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O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave? O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave? O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave? O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave? O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave? O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave? O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave? O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave? Happy, Happy, Happy, Happy, Happy, Happy, Happy, Happy, Happy, Happy, Happy, Happy, Happy, Happy, Happy, Happy, Happy, Happy, Happy, Happy, Happy, Happy, Happy, Happy, Happy, Happy, Happy, Happy, Happy, Amen. All right. Well, let's take our bulletins this morning. We'll look at some announcements real quickly. If you do not have a bulletin, just raise your hand and one of our ushers can get one for you. If you need a bulletin, just put your hand up and we will get one for you. The verse this week, Psalm 34 17, the righteous cry and the Lord hear it and deliver them out of all their troubles. And that's a good verse there. We like that. You open up your bulletins. Keep your hand up if you need a bulletin. We'll get one to you. If you open up your bulletin, you'll see our service time Sunday morning service 10 30 a.m. We're glad you're with us, of course, on Sunday morning on the Lord's Day for church Sunday evening service at 6 p.m. We do invite you to be back tonight for the evening service. The evening service is different than the morning service. Different songs that are sung, different sermon that's preached. Just one more opportunity to be in God's house with God's people under the preaching of the word of God. And then, of course, our Wednesday evening Bible study at 7 p.m. We'd love you to join us on Wednesday night for our midweek service. If you look at look at our sowing times, our main soul winning times on Saturday mornings at 10 a.m. Every Saturday morning at 10 a.m. We have a soul winning rally and we sing and we have a preaching from the word of God. And then we go out and knock doors. We'd love for you to join us for that. And then, of course, we have additional soul winning times on Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays at 2 p.m. So if you'd like to go out soul winning this afternoon, there'll be an opportunity for you to be able to do that. Soul winning, of course, is when we go out in the community, we knock doors, we invite people to church and we preach the gospel to anyone who's interested. If you continue there in our announcements, of course, if you're a first time guest, if it's your first time here at Verity Baptist Church, we're glad you're with us. We have a gift we'd like to give you as you walk out of the church building this morning. As you go through the main foyer or if you go out our secondary foyer, you'll see a little table set up. And on that table, you'll see these little gift bags. Please grab one on your way out as a gift from us to you for being our guest this morning. There are several resources in this bag that we'd like you to have. But the one I like to highlight is this documentary that our church made. It's called Being Baptist. Very well made, very interesting. We think you'll enjoy it. It's educational and it's entertaining. And we want to give this to you as a gift. So please make sure you don't leave here this morning without grabbing one of these gift bags on your way out. And if you are a guest, we'd ask that you please take a moment and fill out the communication card, which is inserted in your bulletin. If you need a pen, just raise your hand and one of our ushers can bring you by a Verity Baptist Church pen as well. You're welcome to keep the pen as a gift from us. And we're not going to do anything odd with your info. We would just like a record of your attendance. We actually would like to send you a little gift, but we need your information to do that. So please take a moment to fill the card out. When we're done with the announcements, we're going to sing a song. And when we're done singing, we're going to receive the offering. As the offering plate goes by, you can drop this card in the offering plate or you can hand it to me after the service. I'll be standing at the main door greeting people on the way out. If you look at the announcements there, of course, we are a family integrated church. What that means is that children and infants are always welcome in the church service. However, we do have mother, baby rooms and daddy rooms available for your convenience. All of the rooms have comfortable seating that monitor set up so you can watch the service and listen to it. So if you have a child that's being distracted during the service or if you need some privacy, we would encourage you to please use those rooms as needed. If you're not sure where those rooms are at, you can look at the back of the bulletin and you'll see a layout of our church building. It'll show you where the restrooms are, where the baby rooms are and where the daddy room is. Of course, if you need to be baptized, please let us know. We'd love to baptize you. The baptistry is actually filled. The water is warm and we've got everything you need to be baptized. All you need to do is on your communication card on the back, just check off that you'd like information about baptism. And we'll follow up with you in regards to that and talk to you about that. Or if you've already spoken to somebody, you know you need to be baptized. All you need to do is at the end of the service, after the preaching, while we're singing the last song, if you step out that door, one of our staff guys will meet you there and we'll get you situated for baptisms. If you look at the announcements and upcoming events, this morning we're starting a brand new Christmas series called The Christmas Spirit. And we're going to start that today and we'll be learning about the spirit of Christmas. So we are glad that you are with us for that, of course. And then we want to let you know that there is a baby shower this Saturday, December 10th at 3 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall for Miss Katie Rosenberg. And she doesn't know what she's having. It's a surprise, but she is registered on Amazon and it's a potluck. So if you can, please bring a dish to share. If you'd like to attend, you can sign up on your communication card. And please let us know that you are coming for the baby shower. And then we have an announcement for tonight after the service. We could use some help with some Christmas mailer assembly. If you could help us if you'd like to volunteer to help us tonight after the service and assemble some mailers, then we would appreciate your help. It'll be immediately after the evening service in the Fellowship Hall. And all we've got a lot of these Christmas cards that we want to mail out. All we need you to help us with is to put the label on the back. It's just a sticky label and just put them on the back. We have seven thousand eighty of these that need to be assembled. And I know that might sound like a lot to you. Last time we had you guys help us with this on Sunday night, we had six thousand one hundred eighteen of these. So we've got about nine hundred eighteen more this time than we did last time. But last time you guys knocked it out in like an hour, an hour and 20 minutes or something like that. So I don't think it'll take too long. If you can help us with that, we would appreciate it. So just tonight after the evening service in the Fellowship Hall, if you could help us with the mailers, that'd be great. Of course, we've got choir practice today at 5 p.m. Children's Choir at 515 in the playroom. The choir practice here in the auditorium and they're practicing for Christmas. We want you to make note of the holiday schedule. I won't take the time to go through that whole thing right now. But just make sure you read through that. And so you know what we're doing on Sunday, December 25th and on New Year's Day, January 1st. The services will begin at 11 a.m. and there'll be a short afternoon service starting at 115. The goal is to be done around two to 15 at the latest. And we will be providing a quick lunch. But I want you to notice the key word is if you're staying for the second service. All right. So we're not providing a lunch if you are here for the morning service. But if you're staying for the second service, then we're providing lunch for you. So just if you could be aware of that, we'd love for you to, of course, join us for both services. Homeschool group. They've got a Christmas craft this Thursday, December 8th at 11 a.m. here at the church building. So make sure you're aware of that upcoming cleaning crew. You can check for your name there. There's