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all right just keep your bottles open there in Ecclesiastes chapter number 11 I'm going to read to you from Galatians 5 22 and just a reminder I've started a new series on the fruits of the Spirit and it says in Galatians 5 22 but the fruit of the Spirit is love and last week I preached on love the next one is joy so today we'll be covering joy as a fruit of the Spirit then it says peace long-suffering gentleness goodness faith meekness temperance against such there is no law now what does it mean by against such there is no law it means that if we are righteously bringing forth this fruit of the Spirit that our life represents this fruit of the Holy Spirit wants to create in us that we're not going to break God's laws okay we're not going to sin okay if you have these things these are good righteous emotions and characteristics that we want to build in our lives and as I told you the second one that we're looking at today is joy now one thing that surprises me in the Christian life just being amongst different churches amongst different brethren is how little joy there is in the lives of many believers I mean there are some believers that are recognized for their joy they seem to be very happy they're very motivational they encourage the brethren and then there are some that are just very negative right any time there's bad news they react in a very unpleasant way and they try to breed a negative or depressing emotion amongst others and so you know joy is something that we need to develop in our lives and I don't know about you brethren but I want to live a life of joy like I'd rather live a short life and just live a happy life they live a long life and be like depressed everything on my life you know just be downcast and upset and so joy is definitely something we need to develop but look at Ecclesiastes 11 verse 7 Ecclesiastes 11 actually look at verse number 8 first Ecclesiastes 11 verse 8 it says but if a man live many years and rejoice in them all did you know it's possible to rejoice in every year or every day that you live in that it's possible right if a man live many years and rejoice in them all now let's get the context of that let's start there in verse number 7 it says truly the light is sweet and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the Sun and so you might say well hold on it's a really pleasant to behold the Sun passes Kevin because when I look at the Sun it hurts my eyes you know I start to get some black spots and I can't say very well it hurts the eyes to look directly at the Sun yeah but this is speaking about the the Sun rise you know when the Sun rises and you've got all those colors in the in the in the sky it's a beautiful thing you can actually look at the Sun it starts to come over the horizon and it doesn't hurt the eyes at that point in time and so it is a pleasant thing to see the Sun rising and you soon see that this does have to tie in with an entire day and then this is in verse number 8 but if a man live many years and rejoice in them all yet let him remember the days of darkness for they shall be many all that cometh is vanity so why don't you just notice in verse number 8 there is we can rejoice in all the days of our life we can rejoice in all the years that God has given us but also that doesn't mean there's not going to be difficult times it doesn't mean that there's not gonna be hardships because it says yet let him remember the days of darkness and like we saw you know beholding the Sun well the days of darkness represents nice you know nighttime represents those days of darkness and then as the Sun starts to rise then you can behold a pleasant thing and the idea there brethren is that when we go through hardships when we go through difficulties it will feel like times of darkness it'll feel like you're you're downcast worried upset and you're gonna go through those emotions as well but at the same time you need to have the perspective that the Sun will rise that you know that that day follows the night and so if I'm going through difficulties there will be a solution we will come to a point where we overcome these difficulties that we experience in our life and notice there you know you can rejoice in all the years of your life but there will be days of darkness I'm not here to tell you that you know the Christian life is a day where you'll never have difficulties you'll never have sorrows you we all do whether you're saved whether you're unsaved we're gonna have difficult days all right we're gonna have times when maybe our finances dry up and we're worried about providing for our families we're gonna have days where illnesses and maybe chronic diseases affect our bodies as we get older you're gonna notice that your bodies don't react the same way they did when you were younger you know you can easily break a bone or these kinds of things and it'll get you downcast it'll give you a day of darkness but don't forget God is saying that we can actually rejoice even in the face of darkness okay look at this online it says rejoice Oh young man in thy youth now for those of us that are adults you know our youth was a fun time wasn't it like you probably had a lot of enjoyment during our youth and we look back at that we go well that went by really quickly you know when it comes to the young people when it comes to children they feel like these days are taking so long and they can't wait to grow up and they can't wait to have all these different responsibilities but the Bible is telling us Oh young man or young lady rejoice in the days of thy youth you say why should I rejoice in the days of my youth because you've got less responsibilities you've got less accountabilities you can actually enjoy your life you actually have a lot of fun knowing that mom and dad or your family whoever's taking care of you it is there to watch over you they're there to provide for you you know the days of the youth is a time when you can have a lot of fun and you know I'm not one of these parents that are trying to get my kids to grow up and be like you know like you've just got to act like an adult even at the age of five at the age of ten no I'm the kind of parent that I just want my kids to enjoy themselves I want them to run around have fun kick a ball around right and you know take church seriously I think it's important for kids to sit in church and sit down and be quiet and listen to the preaching of God's Word hey but when there's time of fun I want my kids to have fun I want them to rejoice in the days of the youth so young people I'm telling you know the Lord wants you to rejoice you know we want to have joy in our