The Joy of the Lord - Part 1 of 2

The Baptist Bible Hour now comes to you under the direction of Elder Lacerre Bradley, Jr. O for a thousand tongues to sing, my great Redeemer's praise! The glories of my God and King, the triumphs of His grace!

This is Lacerre Bradley, Jr. inviting you to stay tuned for another message of God's sovereign grace. I have found His grace is all comfy, He's the fly at every knee, I'll sit and learn at Jesus' feet, I am free, yes, free in Thee, in His joy and speakable and full of glory, full of glory, full of glory, in His joy and speakable and full of glory, of the half that's never yet been told. I have found the pleasure I once craved, in His joy and peace within, what a wondrous blessing I am safe from the awful wealth of sin, in His joy and speakable and full of glory, full of glory, full of glory, in His joy and speakable and full of glory, of the half that's never yet been told.

I have found the joy your tongue can tell, how its waves of glory roll, it is like a great or flowing well, springing up within my soul, in His joy and speakable and full of glory, full of glory, full of glory, in His joy and speakable and full of glory, of the half that's never yet been told. The last couple of years have been difficult for all of us. There's been a lot of bad news, there's been sickness, there's been death.

When you look at the circumstances around us, there hasn't been very much to bring joy. But we are to rejoice in the Lord always. And so I want us to think today about the importance of that joy and how we can find joy in the Lord. That's our subject, the joy of the Lord.

I hope that you will take time to write and let us know that you have listened and if you can help with the support of the program, that will be greatly appreciated. Our address is the Baptist Bible Hour, Box 17037, Cincinnati, Ohio 45217. Many people today feel gloomy about the future. The Gallup survey in England, taken for the Daily Telegraph a few years ago, indicated that the British people are filled with unprecedented gloom about virtually every aspect of life. Even among professed Christians, there is often much gloominess.

Whether it's the challenge of family problems, financial difficulties or political concerns or a variety of other issues, there seems to be little difference in their outlook, that is the outlook of professed Christians and the rest of the world. It may be that while being bombarded with a lot of bad news, some Christians have forgotten the real source of joy. I want to read from Nehemiah chapter 8 verse 10. The latter part of the verse, For this day is holy unto our Lord, neither be ye sorry, for the joy of the Lord is your strength. The joy of the Lord. We first think about the source of this joy.

This joy is not of man's making. It's not the brief pleasure that's offered by sin. Hebrews chapter 11 verse 25, speaking of Moses being a man of faith, said that he was choosing to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. So it is acknowledged that there can be some temporary pleasure in sin. But by faith, Moses rose above that, determined rather to be identified with the suffering Israelites who were in bondage rather than to enjoy that high position in Pharaoh's house. Psalm 84 verse 10, For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand, I'd rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.

Many appeals are made by the world to follow its course. Promises are there that you will be happy, you will be popular, you will find satisfaction. But the psalmist says, A day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I'd rather take the lowest place, be a doorkeeper in the house of God than to be dwelling in the tents of wickedness. This joy is not to be found in fading riches.

Yes, they may bring joy for a time. Jesus gave that lesson concerning the man who gathered in a great harvest. His barns were not sufficient.

He tore them down and built larger barns. No doubt there was satisfaction in that. I am prospering.

I am rich. He said to his soul, Take ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But the Lord said, This night thy soul shall be required of thee.

Then he said, Who are these things going to be? What did it matter if the man's life soon ended, that he was leaving behind large barns full of the harvest that he had gathered in? It's not the folly of the world. Proverbs 15 verse 21 says, Folly is joy to him that is destitute of wisdom. People sometimes refer to the follies of youth. But it's not necessarily those that are young in years that pursue that which is frivolous. That which is without substance.

That which is without meaning. Focus their lives on it. So much emphasis today in our country is put on entertainment. There's nothing wrong with being entertained in the right setting in a God-honoring way. But when people become consumed with a desire to be always after that which is going to entertain them as though this is the ultimate happiness. They soon discover how really foolish it is. That whatever the thrill of the hour, whatever the satisfaction of the moment, it's not lasting but a little while.

There's no depth to it. I thought some time ago when the Cincinnati Reds won the pennant for their division. They were interviewing people on the street and one young lady so excitedly said, This is the best day of my life. Now I'm not against the Reds winning the pennant but for somebody to say that that victory was the best day of their life indicates a rather empty life, wouldn't you say? Hopefully all of you today have had better days than seeing your team win.

Some people are experts on knowing the batting averages and knowing the names of all the football players. We're talking about a joy much more significant than that which can be found in the frivolous things of this world. The joy of the Lord of which our text speaks of course is joy that comes from Him. God our Heavenly Father is the author of it, the giver of it.

Psalm 16 verse 11, Thy will show me the path of life. In thy presence is fullness of joy. At thy right hand there are pleasures forevermore. Where do we find fullness of joy?

