March 17, 2025
THE STAND
Subject: JOY
CHRISTIAN JOY
I AM COME THAT YOUR JOY MIGHT BE FULL!
The words, my fellow Christians, of the Messiah, the Savior, the Son of God.
My purpose for coming, among other things, is to bring to this suffering world:
JOY.
Joy abundant, life abundant.
You are here, I am here, on this earth, all of us who, by grace, have been saved through faith, as a result of that blessed gift of God, HIM, are on this earth to live joyfully.
DO YOU? … Do you?
This world and the people in it can be hateful, very hateful. Mankind can be angry, lie, the truth not in them. Persons and nations can be warlike, unloving; and you, even the very best of Christians, can be sad, angry at times, negative and worst of all, worry warts, worrying and afraid so often. Nothing but nothing grieves the heart of our savior, who came with his special message of salvation, then a sad believer who worries, continually worries about everything.
If you have found the pearl of great price, if you have been incredibly blessed with the God-given gift of salvation, if you have entered into that special earthly and soon to be eternally blessed relationship with Jesus Christ, how can you possibly worry about anything?
If God, in Christ, be with us, for us:
WHO CAN BE AGAINST US?
WHY DO YOU WORRY, WHY?
You can’t change anything, not even one thing which will happen tomorrow. It will happen as God wills it, whether you worry about it or not. So why waste the precious time God has given you with worry, why?
This, my fellow Christian, is the day which the Lord hath made. Let us, you and me, and all believers, REJOICE and be glad therein. This whole day, BE GLAD! You have something, you have found something, you have been divinely given something which another may not have. Therefore, says your Lord, your Savior:
BE OF GOOD CHEER.
Be cheerful. Look the part of a Christian. Let your face and body glow with the glory of the Lord. Don’t worry: Be Happy! Rejoice! And live life to the fullest, live life abundantly as our Lord commanded. That wise man, King Solomon, says that mankind is short of days and full of trouble. But Jesus of Nazareth said that I and mine are full of joy, happy, cheerful, men and women who delight in every minute of every day. They waste not a moment of this God-given life. Those incredibly blessed believers live by this life motto:
THIS IS THE DAY WHICH THE LORD HAS MADE. LET US BE GLAD, GLAD AND REJOICE, REJOICE THEREIN!
Do you do that? Is that you? If you are Christian, real Christian, should that not be you?
Then says the Lord, all day long:
THINK ON THESE THINGS.
Think on the positive. Whatsoever is good, and righteous, and just, and loving, THINK ON ALL THESE GOOD AND POSITIVE THINGS. Carry the positive, the joy in your head and heart all day long, ALL DAY LONG!
For, says the Apostle:
AS THE PERSON THINKS IN HIS OR HER HEART, AND HEAD, SO THAT PERSON IS!
In short, you are at least that day, what you think.
So, we should let not the sin of worry enter our heads or hearts.
Every day, the joyful, rejoicing, true believer should pray, and pray says scripture without ceasing, all the time. That prayer should be offered with thanks, thanking God for everything, rejoicing in all the good things:
COUNTING YOUR BLESSINGS.
Not your problems, not stuff to worry about, but:
YOUR BLESSINGS
Which are far too numerous for you to ever mention all of them, even in one full day’s time. Have you ever stopped to think how many blessings you have, how rich and rewarding they are, and how grateful you should be to the God of Abraham, the father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who made you and me, and all, and offered countless blessings to everyone, every one!
That should make us, like King David of old, be glad and sing for joy, SING FOR JOY.
No matter what kind of singing voice you may have, let your soul erupt in song, joyful noise to the Lord. Sing, and sing loudly and lovingly, SING FOR JOY!
If God before us, who can be against us. If no one who comes against us can destroy us, then why worry? How wonderful this day, every day would be if we would follow the greatest commandment and spend that day in love of the Lord our God with all of our heart, soul, strength, and mind, and our neighbor as ourselves. Do you believe that prayer? Do you pray it, and will you do so today and every day? If you do, you will never have time for worry, doubt, fear, anger, sadness, but rather you could practice love for every neighbor and perhaps as importantly, yourself, your new self, your bornagain self.
So, my fellow Christian, be happy. Have a good laugh, many of them this day. Let that laugh reflect the joy and the happiness within. Sing praises to the Lord. Let your joy be full of Jesus. Get everything which the Lord has promised for you this very day and give it back to others, and praise Him for it. Sing this wonderful little song everyday:
HAPPY AM I
JESUS LOVES ME
HE TOOK MY SINS AND HE MADE ME FREE
NOW I’M SINGING A SWEET SONG
SO HAPPY AM I
Do that and more everyday if you are a true believer, in love with the Lord, redeemed, born again and forgiven, and let this commandment rule your day:
THIS IS THE DAY WHICH THE LORD HAS MADE,
LET US BE GLAD AND REJOICE THEREIN!
Make that you!