lives we want to develop this this through the spirit well it starts as a young child and join the days that God has given you in your youth but then it says this in verse number nine and let that heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth look at this and walk in the ways of thine hearts and in the sights of thine eyes but know thou that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment think about that for a moment okay so for the young people as we develop and get older God does want us to enjoy our lives you know whatever it is that you like to do God is saying yeah go about and doing it but also keep in mind that God is going to judge you for the wrong things meaning that we can find joy in wrong things we can find joy in sin we can find joy in rebellion now that's a wrong place to find joy and so as we go about life and enjoy our lives and having fun we need to assess what kind of joy are we having is it a joy that God wants us to rejoice in or is it something that is wicked and we really should not have a part in that and if you do you're going to remind yourself that God will judge you God will bring his hammer down and judge you in his way look at verse number 10 it says therefore so knowing that God will judge therefore remove sorrow from thy heart and put away evil from thy flesh for childhood and youth are vanity okay so the idea of your vanity it means empty so at some point your youth is you're gonna grow up your youth will be over your days of being young are going to be over but remember God will judge you even from the actions that you take as a youth so put away the evil from your flesh and make sure you rejoice in what God wants you to rejoice in okay so as we go for these fruits of the Spirit you must remember you know that there's nothing wrong with emotions there's nothing wrong with these characteristics but God wants us to experience that in the right way there's nothing wrong with love like I covered last week as long as we're loving the things that God loves right there's nothing wrong with hates as long as we're hating the things that God hates but the problem with love is when you love the things that God hates okay you need to overcome that well there's nothing wrong with joy there's nothing wrong with being glad as long as you're enjoying the things that God wants you to enjoy your life in but if you enjoy things that are wicked well obviously that that would be a bad place that you're applying those emotions and those that that you know that outward feeling that comes from your heart you're in Ecclesiastes so turn to Ecclesiastes chapter 3 as well Ecclesiastes chapter 3 look at verse number 4 Ecclesiastes chapter 3 verse number 4 because you might say well pastor Kevin how can I rejoice you know in all the days that God has given me you know when there are difficulties there are hardships and I'm not trying to deny that because in Ecclesiastes 3-4 it says a time to weep so there's a time to weep and a time to laugh a time to mourn and a time to dance and so please you know don't walk away from this swimming you know thinking that I've told you there's never a time to mourn there's never a time to have sorrow of course there is okay we saw that those are the days of darkness there are challenging days that we have gone through or will go through but don't forget there's lights at the end of the tunnel okay God has a solution in order to bring us out of that darkness and bring us into lights bring us into a place of laughter and joy and so even though we experience all these emotions the point I'm trying to bring forth here is that if joy is the fruit of the Spirit that ought to be the characteristic that you're known for as a Christian okay it's not you know I'm not saying there's never a time to not mourn I'm saying there is a time for that but when people think about your life your Christian life do they think hey this is a happy person this is a person who finds joy the Lord who finds joy in what God has given them all the people look at you and say well this person is really depressing they're really cast down all the time they're really negative all the time okay if that's you then this is a fruit of the Spirit that needs to be developed in your life so how do I develop these fruits don't forget it's a fruit of the Holy Spirit so it's our time that we spend the Holy Spirit is a time that we walk in the spirit walk after God's ways and the Holy Spirit will do the work in our lives to develop this okay you know in our lives can you please now turn to Proverbs chapter 2 Proverbs chapter 2 Proverbs chapter 2 because I do want to talk about finding joy in wicked things at the moment okay Proverbs chapter 2 and I want to show you that it is possible to find joy in wicked things Proverbs chapter 2 in verse number 12 problems of the two in verse number 12 we will read verse number 10 soon but let's just start there investments 12 it says to deliver thee from the way of the evil man from the man that speaketh forward things I want to stop there for a moment you know there are people that are either that's that desires do evil to us there are people that seek to cause us to fall but also to turn against the Lord to sin look at verse number 13 who leave the paths of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness look at verse number 14 who rejoice hey we're called to have joy aren't we but look these people rejoice to do evil and delight in the forwardness of the wicked so you can see there that it is possible to rejoice in evil things it is possible to rejoice in sin and even in Hebrews chapter 11 you don't have to turn there talking about Moses in verse 24 it says 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 then to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season esteem in the reproach of Christ's greater riches than the treasure in Egypt for he had respect answer the recompense of the reward so what do we learn there is that Moses had a decision to make do I suffer for the cause of Christ or do I enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season and he chose to suffer the reproach of Christ he's decided to suffer with the people of God instead of we enjoy in sin and brethren this is this is one of the challenges that we have in our life the reason you sin yes is because we have a fallen sinful flesh we have a fallen sinful nature about us but also because sin is enjoyable that's why you see that's why you go back to your old sins that's why you know even when you sin your I can't believe I did that and you go back to the sin again it's because you find joy in that sin but don't forget that joy that enjoyment or the pleasures