The Model Life: Adoration, Part 2

Charles Wesley was a a great hymn writer.

Not just a preacher, but a but a hymn writer.

He wrote over 6500 different hymns and one of them in

particular deals with what it is we are discussing this morning.

That hymn titled is Joyful, Joyful, We adore thee.

In each stanza of that hymn, he talks about the joy, the

rejoicing, the gladness that comes from the Lord.

Listen to what he says, Joyful, joyful, we adore thee.

God, a glory, Lord of love. Hearts unfold like flowers

before thee. Opening to the sun above, melt

the clouds of sin and sadness, Drive the dark of doubt away.

Giver of immortal gladness, fill us with the light of day.

All thy works, with joy surrounding earth and heaven

reflect thy rays. Stars and angels sing around

thee. Center of unbroken praise,

Fields and forests, Vail and mountain, flowery Meadow,

flashing sea, chanting bird and flowing fountain.

Call us to rejoice in Thee. Thou art giving and forgiving.

Ever blessing, ever blessed wellspring of the joy of living

ocean depth of happy rest Thou our Father, Christ, our brother,

All who live and love are thine. Teach us how to love each other.

Lift us to the joy. Divine mortals, Join the mighty

chorus which the morning stars began.

Love divine is reigning o'er us, Leading us with mercy's hand.

Ever singing March we onward victors in the midst of strife.

Joyful music leads us sunward in the triumph song of life.

He understood that rejoicing is the aspect of adoration.

The model life is all about learning to adore the king.

And so the model life is lived in, in adoration, and

particularly in three ways, being joyful, rejoice always,

being prayerful, pray without ceasing and being thankful for.

And everything we are to give thanks for.

This is God's will in Christ Jesus concerning you.

What does it mean to be joyful? What does it mean to rejoice

always? Paul was the master of

rejoicing. No matter what the circumstance,

no matter what the situation, there was a joy about his life.

And I wonder how many of us today are able to rejoice

always. You know, when situations arise

and they are devastating, how is it you rejoice in times like

that? Let's say you you heard that a

loved one close to you just just died.

How do you rejoice in that kind of time?

Or the doctor comes back and says you have a terminal

illness, you have not very long to live.

Do you rejoice always in that situation?

Or you, you have a child that rebels against your authority,

runs away from home, not interested in following the God

you serve. Do you rejoice always in that

situation? You see, Paul, Paul was

concerned that those in Thessalonica who had already

rejoiced when they received the the gospel, First Thessalonians,

one verse #6 amidst much tribulation.

So he knew that rejoicing was a part of their lives.

So he gives his command at the end of chapter 5.

Rejoice always because he wants to never to forget that that the

hallmark of Christianity in our adoration to God is to live a

life rejoicing no matter what. And so last week we began to

explain that to you. How is it you truly rejoice

always? And so we gave you principle #1

and that was to rest in His Providence that that God is in

control of every situation, in every circumstance, and

everything that happens in me to me, because Romans 1133 to 33

six says that all things are from him and through him, and to

him to God be the glory forever and ever.

Amen. That's why Paul could say we

know that all things will work together for good to those who

love God and are called according to His purpose.

Why? Because God has a plan, He has a

purpose. And the Providence of God is

working through every situation, every detail of my life, and

therefore I can trust Him and rest in His Providence.

Listen to what the psalmist said in Psalm 37, Psalm 37, verse #1

do not fret, do not worry, do not be anxious, don't be be

filled with anxiety. How many of you are fretting

today because you're anxious about tomorrow when the Bible

says take no thought of tomorrow?

For each day has enough trouble of its own?

But we're always thinking about tomorrow or next week or the

next thing down the Pike, and God wants us to rest in his

Providence and trust Him. So Psalmist says, do not fret

because of evil doers. Be not envious toward

wrongdoers, for they will wither quickly, light the grass and

fade like the green herb. Instead, he says, trust in the

Lord, do good, dwell in the land, and feed on the

faithfulness of God. Your food is His faithfulness.

