Joy in the Journey: Embracing Life's Ups and Downs || Pastor Nathan Mesa

This is so awesome.

I love cinematic adventures. Look at all these people standing

in line waiting to get their delicious tides. They love

cinematic adventures as well. See the movies, aren't dead.

People love getting out.

Oh I not that bag.

I wonder where she got it. Hey, I love your bag.

Gotta find that bagh.

Wow, it's so expensive.

I don't think I can afford it.

Nope, I'll be able to afford it one day.

Safe Safe Safe means half have half.

You know.

Long lines aren't that bad. It gives me.

Time to reflect, teaches me patience, It teaches me to

be kind out. Oh it's I kind of hurt.

It's okay.

She's probably just having a bad day.

That's what it is.

Poor girl.

She didn't even say she was sorry.

I'm just gonna send.

Her some positive vibes.

She deserves it, she needs it. In fact, we all

we all need it. Oh wait, I need to catch

your name.

No worries, I'm sure I'll see you in the movie theater.

Oh I'm next.

Everyone why.

Say h.

M hmmmm?

I love its heart.

Oh, perfect timing, that's my favorite part.

Oh, look at this kid, old tribe. I love it,

it goes there comes back.

Oh. I love her dress.

It's lonely.

That's the best thing I've ever seen in my life.

Mm hmmm mm hmmm, mm hmmm mm hmm.

That's where I said, mm hmmm mm hmmm.

Chi can dance, She can dance. How how is nobody here?

This is such a great movie. This is my verite fart.

Oh no, this is my that's my repart.

Oh he's so handsome. I love his skirtles. M hmm.

Look at that.

It's so beautiful. Oh oh yes, don't you cary nothing.

My bell will come on.

He's on.

Down and Rot.

Directed Direct, dic direct Direct.

Let's fine.

I want to be with somebody, but with somebody loves B.

I want to be on a pep with somebody, then B.

With South love.

A line with the sound of Musy.

This is joy with an unstoppable spirit and unbeatable energy.

Joy brings us smile to your face and no who cares?

But it's party.

Hi, No, please sit down, there's plenty of rain.

Make yourselves cozy.

Thank you, black pop, No, thank you. Okay, this is

my favorite part.

Oh. You know, there's something about joy where you just

can't help, but be around it. Niamiah chapter eight says,

do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is

your strength.

Now I love thinking about that, because joy takes a

little bit of work.

There's a reason why Niamiah is encouraged to say don't grieve,

which we could find as an expression of one of

the emotions. And usually when I come into this movie theater,

I'm here cleaning up after many of the emotions. But

joy is a lot less messy. There's great movies that

we see today, whether it be the character Joy, the

Main Themed one and Inside Out one and two, or

you see movies like La La Land or Greatest Showmen,

where joy is an expression through song and dance and merriment.

There's a reason why happiness and joy are a little

bit different. Happiness tends to be because of circumstance. But

as we've seen today, joy has gone through some circumstance,

whether it be in the movie theater or in the

lobby of the movie theater. Joy faced many circumstances that

easily could have caused anger, frustration, anxiety, sadness. But because

joy is not connected to the environment or the circumstance,

it's an expression of a deep contentment inside to really

see the glass half full at all times. You know,

joy is very easy to be around. All other emotions

that we often find ourselves to be around are very

hard or difficult, whether we find ourselves.

In those emotions or not.

Joy is something that any of us should be happy

to see expressed every single day, and the Bible teaches

us that contentment in God often leads to joy. So

I encourage you not to focus on happiness, but allow

the joy of God to overflow today. But I'm going

to be quiet so that we can finish this movie

because joy is enjoyable.

Oh this is one of my favorite parts too. I'm

so glad you joined me.

All right, God, Well, good morning, family, welcome to week

five of at the Movies. You've been with us the

whole month. Congratulations you made it to the end, and

today we get to talk about the finale of joy.