of that sin is only for a season it's only for a season it's short-lived whereas the joy that God gives us is forever it's eternal okay so don't forget that don't forget that the reason you go and sin is because there is pleasure there is joy you can enjoy sin and that's the that's the habit you fall into you know you know for a period of time I actually enjoy doing this but if you're a believer you have the Holy Ghost in you after you've done that you're gonna feel regret you're gonna feel guilt you're gonna be like man I've grieved the Holy Spirit of God within me and you need to find joy in the right things okay so if you if you're struggling with sin because you enjoy it you say well I need to replace that enjoyment of wicked evil things and put that joy into the Lord what the Lord wants me to rejoice in now you should still be there in Proverbs chapter 2 and verse number 10 if we just backtrack a little bit it tells us how we can overcome the evil man who seeks joy or to rejoice in evil things verse number 10 Proverbs chapter 2 verse number 10 I want you to notice these words it says when wisdom that's word number one when wisdom enter into thine heart and knowledge there's the other word second word is pleasant unto thy soul discretion that's the third word discretion shall preserve thee understanding that's the fourth word shall keep thee to keep you from what were there that's my talk you'll keep you to deliver thee from the way of the evil manner the evil man rejoices in doing wickedness and so God tells us in order for us to not enjoy but not to give in to enjoy what is evil we need to have wisdom knowledge discretion and understanding you say all those four words sound very familiar you know similar to me you know are there any differences let me help you understand what these words mean first of all let's talk about understanding understanding is the ability to comprehend the information okay right now as I preach I'm desiring that you understand so that means I've got to speak with clarity I've got to maybe repeat myself a few times because I want you to comprehend the information okay the next one is knowledge what is knowledge well once you have comprehended the information it's the attainment of truths and facts okay knowledge is the attainment of truth and facts okay discretion what's discretion discretion is making correct judgments on the knowledge you've attained see you attain knowledge all right now how do I work through this information that I have to make the right decisions and then you've got wisdom wisdom is the exercise for the application of the knowledge okay so you might go to to school and or you know you might get an apprenticeship and you learn that but wisdom is taking what you learn and applying it you know in real life okay that's that's about that's kind of like being the doer of the word not just the hero of the word but you go and you take what you've learned and you apply it that is wisdom okay it's the application of or the exercise of the of knowledge okay let me give you a quick example of this you know let's talk about salvation when you go and you preach the gospel to somebody that is lost the first thing you want to do is to cause them to understand isn't it okay understanding again is the ability to comprehend the information and so you'll make sure that your presentation is clear you get out there it's a clear presentation it's it's simple to understand because you want them to comprehend what you're saying you know you might even allow them to ask questions you know if they get stuck on something because you want them to understand then the next step is knowledge you want them to not just understand what you're saying but you want them to attain the truths and the facts that you've told them the verses that you told them right this is why after the presentation we go back and we start asking questions so would you admit that you're a sinner yes according to the Bible where do sinners go if they don't believe in Jesus all they go to hell so by repeating this stuff and by saying it correctly you know they've obtained okay the knowledge they've got the knowledge they wanted to give them the next step is discretion there was discretion once again it's making correct judgment on the knowledge they've attained so now they've got a balance what they've been told to go to heaven the good works the false gospels and what you just told them and they've got to use discretion to decide which one is correct okay and then lastly wisdom that's the exercise or the application of the knowledge that's when we want them to okay now that you've you've met you've used discretion to decide which one's correct we want you to end up you know knowing that believing on Jesus Christ and him alone is the way to go so you want to call them to exercise and place their faith on Jesus Christ we often look at them calling upon the name of the Lord as that expression of them having placed their faith on the Lord Jesus Christ okay so I just want to understand these ideas are concepts that we need to understand and accept and you know and this will keep us from rejoicing in evil or falling against wicked people that are trying to cause us to you know that are desiring to rejoice in in our evil in our destruction and of course this comes from the Word of God breath you know but if you want to find joy you need to know your Bibles even better okay to gain in the sense again wisdom to use discretion to apply what it is that God wants you to apply in your life the only way you get this brethren is by knowing your Bible okay you want more joy read your Bible okay I would say if you struggle with depression you're upset you know you're constantly worried it's probably because you just don't pick up your bottle enough okay I'm saying I'm saying that if that's part of your life as a significant portion of your life being cast down and negative and upset the only means brethren is you got to pick up your bottle more okay I'll ask God to give you knowledge wisdom to be able to rejoice in the right things okay because it's through the Word of God that we understand what it is that we can rejoice in and so the next half of this sermon is I want to show you ten things and of course there are more you read your Bible you'll find more things but ten things that you should be finding joy in ten things that you should be finding joy in can you please turn to Psalm 118 Psalm 118 verse number 24 Psalm 118 verse number 24 and we've already sort of begun with this one at the very beginning of the sermon but let's look at this again Psalm 118 verse number 24 Psalm 118 verse 24 reads this is the day that the Lord