Your food is His guarantee. Your sustenance centers around

what God does for you every day. So feed on His faithfulness.

Delight yourself in the Lord. He will give you the desires of

your heart. Commit your way to the Lord.

Trust also in Him, and He will do it.

He will bring forth your righteousness as the light and

your judgement as the noonday. Rest in the Lord.

Wait patiently for Him. Then he repeats it.

Do not fret, do not be anxious. Do not worry because of him who

prospers in the way, because of the man who carries out wicked

schemes. Cease from anger and forsake

wrath. Do not fret because why?

He says it leads only to evil doing whenever you worry,

whenever you're anxious, whenever you fret, it's going to

lead inevitably to something evil in your life.

It's not leading you closer to the Lord, it's leading you

further from the Lord. So the psalmist makes it very,

very clear, do not fret, don't do this.

Trust in the Lord, rest in his Providence.

Trust what God's going to do. Wait patiently for him and He

will give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way unto the Lord, resting in his Providence.

So important. I love.

And in Acts chapter 5, after the apostles had been flogged, you

Acts 5 · chapter mention

know what that means, don't you? When you're flogged, your, your,

your, your whipped 39 different times.

And the whips they use were devastating.

And so it says the verse #40 of Acts 5 calling the apostles in.

They flogged them, order them not to speak in the name of

Jesus, and then release them. Just a very quick statement.

Bottom in, beat him silly, then let him go.

So they went on their way from the presence of the Council,

rejoicing. Rejoicing that they had been

considered worthy to suffer shame for his name.

It wasn't that he felt good, but I feel great.

Hit me again. Wasn't like that, but they had

been been flogged because of what they had said in the name

of Christ. And so it says.

And every day in the temple and from house to house, they kept

right on teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.

A little bit of flogging. Was it going to stop them from

preaching the gospel? They just kept right on doing

what God had called them to do, and they rejoiced in the midst

of it. They rejoiced always.

But so here's the point. Rest in His promises, and

there's a Part B to that. Rest in His Providence.

Excuse me. And the promises that go with

it. Rest in His Providence and the

promises that go with it. God's word is filled with

promises. Listen to this Isaiah chapter

Isaiah 43 · chapter mention

43. God is speaking to Israel.

He says in verse #1 But now thus says the Lord your creator, O

Jacob, lets them know that, that, that that I created you.

I I formed you, I put you together.

I am the the master architect of the nation.

God is the designer of Jacob, so he says, your creator, Jacob, I

am the one who formed you of Israel.

I formed you. I've done this.

Do not fear, because I'm your creator.

I am your designer. I am the master architect of the

nation. I have a a plan, and the

Providence of my plan will be fulfilled as I have designed it

to be fulfilled. So therefore do not fear, for

whatever comes your way, I am in charge of so he says, Do not

fear, for I have redeemed you. I have purchased you.

I called you out of slavery, out of Egyptian bondage.

This is what I've done. I have called you by name.

You are mine. You're my possession.

You're possessed by me, the God of the universe, the creator of

the world. They says this.

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you.

Not if you pass, but when you pass through the waters.

Sometimes the waters begin to overflow.

Sometimes the waters are deeper than we imagine.

Sometimes the the, the, the waters have waves that rise way

above our heads. Because when you pass through

the waters, I will be with you and through the rivers, they

will not overflow you. Then he says when you walk

through the fire, not if you walk through the fire, but when

you walk through the fire, notice they're not running

through the fire. You ever been in a fire?

Nobody walks out of the houses on fire.

You're running out of the houses on fire.

You're high tailing it out of there.

You're gone. But notice He says when you walk

through the fire, He says, you will not be scorched, nor will

the flame burn you, for I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of

Israel, your Savior. Then verse #5 He says, do not

fear, for I am with you again, do not fear, do not fret, do not

be anxious, do not be scared. I am with you.

I'm your creator, O Jacob, I've chosen you.

I will comfort you later he says in chapter 49 of Isaiah.

These words, Isaiah 49 verse #14 but Zion said Zion is Israel.

