Here are the completed notes from the Sunday Morning Service November 22, 2015:
Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Introduction:
A call to faith – If the Christian believes that his life and all its circumstances are in the hands of a sovereign, wise, loving god who is always working to accomplish good for him, then he can indeed rejoice always and be thankful!
Obvious Reasons for a Christian to be joyful and to have a thankful heart:
- Salvation
- Intimacy with God – the privilege of a love relationship with the creator of the universe
- The Sovereignty of God – The assurance that God is in complete and absolute control
- The Blessings of God
A. Joy
A feeling of happiness that is based on spiritual realities (based on truth).
A deep down sense of well being that abides in the heart of the person who knows all is well between himself and God.
Joy is that deep, abiding, inner rejoicing in the Lord.
In the Old and New Testament God Himself is the ground and object of the believer’s joy.
- Psalm 35:9 – “My soul shall be joyful in the Lord: it shall rejoice in his salvation.”
- Psalm 43:4 – The psalmist writes that God is his “exceeding joy”
- Philippians 4:4 – “Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say rejoice.”
Believers are commanded to rejoice (this is God’s will)
1 Thessalonians 5:16 “Rejoice evermore”
- This is not to try to manufacture joy or try to imitate it, but to gratefully accept this great blessing believers can already possess.
- See James 1:2-4
The Spirit of God produces joy in the believer – Galatians 5:22
- The Fruit of the Spirit is Joy
The Believer’s Joy is Lost in the Following Ways:
1.When we forget the meaning of our salvation
- Forgiveness
- Eternal life
- Ability to experience true freedom – Freedom from the bondage and guilt of sin
“Many sorrows shall be to the wicked” – Psalm 32:10a - See Psalm 73:1-19
2.When we lose intimacy with God because of sin
- Psalm 51:12
3.When we fail to recall our blessings
- Just think for a moment and you will realize how blessed you really are!
4.When our joy is based upon some point in the future
- “When we define our happiness by some point in the future, it will never arrive”…Josh Harris
- “The reason we have to search for so many things to cheer us up is the fact that we are not really joyful and contentedly happy within.”…A.W. Tozer
5.When our joy is based upon another rather than the Lord
- The condition of a relationship
- The approval of another
- “It is part of my belief that God wants to get us to a place where we would still be happy if we had only him! We don’t need God and something else. God does give us Himself and lets us have other things, too, but there is that inner loneliness until we reach the place where it is only God that we desire.”…A.W. Tozer
6.When we focus upon our self and negative circumstances
- The opposite of joy is self-pity
- If we major on the problem, the problem grows. If we major on the ability of God to help us the problem diminishes.
7.When we fail to trust God
- Giving thanks is the highest expression of trust
B. Thanksgiving – 1 Thessalonians 5:18
- Thanksgiving is the will of God
- Thanksgiving is the expression of joy God-ward
- The more we have the more difficult it can be to ward off ingratitude
- The best cure for pride is to truly be thankful
How to have and maintain a thankful heart:
1.Recognize that being unthankful is sin
- Romans 1:21; 2 Timothy 3:2
2.Recognize the manifestation of unthankfulness and confess it to God
- Complaining – Philippians 2:14
- Not being satisfied with what God provides
- It is hard to be satisfied with what we have when there is so much more to get!
- “God is most glorified when we are most satisfied in him.” -Pastor/Author John Piper
- Not appreciating what we have
- Many times we don’t appreciate what we have until we lose it
3.View whatever you have as a gift from God and learn to be content
- Philippians 4:11
- We live in an age of discontentment
4.Verbally acknowledge that what you have is from God and practice being thankful to Him
- What motivates you to thank God?
- Do you thank Him for who He is?
- Do you thank Him simply because you love Him?
- Do you only remember to thank Him after you get what you want?
5.Share – give to others (Get your eyes off of yourself)
- Be a blessing to someone else
- Do not question why others in the world have so little – question why you have so much!