So far we have navigated through emotions of anxiety and fear,

anger and sadness. But today we are going to end

on a high note as we take a look at

what joy looks like within our life. Like pastor Adam shared,

you know, oftentimes people think that joy and happiness are

interchangeable or.

Mean the same thing.

But that's not true at all, because happiness deals with

what's going on on the outside. Happiness deals with circumstance.

Happiness deals with surface needs. It's cosmetic. It's the result

of conditions that are happening to us and around us.

If I get a promotion, best believe, I'm gonna be happy.

If I get a new car, I'm gonna be happy.

If I get a new job. I'm gonna be happy

for some of us if we desire to get married.

When we get married, i'm gonna be happy for others.

If you get a divorce, you may be happy. Don't

look at your neighbor.

I'm kidding. I'm kidding.

Here's the thing, though, When anything goes wrong on the

other hand, guess what that's when we see sadness and

anxiety and fear begin to rise. Because all those things

affected us just from the outside, and before we know it,

we all can feel as if.

We have lost some joy within our life. So then

what is joy?

Well pastor Adam briefly shared a little bit is that joy,

on the other hand, is the expression a deep contentment

from the inside.

Joy depends fully on the Lord.

Joy is rooted in character. It deals with our deepest needs.

If you have your Bibles, I want you to turn

with me to John fifteen. This is gonna be our

starting passage this morning. And as we turn to John fifteen,

I'm gonna ask that you stand as we read the

Word of God together. We're gonna read a few verses,

but I believe it's very important that we read the

whole passage as we get a greater understanding of what

God desires joy to look like within our life. We're

gonna begin reading in John fifteen in verse one. If

you're with me, say amen, I am the true vine,

and my Father is the vine dresser. Every branch in

me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and

every branch that does bear fruit he prunes that it

may be and bear more fruit. Already you are clear

because of the word that I have spoken over you.

Abide say abide. Abide is to remain or stay or dwell.

Keep that in your head as we read, Family, abide

in me and I in you. As the branch cannot

bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine,

neither can you unless you abide in me. I am

the vine, and you are the branches. Whoever abides in

me and I in him, he it is that bears

much fruit. For apart from me, you can do nothing.

If anyone does not abide in me, he's thrown away

like a branch that withers, and the branches are gathered

and thrown into the fire and burned. But if you

abide in me and my words abide in you, ask

whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

By this, my Father is glorified that you bear much

fruit and so prove to be my disciples.

As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you.

You abide in my love.

If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love,

just as I have kept my father's commandments and abide

in his love.

Here we go at the end these things. I have

spoken to you that my.

Joy, say joy, that my joy be in you, and

that your joy may be full.

Say it with me full you may be seated. God.

We just thank you Father for your word. Today.

Father, help us God to understand what your joy looks like.

May our joy overfill today by being in your presence. Father,

May I just be a willing vessel in the Holy Spirit.

Move today in your Mighty name.

We pray Amen, powerful words that we're gonna break down

in a moment. From Jesus, I love. Pastor Rick Warren's

definition of joy. He says that joy is the settled

assurance that God is in control of all the details

of my life. That's how we can have joy today

no matter what may be going on in our life.

It is the quiet confidence that ultimately everything is going

to be all right, and the determined choice to praise

God in every situation. Everyone wants joy, whether you are

a Christian or a not. Everyone wants some type of

joy within their life. But people are looking for in

all the wrong places. They don't know if joy is

a result of money, if it's a result of a

better friendship, if it's a result of a better career,

if it's the result of a bigger house, if it's the.

Result of a political candidate. Are you with me? We

don't know what joy is or looks like. But joy

is not about any of that.

All of those things that I listed are circumstantial. Joy,

as we read, comes from abiding. Remember I listened off

some other words that abiding me Joy comes from dwelling

with God. Joy comes from staying with God. Joy comes

from connecting to God.

That is where joy comes from.