hath made we will rejoice and be glad in it hey the day the Lord have made is not just Sunday it's not Monday just Monday it's every day it's Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday every day that you wake up to is a day that the Lord hath made okay that means if you're gonna go through I don't know maybe right now you're facing some trial some difficulty well you know what God's giving you Sunday right now so you can rejoice okay maybe tomorrow you're going to work and you know you're gonna be facing some problems at work and it's getting you worried right now because you know what Monday's the day that the Lord has given you as well today the Lord have made and God tells you you're to rejoice in that day just like we looked at earlier you know that we ought to rejoice in all the years that God has given us well he also wants us to rejoice in every day that he have made because don't forget he made that day he made today okay and he's given us the ability to experience this day all right and don't forget it's the Lord that has made us you know some people hate Mondays Monday hate Mondays right you hear about that right I hate Mondays because the first day of work man that's a bad attitude to have God's given you that day okay so people hate different days of the week but it's just ridiculous because every day God has given you and we won't go into that any further I'm sure you understand that you ought to rejoice in every day that you have now you're in Psalm so please turn to Psalm 113 Psalm 113 Psalm 113 and while you're turning there I'm going to read to you from Proverbs 5 18 Proverbs 5 18 which reads let thy fount and be blessed who this and rejoice with the wife of thy youth rejoice with the wife of thy youth brethren do you find joy in your spouse you look at your wife man I have so much joy my love you look at your husband and say you know I have so much joy I rejoice with my husband I'm so thankful that God has given me this person well you know what the second thing that you're to find joy in is your family that's the second thing right find joy in your family I'm seeing people laugh right so we know obviously there are times we struggle we might argue have our clients and arguments but don't forget your your Lord God has given you your spouse they have to find joy in our family because listen you spend most of your time with your family I mean most of the hours of your day you're gonna be with your family right for those that go to work you want to come home and not just come on man I've got to come home to the kids I've got to come home to the spouse like you just spend a whole time you know for the men you just spend eight ten twelve hours at work or something I'm sure the next thing you experience is some joy in your day and so you come home right and you know you experience your family and you know this is something that I had to work in in my life because you know we all grow and mature and you know having a life is a big change to how you used to live your life before when you're single and then the next big change is the children that come along right and you got start to adjust to these things and the things that you used to doing when you were single you realize you're gonna have to prioritize okay those things that I used to enjoy my hobbies hanging out with my mates I don't have time for that anymore because I've got to work I've got a wife I've got kids and you got to learn how to prioritize and I remember and I don't mind saying this because you know we all have to grow up and learn but I remember after getting married and having a few kids that you know I kind of struggling with you know trying to maintain the friends that I had in high school trying to maintain relationships that I developed in the workforce where they wanted to hang out and kick a ball you know play some indoor soccer or something and also the idea of having to come home and have a wife and children that you got to spend time with right and nurture it and be with us I was struggling with this a lot and I had to come to a point in my mind where I just realized Lord you know more important the most important thing that I have is my family and I have to prioritize them and so I had to start saying no no to the friends no to the work colleagues no I need to spend time with my wife I've just spent eight hours with you I'm not gonna spend any more time with you I've got to go and spend time with my wife and kids during Psalm 113 verse number 9 Psalm 113 verse number 9 it says he maketh the barren woman to keep house look at this and to be a joyful mother of children crazier Lord hey you know what mothers you know what it's all to find joy in your children God wants you to make you a joyful mother of children you know that means that means also be more joy in your life after having kids than the joy that you had before having kids and notice it says he make up the barren woman to keep house you know before I married Christina she was told that she would be barren she was told that she would never be able to have kids obviously God had a different plan again I was a young man I'm just stupid I've been brainwashed by the world I'm thinking well if we don't have kids we don't have kids who cares okay but now I look back at that I just realized how stupid how foolish was I to have that mentality right now that I have kids it's wonderful right God has given us children to rejoice in praise ye the Lord the Lord has given you this so mothers please you know I know we live in a world that says well you know being a mother staying home and keeping the house you know that's just you know that's that's old-fashioned and you know that's the that's not being uneducated you're not gonna find fulfillment in your life when they say that they think they think you find fulfillment in the workplace they thought they think they find you find fulfillment by not having kids or looking after other people's kids go work in a child care look after other people's kids in the world you know or working for some other man right in the workforce no listen they're not they're not happy okay and the reason they try to make mothers that stay home who raise the kids unhappy is because they're unhappy themselves you know this is just a common thing people that are not happy they don't like people that are happy and they'll try to bring them down to their level and so that's why they criticize mothers who stay home because they know they're actually having a life that brings joy all right so we'll define joy in our husband and wife and we ought to find joy in our children I'll just read another passage to you Proverbs 23 24 that says the father