Alright, we're here in 1 Corinthians chapter 13 and I want you to notice verse number 6.
We're continuing our series on the fruits of the Spirit and we're not in Galatians 5,
but if you know the fruits of the Spirit, there's love which we talked about last week
and the second one is joy. The second is joy. That's what we're talking about here today.
And in 1 Corinthians 13 verse 6 the Bible reads,
Rejoiceeth not in iniquity, but rejoiceeth in the truth.
And the reason why we're using this verse where it says rejoiceeth has a few reasons.
One, joy is a noun and two, rejoice is an error, but they're meaning the same thing.
And so even though once and now is the only time you can go here in 1 Corinthians 13.6
and if you remember in the introductory sermon I talked to you about how Galatians 5,
the fruits of the Spirit, really lined up with the cherry.
Now we're talking about long-suffering because cherries suffer long
and long-suffering is one of the fruits of the Spirit.
But remember, one of the fruits of the Spirit which we're talking about today is joy
and in 1 Corinthians 13 verse 6 it talks about rejoicing not in iniquity, but in the truth.
And so when we're talking about the fruits of the Spirit and having a joy,
the main application is not to rejoice in iniquity, but to rejoice in the truth.
And that's what we're mainly talking about here today, not to rejoice in iniquity,
but to rejoice in the truth.
Now turn to 2 Corinthians 6, 2 Corinthians 6.
And you might say to others, what exactly is joy?
Because some people ask the question, what is the difference between happiness and joy?
And I looked at what a lot of people said and there's a lot of different opinions
and one of the main things I saw was that joy is something on the inside and happiness is on the outside.
And for most times you see those words in the Bible, that would work
and it's not quite what the Bible teaches them.
There's a lot of truth to it and we'll talk about that later on,
but in 2 Corinthians chapter 6 we're actually going to see the definition of joy when I understand this.
Now in 2 Corinthians 6 verse 10 the Bible reads,
As sorrowful, yet always rejoicing,
As poor, yet making many rich,
As having nothing, and yet possessing all things.
Now notice how it says, as poor, and yet making many rich.
Poor and rich are opposites, aren't they?
Poor and rich are opposites.
Having nothing, and yet possessing all things,
those are opposites for one another.
In fact, when you look at this chapter, we're just looking at this verse,
but you see opposites in verse after verse that contrast a few different things.
And so at the beginning when it says, as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing,
sorrow and rejoicing, those are contrasted from one another.
Those two things are opposites.
Now what does it mean to be sorrowful?
Sorrow means great sadness.
Look, if my wife and I went out to eat on a Friday,
and I said, honey, you can choose where you're going to eat,
and she says, honey, we're going to the job.
Now, I would be sad, but I would not be filled with sorrow.
Sorrow is a very strong word.
Don't just throw around, man, I'm filled with sorrow.
It's sad enough stuff, but if you're filled with sorrow
because you ate at a restaurant you don't like,
it's like, come on.
Just eat something, you know, it's not the end of the world.
We're fascinated, you know, whatever.
I would be filled with sorrow.
Hey, I want to be my first, I want to be filled with sorrow.
Sorrow is great sadness, okay?
What is the opposite of sad?
Happy.
So sorrow is great sadness.
Rejoicing, which is its opposite, is great or strong happiness, okay?
So basically, happy is something that's on a smaller scale,
but when you say you're filled with joy, it's a much stronger word for happiness.
You're extremely happy.
Now, the reason why the definition they give usually fits
that joy is on the inside and happiness is on the outside
is because if you're really filled with joy,
then small things that go along with your life are not going to make you sad.
You're still going to be joyful.
You're still happy because, quite honestly, you know,
if you love the Lord and you're looking for Him,
even when maybe things don't go well in your personal life,
you're still going to be very happy.
Why? Because your happiness, your joy is not dependent on external circumstances.
But I wouldn't say that's the exact definition to say joy is on the inside
and happiness is on the outside.
I would say that joy is extreme happiness because rejoicing,
which is joy is the opposite of sorrow, and sorrow is great sadness or deep sadness,
and so joy is deep or strong happiness.
And what we're talking about here today is how do you be someone
who's filled with joy in your life?
Basically, you know, every day you're just in a very good mood.
Now, when you come to church, the nature of church is that
everybody puts a smile on their face.
But the reality is not every single one of you in this room today
is filled with great happiness.
The reality is some of you are going through trials of life
and you're not in a good mood,
but this sermon is about how to stay in a good mood
and have your life be one where you're filled with joy and great happiness.
Now, turn to Galatians chapter 5. Galatians 5.
And the first point we have here in this sermon,
because remember we're talking about sharing, rejoicing, not in iniquity,
but rejoicing in the truth?
What I want you to understand is this,
that rejoicing in the truth is not automatic.
See, a lot of people have this false idea that when you get saved,
man, you just desire to read the Bible,
you just desire to feel a soul winning,
you just desire to really forgive God.
Look, rejoicing in the truth is not automatic,
and that's why God likes to talk about it,
how if you're really filled with the cherry and the fruit of the Spirit,
you will not rejoice in iniquity,
but you will rejoice in the truth.
It is not automatic.
Notice what it says in Galatians chapter 5, verse 22.
It says, but the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, okay?
Now, I want you to go to Galatians 5, verse 16.
Look at verse number 16.
And what it says in verse number 16 is this,
I say to him, walk in the Spirit,
and he shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
For the flesh lusts against the Spirit,
and the Spirit against the flesh,
and these are contrary to one another,
so that he cannot do the things that he would.
See, the Bible is contrasting these things,
and if your son was walking in the flesh,
you cannot do what's right.
If you are walking in the flesh,
good luck reading the Bible every day.
Good luck going to church and being excited about it.
Look, you must make a choice in the Christian life.
It is not automatic that you're rejoicing the truth,
and that's why God says here,
do not walk in the flesh,
for you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
And the things that your natural flesh desires to do
that are wrong, that's what you are going to fulfill.
You must make a choice when you can say,
am I going to walk in the Spirit,
or am I going to walk in the flesh?
It is not automatic.
Now, a lot of people have this idea
that when you get saved,
there's a guarantee that you're going to bear fruit.
If you're really saved, you're going to have fruit.
Well, the problem with that is,
usually what they're talking about is
you're going to live a good life and do good things.
The problem, as I talk about in the introductory sermon,
is that I'm going to say people do good things.
And so, yeah, I mean, unless you're around a baby,
you're going to have some fruit
and you're going to do some good things.
But, you know, what the Bible teaches
is that just because you're saved,
there's not a guarantee you're going to walk in the Spirit more
and you're going to do better things than before you were saved.