other things there for you to look at. Please don't forget to turn your cell phones off or place them on silent during the service. That's not a distraction to anybody. You should have one of these inserts in your bulletin as well. The Christmas gifts for Jesus. And this is just a list of things that the church uses on a regular basis. And while you're out and about during this Christmas season, you're purchasing gifts for yourself and for others and mainly for yourself. We'd like you to consider maybe purchasing something for the church, giving a gift to Jesus through the local church. And we've got a setup in the foyer. If you've not seen it, there's a table, a little Christmas tree and there's a Christmas gifts for Jesus poster on the wall. And you can drop off the things that you'd like to purchase in any of these things or things that we use on a regular basis. So to help us, if you purchase these things, we can use them here at the church. If you say I'd like to give, but I don't want to buy any of these things. Well, you can always write a check and put it in the offering Christmas gifts for Jesus, of course. And all of that always helps. If you look at the back of the bulletin, birthdays and anniversaries for the month of December, we have this week, Jasmine Coffney's birthday on December 6th. Josiah Taylor's birthday also on December 6th. Valerie Zuniga's birthday also on December 6th. And brother Ike O2's birthday is on December 9th. Praise Report, Money Matters, all those things are there for you to look at. And I think that's it for all of the announcements. So we're going to go ahead and sing the chorus of the week, which is the insert in your bulletin. And we're going to sing at the right time as we prepare to receive the offering this morning at a time of God's own choosing. He came. Let's go ahead and sing it out on the first. At a time of God's own choosing, He came. When we the fight were losing, He came. Long before we knew Him, when we were lost in sin. At the right time, the last time, He came. Good. Let's sing it out on the second. To the great and to the lowly, He came. To a world that's worn and weary, He came. To bring us out of darkness, to make us His again. At the right time, at the last time, He came. Amen. Good singing. We'll have the guys come up and help us with the offering at this time. And let's go ahead and bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Heavenly Father, Lord, we do come to you this morning asking that you bless the offering. Lord, we pray that you bless the gift and the giver. We ask that you continue to meet our needs here at our church, of course. And Lord, we pray that you would bless the time that we have set aside, not just to worship through giving, but also for the preaching of your word that we might be attentive, that we would not be distracted, that we would learn something from your word today. Lord, we pray that you would meet with us this morning. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Turn your Bibles to Luke, excuse me, Matthew, Chapter 2. Matthew, Chapter 2. If you do not have a Bible, raise your hand and I'm not sure we'll bring you one. Matthew, Chapter 2. We will read the entire chapter, as they're accustomed. Matthew, Chapter 2. Just keep your hands up and I know I shall bring you a Bible. Matthew, Chapter 2, the Bible reads, Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, Where is he born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet, And thou, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, art not the least among the princes of Judah? For out of thee shall come a governor that shall rule my people Israel. Then Herod, when he had privately called the wise men, inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go, and search diligently for the young child. And when he had found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also. And when they had heard the king, they departed, and lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child would marry his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented him gifts, gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. And when they warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way. And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt. And be thou there until I bring thee word, for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt, and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son. Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked to the wise men, was exceedingly wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, In Ramah there was a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not. But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel, for they are dead which sought the young child's life. And he arose, and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judea in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither. Notwithstanding, being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee, and he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, he shall be called a Nazarene. Let us pray. Father God, thank you for this day. Thank you for this opportunity to come together. Please bless the message. Bless, Pastor. Let it bring glory and honor to you. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen. Amen. Alright, we're there in Luke. Excuse me, not Luke. We're both making the same mistake. We've been in Luke for so long. We're in Matthew chapter number 2. Matthew chapter 2. And of course, we're starting, we're going to finish our Luke series later on. Matthew chapter 2, we're starting a new series this morning called The Christmas Spirit. And we're talking about what it means to have the Christmas Spirit and the joys of Christmas. And of course, we are now in the holiday season, and we are gearing towards the celebration of the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. And when we talk about the Christmas spirit, or when you talk about Christmas, the attitude of Christmas, the things that you normally feel during Christmas, there are certain recurring themes that come up. Joy, peace, hope, goodwill. These are things that really define the Christmas spirit. During the time of Christmas, these are things that we want to focus on, things that we want to experience. And we're going to begin this study from the Bible on the Christmas spirit. And really, we're learning about how to have a Christmas spirit and how to get into the Christmas spirit. And you'll notice there in Matthew chapter number 2, of course, this is one of the passages in which we find the story of the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. Matthew chapter number 2 in verse 1, the Bible says, Now when Jesus was born. And I want to read this to you, and I want to start here because I want to show you this morning we are talking about the spirit of joy. And I want to show you from the Word of God that, of course, joy is something that is taught all throughout the Bible, but it's specifically highlighted in the story of the birth of Christ. Matthew 2, 1, Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, Where is he that is born king of the Jews? For we have seen a star in the east and are come to worship him. Skip down to verse number 8, we read this chapter in its entirety already, but look down at verse 8, the Bible says, And he sent them, and of course we know that the he there is Herod, Herod sent them, the wise men, this is after an encounter that the wise men had with Herod, he sent them to Bethlehem and said, Go and search diligently for the young child, and when ye have found him bring me, this is Herod speaking, word again, that I may come and worship him also. And of course we know that Herod is lying here, he does not want to worship the Lord Jesus Christ, he wants to kill the Lord Jesus Christ, and that's a sermon for another day, but look down at verse number 9, the Bible says, Notice verse 10, when they saw the star, I want you to just notice these words, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. I want you to notice that the Bible says that when these wise men found the Lord Jesus Christ, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. You're there in Matthew, do flip over with me to the book of Luke if you would just real quickly, Matthew, Mark, and then the book of Luke, Luke chapter 2, of course in Luke chapter 2 we also have the story of the birth of Christ and the Christmas story, Luke chapter 2, Matthew, Mark, Luke, Luke 2 and verse 8, notice what the Bible says, And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night, and lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them, and they were sore afraid, and the angel said unto them, Fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy. Notice what the angel says to the