I love John fifteen because as Jesus does, he gives

us this beautiful metaphor before us, he says that God

the Father is the vine dresser. The vine dresser is

also a word like the gardener. God the Father is

the gardener and vine dresser. He is the one with

purpose and intention for our life. And then we have Jesus.

Jesus is the vine. Jesus is a result that comes

from the Father's intention. And the purpose of Jesus is

to provide nourishment and resource for our life and brings

life into the branch.

And then we have the branch. And you and I

are the branch.

And you and I have an important job as we

are just to stay connected to the vine. And as

we stay connected to Jesus, what begins to happen is

in our life is that we are able to begin

to bear fruit. Family, that's a result. Fruit only comes

from Jesus and staying connected to him.

So what is this fruit? Well, I'm glad you asked.

Joy is a fruit of the spirit, among others.

Joy is a result of the Holy Spirit moving within

our life that you and I could have today when

we are connected to Jesus.

But there is no shortcut, there.

Is no easy way, There is no magic pill to

obtain joy in our life outside of Jesus.

You can be happy by something, but you will never

have fulfillment of joy.

Unless you know Jesus passor Francis Chan gives a great

thought to this. You know, I have a vine here,

and this is a real, live, beautiful vine from our

gardens here at Patria, and on vine it's already producing

some beautiful fruit.

But I'm gonna ask you a question.

Do you think if all of us came together and

we all began to pray over this vine, and we

all laid hands on this vine and we covered it

in anointing oil, do you think that we could create

more fruit on this vine together? No, some of you

sound like I don't know, maybe maybe not. Well, well,

let's let's try it this morning. All right here, I'm

gonna try Here we go. Ready, No, nothing nothing yet,

nothing that just this side. Okay, I'm gonna try it again.

All right, here we go. I'm gonna do it again.

Here we go. Help me out. Come on, we.

Man nothing still the same fruit. I didn't get nothing

else out of it. And I know you're looking at

me crazy up here, thinking fascinating, what the heck are

you doing up there? But here's the thing, Family, I

believe that's what Jesus does to us in our life.

Do you know how.

Crazy you look when you are not abiding in me?

Do you know how crazy you look my son, my

daughter when you are trying to make joy happen on

your own.

When you do that and try to obtain that, all

you are doing is you are working in vain.

You will never see fruit and joy in your life

unless you are biding in me.

You're connected to me, you stay attached to the Vine.

Family, we have to stop chasing joy and everything that

comes with it, and we need to chase Jesus because

as we chase Jesus, joy is a result of us

and our relationship with him. You know, this whole month

has been built around the Disney movie Inside Out, And

if you've been with us this month, as I said,

you know that we have navigated through these emotions within

our life.

And the main character is a.

Young girl named Riley and her dominant emotion is joy,

and Joy did not like sadness and anger to have

any role in Riley's life. Joy desired to suppress all

those negative emotions that only wanted Riley.

To be joy and be happy all the time.

But here's the thing, family, God uses all of our

emotions to shape who we are, and it centers around

the fullness of joy that only Jesus can provide.

I want to help some of us out today. I

want you to think back back in the day when

you used to go to the club. Don't look at

your neighbor, say looking at me, don't judge no one

around you. You know, before you go into the club,

you were met with someone at the door, and that

was what the bouncer. You said, Hey, how'd you know that?

I told you, don't look at your neighbor.

You see, the role of the bouncer, and the purpose

of the bouncer was to make sure that what the

right people get into the club. It was their job

to make sure that it was the right age, the

prettiest girls, the dudes with the best swag. It was

their job to help regulate the environment and the atmosphere

of that dance club. I want to help us out

today that often people view joy as the bouncer against

life's trials and emotions, trying to push negative emotions out

the way that I can't be a Christian with joy

and be angry, that I can't be a Christian with joy.

And have sadness.

But the joy of the Lord Family is not meant

to exclude emotions like anger and sadness or anxiety.

Instead, what joy does, through the help of the Holy Spirit.