You must make that choice.
And if someone gets saved out of the street
and never comes to church,
they never start reading the Bible,
look, they're not going to have any changes in their life.
Yes, they got saved,
but unless they actively walk in the Spirit,
they're not going to see a difference in their life.
Okay?
Turn to Proverbs 21.
Proverbs 21.
And to turn to Proverbs 21,
and then we're going to do a very famous verse
where the Bible says,
But if I carry along with thou,
mayest thou not of the auspices that hate thyself
in the house of God,
which is the church of the living God,
the pillar and ground of the truth.
What we're talking about in this sermon
is not to rejoice in iniquity,
but to rejoice in the truth.
See, a church's job is to preach the truth to the people.
Preach the truth,
and the truth is that at this church you hear the truth.
You can't deny that.
Now, everybody does some things
that you don't think are perfect about this church,
and that's why I'm not working,
but you cannot say I don't preach the truth to you,
and you should love this church.
You say, what?
Because if you're rejoicing now
that they believe I'm the truth,
you're going to love this kind of preaching,
because I preach the truth to you.
I don't hold back.
I'm not worried about God's words.
I trust God's going to provide that.
I don't preach the truth to you.
I'm not going to hold back.
You know, a lot of churches,
they don't really set up their church like that.
They don't really actively try to preach the truth to you.
At this church, you will get the truth,
and you have to ask yourself this question.
If you don't enjoy the sermon, whose fault is that?
Is it my fault if I preach the truth to you?
It's not my fault.
It's your fault if you hear the truth,
and you reject that because you're upset about something.
That is not my fault if I step on your toes.
Now, look.
As I mentioned last week,
I step on my own toes when I write sermons.
My life is not all put together.
I'm not perfect.
But, you know, the truth is the truth.
And every single word in this book
we will bring to this church,
every single word of it, every single chapter,
we're not moving anything back.
Now, in Proverbs 21 verse 15, the Bible reads,
It is joy to the just to do judgments,
but destruction shall be to the workers of iniquity.
The Bible says it is joy, which is what we're talking about,
to the just to do judgments.
If you're the same person who loves God,
you're going to love the judgment of God's Word.
You're going to love every part of God's Word.
You're not having sympathy for the workers of iniquity.
Now, it seems like God allows things
to happen in my personal life
that really kind of hit at the right time.
And just yesterday, just all of these guys
resting on his women, just everywhere I went,
by scum everywhere, by hommies everywhere.
It's disgusting.
And if you're the same person, you won't enjoy that.
It's like if I go on a task map and say,
Jesus is Lord Church worldwide,
and the only sign that has a driver,
who's apparently the only Christian,
is just love me and I'll give it my all.
I don't buy enough money.
He's gonna buy it.
I don't join in iniquity.
I don't join in some disgusting curse
that's destroying this country.
And if it's not funny to me, it's disgusting,
and if you're the same, you should not join in that.
It's a joke.
It is embarrassing to go on a trip.
Let's just be honest.
It shocked me the first time when I was in California
visiting my wife's relatives in San Leandro, California,
and just on the TV, just a small house,
I can't really avoid the TV,
and just all these guys dressed as women
on the Filipino shows they were watching.
And I was shocked.
It's like, God, this is calling me away from the Philippines,
but not in this area.
Not in this area where I can't stretch imagination.
It isn't an embarrassment to our country.
And you know, if you take pleasure in that,
you're not gonna take much pleasure in the word God.
You must make a choice.
And you're Christians that say they love God,
but they think that the village is 20 so hard.
They think they're the part where God's judgment can be made.
Look, it's joy to the just to do judgment.
Let me tell you something.
When waste people die and go to hell,
praise the Lord, that is God's judgment.
And if you're all sad about that,
you're standing against what God said.
You should take joy in what God said
and His judgment is laid down.
That is not my judgment.
I'm not willing to decide
I didn't know who my Jesus was gonna help from.
Now, on a personal level,
I know people that have died and went to hell,
and it does make me sad.
And there's nothing you can do.
We're not Catholics.
We're not even trying to pray in our words for you.
That's not gonna work.
It does make me sad on a personal level.
But look, you have to understand that
when you see something in God's Word,
even if you don't like it, you know what?
You're wrong and God's right.
And you need to learn to take joy in that.
Look, I got saved in college.
I got saved in college.
Do you think that everybody in college
is living a godly life?
When I got saved in college,
the things I saw and everything
was just against what the gods said.
And I had to make changes in my life.
Look, when I first started here in preaching,
a lot of stuff got in my toes
because I didn't agree with that at first.
The reality was,
because I wasn't living a godly life.
I had a lot of problems in my life.
I wasn't willing to have a change.
Look, the Bible says,
I'm the Lord I change not.
God's not gonna change.
His law has not changed.
See, you have to understand,
the moral law has changed zero percent.
The change that took place when Jesus rose again
is there was a law,
a law that represented Jesus Christ
that we don't follow today.
His moral law changed zero percent.
So God's opinion on what deserved it definitely,
it did not change at all.
Not one bit.
Every single bit is the same.
God's judgment is the same.
He has not changed.
I changed what?
I said, I'm the Lord.
I changed not.
Turn to your Bible, Genesis 6.
Genesis 6.
You say, brother Scott,
I don't like this kind of truth.
Well, am I before becoming your enemy
because I tell you the truth?
Because we're talking about rejoicing in the truth
and everything I've said so far is straight from the Bible.
It is not my fault that a big problem in our country,
and look, I put myself in as a Filipino.
This is where I live.
I'm not sitting here saying,
oh, I'm an American, you know,
lived here for 30 years,
still in service, I'm American.
I'm a Filipino.
And it's embarrassing to be seeing some of these things.
And look, if I lived in America,
I'm preaching against the U.S.
You say, why?
Because in the Bible,
the problem's always preached about the countries they live in.
I'm against it.
You say, why?
Because there's problems in every country.
And a big problem we have
is the vice-presidents of this world.
That's a huge problem.
A mass problem.
Yesterday, and you can ask for our destiny,
he saw as well,
Brother Shami is not here right now,
but we saw a nine-year-old kid dressed up in drag.
Is that true?
And ideals just branched around the keys of the moral circle.
You guys are nine years old.
And his parents were there.
They thought that was funny.
It was like a family getting together.
He has to move around some sisters
and he's got these ideals and they really feel like it
and he's just branched around them.
And I just said, what in the world?
He wasn't that normal.
He wasn't even the best child abuse.
Right.
You look like a little kid who's nine years old,
dressed up in drag.
It's like, what is wrong with you?
A normal parent would just spang that kid
until there was a change.
Yep.