shepherds at the birth of Christ, he says, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people, for unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And I just want you to notice that the reason that you go around stores and as you look at the Christmas decorations, even the ones we have here, the reason that you'll find this word to come up a lot throughout the Christmas theme, the word of joy, is because the birth of Christ was a joyous occasion and it is a joyous message. The wise men rejoiced with exceeding great joy. The angel said to the shepherds, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. So I want to speak on the subject of joy this morning and teach you about what the Bible teaches regarding joy. And in order to do that, let's begin by defining joy. Let's begin by defining the word joy. And as you study the Bible, if you study the King James Bible, you'll find that the words that are translated as joy in our King James Bible, either the Hebrew words in the Old Testament or the Greek words in the New Testament, you'll find that those underlying words that are translated as the word joy are also translated in different ways in different portions of Scripture. These are called synonyms, of course, and sometimes looking at the synonyms helps you understand the definition of the word joy, or the word that you're looking at. In this case, the word joy. So the word joy is translated elsewhere in our Bible as, of course, the word joyful, which means great happiness. But it's also translated as the word gladness, which means to be pleased or happy. It's translated as the word rejoice or rejoicing, which means to feel or show great happiness. It's translated as the word mer, which means laughter, humor, or happiness. And it's translated as the word pleasure, which means enjoyment, happiness, and satisfaction. So sometimes in the Bible, you might see the word rejoice, but it's the same underlying Greek word that in other places is translated the word joy. Why? Because these are synonyms, and it helps us understand what joy means. Joy means great happiness, to be joyful. It means gladness, to be pleased or happy. It means to rejoice or rejoicing. That's really the verb, the joy in action. It's something you do. You show great happiness. You feel great happiness. It's mer, to laugh, to have humor, to have happiness. It's pleasure, to have enjoyment, happiness, satisfaction, contentment. This is what the word joy means. Now you're there, and Luke, flip over with me if you would to the book of John, John chapter number 16, just one book over. And do me a favor, when you get to John, put a ribbon or a bookmark or something there, because we're going to leave it, and we're going to come back to it, John chapter number 16. And I want you to be able to get there quickly, John chapter number 16. And of course, if I asked you to define the word joy, you probably would have came up with the same list, right? It means to be happy. It means to be glad. It means to rejoice. These are the things that joy means. Sometimes, not only does it help to look at synonyms to know what a word means, but it also helps to look at antonyms. It helps to look at the opposite. What is the opposite of joy? We might think we know what joy is, but it becomes even more clear when we know what joy is not. And we could spend all morning looking at this throughout the Bible. I'm not going to do that, but let me give you a couple examples from John chapter 16. John 16 and verse 20, the Bible says, Verily I say unto you, this is the Lord Jesus Christ speaking, of course. He says that ye shall weep and lament. I want you to notice those words, weep and lament. Of course, we know what weeping is. You weep when you're sad. The word lament means to express sadness or sorrow. He says ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall. So I want you to notice he's making a contrast here, and of course he's talking about a bad thing. Christians, believers, are weeping and lamenting, but the world shall rejoice. Notice he says, and ye shall be sorrowful. The word sorrowful means feeling of great sadness, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. And I'm reading that to show you that these are words that are used opposite of each other. They contrast each other. What's the opposite of joy? Sorrow. What's the opposite of rejoice? Lament. So if you understand what joy means, gladness, happiness, pleasure, satisfaction, contentment, the opposite of that is being sorrowful, having lament, weeping, grieving. You're there in John 16, 20. Skip down to verse number 22. John 16, 20. We saw verse 20, but look at verse 22. Notice what the Bible says, again, Jesus speaking. He says, and ye now therefore have sorrow, but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you. So again, I just want you to notice the words that are used by Jesus as the opposite of joy. He says, you now have sorrow, but your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you. So what is joy? Joy is gladness. It's happiness. It's rejoicing. But what joy is not is lament, sorrow, mourning, weeping. Those are the words that describe joy. Now keep your place right there in John. We're going to come back to it, and go with me if you would to the book of Job in the Old Testament. If you open your Bible just right in the center, you will more than likely fall in the book of Psalms, and right before Psalms you have the book of Job. And this morning is going to feel a little bit like a Bible study because we're really going to study this idea of joy throughout the Bible, and I really would like you to get to all these passages if you're able to. Job chapter 7, keep your place there. If you open up your Bible, you're in Psalms, and then right before Psalms you have the book of Job. You have your place in John. I'm going to ask you to also keep your place in the book of Psalms if you can. Keep your place in John and in the book of Psalms because we're going to be going back and forth. While you turn there, let me read to you from James. All right, so you're going to Job. You're keeping your place in Psalms, and you're keeping your place in John. I hope you're following all the directions. And while you're going there, let me read to you from James. James chapter 4 and verse 8. The Bible says, draw nigh to God and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners, and purify your hearts, ye double-minded. Be afflicted and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to heaviness. So notice he says here, he's again contrasting these words. Here he's telling people that they should be afflicted, they should mourn. The word mourn means to express great sadness, that they should weep. He's telling them, let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to heaviness. So again, I just want you to notice the words that are used to describe the opposite of joy. The words mourn, lament, weep, sorrow. And there in James 4 and 9, I read it for you. He says, and your joy to heaviness. The word heaviness is a word that is used to describe the opposite of joy. And the word heaviness would be the same idea as when we think of somebody being depressed. The idea of being depressed or discouraged, to be low, to be down. To be down is that idea of heaviness. And of course, we're talking about joy this morning. You're there in Job. And this is important because though joy is one of the themes of the Christmas season, unfortunately, joy is often one of the things that people do not experience, especially during the Christmas season. Let me just read to you a little excerpt from an article entitled, What Are the Holiday Blues? What Are the Holiday Blues? And the article says this, Feelings of sadness that last throughout the holiday season, especially during the months of November and December, are often referred to as the holiday blues or holiday depression. The holidays are usually viewed as a time of happiness and rejoicing. But for some people, it can be a period of painful reflection, sadness, loneliness, anxiety, and depression. Even people who love the holidays can experience blues during this busy season. The holidays are often a time of high emotion and demand, which can leave a lot of people feeling stressed and exhausted. And oftentimes, people even during, especially because of this holiday season, they experience what is referred to as the holiday blues. And I would imagine that in a group this size, there are some people that are not very joyful this morning. You're not experiencing joy or gladness. You're not rejoicing. There's no murre in this holiday season. Instead, you may be experiencing what is known as the holiday blues. You may be experiencing sorrow and grief and lament and heaviness and what you may even call depression in your life. So I said all