Joy is not:
Joy is:
How are we going after joy?
- Focus on Then and There, not Here and Now (1 Peter 1:3-5)
- Focus on the Purpose of our trials, not the Pain of our trials (1 Peter 1:6-7)
- Trials Don't last
- Trials Serve a purpose
- Trials Remind us of our dependence on God
- Trials Come in many forms
- Trials Prove faith
- Focus on the Relationship with Christ, not a Religion for Christ (1 Peter 1:8-9)
But what about the trials?
Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANK
Hint: Highlight blanks above for answers!
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00:00-00:23
But how many people sitting here this morning when they woke up thought, "It's time for church! Woo!" Anybody? Don't raise your hand. Some of you are like, "I can't open it, I'm raising my hand." All right. Okay, seriously, how many people was that? I gotta know. Raise your hand. All right. That's great.
00:24-00:33
These people don't have to raise their hands, but I'm sure there are some people that were like, "What day is it?" Sunday.
00:35-00:40
"Ugh, time for church." Was there anybody like that?
00:42-00:50
I'm not gonna mention names, but a certain bass player that plays for Harvest Bible Chapel, a few Sundays ago, just like really grabbed me.
00:51-01:03
We were just talking up here and he said, "This is my favorite time of the week." And I'm like, "We got a lot in common." But what's your attitude when it's time for church?
01:03-01:05
What's your attitude when it's time for Bible study?
01:05-01:06
Let me ask you that.
01:06-01:12
You know, the Bible's sitting there, and I should probably read it.
01:12-01:14
I haven't read my Bible in a couple days.
01:16-01:17
What about prayer?
01:18-01:20
What's your attitude towards prayer?
01:23-01:25
Or, small group.
01:27-01:30
Oh, is it small group night again?
01:32-01:35
With all of these things, let me ask you, is it a duty or is it a delight?
01:39-01:46
Because here's the thing, if these things start becoming a duty, like a job, like, ugh, then there's a problem.
01:47-02:03
There's a serious problem when being in God's word and being in prayer and going to church and going to small groups, when that becomes a chore that you'd rather not do, and, ah, there's a real problem there.
02:04-02:10
That's why for the next year, we are going to be talking about joy.
02:11-02:21
Now, how many of you following along with the video, like, oh, I know what's coming, I know what's coming, and if you've got one of these cards, This is why we're talking about joy.
02:25-02:28
But understand this, I can't motivate you to be joyful.
02:28-02:29
Did you know that?
02:30-02:40
My job isn't to get up here with pom poms and like, "Come on, Harvest Bible Chapel, let's be joyful." That's not gonna do it.
02:41-02:45
Might weird you out a little bit, but it's not going to make you joyful.
02:48-02:49
I can't give it to you.
02:50-03:02
I can't. I can't be like, "What's your problem, Sammy? I'm really happy. You should be happy, too." I can't do that either. The only thing that I can tell you about joy is where to get it.
03:05-03:10
Now, I don't have to sell anyone on joy, do I? Do I have to sell anyone here on that?
03:10-03:14
They're like, "Ah, joy, I'm not really interested." It's something that we're all after.
03:15-03:16
But let's define some things.
03:16-03:17
You have your outline?
03:20-03:21
Let's get some definitions on the table.
03:21-03:28
First of all, joy is not, joy is not, first of all, joy is not emotion.
03:30-03:33
Emotion follows joy, but joy purely isn't emotion.
03:33-03:34
That's called happiness.
03:40-03:45
Joy is not emotion as far as like, you know, happiness is what?
03:45-03:49
Happiness is a cookie, right?
03:50-03:51
Isn't that happiness?
03:53-03:59
All right, don't, I think our dietician doesn't approve of my illustration.
04:00-04:01
All right, here's one just for you.
04:02-04:04
Happiness is a stalk of celery.
04:08-04:11
So we have some more nutrition experts in the house.
04:13-04:19
Happiness is fresh kale, some fresh squeezed goat cheese, that's happiness.
04:22-04:24
Well, for the rest of us, happiness is an Oreo.
04:28-04:31
Calm down, Amanda, I haven't had an Oreo in a very long time.
04:34-04:36
Joy is not the emotion, okay?
04:37-04:39
Emotions come with joy, but joy is not the emotion.
04:40-04:42
Joy is not denying reality.
04:43-04:46
Like we're some like spacey-eyed Christians.
04:47-04:49
How are you doing, Pastor Jeff?