And they thought it was normal.
A nine-year-old kid, I don't know his age,
but he wasn't a teenager.
He was a young kid, however old he was.
And I was just like, you can win the family.
It's like a family of eight.
It's like, you know, he's got his brother,
I'm assuming his brother or sister,
maybe cousins, I don't know, the parents there,
just prancing around and he's trying to make a show.
I mean, he's really trying to draw attention to himself
and I'm just like,
but everybody else seems to think it's normal in this country.
Everybody else thinks no big deal.
It's like, what was it?
Just like, are you kidding me?
Everyone else just said, oh, no big deal.
Just a guy dressed up as a woman.
You know, that is disgusting.
Right.
And when people find that funny
and they take joy out of it,
oh, that's so funny.
Look, you're rejoicing in the negative.
You're not rejoicing in the truth.
Right.
And the sad thing is, churches are not actually the preachiest.
Don't pretend you're preaching against the same thing.
They preach against it.
Right.
They preach what is popular.
They are not willing to say what needs to be said.
Yeah.
Notice how your Genesis 6,
but let me just read to you,
where the Bible is holding out,
love by thy law is my invitation all the day.
Every single part of God is working on our laws.
The laws of the Bible,
the laws of the Bible,
we can look at them and cross-track them.
But every single word of this,
whether it's God's judgment,
whether it's the part about Jesus dying first,
whatever it is,
you must love that.
Every single word of this book.
Thank you.
Now look,
when I lived as a Christian,
do you think every single thing I ever heard preached
I liked at first?
No.
You say, why?
Because, you know,
you have to make changes if you're going to live with God.
Right.
And you have to admit that I'm wrong,
I've got to make changes.
But, you know,
to learn the law of this book and take joy in the truth
and not take joy in iniquity.
In Genesis chapter six, verse five, Bible reads,
And God saw that the wickedest man was great in the earth,
and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart
was only able to continue it.
And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth,
and it grieved him at his heart.
And the Lord said, I will destroy man
by the faith of the face of the earth,
both man and beast and the creeping thing
that fouls the air, for it repented me that I made it.
Now, this is actually the first instance
of repentance in the Bible, and it's the Lord repenting.
So much for repentance, meaning repenting of all your sins,
because God had checked, God was perfect.
And he's the one who's repenting here.
But here, basically, God's coming to Noah,
I'm destroying the entire world.
Now, I promise you, there's people that have died
in that flood that Noah actually liked.
People that have heaved God,
you know what, that seems kinda harsh.
But you know what you don't see is Noah
just getting in an argument with God.
You know he used to get in an argument with God, lots?
Yeah. Lots inside of the world,
and he's like arguing with God and stepping away.
It's like, what's wrong with you?
God just spared you, and you say,
I don't wanna go to this mountain.
I wanna go to this one.
And he's arguing with God.
Look, whatever God's judgment is,
you better not argue with it and get mad about it.
You better love it.
And if it's different than what we think, we change.
Right, and even if we don't fully understand it,
even if we don't fully agree,
we must learn to take joy in the truth of God's word.
And then verse eight,
But Noah found grace in the eyes of the world.
It was God's choice to flood the entire world,
and God's judgment is just and perfect and righteous.
Turn to Proverbs chapter five, Proverbs five.
Let me read to you as you turn to Proverbs five,
while I read.
There is a way which seemeth right unto a man,
but the end thereof are ways of death.
What you need to understand is,
there are many things that seem right to us,
but that doesn't mean they are right.
Depending on how you grew up,
that will determine the things
that you think are right and wrong.
Now I grew up in a very conservative home
compared to the average person.
And so a lot of stuff that I see,
just immediately, just what in the world?
But you have to understand,
some people didn't grow up like that.
Some people grew up,
we're going to the feast of the bad guys for any other year.
And just thinking they're giving their sins
for giving their something,
by just jumping up on that morbid statue of Jesus,
that's normal to them.
And that person's going to have to make more changes
when they get saved than me,
because there's going to be a lot of stuff
that they do that's wrong.
I'm sure you can go to their house
and it's filled with idolatry 99% of the time.
See, depending on how you were raised,
it's going to seem normal.
If you grew up in India,
Hinduism might seem normal to you.
I didn't grow up in India,
and it seems bizarre to me,
worshiping a cow.
They don't really worship a cow.
Yes, they do.
You can watch documentaries,
they worship cows.
They don't even just worship cows,
they go far worse than that.
Something's just disgusting even to talk about.
But in Hindus, they worship that stuff.
That doesn't seem normal to me,
but if you grew up in India,
it probably could seem normal to you.
Just because something seems right to you,
it doesn't mean it is right.
We must have an authority,
and our authority is the word of God.
Your authority is not how your mom and dad raised you.
Your authority is what does the Bible say no matter what.
Now let me just talk to you about something as a side point
because although I'm talking about rejoicing
in God's judgment and God's commandments and God's law,
as a side point,
God also gives us things in our personal life
that we can rejoice in.
I'm not saying the only thing
you can take pleasure in is God's word.
Notice what it says in Proverbs 5, verse 18.
Let thy family be blessed
and rejoice with the wife of thy youth.
And in many verses you see,
God talks about how it's great to have a family
and have kids,
and by all means, rejoice with your family.
Go on a vacation, there's nothing wrong with that.
I'm not saying that's a sin.
You're allowed to go on vacation,
spend time with your family.
I'm not saying 24-7 all you do is read the Bible.
Look, I spend time just,
we have a little basketball hoop at our house
where I shoot with my son, I pick him up,
he throws it in.
Why?
Because that's something we can take pleasure in.
That's something God gave us that we can take pleasure in.
That's the reason why when we rejoice in it,
it is something that God gave us
that we can take pleasure in.
Now if all we ever did, though,
was rejoice in the things that our pleasure wants to do,
then there wouldn't be a problem.
But God has given us some things in this life
that we can take pleasure in and enjoy.
Now turn to Philippians chapter three, Philippians three.
And so the first thing we saw was that
rejoicing in the truth is not automatic.
And the second point we have is this,
that usually rejoicing in iniquity is the easy thing to do.
It's much more difficult to rejoice in the truth
than rejoicing in iniquity.
In Philippians chapter three,
what is the Bible reading?
Verse 18.
For many walk, of whom I have told you often,
and now tell you even weeping,
that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ.
Now this is talking about someone who's a reprobate,
a child of the devil, an enemy of God.
Verse 19.
Whose God is destruction, whose God is their belly,
and his glory is in their shame, lying earthly things.
Now there's an interesting phrase there
where it says whose God is their belly, okay?
Now what is God trying to tell us, okay?
Well think of any of us.