of the righteous shall greatly rejoice greatly rejoice fathers and he that beget of a wise child shall have joy of him notice it doesn't say that just having children will call you to rejoice just having children calls you to be joy no this is the father of the righteous so listen having children is one thing anybody can have children okay I know we have 11 kids but honestly it's not that amazing it's not amazing having 11 kids anybody can do that okay but what you need to do the difficult part is raising a righteous generation raising your children to know what it is to do good what it is to be righteous to please their parents to please the Lord this is what's impressive okay so if you only have a couple of kids that's all God has given you you know don't think oh well you know this other family has 11 you know no because the 11 could be wild children okay who aren't righteous and look the parents aren't gonna find join that you might have a couple of kids and they're righteous and they say good and they're wise you train them to know the things of the Lord they're gonna find more joy in those few kids that you have they family that has a great number of kids that just while uncontrolled and rebellious okay so keep that in mind okay that yes God wants us to be find joy our children as long as we raise them right because if you don't raise them right they're not gonna bring you joy they're gonna bring you hardship they're gonna cause heartbreak okay when you see that they go about life and destroying themselves you'll see me some so please go to some 122 some 122 so the first thing to find joy was every day that God has given you the second thing was family and the third thing is church church or to be a place where you find joy and the fact that you're here this morning tells me you enjoy church okay you know come in here and you know we're outdoors a little bit and you know things aren't the way we're comfortable that we actually like things to be but the fact that you still in church went to know God's Word and to worship him shows me you find joy in church it says in Psalm 122 verse 1 I was glad when they said unto me let's go into the house of the Lord now I want to talk to the kids right now because I know when it comes to the children it's your parents that bring you to church right your parents are saying all right come on get up early get ready for church we're going to church okay and so when your parents come to you and say let us go out to the house of the Lord into the house of the Lord are you glad children when your parents say that are you glad when your parents come on get up early it's time for church we've got to get there and you're like yes I can't wait to get there all right is that you well if it's not this is something you need to develop in your life you got to find joy gladness God has given us church God has given us a his house so we can come and learn more about him but you know what it's not just coming the point here it's not just being here physically but come to church with joy it's about being at church spiritually it's about being at church mentally as well this is a place that I want to be this is a place where I know I'm gonna find joy in the Lord for a period of time while we're having church service can you please turn to 2nd John chapter 12 2nd John chapter 12 2nd John chapter 12 this ties in with church as well but it's a little bit different 2nd John chapter 12 sorry 2nd John 12 2nd John 12 there is no chapter 12 okay but 2nd John verse 12 2nd John verse 12 says having many things to write unto you I would not write with paper and ink look at this but I trust to come unto you so look John yeah he's writing things but his real desire is to come to the Brethren because then it says and speak face to face that our joy may be full okay now John yeah he was writing this epistle but he says look I'd much rather be with you I'd much rather be face to face with you so our joy can be full the fourth place that you ought to have joy in is fellowship with the Brethren okay so yeah church is important church is wonderful and you know some people come to church but then as soon as the church service is over all right let's get out of here I don't want to see that person because last week they didn't say hello to me so I don't want to see them this way and you're off okay that's not how church ought to be church ought to be a place where you find joy in the fellowship that you have with the Brethren this means you have to step out of your comfort zone and say you know what I might not be necessarily an outgoing person I might I might be a bit of a shy person I might be a bit introverted in my personality but I know God wants this fruit in my life to find joy in my brethren so I'm going to step out and I'm going to talk I'm going to step out and greet I'm going to step out and ask them about their day I'm going to ask them about their week I'm going to find out about their families I'm going to find it at their workplace so I have something that I can talk to them about okay and this is about and when you do that for everyone you put that effort in you'll find that it gives you a lot of joy a lot of joy okay this is something we need to find doing and I said this last week sometimes the Brethren we're just not going to see eye to eye sometimes we're going to rub each other the wrong way we're just going to get you know frustrated a little bit but even if that's the case we're still commanded to love we're still commanded to find joy in our Brethren okay so let this be a fruit that the Holy Spirit works in your life can you now please turn to James James chapter 1 James chapter 1 as we're going through these 10 things I just want you to assess yourself do I find joy in all these things that we've covered today and if you say well I honestly and you don't have to tell me it's for yourself it's when you and God you say there are honestly think some things that I just do not find joy in well you need to through the Holy Spirit of God develop this in your life okay otherwise you're missing out on the joy that God wants you to have you know I think we all agree we want to have happy lives okay so you got to find joy in all these things that God has given us you're listening to James chapter 1 verse number 2 James chapter 1 verse number 2 maybe so far the first four things for you are very easy to find joy in but this one is a hard one right that's number 5 sorry that's number 2 it says my brethren counted all joy that's up there count it all joy yeah when when things are going great well yeah that too okay but it says here counted all joy when you fall into diverse temptations knowing