04:49-04:50
I'm doing great!
04:51-04:52
Fantastic!
04:53-04:58
Yeah, didn't your house just burn down and your dog got run over by a semi?
04:58-05:00
And everything's great!
05:01-05:04
That's not joy either, denying reality.
05:04-05:05
That's being disconnected.
05:06-05:07
That's not joy.
05:10-05:11
Joy is not positive thinking.
05:13-05:15
Like if I just think enough good thoughts, I'll have joy.
05:16-05:21
Don't bring any negativity to me because I'm only thinking good thoughts because that's how I get joy.
05:22-05:23
That's not it either.
05:25-05:26
That's being delusional.
05:28-05:41
You know, when Pastor James McDonald was in town last Sunday night, He used a word to describe many worshipers, many churches.
05:43-05:44
It's a word that stuck out.
05:46-05:49
And if you were there, how many people were there last Sunday night to see James?
05:49-05:52
Okay, how many people maybe saw James somewhere else, like in Lancaster?
05:53-05:53
Okay, a couple of you.
05:54-05:54
All right.
05:58-06:03
But he used a word here that really stuck out, The word was cheerless.
06:07-06:14
This isn't pack your bags, here comes the guilt trip, but I think he's hit the nail on the head in a lot of churches.
06:17-06:18
It's cheerless.
06:20-06:30
Actually, the word for joy in the Greek that we're going to be looking at today is chara, which literally means cheerfulness.
06:34-06:37
So over the next year, we're going to be talking about joy.
06:40-06:47
And we're going to be going through the book of Philippians, but today this sermon is really basically an introduction to the rest of the year.
06:49-06:53
So joy is, there's a lot of definitions, here's the one I'm going with, write this down.
06:53-07:19
The joy is the abiding, it's abiding, it rests upon you, contented, cheerful state that rests upon one who knows God.
07:20-07:21
I'm going to say that again.
07:22-07:34
It's the contented, I'm sorry, the abiding contented cheerful state that rests upon the one who knows God.
07:38-07:40
Where does it come from?
07:41-07:43
Well, joy actually comes from God's Holy Spirit.
07:43-07:46
Galatians chapter 5, the fruit of the Spirit is what?
07:47-07:47
Love.
07:48-07:49
What's next?
07:49-07:49
Help me out.
07:50-07:50
Joy.
07:51-07:54
Joy, joy, it comes from the Holy Spirit.
07:55-07:56
That's why we can't muster it up.
07:56-07:58
It's something that God does in us.
08:02-08:11
Now, some right now are like, "Really, this is what we're talking about for a whole year?" Like, so what if I'm joyless?
08:13-08:15
Like, why does that really matter, right?
08:16-08:16
Like, so what?
08:17-08:19
Okay, so I'm not like, so I'm not joyful.
08:20-08:23
Is that such a crime that I'm not joyful?
08:23-08:24
Is it a crime?
08:25-08:26
So what's the big deal?
08:26-08:27
So what if I'm joyless?
08:29-08:30
This is a huge deal.
08:31-08:32
Jot these five things down.
08:34-08:35
So what if I'm joyless?
08:38-08:39
Here's so what.
08:40-08:42
Joylessness brings doubt on salvation.
08:43-08:46
That's something we're gonna talk about today and we get into God's word.
08:46-08:49
But salvation and joy go hand in hand.
08:51-08:53
Salvation and joy go hand in hand.
08:54-09:03
If you're truly saved, you will truly have God's joy, because if you're truly saved, God's Holy Spirit resides in you, and what was one of the fruit of the Spirit?
09:03-09:04
Oh yeah, joy.
09:09-09:17
But where there's a consistent pattern of lack of joy, that brings serious doubt on your salvation.
09:19-09:24
Can you really know and understand the gospel and the implications of the gospel and not have joy?
09:28-09:29
It's a serious thing.
09:32-09:33
So what if I'm joyless?
09:33-09:37
Number two, joylessness prevents passionate worship.
09:40-09:42
Joylessness prevents passionate worship.
09:51-09:54
We are worshipping God in spirit and in truth.
09:54-09:57
Jesus said the Father is seeking such worshippers.
10:00-10:04
A lot of the passion is going from worship across the board.
10:07-10:09
But when you have the joy of the Lord.
10:10-10:12
That stokes a fire for passionate worship.
10:16-10:19
So joylessness, number three, joylessness leads to bad stewardship.
