little did I realise the depth of the revelation for me that was to follow! And this is what I want to share with you today. Hopefully you will benefit as well!
You see I have always thought of the joy in Christ as being rather like a river or stream. Ever played boat races on a stream either using leaves or twigs? Then you will know there are sometimes obstructions and eddies or counter currents where my boat inevitably ended up. But no matter what happened despite the difficulties the stream of water kept flowing and eventually my boat would get there. We may have delays in our stream of joy, or obstructions, or different currents, that seem to go the other way, we may have the ebullient rapids of happiness that come and go, but our underlining joy continues to flow, no matter what the difficulties. And in my habit of trying to understand everything, this analogy seemed to fit quiet well for me, but it did not answer everything
It did not tell me why Isiah had this joy…, it did not explain why I was not bouncing for joy! And as I thought of Nehiamiah” The joy of the Lord is your strength” it did not make me feel very strong indeed, in fact I felt I was failing God. I would not say that “the joy of the Lord is a my strength” is a saying that would characterise me!
So I set out to determine what Isiah was so joyous about!- Well it seemed fairly clear it was salvation. But I know I’m saved! I accept it. Am I taking salvation for granted? I began to accept that the answer is probably yes.. how terrible to take something so precious for granted. It’s something I needed to repent of clearly.
Well I started thinking about salvation and spending eternity with the Father in heaven. Now I know my father on earth loved me. I don’t think that word “love” was ever used in, but I believe he loved
me. You see in our house children were to be seen and not heard- literally. But don’t get me wrong he was a good man, a tough disciplinarian that involved wooden coat hanger that often broke! So for me to spend eternity with my father was not something that inspired me, I relished or brought me great joy! I did however have the privilege of praying the sinners pray with my Dad, before we left South Africa, and this of course changes direction and people are reborn- a new man!
Be that as it may and as strange as it may sound, as I dug a bit deeper I realised that I was viewing God in a similar light, a harsh disciplinarian, that if I stepped out of line, I would have eternal condemnation- forget about a wooden coat hanger being broken over you (it sounds worse than it is- they break easily)
I meditated on this as I read Matth 25
Matt 25:10-27 The Parable of the Talents
14 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. 15 And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey. 16 Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. 17 And likewise he who had received two gained two more also. 18 But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord’s money. 19 After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them.
20 “So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.’ 21 His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’ 22 He also who had received two talents came and said, ‘Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.’ 23 His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’
24 “Then he who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.’
26 “But his lord answered and said to him, ‘You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. 27 So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest.
A parable that I was not always comfortable with. And God in the most gentle way started to reveal so much to me.
I didn’t know God the Father at all- I needed to repent He was not the hard task master. In this parable the last man did not know the Master at all. In fact what he said I thought was quite insulting. Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. Yet I realised this is what I had been thinking! How can we enter His joy with that kind of attitude. And he showed me that everyday it’s as though we are the returning prodigal son, we drift away, repent and come back to him, and we enter into the Fathers joy and there is a great banquet! And I love great banquets all that lovely food and happiness and JOY! He is not the hard taskmaster ever demanding! He is an ever loving, caring and forgiving Father, and ever welcoming with great celebration of you being with him!
Secondly in this parable note we all have been given something by the Master, some more than others maybe. There isn’t always equity in what we have! But in todays context, some here have been given a loving and caring spirit, some are so encouraging, some so kind, some bless others with their skills , baking the most delicious cakes and food, some singing, serving, some in wisdom, some in sharing Gods goodness. In fact as I thought about this there was not one person here that has not shown a return on His investment. Not one- all of you can enter His joy. In fact none here have buried their money or talents!
Thirdly -you will notice it is His joy, this does not come from you. Even with Nehemiah,… people were mourning, they realised their inadequacy, their sin, how far they had fallen, when Nehiamiah said stop your mourning ….. the joy of the Lord, note not your joy, but the Lord’s joy is your strength. This joy flows from the Lord to you and you enter His joy, it does not start with you. As you draw close to God, as you have the right attitude to God so your joy is made complete. Have you noticed how as we worship and sing, how your heart is filled with joy. It’s nothing but the presence of God that brings joy! This then brings me to my stream analogy again about joy and why did Isaiah have this joy? Why – because the river flows from the Father and they are tapped into the Father, a well that does not run dry.
Do we know that we have a Father that will
never leave us, a father that will never forsake us,
a Father who has called us by name and says you are mine,
who says do not fear for I have redeemed you,
who celebrates your return every day as you return to His side,
who will never harm you, you will not face condemnation!
Isaiah 41:10 fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
So how do we receive the Fathers joy?
We need to draw close to Him in prayer and His word….or how else can we tap into his joy!
We need to accept and believe in the Father of the prodigal son
But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.
21 “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. ….
This of course also involves repentance!
I believe we need to be thankful for what we do have. Nothing makes a father happier than appreciation for what has been given. Be thankful in all circumstances.
We need to have an eternal view. Step back and look at the bigger picture. I know the plans I have for you says the Lord- plans to give you hope and a future!
We have to resist the lies of the Devil, that says you are not good enough. God made you, in His image and His work is always perfect and by His blood you will be presented faultless before the Father and if you think otherwise the death of Jesus was in vain.
Then finally I would like us to proclaim that we live in the year of the Lord’s favour . Lets have a look at Is61 together
61 The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted…………….
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,[a]
2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes,
the oil of joy instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the Lord
for the display of his splendor.
4 They will rebuild the ancient ruins
and restore the places long devastated;
they will renew the ruined cities
that have been devastated for generations.
5 Strangers will shepherd your flocks;
foreigners will work your fields and vineyards.
6 And you will be called priests of the Lord,
you will be named ministers of our God.
You will feed on the wealth of nations,
and in their riches you will boast.
7 Instead of your shame you will receive a double portion,
and instead of disgrace you will rejoice in your inheritance.
And so you will inherit a double portion in your land,
and everlasting joy will be yours.
You are invited to enter His joy! What more could you want!