that to say this, and I want to set up this idea of joy and why it's important during the holiday seasons and why it is important to talk about it because of the fact that though it's something we should all experience, oftentimes people don't experience it because the holiday seasons themselves can highlight a lot of problems that we have in life and can bring to light some sadness as painful reflection takes place, loneliness, anxiety, and depression. Now, I'd like to give you three thoughts this morning regarding this idea of joy, and if you can write these down, I would appreciate it. On the back of your course of the week, there's a place for you to jot down some notes, and maybe you can write these headings down. This might be a help to you. You might say, I'm a very joyful person. I'm sure there's somebody in your life who this could benefit, and it would be good for you to have this information so you could help others also. Number one, let's talk about why people don't have joy, why people don't have joy. And we could get into a lot of reasons why people don't have joy, but I want to really just kind of summarize them into two areas that probably cover most of, if not all of the reasons why people don't have joy. The first reason that people don't have joy in their lives during the holiday season or just during life in general is because of discouragement of circumstances. Sometimes things don't go the way we thought they were going to go. Sometimes life does not happen the way we thought it would happen. It does not go the way we planned. Sometimes we might think we should be further along than we actually are. We might think that things were going to play out in a different way. And the discouragement of circumstances can often bring people down and discourage people and cause them to experience what we're referring to, sorrow, pain, lament, grief, weeping. And of course when you think about discouragement of circumstances you can't, but you can't not think of Job. Job chapter 7 and verse 11, we have Job speaking and of course if you remember the story of Job, the Bible tells us that Job lost his wealth as a result of God using him to test him really as an example for Satan. He lost his wealth. He had 500 oxen, 500 asses, 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels. He was a very wealthy man in the ancient world. We're told he was the greatest of the men in the east. He lost all his wealth. He lost his 10 children. They all died in one event. He also lost his personal health and on top of all of that to add insult to injury, his wife turned on him and his friends turned on him as well. And when you realize that and when you remember that, that gives some context to the words we're going to see from Job, Job chapter 7 verse 11. Notice what he says. He says, Therefore I will not refrain my mouth. Like keep in mind Job is a very low place in his life right now. He's in a very heavy place. There's no joy. His joy has been turned to heaviness. He's experiencing a lot of sorrow. He says, Therefore will I not refrain my mouth. I will speak. Notice what he says. In the anguish of my spirit I will complain. Notice, in the bitterness of my soul. And if anybody had a reason to speak like this it would be Job. He lost his children. He lost his health. He lost his wealth. He had the people closest to him turn on him. And here we see him speaking in a very depressed, very discouraged, very low and blue way. Notice there Job 7 verse 15. Notice what he says. Some extreme words here. Job 7 to 17. He says, So that my soul chooseth. Notice the words strangling and death rather than my life. Think about how extreme those words are. Job literally just got done saying, I would rather be strangled to death than to continue to live my life. I mean this is a guy that's discouraged. This is a guy that's low. And again, understandably so. I can't imagine the pain of losing one child much less all ten. All at the same time. He's going through a lot and he's in a very bad place. Notice verse 16, Job 7 to 16. He says, I loathe it. Loathe means to hate, to look down. And he says, I loathe it. You say, what is he loathing? His life. He says, I loathe it, referring to his life. He says, I would not live always. He said, I don't want to live anymore. He said, I don't want to continue this. He says, let me alone for my days are vanity. And we see here an example of a man who's discouraged because of his circumstances. And of course Job is an extreme example which is why there's an entire book in the Bible about him. Because I don't think any of us could ever compare ourselves to Job. But the truth of the matter is this. That when you experience sorrow, when you experience happiness, when you experience sadness and grief and lament in your life. One of the reasons might be because of the discouragement of circumstances. Because things have not played out the way you thought they should have played out. They would have played out. You're looking around at things that you had no control over and it happened. And you're loathe because of it. So when we ask the question, why do people not have joy? When we look for the reasons why people don't have joy. One reason is for the discouragement of circumstances or because of the discouragement of circumstances. Let me give you another reason. Go to Genesis. If you would keep your place in Psalms, Job's Psalms, we're going to come back in that direction. We go to Genesis. The first book in the Bible should be fairly easy to find. Genesis chapter 40. We have Job who was a man that had a lot of bad things happen to him in his life. We also have Joseph. Joseph had a lot of bad things happen to him in his life as well. The difference between Job and Joseph, though they're both amazing stories and wonderful examples for us in the Bible. The difference between Job and Joseph is that everything that happened to Joseph badly in his life happened at the hands of others. It was people who inflicted this pain upon him. And the truth is that sometimes we struggle with joy in our lives because of the discouragement of circumstances. Maybe it's not necessarily anybody's fault and maybe it is somebody's fault, but things just happen. It's just the way they played out. It's just the way it happened and we're discouraged by it. We thought it was going to be different. We expected it would be different. We thought things would turn out in a better way. And that can be discouraging. But there's also not only the discouragement of circumstances as to why some people don't have joy, there's also the disappointment of people. Oftentimes it is people in our lives who disappoint us. People in our lives who let us down. This was certainly the case for Joseph. Genesis 40, look at verse 14. Notice what Joseph says. This is a conversation that Joseph is having with the butler. He just got done interpreting the dream of the butler and telling the butler that you're going to be restored. And he's asking the butler for a favor. He just interpreted the dream of the butler and he's asking the butler for a favor. This is 40 verse 14. He says, but think on me. Joseph is asking the butler. He says, but think on me. And what that little phrase, but think on me, means. He says, don't forget about me. He says, but think on me when it shall be well with thee and show kindness I pray thee unto me and make mention of me unto Pharaoh and bring me out of this house. And when he says, bring me out of this house, he's talking about the prison house. He's in a dungeon. He's in prison. Notice what he says in verse 15. He says, for indeed I was stolen away out of the land of the Hebrews. Joseph was sold into slavery. That's what he's referring to. He said, I was stolen away out of the land of the Hebrews. And if you remember the story, he was sold into slavery by none other than his own brothers. I mean, talk about being disappointed in people. Talk about being let down by people. Talk about being discouraged by people. His brothers sold him into slavery because of envy. He says, for I indeed was stolen out of the land of the Hebrews. But it doesn't end there. He says, and here also, referring to prison, he says, have I done nothing that they should put me into the dungeon. Not only was he, had his brothers turn on him and sold him into slavery, but then while in slavery, keeping a good attitude, being a good worker, doing everything that he was supposed to be doing, he had a woman lie about him and accused him falsely of trying to rape her when he did no such thing. He was thrown into prison. Here's a young man that had been disappointed by some people. Would have some people hurt him. Would have some people take advantage of him. Would have some people be cruel to him. And what's interesting is that in this little conversation he has with the