Typically what we do, whatever we wanna eat,
whatever seems good, we just eat it, right?
We don't really think about it.
It's very easy to just say,
man, I feel like eating pizza, I'm gonna eat pizza.
But what's difficult is I feel like eating pizza,
but I'm gonna eat boulain, I mean vegetables, right?
Whatever we choose to partake in,
it's just very easy for us to do.
My wife recently, yesterday, made mango sticky rice.
Now look, mango sticky rice is like
my favorite food in the world.
It's like the greatest tasting on the ice.
It's not the healthiest stuff.
It's very easy to go to every meal and just say,
man, I want some mango sticky rice
because I like the taste.
That is something that reprobates,
they always, whatever pleases them, they do.
Because they're filled with wickedness.
Now it's an example God gives us
because we typically, you go to a restaurant,
the first thing you think is,
what's the tastiest food on this menu?
You don't generally think, what's the healthiest?
You think, what's the tastiest?
All of us do that.
Look, I've reached a sermon series on biblical health.
Do you think I apply all that?
I know what I'm supposed to do.
Do I do it?
Yeah, like 20% of the time.
It's difficult, right?
We timble whatever's gonna taste good, we eat, right?
With the reprobate, their entire lives is like that.
Whatever they want, whatever pleases them, they do.
Us is God's people.
And the reason why I mention that is this,
the easy thing is to rejoice in iniquity.
That is the easy thing.
It's very easy for us to just please our flesh
in whatever way we want.
The hard thing is to actually rejoice in the truth.
You'll see that in Hebrews 11, Hebrews chapter 11.
And so what I want you to understand
is that the world we live in,
very few people actually believe the things
that we do in this room.
Now we've got a full room here today.
We've got work to do with people that love the Lord
and love somebody, and we do rejoice in the truth.
We love God's word, amen?
Amen.
We love God's word.
That's how most people don't.
And you have to understand there's always going to be
pressure from the world to change what we believe.
Say why?
Everywhere you go there's vice-comings.
Everywhere you go people are dressed
with completely inappropriate.
Everywhere you go there's all these problems.
Everywhere you go, the TV, the movies,
the ungodly music, it's very easy to say
I like the way that it sounds,
I'm just gonna listen to what I'm saying along my head.
But is that what we should do as God's people?
We should rejoice in the truth and not rejoice in iniquity.
Now in Hebrews chapter 11, verse 24, the Bible reads,
By faith Moses, when he was come to years,
refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter,
choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God
than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season.
Let me ask you, which of these choices
was easier for Moses to make?
To stand against the most powerful empire in the world
and risk his life?
Or to just partake in the pleasures of sin
where he's basically a well-respected man with lots of money?
What do you think was more difficult?
It was obviously more difficult
to stand against the sin of the world,
but it uses that terminology where it says
to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season.
Look, sin has pleasure to it.
That's what the Bible teaches.
Say, well, how do you know sin has pleasure?
Look, if sin was not pleasurable,
if there was no joy in sin, nobody would sin.
Yeah.
We sin because we enjoy it.
Right.
That's why we're not perfect.
Look, oftentimes our God is our bounty.
Whatever we wanna see, whatever we wanna hear,
whatever we wanna partake in, we just do it.
Why?
Because sin has a pleasure for a season.
Yeah.
And what's gonna come is a lot of guilt afterwards.
That's what always takes place.
Moses had to make a choice in his life,
and he chose to suffer affliction with the people of God.
See, you have to make a choice to live for God.
You don't really have to make a choice
to live a sin in life.
It's right out there.
Just walk outside, and the sins of the world
are right there for you.
The devil has everything to offer
right out there in front of you,
and it's the easy thing to do to make that choice.
If you wanna live for God, though,
that's not gonna be easy.
It's gonna be difficult.
Choosing to live for God, you must make a conscious choice.
Look, nobody would stand up here and say,
Brother Stuckey, I've never had a desire to read the Bible,
and you won't believe it,
but I read through it like five times last year.
I wasn't even trying to read the Bible.
It just kinda happened.
But that doesn't happen, does it?
The only way you read the Bible
is if you make a conscious effort to read the Bible.
I said, Brother Stuckey,
and I wasn't even trying to forsake TV and movies
and all that stuff and music,
but man, I haven't watched movies in months.
You make a conscious effort to do things.
Because it's very easy to just partake in the pleasures
the devil has to offer.
He said, Brother Stuckey,
I wasn't even trying to pray,
but somehow, I've been praying for an hour every day
for the last three months.
Look, that doesn't happen automatically.
You must make an effort.
You must choose to live for God.
You don't really have to choose to live a sinful life with it.
It's like right there in front of you all the time.
Everywhere you go, you just see things, you hear things.
Everything you want is right there in front of you.
Everything the devil has to offer, he's right there.
But living for God, you must make a choice to live for God.
Notice what it says in verse number 26.
A stating your approach of Christ's greater riches
than the treasures in Egypt,
for he had respect under the recognizance of your reward.
By faith he forsook Egypt,
not fearing the wrath of the king,
for he endured as seeing him who is visible.
See, Moses looked at basically what God had to offer
down the road, and he said what God has to offer,
the rewards I can win, living a godly life,
that is more valuable than the treasures in Egypt.
And Moses was a man who wouldn't have been able
to partake in a lot of those treasures.
But he chose to suffer affliction with the people of God.
Say, brother, it's not you.
Man, this kind of preaching, it's a church I should go to,
but I'm worried about my job.
I might lose my job if I attend a church like this
because people don't like this kind of preaching.
You know, we might get on the news one day.
Look, Moses chose to suffer affliction with people of God.
Right.
Look, God's gonna partake, take care of your needs.
God didn't promise you you would be rich.
He promised you he'd provide your needs,
your food, and your raiment.
And he didn't even promise a place to live.
He promised food and raiment,
and yet everybody in this room has a place like that.
But God has blessed us all in many great ways.
But we'd like to just compare ourselves to other people
and say, well, if they've got this, then I need this as well.
No, you don't need that.
We need to take joy in the truth of God's word
and live in the forgotten truth to Job 31, Job 31.
Now look, I've never smoked a cigarette in my life.
But I'll tell you this, if you're someone who's smoked
in the past, and you have an addiction or whatever,
the easy thing to do is just go outside
and smoke a cigarette.
Because that's what your belly wants.
That's what you're lusting after.
The easy thing to do is to smoke that cigarette, right?
What's the hard thing?
Choosing not to do it.
It's not gonna be easy.
Because if that's something you partake,
if you're someone who drank a lot of alcohol in the past,
the easy thing to do would be like, man,
I desire to have a beer, I wanna drink a beer.