10:21-10:22
We already talked about that.
10:23-10:27
God loves what kind of a giver, a cheerful giver, right?
10:30-10:31
So joylessness can lead to bad stewardship.
10:34-10:38
A couple more joylessness, number four, joylessness drags others down.
10:42-10:45
Joylessness can be the proverbial Debbie Downer.
10:50-10:53
And it drags others down, it's contagious.
10:53-10:56
And number five, joylessness hinders evangelism.
10:57-10:58
It hinders evangelism.
11:04-11:11
You know, you have that opportunity to share the gospel with someone, you're like, or even invite them to church.
11:12-11:24
You're just like, "Would you like to come to my church sometime?" "Yeah, what's your church like?" We talk about joy.
11:25-11:26
It's really great.
11:27-11:28
You'll love it, you'll never forget it.
11:29-11:31
It's a joyful church, would you like to come?
11:32-11:35
Like, dude, where's your joy, right?
11:36-11:38
People see that in you.
11:38-11:40
Again, it's not being stupid.
11:41-11:42
It's the joy of the Lord.
11:42-11:49
It's people seeing that there's an abiding, contented cheerfulness on this person.
11:50-11:52
I want that, I want that.
11:52-11:52
Where do you get that?
11:52-11:53
Well, it comes from the Lord.
11:54-11:55
That's where it comes from.
11:55-11:56
And you know what?
11:56-11:58
This is what we're talking about at our church, right?
11:58-11:59
So join us.
12:01-12:03
But joylessness hinders evangelism.
12:03-12:06
Open up your Bibles to 1 Peter.
12:08-12:10
1 Peter, near the back of your New Testament.
12:10-12:11
You're like, I thought we were in Philippians.
12:11-12:12
Yeah, we're gonna start that next week.
12:13-12:19
But by way of introduction, open up to 1 Peter.
12:22-12:23
Little louder, please.
12:25-12:25
Better.
12:28-12:31
1 Peter was written to Christians who were suffering persecution.
12:31-12:37
In fact, 17 times in the book of 1 Peter, he talks about suffering.
12:38-12:39
Like how do we do this?
12:39-12:41
How do we hold up under suffering?
12:45-12:48
In fact, even in the midst of suffering, how do we go after joy?
12:48-12:51
Well that's what I want to share with you this morning.
12:51-12:51
Three things.
12:51-12:53
How are we going after joy this year?
12:55-12:56
How are we going after joy?
12:58-12:59
We're going to be looking at verses 3 through 9.
12:59-13:00
Are you ready?
13:02-13:04
All right, how are we going after joy?
13:04-13:16
First of all, let's look at verses 3 through 5, where Peter writes, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, according to His great mercy.
13:18-13:51
He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
13:51-13:53
So how are we going after joy this year?
13:53-13:54
Well, here's the first thing.
13:55-13:58
We're going to focus on the then and there, not the here and now.
14:01-14:04
We're going to focus on then and there, not here and now.
14:12-14:13
Look at the text again with me.
14:18-14:46
to his great mercy. How has God shown us mercy? He caused us to be born again to a living hope. Through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, verse four says to an inheritance, underline that word in your Bible, inheritance. Do you know that God has an inheritance for you.
14:46-14:47
Did you know that?
14:52-14:57
That God has something for you that he is keeping in heaven for you.
14:57-14:59
Actually, Peter talks about that right here.
14:59-15:04
He says, "Kept in heaven for you." Like, well, Pastor Jeff, what's that like?
15:04-15:06
I'm so glad you asked.
15:06-15:07
Here's exactly what it's like.
15:07-15:08
First of all, it's imperishable.
15:11-15:12
Like, well, what's that like?
15:12-15:21
Well, you know, in Romans 1, this same Greek word is used to describe God, also known as awesome.
15:23-15:25
What else is this inheritance like?
15:25-15:27
Well, it's undefiled, it's pure.
15:32-15:33
And it's unfading.
15:35-15:38
Literally, that means perpetual, meaning it's always fresh.
15:40-15:41
Always fresh.
15:45-15:46
Understand this inheritance.
15:46-15:54
It's not like, you know, 10,000 years into heaven, you're going to be like, this thing was so cool when I first got here.
15:55-15:57
You know, when I first got to heaven, it was kind of new and exciting.
15:57-16:03
And now it's just kind of, eh, it's okay, I guess.
16:05-16:06
It's always fresh.