Allows us to bring these feelings towards God together, trusting

that it is His joy that is going to help

us process and bring us through. It is not the

absence of suffering or pain in any kind, but it

is abiding in the presence of God that carries us

through these moments and trials within our life. With the

short time we have, I want us to take a

look more specifically at what joy looks like within our life.

If you turn with me now to Act sixteen, We're

gonna read through a familiar story maybe to some of you,

but I want to focus around this on what joy

looks like through the life of Paul and Silas. And

if you are taking notes, the two points are joy

endures and joy multiplies when you get to Act sixteen,

I'm gonna just give some brief context. At this point,

Paul and Silas are continuing their journey in ministry, and

they're bringing so many families together to know Jesus and

fill up, and the early church is growing. And one

day while they were in the town center, they encountered

a demon possessed slave girl. And the demon possessed slave

girl was torturing Paul and Silas. You see, this young

girl made money by telling fortunes through the demon, and

so as this demon was torturing Paul and Silas, one

day Paul had enough and he commanded the demon to

flee the girl, and the demon left. Well, the owners

of this girl did not like that at all, because

now you affected what their pocketbook, and so they were

livid and they brought Paul in Silas before the authorities to.

Be held accountable.

And as they did, they stripped them, they beat them,

and they threw them into jail. I want to break

down that in the scripture it says that they beat

them with stripes. The Greek word here means play gay,

which means that they were violently beaten. They were wounded

upon wounded and received violent blows. These men were not

just a couple little sucker punched. They were most likely

beaten unrecognizable before they were thrown into jail.

And now we're going to pick up in verse twenty five.

It says about midnight, Paul and Silace were praying and

singing hymns.

Say that with me praying and singing hymns right after I.

Just described what had happened to them, and the prisoners

were listening to them. And suddenly there was a great earthquake,

So the foundations of the prison were shaken, and immediately

all the doors were opened, and everyone's bond was unfastened.

And when the jailer woke, he saw the prison doors

were open, and he drew his sword and was about

to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped, but

Paul said with a loud boys, do not harm yourself,

for we all are here. There's no doubt that Paul

and Silas were human just like us. Paul and Silas,

I believe would have navigated fear in that moment. They

probably navigated anxiety in that moment. They definitely experienced a

physical pain in that moment.

Yet in all of this. The Bible says that they

had the courage to pray and sing in the mist.

And here we are and someone talks behind our back,

and we think our world is crashing down. Are they

more special than us? Are they more Christian than us?

Are they stronger than us? No?

I don't think so. What I do believe, though, is.

I believe that they lived and believed in Nehemiah eight ten,

that the joy of the Lord is their strength. Without

I don't have strength, But with joy I have strength

to endure. The joy of the Lord. And the strength

of the Lord is not some kid's Bible song that

we sang in Bible school. It's not just reading the scripture,

but it's in applying the scripture within our life.

The joy of the Lord is glorifying God on a

daily basis.

In our interactions and spending time with the Lord and

telling others of God's faithfulness within our life.

Family. John Piper says that their.

Bodies were beaten and their feet were in stocks, and

still they sing. The kind of joy that filled Paul

and Silas was not rooted in comfort and ease, but

it was rooted in the unshakable reality of Christ's presence

with them. One of my favorite verses is the Psalm

sixteen eleven that in the presence of God, there is

a fullness of joy at your right hand, our pleasures forevermore.

You and I might not be able to alter our

experience that comes into our life, but we are absolutely

able to alter our attitude.

By being in the presence of God.

Family, Paul and Silas's attitude did not match the experience

that was happening around them. You see, their experience said pain,

their experience said hurt, Their experience said anxiety. But their

attitude said joy. Their attitude said peace, Their attitude said praise.

In the midst of it all, it is in the

eternal presence of the Spirit of God in our life

where we discover that joy can endure when.

We stay connected to Jesus.

You know, like the intro video that we just saw,

we all know that one person who is always on

a level ten joy?

Is it? Anybody with me?

I mean, from smiling to encouraging to in your face

they're just like you're like.