butler in verse 14, he says, but think on me. Don't forget about me. People have let me down. People have disappointed me. Here's how the chapter ends. Look at verse 23, Genesis 40, verse 23. Yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph, but forget him. And I would say that the life of Joseph is a life that could be characterized by this phrase, disappointed by people. And I'll say this. I don't think you or I have had anything happen to us like Joseph has. But we can relate to Joseph in the sense that sometimes when we are sorrowful, sometimes when we are low, sometimes when we are heavy, sometimes when we are not experiencing joy, we are not experiencing joy probably because of one of these two reasons, discouragement of circumstances and disappointment of others. Things have let us down and people have let us down. That's why there is a such thing as the holiday blues. When we are supposed to be experiencing joy and peace and love and hope, people are sad and down. Why? Probably because of the discouragement of circumstances and probably because of the disappointment of people. Keep your place. You can lose your place there in Genesis. Keep your place in Psalms and go with me to the New Testament. If you kept your place in John, I'd like you to go to the book of Philippians, Philippians chapter 4. In the New Testament, you have John, Acts, Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians. Philippians chapter 4, a couple of years ago, I think it was a couple of years ago, I preached. I did a verse-by-verse study through the book of Philippians. We did it together on Sunday mornings. And I called the series Rejoice. And the reason I called it Rejoice is because the word Rejoice comes up multiple times in the book of Philippians. The book of Philippians has only four chapters. And I don't remember the exact number but I think it's something like 14 different times in those four chapters the word Rejoice comes up. That doesn't include the times that the word Joy comes up. What's interesting is that the apostle Paul is writing the book of Philippians from prison. And while in prison, he writes to the Philippian church and he is exhorting them to rejoice. He is exhorting them to be joyful. He is exhorting them to be happy. And probably the most famous part of that entire chapter regarding the word Rejoice is found in Philippians chapter 4 and verse 4 where Paul says this very plainly. He says, Rejoice in the Lord always. He says, Rejoice in the Lord always. And that word always, we would say always, all of the time. Rejoice in the Lord always, he says, and again I say Rejoice. Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say Rejoice. Go to 1 Thessalonians real quickly. We're going to come back to Philippians right after this but just go to 1 Thessalonians. You're there in Philippians, past Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, 1 Thessalonians 5. You're there in Philippians 4. Go to 1 Thessalonians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 1 Thessalonians 5, 16. Notice what Paul says here. He says it even more succinctly, 1 Thessalonians 5, 16. Just two words. He says, Rejoice evermore. Rejoice evermore. When it comes to the Apostle Paul's advice on counsel, on joy, if you were to come to the Apostle Paul and say, Paul, I'm heavy. Paul, I'm low. Paul, I'm discouraged. Paul, I'm sorrowful. Paul, I'm depressed. What can I do? He would simply say to you, Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice. And if you said that's too complicated, that's too hard, then he would say, well, let me make it even more simple. Rejoice evermore. And you say, what in the world kind of advice is that? But what Paul is highlighting for us is this. We saw, number one, why people don't have joy. But I'd like you to notice secondly this morning what people don't know about joy. The reason I believe that so many of us, and I'll say many of us, because if we can confess our faults to each other, if I can be honest with you, I will ask that you don't let my wife know this and don't tell my staff either. Let's just keep it between you and I. I tend to be a negative person, not negative in like the cup half empty, just negative more like I get frustrated with people easily. And if you ask my wife, she'd tell you that I'm frustrated with the staff half the time. And sometimes you can just get agitated, right? And so, look, I'm preaching to myself this morning. I need to be a more joyful person. I recently said to my wife, I said, I'm trying to be more positive. And she said, I hadn't noticed. No, I'm just kidding. She didn't say that. She actually said, I have noticed. And that was encouraging to me. And then I bought her something. So that's how it works. What people don't know about joy is this. Here's the secret to joy. Big secret to joy. So what is it? Having joy is a choice you make. Having joy is a decision that you make. See, when Paul says rejoice in the Lord all way, and again I say rejoice, when he says rejoice evermore, I want you to understand a couple of things from these statements. And the statements are these, that rejoicing, which is the verb, the action of joy, is a command. You and I are actually command. When he says rejoice in the Lord, he's not saying you should rejoice. He's saying rejoice. Do it. Rejoice in the Lord all way. And again I say rejoice. And what we can learn from that is that joy and rejoicing is a command from God. And here's what you need to understand. If having joy is a command, then it must be a choice. Because God does not command you to do things that you have no control over. God does not command you to do everything God commands you to do. He says read the Bible. You have a choice whether you're going to open up the Bible and read it or not. He commands you to go soul-willing. You have a choice whether you're going to go out and preach the gospel or not. He commands you to show up to church. You have a choice whether you're going to show up to church or not. And when it comes to joy, he says rejoice. And what he's telling us is this, it must be a choice. Because he would not command you to do something that you cannot do. So the command for joy shows us that joy is a choice. But again from these verses I want you to notice there's two things in these verses that is interesting to me. First is the command of rejoice. Rejoice in the Lord all way. And again I say rejoice. Rejoice evermore. I mean that is a command. He's telling you. Rejoice evermore. We see the command of joy which shows us that joy is a choice. But I want you to notice the other thing in these verses that's interesting to me is not only the command of joy but the continuance of joy. Or I should say the possibility for continuance of joy. He says rejoice in the Lord all way. All of the way. All of the ways. All of the time. He says rejoice in the Lord all way. He says rejoice. How long Paul? Evermore. Well how about one good day and one bad day? No, no, no. Evermore. How about one good season and one bad season? No, no, no. Evermore. Rejoice evermore. The fact that Paul says you can do it. You can do it on command. You can be commanded to do it. And the fact that Paul says that you can do it continually shows us that it's a choice. So when you and I do not experience joy, we are choosing to not experience joy. Having joy is a choice you make. Go back to Philippians chapter 4. We talked about why people don't have joy. Discouragement of circumstances. Disappointment of people. We're talking about what people don't know about joy. Here's what people don't know about joy. They don't know that having joy is a choice you make. Having joy is a choice you make. And you might be asking yourself right now, okay, if having joy is a choice I make, if I can be commanded to do it and I can do it continually, then that tells us that it's a choice. If having joy is a choice that I make, then how do I do it? Here's the second thing that people do not know about joy. Or that we tend to forget about joy. And it is this. Having joy is a choice that you make. And having joy is an action that you take. It's a verb. It's an action. It's something you do. Having joy is an action you take. And here's what I can promise you. Whenever you're not experiencing joy, whenever I'm not experiencing joy, it's because we're not taking the steps to have joy. You say, well, what are the steps to have joy? Two steps. And I really, I didn't want to get up here this morning and just preach about joy. Joy in the Christmas season and Jesus, his birth. And praise God for all that. I'm not minimizing any of that. I want to be highly practical, highly applicable for you this morning. How can I have joy? Two steps. Control your thoughts, communicate praise. Control your thoughts, communicate praise. Are you there in Philippians 4? Look at verse 8. Philippians chapter 4 and verse 8. Notice what Paul said. He said, finally my brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue, if there be any praise, notice what he says. He says, think on these things. You say, you want to have joy in your life? Start controlling your thoughts. Start controlling your focus. So you say, what should I focus on? Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue, if there be any praise, think on these things. And again, I realize that I get up here and read that verse and you think, well, you're just a pastor, you're just using spiritual talk. None of that is real. But let me tell you something. There's a very real practicality to this. If you don't understand the synonym, then let's look at the antonym. You think that you're not sure why you're so depressed and discouraged. Let me let you in on a little secret. It's because you've been focusing on whatsoever things are lies, whatsoever things are dishonest, whatsoever things are unjust, and the unjustness that's been done to me, whatsoever things are unpure, whatsoever things are ugly and not lovely, whatsoever things are not of a good report. You watch the news all day long and listen to bad reports and then you wonder why you feel so bad. If there be any virtue, if there be any praise, hey, when you control your thoughts, when you choose to focus on the right things, on the good things, you'll experience joy. Did you keep your place in Psalms? Go to Proverbs real quickly. Proverbs 23. I'm not up here giving you spiritual speak. I'm giving you a very practical step. You say, I want to experience joy. Or maybe you say, I don't care about joy. Okay, I want to stop experiencing depression, discouragement, heaviness, mourning, grief. Here's step one. Start focusing your thoughts, controlling your thoughts on the right things, on the good things. Let me read to you a little excerpt from a book. This is a book called Deep Work. It's a book that I'm having the staff read. We're reading together. We've taken a break the last few months because we've been pretty busy, but we've been reading this as a staff. The book is really about focus, but I just thought it was interesting, this little section here. It says this, the science writer Winifred Gallagher stumbled, I think I've read this to you in the past, but I just want to read it again. I think it's interesting. The science writer Winifred Gallagher stumbled onto a connection between attention and happiness after an unexpected and terrifying event, a cancer diagnosis. Not just cancer, she clarifies, but a particularly nasty, fairly advanced kind, as Gallagher recalls in her 2009 book Wrapped. As she walked away from the hospital after the diagnosis, she formed a sudden and strong intuition. This disease wanted to monopolize my attention, but as much as possible, I would focus on my life instead. The cancer treatment that followed was exhausting and terrible, but Gallagher couldn't help noticing that her commitment to focus on what was good in her life worked surprisingly well. Her life during this period should have been mired in fear and pity, but it was instead, she noted, often quite pleasant. And it's interesting to me because these scientists and researchers, they don't ever really find out anything that the Bible has not already told us because in Proverbs 23 and verse 7, the Bible says this, For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he. As he thinketh in his heart, so is he. Eat and drink, saith he to thee, but his heart is not with thee. There's a little truth there and it's this, that the way you think will affect the way you feel. The way you feel will affect the things you do. You feel the way you feel because you think the way you think. And you do the things you do because of the way you think and because of the way you feel. I'm just here to tell you something that I think most people don't know about joy and it is this, that joy, having joy is a choice you make. You say, well how do I make that choice? Here's how you do it. You control your thoughts. You decide I'm going to focus. Yes, are there bad things? Of course there are. Have people discouraged us? Have people disappointed us? Have there been circumstances that did not go well? Of course there are. But when we focus on those things that are right, when you think on these things, you'll have joy. There's a second thing. You say, that doesn't work. Okay, well this one's going to work. I mean, if this doesn't work, you're not doing it right. Go to Isaiah real quickly. Did you keep your place in Proverbs? Psalms or Proverbs? You're around there, right? I think you're in Proverbs. Go to Isaiah. Pass the Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, Isaiah. I want to give you some very practical steps. How do I have joy? Control your thoughts. Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue, if there be any praise, think on these things. That's what Paul tells us right in the midst of Philippians, the book on, rejoice. For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he, the Proverb says. Here's the second thing. Communicate praise. Communicate praise. So Isaiah 61, are you there? Look at verse 1. I want you to notice. I'm going to start reading Isaiah 61. I'm going to start reading in verse 1 for context. I really want to get us to verse 3, but let's just read verses 1 and 2 so you can get the context. Isaiah 61, verse 1. The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings. Remember that? The angel said, I'm bringing you good tidings of great joy to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. He said, the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings. By the way, we saw this in our Luke study. This is the passage of scripture that Jesus read in the synagogue when he launched his ministry because this is about him. The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison to them that are bound to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all that mourn. Are you understanding the context? To comfort all that mourn. The opposite of joy, verse 3. To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes. Here's what God wants to do. You're focusing on the ashes. He wants to give you beauty for ashes. He wants you to focus on things that are lovely. Notice verse 3. To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning. I just want you to notice a little phrase. I was reading this. I actually was just reading this in my own personal Bible reading several months ago and this little phrase just jumped out at me. It jumped out at me. I knew that this series was coming up in the Christmas time and I just highlighted it because I knew I wanted to use it in this sermon. I've read the book of Isaiah dozens of times but this little phrase, I've just never seen it in this way. He said, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. That they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified. The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. What's the spirit of heaviness? Depression, discouragement, mourn, grief, sad, sorrow. That's the spirit of heaviness. You say, what does God say to do? He says, put on the garment of praise. A garment is like a piece of clothing, like a coat. He says, I've got the spirit of heaviness. He says, here's what I want you to do. I want you to put on the garment of praise. Put on the garment of praise. Why? Because when you and I communicate praise, when we communicate praise it helps our joy. You think I'm lying to you. You think I'm joking. I'm really not joking. Here's a very practical tip. If you are feeling low, if you are feeling down, if you are feeling depressed, if you are feeling blue, if you are feeling discouraged, heaviness, sorrow, mourning, grief, I'm here to tell you something. You cannot, you cannot start singing and praising God genuinely in your heart and not start to feel better. It's true. That's why the Bible says, make a joyful noise unto the Lord. You can't start praising God and not start feeling better. Now the way some of you sing might make the rest of us feel bad, but it will help you. It will help your heart. You say, Pastor, I've got depression. What do I do? Here's my prescription for you. Oh, you're going to give me a prescription for a medication? No, not necessarily, not me. I'm not a doctor. I'm going to give you something better. Say what? A handbook. Take it home. When you're feeling down, start singing. Start singing. Look, there's no way, when you're having a bad day, there's no way that you can go around and start singing praises to God and not have the Holy Spirit inside of you if you're safe, start feeling better. You can't start singing. There's joy, joy, joy in my heart since Jesus made everything right. I gave him my old tattered