16:11-16:16
The thing that keeps us moving forward in joy, eyes towards heaven, the best is ahead.
16:16-16:18
That's what Peter's reminding us here.
16:18-16:24
That's what Peter's reminding these suffering Christians to say, look, your best days are ahead of you.
16:27-16:28
And there's an inheritance waiting for you.
16:28-16:37
Can you put your eyes on heaven and get them focused off of yourself?
16:38-16:49
When we were kids, one of the things that we liked to do, yes, we are rednecks, but one of the things that we liked to do was go to the rodeo.
16:51-16:53
How many rodeo people do we have here?
16:55-16:59
Oh, so this is gonna land with like five of you, amazing.
17:00-17:02
Remember going to the rodeo?
17:02-17:05
Remember the popcorn vendor with the really crooked wig?
17:05-17:05
Yeah.
17:06-17:07
(congregation laughing)
17:09-17:17
Well, do you remember the year that, I had a friend from school and I said, "Hey, can I take this guy to the rodeo with us?
17:17-17:28
"I thought it'd be fun." And mom was like, "Yeah, sure, call him up." So this friend of mine from school, he's one of the smartest human beings I've ever known in my life.
17:28-17:30
This guy's just like super genius.
17:31-18:10
So we go to the rodeo and we're sitting like, in the front. And he brings a book with him. I don't think it was this book, but he brought a book with him to the rodeo. And he sat there, do you remember this? He sat there the whole time for like three and a half hours of rodeo action. And you The announcer was blaring like, "Oh my goodness, Bucky McBuckerton just got impaled by a steer!
18:11-18:21
Oh, get the paramedics!" The whole time.
18:22-18:23
The whole time.
18:25-18:28
He just twisted that calf's head right off!
18:31-18:32
the whole time.
18:33-18:45
And I'm sure if you asked him, "What'd you think of the rodeo?" He would have been like, "It was okay." "No, it wasn't okay, it was fantastic!" Bucky McBuckerton got impaled, right?
18:45-18:50
Well, here's the point.
18:52-19:05
Sometimes we are so focused on ourselves, on what's right in front of us, that we neglect to look our eyes, to put our eyes rather, where they need to be, right?
19:08-19:10
Do you realize we're heading somewhere?
19:13-19:14
I'm sorry, should I have said spoiler alert?
19:18-19:29
Do you know the culmination of this salvation is going to result in eternity in paradise with our Savior and our God?
19:30-19:30
Amen?
19:31-19:34
And so often we're just like my buddy at the rodeo.
19:35-19:36
Like, we're missing it.
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Pick your eyes up.
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Lift your head.
19:45-19:47
You have an inheritance waiting for you.
19:50-19:57
And looking back, this life might seem so long and tedious now.
19:59-20:04
But when you look back on your time on earth from an eternal perspective, what's this life gonna look like?
20:07-20:10
Here and gone, man, here and gone.
20:12-20:18
See, usually what happens is our anticipation exceeds reality, that's what usually happens.
20:19-20:25
When we anticipate something, usually when the reality comes, we're a little disappointed.
20:25-20:27
So usually anticipation exceeds reality, is that true?
20:28-20:35
Let me tell you how that's true for me, and I'm gonna lose some of you again, but that train's already off the rails when I mentioned the rodeo.
20:40-20:41
The beach.
20:43-20:47
For beach, to me, the anticipation far exceeds reality.
20:49-20:50
Because we all, hey, you wanna go to the beach?
20:50-20:51
Like, woo-hoo, the beach.
20:52-20:53
That sounds like fun.
20:53-21:02
So we get to the beach, and we spread out our towel, and we sit down on our towel and it's hot and there's sand and there's salt water.
21:07-21:09
Is that anybody else?
21:10-21:10
Anybody else?
21:11-21:12
Thank you, Frank.
21:12-21:13
Thank you, Darren.
21:13-21:13
Thank you.
21:15-21:15
That's me.
21:18-21:24
I'm just like, all right, what's for lunch?
21:26-21:28
But you know what else is for me is fishing.
21:29-21:39
I know being a redneck, I feel bad now that my father's gone, but there were times dad would take his fishing down to Binks'.
21:40-21:50
Like he wants to go fishing, I'd be like, "Oh, oh, oh, fishing, fishing, fishing." "Oh, I love fishing." We'd go and we'd get all the stuff out and dad would help me get the night crawler on the line.