Zion is a place, of course, Mount Zion, but it's also a

people in the Scriptures. And so Israel or Zion has said

the Lord has forsaken me and the Lord has forgotten me.

You've been there. You've said those kinds of

things. You you have faced difficulties

or hardships or, or painful experiences, and you're

thinking, wait, wait a minute. Maybe the Lord stepped off the

throne for a moment, or maybe the Lord blinked and didn't see

my situation, or maybe the Lord was preoccupied with someone

else, so much so that he could not see or understand my

situation. We always get to the place

where, Lord, have you forsaken me?

Have you forgotten me? Yoohoo I'm here but God knows

everything, you're his. So he says.

Can a woman forget her nursing child and had no compassion on

the son of her womb? Yes, yes, many women forget

their nursing children, have no compassion on the son of their

womb. Many children, many moms give

their children away and walk away from them.

It says even these may forget, but I will not forget you.

Even a mother's love for her child, which is the the greatest

bond in the world. A mother and her child is a by

nature the strongest bond in the world.

And even though a woman can forget our nursing child, God

says I will never forget you, I won't do that he says behold, I

have inscribed you on the palms of my hands.

Your walls are continually before me.

I know you like I know my hand. I see my hand every day.

I know my I've inscribed you on the palms of my hands.

You are written right there. How can I ever forget you?

And therefore all your walls are continually before me.

You see, when you rest in the Providence of God, you rest in

His Providence and the promises that go with that Providence.

So important. I could spend weeks here.

I'm not going to do that, but I could because this is just so

profound. The Providence of God in the

working of God. The Bible is filled with how you

begin to understand the workings of Almighty God in the lives of

people. It's amazing.

He's never out of control. God's, God's never up in heaven

going wringing his hands thinking, man, I sure hope they

make it through this, but I sure hope they don't say that.

I sure hope things turn out for the better for them.

God doesn't do that. God's in charge.

He's in control of everything, and we just learn to rest in His

providential control and the promises that go with it.

And there are so many promises in the Scriptures, but we must

move on. Gosh, time goes by so fast, so

let's hurry. All right, Rest in His

Providence and the promises that go with it #2 embrace His peace.

Embrace His peace. Turn to 2nd Thessalonians

chapter 3, Second Thessalonians chapter 3.

2 Thessalonians 3 · chapter mention

Listen to what Paul says in a second letter to the

Thessalonians. He says, now may the Lord of

peace himself continually grant you peace in every circumstance.

The Lord be with you all. Now may the Lord of peace.

Continually grant you peace. Peace is a gift that God gives

to his own. The wicked will never receive

that gift. Isaiah says twice.

There is no peace for the wicked.

There isn't. The peace that God gives, He

gives to his own. John 1427 My peace I give unto

you, not as the world gives, but my peace I give unto you.

I, I give to you the, the, the non fragile, non superficial,

real, serene, calm life. I give you my life because I'm

the God of peace. The Father is the one who

provides peace, the Son purchased peace, the Spirit

produces peace, and the Scriptures promote peace.

That's why the Bible says in Psalm One 19165 Great peace have

those who love thy law, and nothing causes them to stumble.

Great peace have those who love thy law at the coming of the

Messiah, peace on earth toward those with whom he is pleased.

God grants peace to those with whom he is pleased.

Who is that? Psalm 147 tells us that those

who fear the Lord are those who please Him.

So the only ones who receive the peace of God are those who fear

God. He says May the God of peace

continually grant you peace. In other words, it's a non

interrupted kind of peace. May he continually do this on a

regular basis. Grant you the peace that you

need. You need to embrace this so

important. You see, sin can can disrupt

your peace. Disobedience can disrupt your

peace. Rebellion can disrupt your

peace, but that's you doing it, not God doing it, because He's

granted you his peace. And so Isaiah 26 three says that

I will keep him in peace. Peace whose mind is stayed or

fixed or focused or steadfast on me, I will keep him.

In perfect peace. You'll experience peace.

Peace. There was no way for for the

writer to describe the the overwhelming peace that God

gives, so he just repeats it. The translator is called it

perfect peace in Hebrew. It's peace.

