Joy Comes in the Morning
Return to the Source
Pastor Brad Dyrness
Sparks Nazarene Church
· Christ, for the Joy set before Him, endured the Cross (Hebrews 12:2).
· Nehemiah claimed the Joy of the Lord was his strength (Neh. 8:10).
· Heaven’s angels are filled with Joy over a repentant sinner (Luke 15:10).
· In God’s presence we will know fullness of Joy (Psalm 16:11).
Although Joy probably is hard to define, someone said:
Joy is living in the here and now.
1. What is the source of
Joy?
The fruit of the Spirit is … Joy
Fruit is not instantaneous! It is a victory over weather, bugs, weeds, poor soil, and neglect.
Joy as a way of living is a hard-won victory…
Joy
is the result of allowing the gardener
to prune!
2. Two things that quench Joy.
The tendency of many Christians toward
A. Practical Atheism,
The“practical atheist” lives with little or no confidence that God is in control of the details of his life.
We can't live by the instruction of Jesus Because we wonder is God really here?
B. The False belief in a Gospel of Success.
3.
Come back
to the source of your
Joy!
Rejoice - again is say Rejoice!
You may not be the star on the field, you may not see things go your way, you may be standing on the sidelines right now, you may be injured and out for the season…
…but that doesn't have to determine your Joy!
If the source is Jesus - then your Joy can be full!