21:50-21:56
And, "Oh, Jeff, I think it's biting." And I'd reel it in and, "Oh, I got a fish, I got a fish." All right, throw 'em back.
21:57-21:59
All right, I'm gonna go take a nap.
22:00-22:03
Literally, like that's it, done.
22:03-22:06
Usually anticipation exceeds reality.
22:06-22:11
It sounds so good, or if you get a new car, right?
22:13-22:17
It was so great for a week, and then the first bill came for it.
22:20-22:22
Here's the thing about heaven.
22:23-22:28
The reality is so far going to exceed your anticipation.
22:31-22:33
If it were possible, your mind will be blown.
22:34-22:42
That's not gonna be possible in heaven, but if it were, the reality, you're gonna walk into heaven going, this is so much more awesome than I could have imagined.
22:42-22:44
It will be, it will be.
22:45-22:49
As great as you think heaven is going to be, you're not even close.
22:50-22:51
You are not even close.
22:52-24:16
All right? So let's focus on then and there, not here and now. Number two, and this is where it gets a little sticky. That's why Peter addresses it. Focus on the purpose of our trials, not the pain of our trials. Let's look at verses 6 and seven. Peter says, "In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. So Peter first of all he says, "In this you rejoice." In this what? Is he talking about the inheritance? Looking at the original language, this looks like it refers back to the word "mercy," which actually mercy sort of encompasses everything that follows, right? It's God's mercy that has causes to be born again, living hope, inheritance.
24:17-24:19
I think it's sort of an all of the above.
24:23-24:26
So focus on the purpose of our trials, not the pain of our trials.
24:27-24:30
Peter says, "In this you rejoice." Now, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
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Hang on a second, easy street.
24:34-24:35
Rejoice.
24:35-24:36
Good one.
24:38-24:38
Good one.
24:41-24:42
You know what, Pastor Jeff?
24:42-24:47
I'm not sure if your rose colored glasses are prescription, but let me help you see things from my perspective.
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Not very much to rejoice about.
24:51-24:52
I got problems.
24:55-24:58
Quick survey, how many people here this morning have problems?
24:59-24:59
Oh, good.
25:01-25:06
All right, so we're roped back in from the rodeo.
25:06-25:10
Sorry, using a rodeo metaphor to, I got problems.
25:12-25:13
I got problems, I got health problems.
25:14-25:15
I hear what you're saying, pastor.
25:15-25:16
Oh yeah, rejoice, rejoice, rejoice.
25:16-25:20
I got health problems and they're not going away.
25:23-25:26
And I have financial problems.
25:26-25:33
You know, this has been a hard economy and gas is like an arm and a leg right now and I can't hardly make ends meet.
25:34-25:36
And you're, rejoice, rejoice, rejoice.
25:38-25:38
Yeah.
25:39-25:41
I wish I had your charmed life.
25:43-25:45
You know, I got issues with my kids.
25:47-25:48
You know, you think you got problems?
25:49-25:52
I got children who are rebelling against me.
25:55-25:56
Mr. Rejoice.
25:57-26:00
That's easy for you to say, "You don't know the problems that I'm having in my marriage.
26:04-26:48
You don't know these struggles that my wife and I have tried to work on and now we've refused to work on and I'll rejoice. I'd like to take a trip through your little fantasy land. You don't work where I work. You know, you work, what, 40 minutes a week, Pastor Jeff. I actually go to a job where I have to work. And let me tell you what, "My boss isn't perfect like yours is, Jeff." So I hear what you're saying about all this rejoice, but my question is, what about all the trials?
26:49-26:52
What about the health and finances and children and marriage and job issues?
26:52-26:53
And what about the trials?
26:54-26:55
Well, that's what Peter's talking about here.
26:56-26:59
He gives us five reminders about trials, and you better write these down.
27:00-27:07
Because if you're not in a trial right now, you're like 15 minutes away from being in one, right?
27:10-27:11
So write this down.
27:12-27:15
Here's what Peter says, I'm not making this up, it's all straight from the text.
27:18-27:24
Verse six, he says, "And as you rejoice, "though now for a little while," first of all, trials don't last.
27:25-27:27
That's the first thing, he says trials don't last.
27:29-27:30
Trials don't last.
27:35-27:36
Right?
27:37-27:38
Can we get a testimony on that?
27:39-27:40
Anybody here ever been through a trial?
27:40-27:43
Like, oh, that was a very difficult season in my life and God brought me through it?