Whoa, Like you're just a little too much sometimes?

Like are you always? Are you always like this? Like

I've never seen you discouraged. I've never seen you upset

like this is you all the time? Are you ever angry?

Does anybody have someone like that in their life.

There's some people that come to mind here at Patria

that I want to share with you.

The first is Deanna Matisse.

If you know Deanna, then I guarantee you have received

a voice memo from her at some point in a text.

And Deanna sends these amazing encouraging words and voicemails to

help uplift you. She is here serving at almost every

event and every service. It's almost as if you've never

seen Deanna not happy. The other individual that you will

be familiar with is mister k this Row, who's on

our elder and Deacon. I have never seen that man

not smile, whether it be in growth track or up

here at the front praying. He is gonna greet you

with the biggest bear hug, He is gonna shake your hand,

and he is gonna encourage you all the way. And

here's the thing you think, and you're like, gosh, do

they ever have a bad day? It doesn't mean that

they don't, because they do. I know their stories, I

know their testimonies, I know seasons of their life that

have been hard. But with each of those individuals, what

I know is that joy endures because they have tapped

into a joy of the Lord that gives them strength.

And they are no different or special than you and I.

We can find that strength today, family, So how do

we have a joy that endures? I want to share

a few things with you. The first is we need

to stay in the presence of God. We have to

stay connected to the vine.

The next is, don't attach joy to circumstances. Stop attaching

joy to a man, a woman, a job, a dollar.

A position, those things are all fleeting. Lean on community.

Paul and Silas had each other through it all. Paul

and Silas were able to lean on each other. When

I read this word Pastor Kenny, I almost envisioned them

back to back in that jail celle or arm to arm,

because they were going through this together. Their joy was together. Next,

we have to learn from adversity. We have to get

back up again.

And lastly, we have to stop focusing on what you

cannot change.

When we focus on things that we cannot change, that

is where all the other negative emotions begin to foster

within our life. As we continue on. I want to

bring our attention back to verse twenty five. In verse

twenty five, it says about midnight, Paul and Silas were

praying and singing hymns to God, which we discovered, and

the prisoners were listening. Turn to a neighbor and say, listening.

People were listening around them. What comes out of your mouth?

People are listening, Especially if you say I'm a Christian

and I'm a christ follower, you better believe they are

listening to every word and every action of our life

that we do. And in verse twenty nine, after the

great earthquake and after God displayed his amazing power, we

pick up in verse twenty nine, and I want us

to read. And the jailer called for the lights and

rushed in, and he trembled with fear and fell down

before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them out and said, sirs,

what must I do to be saved? And they said,

believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved,

both you and what your household. And they spoke the

word of the Lord to him and all who was

in their house. And he took them from the same

hour of the night, washed their wounds, and he was

baptized at once.

Here it is again he and all his family.

I don't know what all his family looked like, but

that could have been his mama, his grandma, his cousin,

his auntie, his nieces.

His nephews. Here's the thing I want us to understand.

In the last few minutes, Scripture tells us that the

jailers were actively listening to Paul and Silas. The Greek

word here would mean that they were listening with pleasure.

Come on, tell me you don't love that they were

listening with pleasure. The praise and the prayer coming out

of their mouth, the joy that was exuding from them

was pleasurable to everyone around them. Is your song pleasurable today?

Is your voice pleasurable to those that you work with?

Is your song your lifestyle pleasurable to your neighbors and

those that you interact with. I'm stepping on my toes

just as much as you family, as I was.

In the word of God.

Here's the thing, as we take a look at this,

what started off with a few fellow jailers who were

probably thinking, what is that sound?

These men were just beaten.

How in the world are they now singing and praising

to God in the most worst physical place that they

could be, but also mental, there.

Was this joy that was exuding from them.

I could only imagine what the other Jaylor's thought and

how they could be thinking. They are shackled, but yet

their joy is being released in the midst of it all.

These men probably heard never heard.