this at the trying of your faith work of patience but let patience have a perfect work that you may be perfect an entire wanting nothing if any of you lack wisdom let him ask of God we looked at that before we look at Proverbs all right if you need wisdom ask of God that giveth to all men liberally and upgrade if not and it shall be given him so point number five is we ought to find joy in the midst of difficulties in the midst of difficulties when we face all kinds of different temptations different struggles different trials in our life brethren you need to find joy in them you know it's kind of like what we started you know it's nice you don't necessarily find joy in the night but you know that eventually that Sun is going to rise you know that eventually a new day is around the corner well you know what when it comes to the difficulties that we go through you need to pause for a moment and say well why am I going for this difficulty why am I going for this challenge is God chastising me or is this just something else that has developed because we live in a cursed world well Reverend every time you face some trial difficulty you'll say you know what I'm gonna find joins I'm gonna count it all joy because I know God's gonna use this to work in my life he's going to develop patience he's gonna cause me to be perfect that's well rounded completes right and tire once you're nothing and if you're struggling you go I just don't know why I'm going through this difficulty Lord well then you go to God if you lack wisdom you go to God you go to his word and find out Lord why am I going through these challenges because there is a reason for it every time you go through difficulty there's a reason there's a purpose that God is allowing you to go through it okay and so we ought to find joy in the midst of difficulties and you know what we've lost say year or so we've all discovered restrictions water closures different mandates it's been a time of difficulty okay you can either have one attitude that goes well I don't like any of this I'm not happy with this or you can just be you know what I'm gonna count all joy this all joy you know God is going to use this to work in my life to develop something that I need you know that I desperately need in my life and again if you don't know what that is go to the Lord and ask him for wisdom all right can you please turn to Proverbs 15 Proverbs 15 verse 23 Proverbs 15 verse 23 the next one I have is find joy in the passing on of good counsel or advice okay the passing on of good counsel or advice Proverbs 15 verse 23 Proverbs 15 verse 23 it says a man hath joyed by the answer of his mouth and a word spoken in due season how good is it all right so you know what we need to be mindful about our mouths because we say those stupid and foolish things okay even I'd say stupid and foolish things brethren okay I'm not saying that I'm great and wonderful and there's only wisdom and counsel and great godly advice coming from this mouth not all the time okay but one thing we need to work on is how we speak okay if we speak good godly counsel good advice you know we say words that encourages a brother in the Lord a sister in the Lord you know what the Bible says we can find joy in that why because we've been able to influence others in a positive way we've been able to encourage others we can find joy in that have you ever had a situation where you know a brother or sister has been downcast upset you come alongside them you said some great words you know what even sometimes just greeting someone you know lifts up some spirit now you said something and they've never you know get out of that and they're thankful to say thank you brother thank you sister for encouraging me you know what they want to be joined that brethren okay let's be joined that you know when it comes to preaching and I talk to the different preachers yeah and more often than not preachers don't like to listen to their own sermons after this right they get recorded put on YouTube Jerry speaking sometimes you do go back and listen to it to learn to you know criticize how you presented something to make improvements for the future but Jerry speaking people don't like going back and listening to their voice and oh man look at that mistake that I made oh man I really messed up but here's the thing quite by preaching you've actually imparted a lot of knowledge a lot of wisdom a lot of counsel a lot of advice and so really you ought to be finding joy when you get the opportunity to come behind the pulpit and preach the Word of God as long as you are preaching the words of God you are preaching words that are fit at the right season okay and you also find joy in that can you please turn to our some 30 go to some 30 please some 30 I'm up to the same thing that we ought to find join some 30 the same thing and again this is kind of difficult as well it's similar to finally join the midst of difficulties because this can be difficult okay but some 30 verse 4 it says some 30 verse 4 it says sing unto the Lord oh ye saints of his and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness look at verse number five for his anger so whose anger the Lord's anger okay for his anger endureth but a moment in his favor is life we've been made you up for a night so there's the same idea of the night of the day we've been made you up for a night so this but joy cometh in the morning but joy cometh in the morning is this about this is about the chastisement of the Lord you know what you ought to find joy when God takes you and gives you a good smack okay when God takes you and chastises you corrects you for something wrong that you've done you know children ought to rejoice as well if they have loving parents that chastise and correct their children when they do wrong now notice there when we are being chastised when we are being corrected when we are facing the anger of the Lord it says the anger endureth but a moment okay the end is just a moment in his favor is life the purpose you chastise is to give somebody a better life okay not to destroy but to give them a better life this is weeping may endure for our nights so yeah when you get chastised and if you chastise children you know there's a lot of weeping okay but the weeping it's just for a moment it's just for the night that's the part that feels bad but then joy cometh in the morning okay so my experience with chastising children yeah it's not wonderful I don't enjoy taking out the rod and applying it to the backside of my kids okay I mean I can't wait to do that okay there's tears you know there's the anger that came from your child being disobedient but listen once it's done and they