garments. He gave me a robe of pure white. I'm feasting on manna from heaven and that's why I'm happy tonight. I'm here to tell you, you can't start singing and praising God and not feel better. Sometimes I'm mad and upset and I'm angry. And you know when you're angry, just throwing a pity party, you're upset. I come downstairs and my wife is doing the dishes, just singing away. I think to myself, get away from me. Because there's something about singing. By the way, that's why you ought to learn to sing. That's why you ought to sing in church. So why do we have a church service? Why do we sing all these hymns and sing all these songs right before church? To get your spirit right. To get your spirit ready for the preaching and the word. Why? Because there's something about singing and praising God that brings joy in your heart. Reality is that if you're not feeling joyful, if you start controlling your thoughts and start communicating praise to God, you'd be surprised how good you might feel. I said number one, we talked about why people don't have joy. It's because of discouragement of circumstances, disappointment in people. I said number two, what people don't know about joy. They don't know that joy is a choice you make and they don't know that joy is an action you take. You control your thoughts. You communicate your praise. Number three, quickly this morning, let's talk about why people can't find joy. The reason people can't find joy is because they're looking for joy in all the wrong places. They think that new gadget, they think that new thing, they think that other toy, they think that trip and that house and that car and those clothes, they think all those things are going to make them happy. I'm not against those things and I hope you buy nice things and give nice things and be generous during the Christmas season. But let me tell you something, unwrapping a gift is not going to make you happy. It'll make you happy for a minute. The only thing that can make you joyful evermore, that type of joy is only found in one person, the Lord Jesus Christ. Isaiah 61, 10, are you there? Notice what he says, Isaiah 61, 10, I will greatly rejoice. I will greatly rejoice in my political movement. Is that what he said? I don't make you depressed. I'll greatly rejoice in my new toys. Is that what it says? I'll greatly rejoice in my money and my income and my career and my business. Is that what it says? I will greatly rejoice in the Lord. My soul shall be joyful in my God for He has clothed me. You say, well I don't have anything to sing about. I don't have a garment of praise to put on. Oh really, are you saved? Because if you're saved, the Bible says, why are you joyful in the Lord? Why are you rejoicing in the Lord? Why are you joyful in my God? For He has clothed me with the garment of salvation. Let me tell you something, if you've got on the garment of salvation, then you can put on the garment of praise because you've always got something to be happy about when you're saved. You have covered me with the robe of righteousness as the bridegroom make of themselves with ornaments and as the bride adored of herself with her jewels. Go back to Psalms real quickly, Psalm 35, Psalm 35 verse 9. If you kept your place in Psalm, Psalm 35 and verse 9, the Bible says, and my soul shall be joyful in the Lord. It shall rejoice in His salvation. Look, if you're saved this morning, you always have something to be happy about. The whole world may be falling apart and you can say, well, at least this world is not my home. I'm just a passing through. Start singing and you'll start feeling better. Psalm 16 verse 11, thou wilt show me the path of life and my presence is fullness of joy. At thy right hand there are pleasures forevermore. Flip back to Job 23, if you would. Job 23. Why is it that people can't find joy? It's because they're looking in all the wrong places. They're trying, let me help you understand something. I'm really discouraged because of my circumstances. If you knew the things that have happened to me and if you knew the things that have gone on in my life and if you knew the things, and I'm not trying to minimize that for you. If you got up here and we gave you the mic and you told your story and you told us everything that's happened in your life, I'm sure we would all agree with you. I'm sure just like Job, we would all say, yeah, I don't blame the guy. That's why he's discouraged. That's why he's upset. But let me tell you something, even Job knew that he could find joy in knowing. See, you say, I've got discouragement for my circumstances. Well, you can find joy in your circumstances by recognizing God's hand in your life, even during challenging moments. Now here's what I know and maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think that any of us could, our stories would match up with Job's. Here's what Job said, Job 23 verse 10, because remember at the end of the book, Job comes out the hero. He never cursed God or charged God foolishly. Job 23, 10, but he knoweth the way that I take. When he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold. Job took confidence and he rejoiced in the fact that though things were not going well in his life, though things were out of control, though he had lost everything and lost everyone and nothing was going right, he knew this, that he knoweth the way that I take. And look, you may have been discouraged by circumstances. I'll be honest with you, I've been. I've had situations where I thought it was going to go a different way. I thought it was going to turn out a different way. I thought that we would have maybe experienced something different, we'd be further than we are. There are situations where I thought, surely God is going to do X, Y, and Z and then he doesn't. But you can always find joy by recognizing that God's hands on it. He knoweth the way that I take. God knows you. God knows your name. Fanny Crosby is a prolific hymn writer. Probably most of the hymns in our hymn book were written by Fanny Crosby. I shouldn't say most of the hymns. She would be the author that has authored most hymns. She authored so many hymns, she had to author hymns using a fake name so that just hymn books would not just be page after page of Fanny Crosby hymns. She wrote some famous songs that we sing all the time around here. Fanny Crosby became ill at the age of two months old. When she was two months old, she got very sick and the family doctor was away. Because he was away out of town, another man, pretending to be a certified doctor, treated her illness. As a result of his treatment, which was applied on her eyes, her illness eventually relented, but the treatment left her blind at two months. When the doctor was exposed for being an imposter, he left town, never to be heard of again. Fanny Crosby was left blind from two months old for the rest of her life because of something that was out of her control, because of something that somebody did to her. She had every reason in the world to get resentful and bitter and angry and upset. Here's a quote from Fanny Crosby. She said, What a happy soul I am, although I cannot see. I am resolved that in this world, contented I will be. Somebody once said to her, trying to empathize with her, I'm so sorry that you lost your sight at such a young age. She famously responded if she could have her sight back, the prayer that she would give is that God would take her sight. Because she has a wonderful privilege of being able to see for the first time, when she's able to see, the first person she'll ever see is the Lord Jesus Christ. I just think it's interesting that this woman who had stuff happen to her, had people do things to her, was so content, so joyful, and she became so connected to music. She wrote so many hymns. I'm just telling you, if you start focusing your mind on the right things, you start focusing your mind on the Lord Jesus Christ, you start communicating praise. I mean, this woman who at two months old had a doctor, a so-called doctor, who was a liar, hurt her in such a way that blinded her. This is the woman that wrote these words. You and I have sang them. All the way my Savior leads me. I'm just telling you, I'm not feeling good, I'm not feeling well, I'm feeling heavy, I'm feeling depressed. I'm feeling discouraged because of the things people have done to me, because of the things that have happened. Okay, start singing this genuinely from your heart, then tell me it doesn't help you. Realizing who wrote it, this woman, Fanny Crosby. All the way my Savior leads me. What have I to ask beside? If you know the word, sing it with me. Can I down His faithful mercies, who through life has been my guide? Heav'nly peace, divinest comfort, e'er by faith to Him to dwell. For I know, don't miss it. For I know what e'er