Anything like that before, and even in the midnight hour

when God set Paul and Silas free, their joy and

the obedience, like we read, would lead to the jailer

or the guard wanting to know who is this God

that you serve? And how do I get saved? How

he asked, He desired to know how to be saved.

What we need to understand, family, is the joy that

we receive from Jesus is not just meant for us.

Joy has the ability to multiply within our life when.

We stay connected to the vine.

You know.

In twenty sixteen, I was perusing Instagram like many of

us do, and this ad popped up for this new

tech fitness bike and I was intrigued by it. I said, Oh,

that looks really cool. You can take classes on a screen.

I'm like, oh, I want to check this out.

I think I might want to get one, So I

sent it to my wife and I say, hey, do

you think we could go take.

A look at this. I want to. I want to

see if you know this would work for us.

And she looked at me and she said, for one,

we're not paying that for a spin bike, and two,

I ain't never seen you on a spin bike, nor

ride a real bike, let alone, So no, we're not

gonna go get a spin bike. And I said, come on,

look at this big screen right. I'm like, look at

this tech. I'm gonna take classes live in front of me.

Let's go, babe.

It's something we could do together together. And she's like, no,

not gonna happen. Well, I finally convinced her that. I said, hey,

let's go to the showroom. She said, I'm gonna go

to the showroom. But I'm telling you now, you're not

convincing me. The salesperson is not convincing me. Nothing is

going to convince me. We don't need it any other

wives understand. We get to the showroom and I mean

we're two steps barely in to the door, and we

are greeted with the most enthusiastic, joyful level ten petite

fit woman with.

A Peloton shirt on her and she goes, Hi, welcome

to Peloton. Can I help you today? Are you ready

to buy a bike? And my wife looks at me like,

what did you just set me up for? Nathan, I'm like,

I don't know. I don't know who she is.

So we begin to go in and I get on

the bike and I'm playing around and Snaz begins to

talk to this woman and named Quay, and over fifteen minutes,

if you know anything about my wife, she likes to talk.

And so after fifteen minutes, they're exchanging phone numbers, they're laughing,

they're crying, and Quay begins to tell her about how

this fitness bike has changed her life because she's now

able to exercise with her daughter in the Marines, who

lives across the world, and now she's able to help

her husband, who's older than her, be able to find

a physical activity that is easy on his joints. And

then she begins to say to Sas, I have a

young son with special needs, and through the technology and

the games, he's able to exercise as well as be

stimulated through this fitness equipment. And so Sonas is like

blown away, and she's halfway there and sold. And as

they're talking, another sales associate comes out from behind, and

she interrupts them and says, hey, excuse me, Hey, Quay,

when you're ready. Your items are up at the front,

and you could pay when you're ready. I was like,

God is my witness. I look at my wife with

the most perplexed face, like you all are looking at me,

and she does the same, and she said, way, Quay, you.

Don't work here. She said, oh no, gush, no, I

just love Peloton. I know what it's done for me.

So I just want everyone to know that I come

in contact with here's the thing, just as Quay could

and contain her joy over a simple spin bite. How

much more family.

Should we desire to share the joy of the Lord

because we know the answer. You and I know the resource.

You and I know the vine, and his name is Jesus.

That is where your joy comes from. When your coworkers

don't understand how you could have a smile in the

midst of a sickness or a disease or a lost job,

you can say, oh no, I want you.

To know this joy.

But it is the joy of the Lord, you think

I'm happy, I'm not happy. I'm joyful. You think this

smile is from a paycheck. It has nothing to do

with the paycheck. This joy comes from a contentment of

abiding in the spirit of the Lord. That is where

is That is where joy comes from. That is how

joy flows within our life.

Family.

As I shared that story and my wife reminded me

of it, I was so convicted and preparing for this

because it's so easy for us to quote unquote lose

joy from.

All the stupid mess that we go through within our life.

And God says, I am the Vine, and I have

not changed, Nathan. I am still the consistent vine within

your life.