27:44-27:48
Like, yeah, probably most or all of us have been through that.
27:49-27:51
Yeah, it was hard at the time and God got me through it.
27:52-27:53
Trials don't last forever.
27:53-27:55
Oh, hang on a second, Pastor Jeff.
27:58-27:59
Some trials don't go away.
28:01-28:03
Some trials don't go away.
28:06-28:08
Actually, let me speak for myself now.
28:10-28:12
As you know, we have two children with autism.
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And we've done all sorts of different biomedical, holistic type treatments, and the problem isn't going away.
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So like, well, what do you say about that, Pastor Jeff?
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I mean, Peter says, you know, now for a little while, you might be dealing with autism the rest of your life.
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Newsflash, I'm not taking it to heaven with me and neither are my kids, right?
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So this is sort of one of those for a little while things, right?
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Just a little while.
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And I'm gonna share with you, this is my prayer.
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I know I've shared this with you in the past, But this is my prayer, just as in Revelation, John saw death cast into the lake of fire.
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Remember that part?
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Somehow he saw the embodiment of death cast into the lake of fire.
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And it is my prayer that on that day, autism is embodied as something, and God cast it into the lake of fire, but autism catches itself right at the edge like this.
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And the Lord grants me permission to go in Finish the job!
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There's gonna be a line, but I promise you, I will trample whoever I have to to get to the front of that line.
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Into the lake you go, autism.
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But look, it's not gonna last forever.
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It's not going to last forever.
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Number B.
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(laughing)
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Trials serve a purpose.
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Again, right from the text, "though not for a little while," he says, "if necessary." "If necessary." You know, God has said a lot of things in his word, but there's one thing God has never said and he never will say.
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You know what it is? Whoops.
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God's never said it.
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He's never said whoops ever.
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So understand that this trial that you're going through, it's not like God is like, oh, I'm doing this revival over here in China.
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And oh my gosh, I totally forgot what was happening with Mike Gates.
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I just totally missed that.
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Sorry about that, Mike.
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That doesn't happen.
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That's never gonna happen.
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God never says, whoops.
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He never shows up even a second late.
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But he uses the trials that we go through to serve a purpose.
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Sometimes it's humility.
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Anything that humbles me can't be bad for me.
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Sometimes it's just to put our eyes on heaven to say, oh, I can't wait to get to heaven.
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Sometimes it's to help others.
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You know, I shared with you about the whole autism thing.
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Tomorrow, Aaron and I actually had written a book about how to keep your marriage together through autism.
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And that finished printing on Friday and it's gonna be available tomorrow.
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but God has put us in a position.
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Do you know the divorce rate of parents of autistic kids is 80%?
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Did you know that?
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Take 10 parents of autistic kids, eight of them are gonna get a divorce.
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Eight out of 10 marriages fail.
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And that's what our book is about, is if God can use us to save some marriages and help people see it from his perspective.
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So sometimes God permits the trials that you're going through so that you can minister others. Letter C trials remind us of our dependence on God. He said if necessary, or for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved. You have been grieved.
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Have you been grieved to the point of just getting on your face and saying, "God, I need you. God, I need you. I don't need a new this or a new that or a fancy medication or a... God, what I need is you.
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Trials remind us of our dependence on God. Letter D, trials. Another reminder from Peter.
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Trials come in many forms.
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Trials come in many forms.
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You going through some trials?
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Yeah, me too.
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That's why we need to be careful that we don't like line them up and compare them, right?
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Like I don't see why you guys are so upset.
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I wish I had your problems.
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No, I don't.
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I don't, I got enough of my own problem.
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Well, let's trade.
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You wouldn't want my problems.
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We all have our own, right?
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Well, they come in various forms.
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You got some, I got some.
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Letter E, trials prove faith.
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Trials prove faith.
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That's what he was talking about in verse seven.
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Did you catch that?
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He said, "So that the tested genuineness of your faith." But listen, who's the test for?
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Who's the test for?
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Point to who the test is for.
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Yeah, you understand the test isn't for God, right?
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You understand that, that God's not like, I'm not quite sure if he's a Christian.
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I wonder how I'm gonna find out.
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Oh, I know, I'll put him through some trials.
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Yep, he's hanging on to the faith. He must be...
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He knows.
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So who's the test? It's for me. It's for you.
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See, here's the beautiful thing.
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Your trials are your proof for yourself that your faith is real.