The hard thing is choosing not to do that,
taking joy to what God has to offer.
The easy thing is to take joy or pleasure
in the sin of this world.
Notice what it says in Job 31, verse one.
It's Job 31, verse one.
It says, I made a covenant with my eyes,
why then should I think upon me?
I made a covenant with my eyes,
why then should I think upon a maid?
And what it says in Job 31,
in order not to think or lust after another woman,
he says, I made a covenant with mine eyes.
You know what he's saying?
I made a decision, I will not allow my eyes
to look on something they shouldn't.
Now here's what you have to understand.
Choosing to look at something you find appealing
of someone of the opposite gender, that is the easy thing.
It's not hard to enjoy an iniquity.
It says right there, if you walk outside.
If you walk outside, you're gonna see plenty of people
dressed the way they shouldn't be dressed,
and the easy thing to do is just look,
but if you're gonna choose to take joy in the truth,
of God's word and the truth and things that are God
when you write, you must make a covenant with your eyes.
Living for God, you must make a covenant
with just about everything.
Your eyes, your ears, your heart, everything.
You must make a conscious effort.
You go on Facebook, you must make a conscious effort
when you get on Facebook, not say joy and iniquity.
You say why?
Because all of the ads that are on there
are just having all of these things that I can,
all of this iniquity that's right there for you.
It's impossible to avoid.
Look, we're not saying to just live in a bubble
and be Amish and just isolate from the world.
We gotta win the world of the Lord,
but I'm just trying to tell you
that you're not gonna be able to fully avoid it,
and you must make decisions.
Daniel purposed in his heart to say,
why do we need to do that?
Because taking joy in iniquity is very easy.
Taking joy in the truth of God's word
and things that are godly and right,
you must make a conscious decision to do that,
and it's not going to be an easy thing.
Now, turn in your Bible to Luke chapter eight.
Luke chapter eight.
And the first thing we saw here today
was that rejoicing in the truth is not automatic.
The second thing we saw is this,
that taking joy in iniquity is much easier
than taking joy in the truth.
But the third thing I want you to notice is this,
is that rejoicing in iniquity or taking pleasure in sin,
that will destroy your joy to do what's right.
Notice what it says in Luke eight, verse 13.
They on the rock are they which when they hear
receive the word with joy.
And these have no root, which for a while
will even in time of temptation fall away.
Now, this is the group of people that do get saved.
They receive God's word, and they do it with joy,
which means they're actually very excited
about getting saved.
They start to grow a little bit,
and it is true that we get some people saved
and they're very excited about it.
Now, some people receive God's word
and they believe on Jesus,
but they're just not that excited about it.
They're never gonna come to church,
they're just not that interested.
But there are some people that are very thankful,
and they take a lot of joy in receiving the word.
They're very excited about it.
But these end up fading out in times of temptation.
Verse 14, and that which fell among thorns
are they which when they have heard go forth
and are choked with cares and riches
and pleasures of this life
and bring no fruit to perfection.
And in verse number 14, we see another group of people,
and these are also people that they receive
the word with joy.
But what happens is, as life goes on,
they are choked with cares and riches
and pleasures of this life.
They're choked with the joys of iniquity,
pleasures of iniquity.
What you're seeing is this group of people,
they did take joy in the truth,
but when they took joy in iniquity,
all of a sudden, there was no more joy for the truth.
You say, why?
You must make an effort,
you must make a decision here today.
And if you make the decision to kind of walk in between,
and I'll listen to some of what Brother Stuckey says,
but the other part,
you know, I don't really like the way that sounds.
You know, it's so offensive.
I'm not gonna listen to that.
Well, I can promise you, four months from now,
you won't be in this church.
You say, why?
The joys of iniquity are always gonna win out
because they're much easier to partake in.
It's much more difficult to rejoice in the truth.
And if you decide to just kind of walk in between,
I'll kind of half be devoted to God,
and I'll go soul-witting,
but I'll still live a worldly life,
not really read my Bible much.
Look, you're gonna be done with soul-witting here
in a couple months.
You're gonna be gone from this church.
Say, why?
You can't do both.
You must make a choice.
Are you gonna rejoice in the truth or iniquity?
And that means no matter what you hear preached,
if it is from the Bible,
you apply it to your life,
every single bit of it.
Look, I've heard many sermons that I was not applying,
and when I heard that sermon,
I said, you know what, I gotta apply it.
And if you decide, you know what,
I'm just gonna apply it if I want to,
you will be out of this church for four months.
You gotta ask yourself,
is that what you want with your life?
Do you wanna leave this place
because the joys and pleasures of iniquity
are just too much for you to handle?
They just seem so appealing.
I just have a little bit of sin in my life.
You better get that sin out of your life.
And I don't know what that sin is.
I'm preaching to a lot of people here today,
but whatever that sin is,
if you choose to partake in that sin,
you will not be taking pleasure in God's word.
You see, Brother Stuckey,
why is it that some people in this room,
they really love reading God's word?
And I don't love reading God's word.
The reason why you don't love reading God's word
is because you're living a life of iniquity.
That's probably why.
See, that's harsh, but it's probably true.
You're probably living a worldly life
because when you rejoice in iniquity,
you're gonna have trouble rejoicing in the truth.
You say, why?
Because these things, fighting is one another.
It's like you cannot do the things that you would.
But if you sit around and watch Vice Pong eat all day,
you're just not gonna find the Bible
in Genesis 19 that interesting.
Which side would you have been on in Genesis 19?
Which side in Genesis 19 would you have been on?
Ask yourself that question.
When you take pleasure in this iniquity that's out there,
which side of the battery have you been on?
You will not take joy in the truth
when you have those pockets of iniquity in your life.
You must get rid of those pockets.
Otherwise, you're gonna bring no good to perfection.
You can either choose to just take,
to rejoice in the truth of God's word,
and just week by week lead a few people to the Lord,
two people a week, 50 weeks a year,
100 people saved a year.
I think I'm giving you two weeks of vacation.
50 weeks sold, you got 52 times two per,
because it's very receptive.
You get 100 people saved in a year,
you do that for the next 25 years in your life,
then you lead 2,500 people to the Lord in life.
And that's pretty awesome.
Or you can choose to say,
you know, I just think those movies are so funny.
I just think that music, it's so entertaining
in my ears, I can't forsake it.
Well, what you're gonna do is forsake this church,
and forsake the truth of God's word.
That is the reality.
You must make a choice.
Say, I don't like this kind of preaching.
Well, maybe it's not a great type of church.
Because we preach the truth of this church.
Because we want people the opportunity
to rejoice in the truth.
