Bring the Joy: Choosing Joyful Actions (Psalm 118:24)

Series: Bring the Joy

Sermon: Choosing Joyful Actions

Scripture: Psalm 118:24

Date: March 17, 2019

This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.  (Psalm 118:24)

"Heaven's Value System":

• ...whom having not seen you love.  Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith - the salvation of your souls.  (1 Peter 1:8-9)
• God's worth is incomparable
• God's word is reliable
• God's works are awe-inspiring
• God's ways are loving

The more we live with and for God's glory, the more joy we will have.  The more we are committed to glorifying God by having a great commitment to the Great Commandment and Great Commission, the more joy we'll experience.

Let's purpose to be joy builders - not joy killers.

How do you nurture your own joy in Jesus?  Here are a few ways:

1. Focus on grace
   • Joy does not come from doing everything right.
   • If you can't sin, you're going to have a terrible time in the Christian life.
   • Rule-keeping does not naturally evolve into living by faith, but only perpetuates itself in more and more rule-keeping.  (Galatians 3:12, The Message)
   • Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.  God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ.  This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son.  He is so rich in kindness and grace the he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins.  (Ephesians 1:4-7, NLT)
   • "Christ died for men precisely because men are not worth dying for; to make them worth it."  -C. S. Lewis
   • To God, we are never a bother or a burden - but his beloved.
   • Therefore, as the elect of god, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, long-suffering;... (Colossians 3:12)
2. Trust God for the future
   • Very few things kill joy faster than worry.
   • "Joy is the settled assurance that God is in control of all the details of my life, the quiet confidence that ultimately everything is going to be all right, and the determined choice to praise God in all things."  -Kay Warren
   • God wants us to gaze at Him and glance at our problems.
   • You can throw the whole weight of your anxieties upon him, for you are his personal concern.  (1 Peter 5:7, Phillips)
   • So don't be anxious about tomorrow.  God will take care of your tomorrow, too.  Live one day at a time.  (Matthew 6:34, Living Bible)
   • I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.  (Psalm 32:8, NIV)
3. Fight for joy
   • Joy practices:
     1. Laugh
        • A merry heart does good, like medicine, but a broken spirit dries the bones.  (Proverbs 17:22)
     2. Spend time with friends & family
        • Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart, and the pleasantness of a friend springs from their heartfelt advice.  (Proverbs 27:9)
     3. Thank God
        • Thank you! Everything in me says, "Thank you!"  (Psalm 138:1, The Message)
        • Some benefits of gratitude: happiness, improved relationships, elevated health
     4. Walk outside
     5. Sing
        • Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth.  Sing to the Lord, praise his name; proclaim his salvation day after day.  (Psalm 96:1-2)

A cheerful disposition is good for your heath; gloom and doom leave you bone-tired.  (The Message)