apologize and and and you know you you forgive them you ought to just be able to move on from there and say well the night's over that was just for a moment that was just for a season now it's morning now we can rejoice and my experience is quite often when you when you apply that rod it's almost like the child instinctively knows they needed that so they can move on with their life so they can move on and actually be happy okay and so once you chastise and you've done it properly you know you don't you ought not to bring it back up okay you just go well hey it's over you apologize I've forgiven you let's forget it let's forgive and forget the way God does and let's just move on forward and have fun okay well that's how it is we've got God chastises you there might be some weeping there might be some hardship but you'll find join that knowing that it's for my profits for my life God wants to develop in me and I know that moving forward we're gonna have a great time okay the morning's gonna rise and I'm gonna have a great time Lord I'm thankful that he corrected me in this place because he could have destroyed my life okay so we ought to find joy in the chastisement of the Lord can you please go back to Ecclesiastes Ecclesiastes chapter 5 Ecclesiastes chapter 5 verse number 18 Ecclesiastes 5 18 and before we read this we know that we shouldn't be Christians that are just trying to amass material wealth we ought not to be Christians that just love money you know and just love the temple things and we know it's all gonna burn up we're not gonna take it with us to heaven okay we also have a mindset on eternal matters okay but when we preach these things at the same time we don't want to be completely removed from this world because there is a lot to enjoy in this world okay so when you look at Ecclesiastes chapter 5 verse number 18 Ecclesiastes 5 verse number 18 it says behold that which I have seen it is good and comely for one to eat and to drink look at this and to enjoy the good of all his labor that he taketh under the Sun all the days of his life look at this which God giveth him for it is his portion so when it comes to our possessions our material wealth that the things that you have you know why you have it because God gave it to you and Bob was telling us that we ought to enjoy our possessions we ought to enjoy what God has given us you know I've got this house I should not go well look at that double-story house back there I wish God gave me a double-story house you know right God did not give me that well look at that you know that car over there man that sporty slick car you know I wish God gave listen God gave me the van I have to rejoice in the van that God has given me right and so listen there's nothing wrong with enjoying what God has given us you know what we live in a blessed country we have a lot of material wealth all of us sometimes we're able to go out on holidays and enjoy ourselves listen there's nothing wrong with enjoying those things so long as God has given us so long as you've not gone and and done wickedly you know I've got into a drug dealing or something right and and got your wealth by wicked ways as long as you've worked for it brethren as long as the Lord's provided for that hey rejoice enjoy what you have there's nothing wrong with that I don't feel that like it's a bad thing God is the one that's giving you the possessions that you have look at verse 119 we get to the next point verse 119 it says every man also to whom God has given riches and wealth and have given him power to eat thereof and to take his portion look at this and to rejoice in his labor and that's your workplace that's your job all right all for the mothers that's raising the children rejoice in his labor look at this it is the gift of God you know your workplace is the gift of God okay so now I don't like where I work well God give you a gift you know you're gonna just whine and complain about where you work you'll whine and complain about the job God has given you okay so if that's you you just want to complain you land this job I can't do this is probably the job this job I'm gonna promise isn't God's giving you that as a gift find joy in the job that God has given you because it's through that job it's for that work it's for that labor that God has given you the material possessions that you do have so you can rejoice in that as well you know again we spend a lot of hours at work don't we men you know get out there 8 10 12 hours sometimes more even it's a lot of hours it's a lot of time of your day well God wants you to find joiner you know if you find joiner you're gonna work better you're gonna be more effective you're gonna be a great employee okay and just gonna enjoy life a lot more you're not gonna come home irritated and angry and and take it out on the family when you get home okay as long as you find joy in your work you gotta find the joy so how do I start make God your employer say whoever whoever my boss is whoever sits that in that office okay I'm gonna pretend it's Jesus Christ and whatever work I have I'm doing a work for Christ I'm working because God has given me this gift God has given me has provided this employment for me to do my job and again for the mothers you know for those that stay home hey you got work as well you're laboring as well you know taking keep up the house and watching the children hey you're gonna find joy in that as well find joy okay in what God has given you now lastly can you please turn to Philippians Philippians chapter 3 Philippians chapter 3 in verse number 1 Philippians chapter 3 and verse number 1 the last thing and I suppose the most important thing that we ought to find joy in just there in Philippians 3 verse number 1 Philippians 3 1 it says finally my brethren rejoice in the Lord what a great God that we serve I'm glad we don't have to rejoice in the God of Hinduism or the gods of Buddhism or the God of Islam those aren't great gods they didn't die for me all right we ought to rejoice in the Lord look at this to write the same things to you to me indeed is not grievous but for you to say first number two beware of dogs beware of evil workers beware of the concision for we are the circumcision which worship God in the spirit of this and rejoice in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh again this is just another passage that reinforces the deity of Christ because we're commanding vessel free to rejoice in Christ Jesus and verse number one said rejoice in the Lord so Christ Jesus Jesus is the Lord Jesus is God okay and so we ought to find joy in our Savior in our Lord okay the best thing to do Brevani spend time with the Lord a little bit