I guess an appearance does not preach anything,
like most preachers.
But I'm actually gonna tell you what the Bible says,
whether it's a hard truth, and it's your choice.
You're gonna fight or not.
Turn in your Bible to Hebrews 12.
Hebrews 12.
Say, brother, study.
Why do you have to yell so much when you preach?
Because this kind of preaching is what changes your life.
Look, I was an 18-year-old kid when I got saved.
And when I started going to church in 19,
as I've said before,
I wore shorts and a T-shirt to church.
I listened to Aerosmith.
I wore shorts and a T-shirt.
Look, I wouldn't have made changes in my life
unless somebody actually preached against my sin.
That's what actually changes people's lives.
This kind of preaching, you say, well, brother, study,
if this kind of preaching changes people's lives,
why is it that we don't have 200 people in this church?
Because most people don't want to rejoice in the truth.
You see, that's an arrogant thing to say.
It's the truth.
The truth is that this kind of preaching
drives away most people.
And the reason why it drives away most people
is because most people try to go in between,
rejoicing in iniquity and rejoicing in the truth.
And when you do that,
you will always end up choosing the iniquity.
Why?
It's much easier to choose the iniquity.
It's much more difficult to choose the way I forgot.
You're not gonna be someone who lives a really worldly life
and also spends an hour reading your Bible.
You're not gonna be someone who lives
a very worldly and sinful life,
and it's like, wow, brother, study,
I just finished memorizing it before you asked for it.
No, you finish memorizing that
when you make a conscious effort every day
not to partake in the joys of iniquity,
but take pleasure in the things of God.
Notice what it says in Hebrews 12, verse one.
Hebrews 12, verse one.
Wherefore, saying, we also are come to devour
so great a cloud of witnesses,
let us lay aside every weight,
and sin was shot so easily to set us,
and let us run with patience to raise and set forth.
Now, when it says let us lay aside every weight,
a weight is not something that's sinful.
It's just something that drives you down, okay?
It's not a sin to go for a job,
but if your whole life is just about working out,
you've got a lot of weights in your life
that are gonna prevent you from letting go.
There's a lot of things in life that are not sinful,
but the more weights you have in your life,
it's gonna prevent you from having the time
to do what you're doing, okay?
Now, the sin, obviously, is wrong,
but notice what it says, which God so easily set us.
Look, it doesn't matter who you are in this room.
The truth is, the pleasures of this life,
we all choose to pertain to time and time again.
So easily, God says, to say, why is this so easy?
Because it's very easy to partake in sin.
It's a lot easier if we're taking sin.
It's just right there in front of you all the time.
You're not even planning to do anything wrong,
but then just things are in front of you all the time,
and it's hard to always make the right choice.
You must make an effort to make the right choice.
Notice what it says in verse two.
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, lest he be weary
and faint in your minds.
He have not been resistant unto blood, striving against sin.
Now, notice in these verses, we see about running the race,
the Christian race, we see about joy,
and we see about striving against sin.
You say, why are all those together?
Because if you don't strive and fight against sin
in your life, then you're gonna lose the joy
and not go to heaven.
You must strive and fight against sin.
Now, you don't have to fight to commit sin.
This is right there in front of you.
But if you're gonna rejoice in the truth
and not commit iniquity, you must strive against sin.
Why?
Because the devil's trying to tempt you all the time,
and everywhere you go, everything's right there in front of you.
It's very easy to commit sin, but if you choose to do that,
you're not gonna run the Christian race very well.
Look, let's all be honest with ourselves.
When we're living a world where back's been life,
do we really take much pleasure in reading the Bible?
When I know I'm not right with God, guess what?
I don't really enjoy reading the Bible that much,
and I don't get that much out of it.
Say, why?
Because when you're choosing to live a sinful life,
it's very difficult to rejoice in the truth of God's word.
You just won't find it as enjoyable.
You must make choice.
And you say, brother, why is it?
I lost my zeal and my desire to go sobering.
You might have loneliness in your life.
You say, brother, second,
I'm not really enjoying reading the Bible recently.
You might have sins you need to get out of your life.
I don't really enjoy praying.
You might have sins you need to get out of your life.
Maybe you need to look at your life and see,
has there been sins and woe instead of prepped in?
Because what we can easily do is look at us as a church
and say, hey, we're the church in this area
that's really preaching against the truth.
So we can kind of step back a little
and not worry so much if we're a little bit woe.
It doesn't matter if 99% of Christians
don't care about what we've got.
You can never step back.
You must make a choice to get the sin out of your life.
Turn in your Bible to Psalms 51 and Psalms 51.
Look, my only goal was to be the more zealous
than the other Baptist preachers here in this area.
Look, that's not really that big of a goal.
I mean, good night, and I'm not gonna mention it
for the purpose of safety of my life,
but it's like this week, that picture,
it's like, what in the world?
And everybody knows what I'm talking about
is just, I was shocked.
I was like, you gotta be kidding me.
I knew Baptist pastors were worldly and backslid,
but it's like, what in the world?
Look, I promise you, you're never gonna see me smiling
and taking a picture with a Catholic priest up here.
That's never gonna happen.
It's not all so exciting.
I can take a picture of the Pope.
Oh, it's so great, I don't wanna meet the Pope.
It's like, what in the world?
It's like, and we can look at churches like that
and say, well, those churches don't even care,
so is it really that big of a deal?
Did you see that back?
That is a deal.
Because of the fact the other Baptist churches
are not getting anybody saved,
we need to double our efforts.
We need to make up the difference for them.
You say, but we're stuck when we're doing more than that.
Look, we're not comparing ourselves,
especially to a dead church.
Our job is to be as else as we can for God.
Now notice what it says in Psalms 51.
Psalms 51.
Now in Psalms 51, we're really seeing the inside feature
of a man, David, who loved God at one time
and he went into some pretty bad sin.
This is after Nathan has rebuked him
for adultery and murder.
He killed Uriah.
He put Uriah in the front of battle,
and even though he didn't drive his sword into him,
he's responsible for putting him on the front of battle
and he probably calls him a murderer.
And so he committed adultery and murder.
Now look, that's pretty bad in the list of sins.
Hopefully nobody in this room is guilty of those sins.
But David was a man after God's own heart
and then he ends up committing some terrible sin.
Notice what it says in verse eight.
Make me to hear joy and gladness
that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.
David basically is saying, I have lost my joy
to do what's right.
You say, Brother Stuckey, can't you just commit adultery
and then go soloing, it just doesn't work that way.
If you commit a big sin, you will lose your joy
and gladness to do what's right.
He says his bones are broken.
And quite honestly, when you commit a sin
and you know something's wrong and you feel very guilty,
it hurts you on the inside.