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If your trials and tribulations make you flee from God, that certainly tells you something.
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But how sad would it be to go through life not really sure how rock solid your faith is?
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Wouldn't it be sad to live a worry-free, trial-free life?
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Nothing's ever really upset your apple cart very much.
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God allows trials in your life. One of the beautiful purposes of trials is when you come through the other side Yet I will trust him yet I will trust him How does the world cope with trials by the way booze drugs Sexual addictions self-help Well, all those things go through the fire and get burned up.
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But faith, Peter says, like gold comes through the fire to be even more pure on the other side.
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You are never going to know that God is a comforter until you need what?
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Until you need comfort.
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You are never going to know that God is a shield until you need protection.
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You are never going to understand that God is a provider until you're in that place where if he doesn't provide, it's all over.
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You're never going to know that God is a healer unless you go through an illness that He heals.
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So the question is, what is your trial right now?
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What is your trial right now?
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What is God bringing you through right now?
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Can we pause and just thank God for it?
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Bow your heads with me.
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We're not done with the sermon yet, but I just wanna pause here.
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Bow your heads.
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This is an act of the will, because I'm sure for some of us here, like I don't feel like thanking God for it.
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That's okay.
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This is a matter of the will.
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God, we pause.
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I lift up my brothers and sisters in this room.
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God, you know the victories and the struggles of every single individual in this room.
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But just know that I wanna lift the trials before you.
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And God, I wanna say thank you.
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And sometimes it's hard to say thank you for the thing that hurts.
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But that's only when we don't see the purpose behind it.
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So God, thank you.
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Thank you for the trials that you're bringing Aaron and I through right now.
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It's not easy.
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It's not fun and it's certainly not something we would have signed up for.
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But we thank you and pray that your purposes are accomplished.
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And I pray that for my brothers and sisters here.
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Let your perfect will be done.
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That whether it's next week, next year, in 20 years or in eternity, whenever that is, I pray that they'd be able to look back and say, I see why God did that.
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And I thank God for bringing me through that valley.
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We pray in Jesus' name, amen.
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One more.
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So we're going to focus on then and there, not here and now.
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We're going to focus on the purpose of our trials, not the pain of our trials.
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Last thing is we're going to focus on the relationship with Christ, not a religion for Christ.
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This is about relationship, and you see it in verses eight and nine.
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Look again with me.
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Though you have not seen him, you love him.
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Though you do not now see Him, you believe in Him.
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Anybody here seen Jesus?
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No, none of us have seen Him.
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That's what Peter's talking about here.
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That though we have not seen Him, we love Him and believe in Him.
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up again, verse 8, "You believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls." Focus on the relationship with Christ, not a religion for Christ.
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Too many people are joyless because either, first of all, they don't know Christ, or even And many people who do know Christ think that religion is the answer.
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Well, I'll just get religious.
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I'll just get religious.
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I hear what you're saying, Pastor Jeff, and I'll just get me some religion.
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Have you been around like religious people?
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Have you ever been around people?
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You know what I mean, the I keep the rules people.
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Have you been around those people?
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Well, we keep the rules.
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We don't play cards.
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Cards are of the devil.
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Dance, we don't dance.
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Or even public pool, there should never be, you know, opposite sex in the same pool.
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I even read an account one time where they didn't let married couples be in the pool together.
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Because that was the rule.
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And we keep the rules.
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The rules are joy killers.
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Christ didn't save us to bring us into a new list of man-made rules.
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That's why Peter here doesn't say, well, if you want joy, here's the rules.
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It's about relationship.
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And we're not saying, you know, now that you're a Christian, anything goes.
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Not saying that whatsoever.
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But the Bible warns us so many times, the New Testament warns us about falling into legalism, falling into legalism, thinking that I'm going to do something that's going to make God happy with me.
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And here's the rules, and when I keep the rules, God's happy, and when I don't keep the rules, God's mad.
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That's, it's nonsense.
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God is happy with you because of what Jesus Christ has done.
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And receiving him means receiving God's pardon. Okay.
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So what's the essence of relationship?
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Well, it's right here in the verses. It's love and trust.
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That's the essence of being a Christian.
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That's the essence of relationship.
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It's loving Christ and trusting Christ.
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He says, "You haven't seen Him, but you love Him.
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You haven't seen Him, but you believe in Him. You trust Him." The essence of every relationship, right?
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Isn't that every relationship, whether it's marriage or friendship, you've got to have those two things, love and trust.