At His presence with God in communion and fellowship with Him, at His right hand being near to Him. There are pleasures not just for a little while, not just for a day, but for every day and forevermore. And then Galatians chapter 5 verse 20 describes joy as being a part of the fruit of the Spirit. This joy is not of human origin.

It's not something that man himself generates. It comes from God. It is there because of the indwelling work of the Holy Spirit. And then Jesus is the giver of joy. In the Gospel of John chapter 15 verse 11, These things have I spoken unto you that my joy might remain in you and that your joy might be full.

So we find references to the triune Godhead regarding this joy. That joy comes from God our Heavenly Father. Joy abides in us because of the dwelling of the Holy Spirit. Joy is that special gift that comes from Jesus Christ.

And He said it was His desire that His joy might remain in you and that your joy would be full. Not only does this joy come from God, this joy has God as its object. The believer rejoices because there is a God. Romans chapter 1 tells us that there are those who are constantly trying to suppress the knowledge of the true and living God. They wish there was no God. They don't rejoice to hear that there is a sovereign creator. They do not relish the thought that there is a God in heaven who works His will according to His pleasure and that we are accountable to Him.

But the believer delights to know there is a God. If not, if there was no God, what kind of chaos could be expected? Would it not be alarming even from a natural standpoint to think that this earth and its movement is subject just to fate?

That the sun, the moons and the stars could come crashing into this earth at any time? Not by the design of a God of wisdom but just because things weren't working well. How terrible to think of the ultimate chaos in the universe, the chaos on this earth if there was no God. To know that God puts up kings and brings them down. We can take courage even when there are wicked men that occupy a seat of authority, that they're not on their own. That as much as God brought down Pharaoh and brought down Nebuchadnezzar, He can bring down the wicked kings of earth today. So we have confidence in our God.

What fear would overwhelm us to think, I'm just out here on my own. There is no God. It's left to fate, to chance, to some unknown power or influence. What hopelessness would bring us to despair? You may have your days when a mourning spirit overtakes you. You may have your disappointments, your sorrows and your heartaches. But how hopeless it all would be to think I bear these burdens, I face these trials.

But there's no purpose in it and there's no divine help to which I can appeal. The very attributes of God contribute to this joy. His power is our protection.

Think of that. We believe in God who is omnipotent. He is the sovereign creator. He has all power.

He upholds all things by the word of His power. In Psalm 71 we find these words, Be thou my strong habitation. Lord I need a place to abide. I need a place of protection. Thou art my strong habitation. Thou art my rock and my fortress. You're not out here on your own.

You're not left with no protection. We're not talking about a God who is disappointed and defeated. Some who say they believe in God would speak as though God is perpetually frustrated. So many things that He would desire to accomplish but man gets in his way.

Man will not cooperate. We're telling about the God the psalmist speaks of when he says, Our God is in the heavens. He hath done whatsoever He hath pleased. Considering that the God that we worship is a God of power gives us protection. His wisdom is our guidance. James chapter 1 verse 5 said, If any man lack wisdom let him ask of God who giveth liberally and upbraideth not. You sometimes feel perplexed at trying to make decisions.

Wondering whether to take this route or the other. Wondering just how you're going to make it through some of the challenges of life. You're not on your own. If you're a believer, if your trust is in the living God, wisdom is available to you because our God is wise. His ways are higher than our ways.

Isaiah tells us that He has not sought the counsel of man. He knows what is best for His people. He knows what will bring honor to His name.

And so there is wisdom in Him. His faithfulness is our confidence. Psalm 89 speaks repeatedly about the faithfulness of God. O Lord God of hosts who is a strong Lord like unto thee or to thy faithfulness round about thee. God has never broken a promise. God has never disrupted a covenant. How wonderful to know that He is faithful. He says I will be their God and they shall be my people. When God says I will and they shall, you can count on it.

It's as good as done. He's faithful. Has He not been faithful to you over and over again? In spite of some of your wanderings, in spite of the fact that you have at various seasons been unfaithful, He has been gracious and merciful to you. His goodness is our hope. Some of the gods of mythology devised by the Greeks were angry and wicked gods.

They thought they had to constantly try to appease them. But the God that we worship is good. And because He is good, because He is good to us, we have hope. Yes, it may be a dark day.

It may be a day of trial. But because God is good, you're not in despair. Psalm 86 verse 5, For thou, Lord, art good and ready to forgive and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee. Thou art good, ready to forgive.

That's a wonderful truth, is it not? To think that in spite of our wretchedness as fallen, bankrupt sinners, having repeatedly violated the law of God, having no worth, merit or righteousness that we can plead, that He is ready to forgive. How good is the Lord? And then His grace is our salvation.

How really amazing grace is. When you see the description of man's depraved state in the Word of God, that Adam violated the law of God by one man, sin entered into the world. You see how that corruption continued to develop until some great judgments had to be poured out upon all of humanity as it was in the days of Noah.

Only those eight souls in the ark were saved from that disaster. You read the terrible descriptions of those days whenever man did that which was right in his own eyes. Come to the book of Romans and read the description of the Apostle Paul when he said, There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.