It makes it literally hard as a Christian,
as a safe person, to actually function and do what's right.
To actually want to read the Bible, go soloing,
you don't feel like doing that at all.
That is what we see with David.
He's a man who loved God,
but then he commits some terrible sin.
Notice what it says in verse nine.
I let it base for my sins and bought up all my iniquities.
Create me a clean heart of God
who knew a right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from thy presence
and taken out thy holy spirit from me.
Now, let me just quickly explain verse 11
so people can take this out of context.
David had eternal life.
He could never lose his salvation.
But in the Old Testament,
they were not indwelt from all the others.
He and the New Testament are involved in the Holy Ghost.
In the Old Testament, what you see is the Spirit of God
hung upon someone to preach boldly or to do what's right.
And the Spirit of God would come upon people.
And it's the same thing that happens in today's world as well.
We're involved in the Holy Ghost,
but if you're doing something for God,
the Spirit of God can come upon you to preach boldly
or to live zealously for God.
And David is asking for the Holy Spirit
not to depart from him.
Why?
Because it has departed,
because he committed not to send you.
He wants God's Spirit back in his life.
Then verse 12,
restoring me with joy of thy salvation
and upholding with thy prosperity.
David did not lose his salvation,
but he lost his joy.
I say, why?
Because when you live a life,
you're saying you will lose your joy
from what's right and godly and truthful.
So notice what it says in verse 13.
Then will I teach transgressions thy ways,
and sinners shall be converted unto thee.
Verse 13 is a slowly verse.
He's saying, once I give my joy back,
then I will teach transgressions.
Then I will convert sinners unto you.
Then I will win souls from the Lord.
You know what David's saying?
I used to be a soul winner,
but this last year in my life,
go with me.
You say, why?
Because when you're living a sinful life,
you're not gonna end up living for God.
You must make a choice.
If you choose to live a sinful life,
you will lose your joy from what's right
and what's godly and what's truthful.
Look, we all need to look at our lives
and just ask ourselves this question.
Is there an area of my life
where I'm living a sinful life or a worldly life?
You must get rid of that.
See, but Brother Stocky,
I've gotten rid of so much for God already.
It doesn't matter.
You must get rid of all that it can lead you, all of it.
Turn to Psalms 126.
Psalms 126.
And lastly, what we're gonna look at is basically,
what does it really mean to have the perfect joy?
Because I don't think any one of us
can say this rule today
and say that we have perfect joy,
but I wanna give you a few examples
of basically what is perfect joy.
What should we really be striving for?
And in Psalms 126, here in verses five and six,
this is in reference to Solon.
He says,
May the sown in tears shall reap in joy.
He that goeth forth and weepeth very good
shall reap in joy.
He that goeth forth and weepeth very precious seed
shall doubt his own gain
with rejoicing and bringing his sheeps with him.
And the Bible says that it blew so in tears
will reap in joy.
We could just take joy in the pleasures of this life.
What the Bible tells us is,
we gotta weep out there in philosophy.
We gotta really care about them
and think about them and pray for them.
And if we do that,
we are going to end up reaping with joy.
We're gonna be excited.
We're gonna be getting people to say,
can you tell me honestly
that every time you go to Solon,
this is the way you feel?
You're just excited to go Solon-ing,
you really care about everyone,
or sometimes are you just going through emotions?
I sometimes am just going through emotions.
I'm honest with you.
I don't think you've got a question out there.
But this is the goal of being so filled
with the joy of the truth
that every time you go to Solon,
you're excited about it.
That's what our goal is.
None of us are always gonna reach that point.
But Paul the Apostle is not always excited
when you go to Solon.
I promise you that.
Say why?
Because he also had the flesh and the spirit
and it's very easy to choose
to walk the flesh sometimes.
But this is what our goal is,
that every time we go Solon-ing,
look, it's not just a number in our bullets.
4,857 salvations.
That took a lot of work.
We don't do one, two, three,
we have to be around you.
People do thorough Solon-ing.
This was a lot of work that took place.
And look, we should never just look at that number
and just promise no big deal.
Every soul matters.
Everyone should get excited.
We say, but Brother Shaki,
the result part was so much more receptive.
I know, but I feel that way sometimes.
It's like, man, we just got on Sunday,
55 saints at church on a Sunday afternoon.
Here, it takes a lot of work.
But every single soul matters.
We gotta be excited.
Whether you get paired up in a door-to-door area
or you get paired up in a parking lot or something,
be happy for every opportunity you have.
Listen to the Gospel.
Turn into Bible and John 3.
John 3.
John chapter 3.
We're gonna see here a story that John's back to short with.
We'll look at it in just a few more places
and then we'll finish up.
John chapter 3.
Notice what it says in verse number 25.
John 3 verse 25.
Then there arose a question between some of John's disciples
and the Jews about their find.
And they came unto John and said unto the rabbi,
he that was with thee beyond Jordan
and who thou fairest find,
he that was with thee beyond Jordan
and who thou fairest find,
and with thee beyond Jordan and who thou fairest witness,
you say baptize him.
Then all men come to him.
Now that is one of the most disowning verses
in the entire Bible.
Basically what they're telling John is you baptize this guy
and he's a lot more successful than you.
That'd be like you became me one day.
Let's say we ordained Brother Chris
for the ministry in a couple years
and he started a church down in Southern Metro Manila.
And you said, hey, Brother Scott.
You know how you ordained Brother Chris?
His church is running like 200 people.
Your army's running like 50 people.
It's like, wow, thanks.
I appreciate that.
Thanks a lot.
That's what they're doing to John the Baptist.
Now, in your flesh, it can be very easy
to get upset about what they do.
Because trying to live through God,
run a church, do all this, it's very difficult.
It takes a lot of work,
and that would be a very insulting thing to say.
But that's what it says in verse number 27.
John answered and said a man can receive nothing
except to be given in heaven.
John the Baptist realized that everything I have in life
is because God gave it to me.
He's the one who gave the opportunity to baptize people.
He's the one who gave the opportunity
to have an influence on those people.
So every opportunity, I should thank you.
Verse number 28, he or she will bear me witness
that I said I am not the Christ, but that I have said before.
He that had the bride is the bridegroom.
But the friend of the bridegroom was standing in here,
and they were going to listen greatly
because of the bridegroom's voice.
This my joy, therefore, is fulfilled.
Now, in verse 29, he's using the example
of basically being the groom in a wedding
versus being the one who's helping the groom.
At a wedding in our modern day,
you have a groom and you have the best man.
And so basically, the best man's job is to help the groom.
Now, I'd be the best man at the wedding.