every day we all should be able to set aside 10 minutes 15 minutes half an hour of a day just to spend time with the Lord just to pray out to him to open up his word maybe the singer him on your own if you have to or with the family to spend time and there's going to be great joy in the Lord when you remember he's watching over you he's protecting you he's giving you all these other nine things that we've looked at so far that you can have a joyful life and it's so important I'm going to reach you from Habakkuk 3 18 it says yes I will rejoice in the Lord I will joy in the God of my salvation salvation ought to be something you constantly bring back back up I don't care how bad things get on this book I don't care how low your bank account gets I don't care how much people reject you or hate you or what situation you may go through you know how bad your body may get with sicknesses and illnesses and difficulties that you can get you know none of that compares to the salvation that God has given us they can even come close to knowing that we've been saved from hell we say from our sins and we're gonna spend eternity with God forever saved forever what a great joy so Brevin whatever hardship you go through please just stop and say well at least I'm saved at least I'm going to heaven you know I might be suffering from this illness and this element it's going to give me a shorter life well then I'm gonna be in heaven closer and earlier then I would have been if I had full health as long as we find joy in the salvation of God you're in Philippians let's go to Philippians 4 verse 4 Philippians 4 4 Philippians 4 4 reads rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice so how often should we rejoice in the Lord all the way all the time everywhere you go wherever you're brethren you need to learn how to rejoice in the Lord I don't know how bad things are going to get in this world I don't know when persecutions really going to rise against the people of God I don't know when the tribulation to come will you know will come I don't know when these things get preference but you know what if one day we're arrested or something you know you put in solitary confinements you know you're locked up for what you believe or who you are you know what the Bible tells us to rejoice in the Lord all way even in that condition we're saying say well you know what I'm suffering for the cause of Christ I'm gonna be rewarded by Christ for the suffering so you know what I don't care I'm gonna rejoice in whatever situation I find myself in one more verse and then we'll finish up please go to Psalm 16 Psalm 16 verse 11 Psalm 16 verse 11 which ties in but I think it's a good conclusion for all of the above while you train them is going to meet you with those ten things I once again number one we ought to rejoice every day number two we ought to rejoice in our families three not to rejoice in the church four we ought to rejoice in the fellowship of the brethren number five we ought to rejoice in the midst of difficulties number six we ought to rejoice in the passing on of good counsel or advice number seven we ought to rejoice in the chastisement of the Lord number eight we ought to rejoice in the positions that God has given us number nine we ought to rejoice in the work that God has given us and number ten we ought to rejoice in the Lord but they're in Psalm 16 verse 11 Psalm 16 verse 11 because if you are telling me pastor Kevin I just will you don't tell me get it yourself talk to the Lord if you say I you know there are some things in these 10 lists of 10 I just don't find joy in well this is where you're gonna find the joy okay Psalm 16 verse 11 it says that will show me the path of life look at this in thy presence is fullness of joy fullness of joy at my right hand there are pleasures forevermore so if you're lacking joy in one of these areas you know what you need to do you need to get close to the Lord you need to get in the presence of the Lord yeah because in the presence of the Lord there's fullness of joy at my right hand that's how close feel to be okay the tears come up here quickly this is my right hand there's my tears at my right hand that's how close we ought to be to the Lord where the Lord can stretch out he's got his right hand resting upon you can sit down okay so in God's presence at his right hand there are pleasures forever more say God I hate my job well you know what to spend time in the Prince of God get close to the Lord ask Lord why did you give me this specific job it seems to be overly difficult there are only difficult people that I have to work in God will give you the wisdom God will impart that knowledge to you and help you understand why you have that job you know and I hate talking about myself but it's an experience that I have lived okay but you know I work the job where I was you know I talked to my wife I was traveling a lot I was spending a lot of time away from my family from my wife you know that I'd go maximum a week away from the home you know they wanted me there longer sometimes I thought like a month in other places and I just I can't I'm gonna go for a week I've got a family kids to look after them and I first it's kind of exciting traveling eventually you know when you have other responsibilities or you know I had to I was called to preach to church then I had to bring my pastor sorry pastor I can't I've got to fly I'm gonna fight the Sunday to get to wherever just be there for Monday I can't reach and no I was getting upset I was getting depressed I just under Lord why have you given me this work I know now okay I know now okay because I was not expecting a church in Sydney that I would pastoring I was not expecting that I would be traveling back and forth and have different groups that you have to oversee and maintain right but I look back now and I go well it's the experience that I got in the job that God gave me yours his gifts there was a reason behind it there's something God wanted to develop in my life okay even though it's difficult even though the times of darkness that I was frustrated but I realized that there was a purpose behind it that's where you find the joy when you go to say Lord I'm struggling this area I know you want me fine join this area but I just don't know what it is Lord can you give me wisdom can you help me understand it's more likely God is trying to work in you do something your life to help you mature to help you grow so you can be effective for him sometime later in your life okay but we learned that by being close in the presence of the Lord by being at his right hand there are pleasures forevermore there is fullness of joy in his presence let's pray