Their throat is an open sepulcher, with their tongues they have used to seek the poison of aspies under their lips, whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. There is no fear of God before their eyes. Now since God is holy, we would say, Why would He even give any attention other than to bring judgment upon such wretched creatures? But by His grace, He rescued us. He sent His Son Jesus Christ into the world to save sinners. Jesus Christ, by His sacrificial death, paid the price that man could never pay for himself, could never even contribute to that payment.

It was only by the shedding of His blood that guilty sinners could be washed and stand pure in His sight. He rescued us. He pardoned us. What good news it would be for man who is in prison. He's guilty as charged. The penalty has been meted out.

But there comes word from the governor. A pardon has been granted. I'm free. I'm a free man.

I'm going to walk out of here. Oh my friends, every one of us as guilty sinners were in bondage, doomed, left in our natural state to the ultimate judgment that would come for the wicked, to be separated from God and be under His wrath forever. But to think that because of the death of His Son, those who are believers in Jesus Christ are pardoned.

Now that's not enough. The one thing that I struggle with is to think that He loves us. Now it's difficult enough to comprehend that He would even take note of fallen, rebellious, corrupt sinners. To think that He would redeem them and pardon them is amazing.

But to love them? Why would God love you? Why would God, who rules over all, even know your name, pay any attention to you at all? He would love you.

How remarkable. What grace that He loves us and loves us so much that He adopted us and took us into His family. So now, you who by nature were alienated from God, were at enmity against God, did not love God or seek God, you now love Him because He first loved you. You see, the source of this joy is God Himself. The object of this joy is God.

Now let's think about the channel of it. Is this something just mysterious that God sends down from heaven? And without being able to identify why, you suddenly feel better about things and you feel joy within? As is so often the case, there are means that God uses to bring about this end. He brings us this joy as we remember His works. The Lord says He has made His wonderful works to be remembered. God has done such great and marvelous things through the years that inspired man to put it into the Bible, it's on record, so we would be reminded of it.

How exciting it is, particularly when you have the opportunity to present these stories to little children that are just becoming acquainted with it and you see how awesome it is when they respond. You tell them about the deliverance of the Red Sea, here's this host of people facing the mighty waters, how can they possibly cross? There was no possibility that they could make a way, but God parted the waters and they marched across Drashod and here comes Pharaoh and his host in hot pursuit and when they're in the middle, the waters roll back and the horse and his rider are drowning in the depths and people saying, the Lord, He is God, the Lord, He is God, what a victory, what a day of rejoicing. Or to talk about that experience on Mount Carmel when Elijah said, we're going to have a contest here today to determine who is the living God and they put the sacrifice on the altar and the prophets of Baal cried and they called on their God and they cut themselves and they shed their own blood and they went through all their ceremonies and they did everything they possibly could to make a lot of noise, but there wasn't any fire. And then Elijah says, pour the water on the altar and they doused it down until it was soaking wet and it filled up the ditches around the altar and said, and now Lord God of heaven, rain down fire that this people may know thou art God and that I am thy servant. And the fire licked down out of the sky and not only burned up the sacrifice, but burned up the altar and licked the water out of the ditch and the people said, the Lord is God.

Good time to say that one. Perfect demonstration. The Lord is God and they rejoiced over and over again.

You find one account after another that's exciting and thrilling. Why are these there? They're there because it stirs our confidence and our hope in the Lord. It brings joy to us to remember His mighty works.

You can begin to look at some of the challenges that you face and you're thinking about all of it from the human perspective and you forget what great things God is able to do for you. Jeremiah 33 says, call unto me and I will answer thee and show thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not. And so as you remember His mighty works of years gone by, it can bring joy to your heart. Hallelujah praise Jehovah, from the heavens praise His name. Praise Jehovah in the highest, all His angels praise proclaim. All His hosts together praise Him, sun and moon and stars on high. Praise Him, O He of the heavens and He floods above the sky. Let them praise His gift, Jehovah, for His name alone is high. And His glory is exalted, and His glory is exalted, and His glory is exalted far above the earth and sky.

How wonderful to realize that in the darkest and most difficult of times we can still have joy when we're not focused on the circumstances that exist at the moment, but on the faithfulness of our God who is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and therefore we can rejoice in Him. If you would like to help with the support of this program, you can go to our website at BaptistBibleHour.org and we preach at the same time next week, and the Lord richly bless you all. Let them praise His gift, Jehovah, for His name alone is high. The Baptist Bible Hour has come to you under the direction of Elder LeSaire Bradley, Jr. Address all mail to the Baptist Bible Hour, Cincinnati, Ohio 45217. That's the Baptist Bible Hour, Cincinnati, Ohio 45217. All ye fruitful trees and cedars, all ye hills and mountains high, creeping things and beasts and cattle, birds that in the heavens by, kings of earth and only people, friends as great as judges all. Praise His name, young men of all.