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It's true in your marriage, right?
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Married people, do you love your spouse? Do you love your spouse?
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You better.
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Let me ask you that, Laura. Do you trust him?
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Okay, that's important. That has to be in there too.
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right?
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It's the same with the Lord. "Well, I love Jesus, I just don't trust Him." But you know, nobody would actually say that, but some people live like that. "Well, yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm a Christian, but I'm not really sure if all that stuff in the Bible is true." Really?
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Now, the Word of God's in question. You're undermining the integrity of God. That's a trust issue. That's why at Harvest Bible Chapel, Bible's our middle name. We believe the Word of God. It's a trust issue. God said it, we believe it. And if you have trust, you've got to have love too, right?
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So joy comes from the relationship with Christ, and growing in that relationship is what grows your joy. It's knowing that He is with you. We just sang that song, "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death." I'm thinking of a psalm now and I can't think of the song, but the Redmond song, right?
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We just sang that He's with us. But do you know that He is for you? Did you know that? If can be against us.
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He is for you.
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Do you know that God hears you?
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Do you know that God sustains you?
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What should that result in in this relationship?
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He says, rejoice with joy that is inexpressible.
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This is actually the only place in the Bible this word is used, inexpressible.
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You're like, well, what's that joy like?
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Can you explain it to me, Pastor Jeff?
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Yeah, I can actually.
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It's like, well, it's joy that's sort of like, let me back up.
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This joy of having that relationship with the living God is like, It's, what's the word?
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What's the word?
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Inexpressible.
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That's exactly what he's saying.
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Literally the word means it's higher than speech.
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That's what it means.
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Like put into words the joy that Jesus Christ gives.
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The answer is I can not do it because there are no words, not in English, not in Greek, not in Pig Latin.
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There are no words to describe the joy that we have in Jesus Christ.
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There are so many songs that have been written and sung to express love and joy that we have for other people, right?
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So for you to say, well, you know, Aaron, I love you so much, there just aren't any words.
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Well, that's not really true.
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There's lots of words that I can use to describe the love and the joy that I have for my wife.
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But let's be honest, some of the songs that come out to express some of these things, some of them are just flat out silly, aren't they?
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When I was a kid, I was thinking about this week.
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There was this song, I'm gonna sing it for you.
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That's what I thought, I'm going to sing it for you.
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But this was a song to express love and joy in a horizontal relationship.
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And the song was, do you remember this?
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I love you, period.
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How many people remember that song?
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My wife and my brother.
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Colleen, do you remember that?
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Oh, and Colleen, do you remember that song?
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Do you love me?
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Next line.
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Question mark.
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Please, please.
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Exclamation point, I wanna hold you in parentheses, right?
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Isn't that the dumbest thing you've ever heard of?
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And we could go on and on and on about stupid things that we say to express it, but here's the thing.
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The love and the joy that comes from a relationship with Jesus Christ is higher than speech.
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It is higher than speech.
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It's just like, oh, oh, I just, oh.
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Love him so much.
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Like, well, I hear what you're saying, Pastor Jeff.
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That sounds good.
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So I'll have joy when I get to heaven.
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Incorrect.
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Verse nine.
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Obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
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He doesn't say that you will obtain.
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Someday you will obtain the outcome of your faith.
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He says obtaining, it's present tense.
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Meaning this is something that is constantly happening.
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Right now, we have everything that we need for joy because joy comes from salvation.
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And when do you get salvation?
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You have it now.
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If you're a born again believer in Jesus Christ, you have it now.
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I have it.
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I have it.
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Isn't that awesome?
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Isn't that awesome?
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Let's dispel the heresy that we trudge through life Life is just meant to be miserable, and then when we get to heaven, that's when we have joy.
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I have it now.
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I'm loved by God.
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I have been delivered.
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I have been made alive in Christ.
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My best days are ahead.
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So next week, we're going to start our series on a book in the Bible all about joy.
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As I told you, we're gonna be in book of Philippians, and it's my prayer for this church, that we would grow in the Lord, and as a result we would grow in joy.
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Because here's the thing, the greatest joy that you can experience on earth is not only possible, it's provided through Jesus Christ. Have you felt like, "It's been a while since I've been there, man. It's been a while. We're getting back there. God has it for us in Christ."
Small Group Questions (Whole Group):
Read 1 Peter 1:3-9
Breakout Questions:
Pray for one another.