befalls me, Jesus doeth all things well. For I know, could you say that? Somebody blinded you? For I know what e'er befalls me, Jesus doeth all things well. All the way my Savior leads me, cheers each winding path I tread, gives me grace for every trial. Feeds me with the living bread, though my weary steps may falter and my soul of thirst may be. Gushing from the rock before me, lo a spring of joy I see. Gushing from the rock before me, lo a spring of joy I see. You can always find joy in recognizing that God's hand is in your life. Here's what Jesus said. Jesus said, Matthew, go there quickly if you can, Matthew 10 29. He said, Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? And one of them shall not fall on the ground without your father? But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not, therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows. You say, if you knew what I was going through, if you knew the things that happened, if you knew, here's what I know. I may not know all the details about everything that happened, but here's what I do know, that he knoweth the way that I take. Here's what I do know, that a sparrow does not fall on the ground without God knowing, and God knows what happened to you. And God knows what's happened to me. And yes, have we been disappointed by people? Can I let you know? Yes, I've been disappointed by people. I've had people disappoint me. I've had people let me down. I thought if I treated them a certain way, if I did certain things, they would do certain things, and it didn't happen. But you know, I can tell you this. I can honestly tell you from the heart of hearts, I've never been disappointed in him. I've never been let down by him. People have hurt me. People have discouraged me. People have disappointed me. People have lied to me. People have done me wrong, but he never has. And I can take joy. I can take confidence in knowing that one of them shall not fall on the ground without your father. Therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows. So yeah, I can sing. I can sing, why should I be discouraged? Why should the shadows fall? Why should my heart be lonely and long for heaven and home? You know, sing it. When Jesus is my portion, my constant friend is he. His eye is on the sparrow, and I know he watches me. His eye is on the sparrow, and I know he watches me. Don't miss it. This is a problem some of you have. I sing because I'm happy. I sing because I'm free. For his eye is on the sparrow, and I know he watches me. I'm just telling you. I'm just telling you. You can't start controlling your thoughts. You can't start communicating praise and not expect to feel some joy in your heart. It's impossible. Go to John 16. We'll finish up. John 16. I'm telling you. You say, what do I do? Take a hymn book. Sing. If you knew my day, if you knew what I was going through, if you knew what I've been dealing with, start singing. When sorrows cloud o'er take me and break upon my head, when life seems worse than useless and I were better dead, I take my grief to Jesus then, nor do I go in vain, for heavily hope he gives that cheers like sunshine after rain. It's just like Jesus to roll the clouds away. It's just like Jesus to keep me day by day. It's just like Jesus all along the way. It's just like his great love. I'm just here to tell you something. Joy is a choice. You don't get joyful. You choose to be joyful. And when you're not joyful, and I'm not trying to hurt your feelings. I'm not trying to kick you or run you down. But I do want to communicate this clearly to you. When you're not joyful, it's because you're choosing not to be. John 16, 24. We'll finish up. Hither to have ye asked nothing in my name, ask and ye shall receive. Notice what Jesus says. That your joy may be full. Look at John 15, 11 real quickly. John 15, 11. These things have I spoken unto you. Pastor, I don't have any joy. You don't need joy. You need his joy. These things have I spoken unto you that my joy might remain in you and that your joy might be full. Why don't people have joy? Because of discouragement of circumstances. Because of disappointment from people. And look, I get it. I've been there. Have I had things not go my way? The way that I thought they should go? The way that I thought God should want them to go? Yeah, I've been there. Have I had people disappointment? I thought if I treat them this way, if I do this for them, then they will treat me and then it just didn't work. I never panned out. Yeah, I've been disappointed. But what people don't know about joy is that joy is a choice you make. Joy is an action you take. You control your thoughts. You communicate praise. And though you have been discouraged by circumstances, you will never be discouraged in him. And though you've been disappointed by people, you'll never be disappointed in him. Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Heavenly Father, Lord, we thank you. We thank you that the Lord Jesus Christ came to this earth. It really is fitting that we talk about joy during the Christmas season. Because like the angel says, I bring you good tidings of great joy to all people, for unto you is born this day in the city of David a savior, which is Christ the Lord. Lord, I pray you'd help us to control our thoughts. Focus on the right things. Focus on the good things. Focus on God. Pray you'd help us to communicate praise. When we're not feeling well, start singing praises to God. There's something about singing to God, praising God, that gets the Holy Spirit moving in your heart. Pray you'd help us to realize that we cannot find joy in people and in the world. We must find it in God. Love you. In the matchless name of Christ, we pray. Amen. We're going to have Brother Matt come up and lead us in a final song. Just want to remind you of a couple of things. First of all, we of course have our evening service tonight at 6 p.m. Tonight we're going to finish. We've been doing, the last three Sundays, recordings for biblical principles on recovery. We're going to finish that tonight, so we encourage you to be with us as we finish the last two principles. We'll be recording, so if you can just help us with all the things we've talked about with the cameras and all of that. Also, just want to remind you that tonight, after the service, we've got these flyers that we'd like to assemble. If you could help us in the fellowship hall assemble, we've got about 7,000 that needs to be assembled. I know that sounds like a lot, but it's just putting a sticker on, and many hands make light work. If we can get a lot of people helping us, we can knock this out in probably just an hour, hour and a half, something like that. So please help us with that tonight if you're able to. Then of course, Christmas gifts for Jesus. While you're out and about purchasing gifts for yourself, for your family, would you consider purchasing, giving a gift to Jesus through the local church. There are some things that you could purchase. We've got a place set up in the foyer there where we've got some tables. You can put your gifts there if you'd like. We appreciate your faithfulness with that. If there's anything we can do for you, please let us know. We'll have Brother Matt come up and lead us in a final song. Turn to song 423. Four, two, three, joy to the world. Four hundred twenty-three on the first. Joy to the world, the Lord is come. Let earth receive her name. Let every heart prevail in her name. And heaven and nature sing. Heaven and nature sing. And heaven and heaven and nature sing. Four hundred twenty-three on the second. Joy to the world, the Savior reigns. And heaven and nature sing. And heaven and nature sing. And heaven and nature sing. And heaven and nature sing. And heaven and nature sing. And heaven and nature sing. And heaven and nature sing. And heaven and nature sing. He comes to marry with us in a show. No hands have been so proud, no hearts have been so sure. No hands have been so proud, no hands have been so sure. He comes to marry with us in a show. He moves the world between the first. And makes the nations hear. And the Lord brings out his light to his face. And the one who's up is up. And the one who's up is up. And the one who's up is up. Amen. Good singing. Before we leave here, if anybody has questions about salvation, church membership, or baptism, the pastor will be at the door. He'd love to talk to you or direct you to someone who's trained to talk about that. And ask Brother Darrell, would you close a prayer for us? Bless God. Thank you, Lord, for this church. And thank you, Lord, for our preacher and fine message. And Lord, help us to remind us of what it means to be joyful and how to communicate and how to praise you through your word and through your spirit. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.