Continue to stay connected.

Hang on, Nathan, don't lose hope, don't lose ground.

I desire to flow more in your life.

You may feel withered in a moment, but I am

gonna bring joy and restoration back into your life again.

One of my favorite verses, and I was reminded by

it by Brother Andy. If you're here this morning, brother Andy,

thank you for stopping me after prayer. It says in

Isaiah Howey, you can put that on the screen. In

Isaiah sixty one to three, it says, and provide for

those who grieve in Zion to bestow on them a

crown of beauty instead of ashes. Here's this part, the

oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of

praise instead of a spirit of despair. God desires to

pour out an oil of joy on us today. I believe,

as we've been navigating through this month, God has been

building up for this moment right here today.

And so I'm gonna ask that you stand with me

and if.

You need joy today, if you know Christ, joy is

available to you today.

But I believe that God desires to pour out an

oil of.

Joy on us today like never before. And I believe

this is just the start of what God is doing.

And I invite you back in the month of October

because we are going to press sin on the Holy

Spirit even more as we discover the role of the

Holy Spirit in our lives, what He desires for us,

how he moves, and how the Holy Spirit can navigate us.

And so we invite you out for conference. None of

this is by accident. I believe it is all through

the power of the Holy Spirit. I want to encourage

you today, family that no matter how you may feel

when you walked in here today. No matter if you

feel your joy tank is on empty, as we read,

if you abide in Christ and as we stay connected

to the vine, joy can begin to flow again. Allow

your expression of joy to be greater than any experience

that comes into your life. Your joy is real because

Jesus is real, and no one and I mean no

one can take that joy away from you.

Do not give it up.

Just raise your hands if that's you today that just

needs some joy brought back to your life. As I

just pray, Father, we thank you for your word. We

thank you Father for the Holy Spirit. We thank you

Father for Jesus, who is the vine God.

Father.

If we are connected to you, Father, then we know

that joy, among many other things can flow within our life.

And as you promised God in Isaiah sixty one, that

you desire to being brute beauty to ashes, that you

desire to bring beauty God to something that looks broken

and destroyed and dirty. God, the same thing that you

desire to bring an oil of joy to those that

our mourning. And so, Father, we may be here today

and we may be mourning things in our life. We're

mourning a loved one. We're mourning a loss. We're mourning

a loss of friendship. We're mourning a loss of income.

We're mourning a.

Loss of a relationship. We're mourning a loss of an emotion.

God, whatever that is.

God, today we ask you to pour out your oil

of joy upon us, O God, as we lean in

this mourning God, may you flow. God, May your spirit flow.

May your spirit refeel and refuel. God anoint us today. God,

through the power of the Holy Spirit. We receive it,

and we rest in you today.

In your mighty name. We pray 'LLSS that you keep

your heads bowed with me.

Family, we can't navigate this message, and there might be

someone here that has never accepted Christ into their life.

And so, like the things that I talked about, you've

been looking for happiness in all the wrong things. You've

looked for happiness and relationships and money, a position, a career,

and title. And you may be obtained those things, but

you're like, man, I'm still defeated. I still feel like

my life is not where I want it to be.

And like we talked about family, I want to tell

you it's never going to feel like that or get.

Like that outside of Jesus.

And if you are here today and you're like, I

want more from my life, I know I need more

from my life. I want this joy that you speak of,

Paster Nathan, how do I get that? Just like the jailer,

all you have to do is say a simple prayer

to invite Jesus into your life and watch your life

be changed forever. It's not the prayer that saves you,

but it is the position of your heart to believe.

And so if that's you today, I'm gonna ask you

to say this prayer and mean it. But we're gonna

all say it together because we're a family, and I

want you to believe this with all your heart. Say,

Dear Jesus, I ask you now to come into my life,

make me whole.

Make me new.

I repent of my sins, and I declare that Jesus

is Lord, fill me with your joy today.

In your mighty name, I pray, Amen and Amen.