I was actually the best man at my friend's wedding
in California.
Actually, the couple that got married,
my friend married my wife's friend, and they introduced us,
and I was the best man at his wedding.
And I'll tell you something you probably don't even know,
but I remember getting a call from Pastor Anderson
when I was at that wedding.
Basically, the day of the wedding, okay?
And Paul Wittenberger was at that wedding as well,
and Pastor Anderson asked me,
hey, I know this is the last second,
but can you explain my just math problem
from Archie and Zion?
Because, you know, math is my background,
so it would be really good to have someone
with an actual girl background.
And you know, I wanted to,
because, look, Archie and Zion was my favorite documentary.
I love it.
I love the evil rabbit.
I mean, he's a man.
That's the reason why I love him.
But I was like, in my flesh,
obviously I wanted to do a huge thing about this.
When you're the best man at a wedding,
your whole responsibility is to help you.
Right.
And I just couldn't do it.
I just didn't have time to do it.
Now, it had been planned.
It could have been,
he didn't know I was gonna be at the wedding.
He just kind of called out a second.
Could have been a few days earlier,
probably could have planned it out,
but I didn't have time to do an interview with Paul Wittenberger.
So my whole life, I'm gonna regret that.
It's like, man, my favorite documentary, I'm not in it.
But you know, the whole job of a best man
or anyone who's there for the wedding,
it's just to make it a great day for you guys.
That is what John the Baptist is saying.
He says, this my joy, there of course, fulfilled,
because I just helped out with pretty much wedding.
And see, what John the Baptist is saying is,
if my entire life crumbles,
but as a result of this, it glorifies God.
Praise the Lord for that.
This my joy, there of course, fulfilled.
We're talking about joy here today.
And he's saying, you know what, I give my joy
and just helping out the ministry of the Lord.
Even if it means I've lost my members
and they probably will not.
But you know, if our church,
if we are getting lots of men from the ministry,
which is the goal that we have,
and we have lost the church that started,
and those churches are bigger than our church,
praise the Lord.
Amen.
That's praise.
If your soul leaders all throughout Matthew and Manila,
all throughout Louisiana, praise the Lord for that.
We're not competing with anyone.
That's great.
Every church that's doing the truth, preaching the truth,
and going so any, I hope they grow.
And if they're twice our size, praise the Lord for that.
Say why?
This is my joy, therefore, fulfilled.
Just knowing that the word of God
is being preached all properly.
Then we come to that famous verse, verse 30.
He must increase, but I must decrease.
And the reality is that when we choose to decrease ourselves
and humble ourselves in this life,
what results is actually an increase in the Lord.
See, in our lives, we think it's all about us.
I wanna take pleasure in this sin.
I wanna take joy in this iniquity.
You know, my God is my value.
Look, when you live that sort of life,
God's not gonna be increased.
And quite honestly, you're not gonna find the joy
that you're gonna have.
You're gonna have joy when you actually serve God,
because the Bible says if you know the commandment's
happier than you think you can do these things.
Now, turn to your Bible, 2nd Corinthians 6,
and we'll look at two last places, 2nd Corinthians 6.
2nd Corinthians chapter six.
We'll look back at a verse that we started with,
where it says, in 2nd Corinthians chapter six, verse 10,
as sorrow will, get all the way rejoicing.
When you are so filled with the joy of the things of God
and the joy of the truth, even if in your life
you have this great sadness and this sorrow
and all these problems, you will still be filled
with joy at the end of the day.
You say, why?
Because you're so filled with joy
that external circumstances aren't gonna hurt you.
See, what I said at the beginning is
the normal definition of joy and happiness
is kind of close to being right.
Because if you are so filled with the joy of God
on the inside, external problems that take place,
it's not gonna take away from your joy.
And I'll be honest with you, that in my life,
you know, the Christian life is ups and downs.
I've been saved for, like, 16 years.
And in the 16 years I've lived,
there were times I was more zealous for God
than times that I wasn't zealous.
You know, times where I was really zealous for God,
some of those times I had a lot of problems
in my personal life.
They weren't the best times for me in my personal life.
You know, I was still happy.
Say, why?
Because when you're really filled with joy,
the truth, the joy of God's Word,
what's gonna take place?
Even when things go wrong in your personal life,
you're still gonna be filled with joy.
Turn back to 25, back to 25.
You know, this sort of joy, it doesn't come
if you choose to live a worldly life.
You know, you're trying to go halfway in between.
This only takes place when you go all out for God.
I'm gonna turn to Matthew 25,
because I read this this morning,
and I thought it would be a good conclusion, this sermon.
And I want you to notice what it says in Matthew 25.
Matthew chapter 25, verse 21.
His Lord said unto him,
well done, thou good and faithful servant.
Thou hast been faithful over a few things,
thou wilt make me ruler over many things,
entered thou into the joy of thy Lord.
He also said unto the sea,
two talents came and said, Lord,
thou deliverst not me two talents,
before I gain two other talents.
Besides, his Lord said unto him,
well done, good and faithful servant.
Thou hast been faithful over a few things,
I will make thee ruler over many things,
entered thou into the joy of thy Lord.
And what you're gonna see is there's three men in the story,
and two of them end up working hard
to basically gain more money.
And those people, you know what,
honestly, they probably didn't get to partake
in the joys and pleasures of this life as much.
But notice how I said entered thou into the joy of the Lord.
See, when you choose to dedicate your life to God,
it might mean that you sacrifice some joys
and pleasures in this life,
or you're gonna miss or say thank you.
You know, you're gonna have, on the other side,
joy that you can't even imagine.
And so that's what we saw with Moses.
Moses said, you know what,
I'm gonna choose to be afflicted with what God,
rather than partake in the pleasures of sin you perceive.
And you must make your choice here again,
because you honestly can't have a good place.
You can choose to just take joy
in the things the devil has to offer,
and quite honestly, it's very easy to do that,
because you walk outside, you get on the TV,
everything the devil has to offer is right there,
more than in any time in human history, it might be.
It's right there.
If you choose to live for God,
it's gonna take some effort,
but on the other side,
there's gonna be joy that you can't even count.
The truth is this, that when you go in between
your living and your life, you stay in your life.
But if you choose to go all out for God,
you're gonna have so much joy
that even when things go wrong in your life,
there's still gonna be something to happen.
That's close enough, right?
Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for allowing me today,
asking that you just help us apply
to serve in your lives and do it myself.
Help us just to use it, always to be able to enjoy it,
to do our best, do it in the image of the Lord in our life,
just continue to read our Bibles and pray
and to love the things of God,
and to fight against sin and strive against sin, God.
We just pray these things in Jesus' name, amen.
Amen.