Peace because it's something that goes beyond anything you

can ever imagine for those whose mind is stayed on thee.

In fact, the Bible says in Colossians 316, let the peace of

Christ rule in your heart. The word for rule means to to

umpire, to call the shots. In other words, let the let the

fact that you're at peace with God because of Christ, let the

fact that you're at peace with God be the governing factor in

every decision that you make. In other words, because we're on

God's side, we need to realize that he's calling all the shots.

So we subject ourselves to the one who calls all the shots.

That's what letting the peace of Christ rule in your hearts mean.

So Paul comes along and says, I want the the Lord of peace, the

God of peace to continually grant you peace in every

circumstance. That that's just in every

circumstance, not in certain circumstances, but in every one

of them. Meaning that there can be peace

in every every issue in life, whether it be turmoil or

tragedy, whether it be happiness or joy, whether it be a

difficulty or depression. Peace is continually granted.

But you need to embrace that peace, and you can only do that

because you rest in the Providence of God and the

promises that go with it. So he says the last phrase, the

Lord be with you all. We'll see this.

To our Third Point, not only do you rest in the Providence,

Providence of God and the promises that go with it, not

only do you embrace this peace, but #3 journey in His presence.

You journey in his presence. They say, well, isn't God on the

present? Isn't God everywhere at all

times? Isn't God occupying the past,

the present, and the future all at the same time?

Isn't God eternal? Isn't God immutable?

Isn't God everywhere? How?

How can I journey outside the presence of God?

Well, theologically you cannot, because God is on the presence.

But practically, you can walk out on your own, do your own

thing, make your own decisions as if God is not even present

among you. We, we kind of do this all the

time, right? We, we make decisions without

ever consulting God. We make decisions about jobs, we

make decisions about purchases. We make decisions about our

family. We make decisions about all

things in our life where we go to school without ever

consulting God because we think we're smart enough to do that,

that we can. We, we're autonomous and we're

independent and we can make decisions.

We don't need God to guide us. I'm smart enough to make this

decision on my own. That's not journey, journeying

in the presence of God, that's that's walking away doing my own

thing. That's why the psalmist said in

Psalm 42, these words, I love this, it's so precious.

He says, why are you in despair, O my soul?

So let me ask you that question. Why is your soul in despair

today? Why?

Why is your soul downcast today? Why is your soul depressed

today? That's the question that

Psalmist asks. Why?

And why have you become disturbed within me?

What is your soul disturbed? Hoping God for?

I shall again praise Him for the help of His presence.

Isn't that great? I will hope in God and I will I

will praise him because he is present with me.

It's it's the help of his presence.

Turn back with me if you would, to the book of Exodus, the book

of Exodus, the 33rd chapter. You'll remember these words,

Exodus chapter 33, verse 12. Then Moses said to the Lord,

Exodus 33:12

See, you say to me, Bring up this people, but you yourself

have not let me know whom you will send with me.

Moreover, you have said, I have known you by name, and you have

also found favor in my sight. Now, Now, therefore I pray you,

if I have found favor in your sight, let me know your ways,

that I may know you, so that I may find favor in your sight.

Consider too that the nation is your people.

These are your people, God. He says this and he said, my

presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest.

God says to Moses, My presence will go with you, and I will

give you rest. Now this is the words of Moses.

They said to him, If your presence does not go with us, do

not lead us up from here. We're not going anywhere without

you, Lord. We're not making a step.

We're not. We're not branching out to do

anything unless you go with us because we can't do it on our

own. That's a man who has learned to

depend upon the the presence of Almighty God in his life.

And Moses was a great leader. He was educated in the finest

school system of his day. He was a powerful, strong man.

When he slayed the Egyptian trying to convince the nation of

Israel to follow him, he was nixed in line to be the Pharaoh.

He was a great leader. He had all the external

capabilities and opportunities before him, but he turned it all

the way to follow the Lord. He forsook the riches of Egypt,

he forsook fame in Egypt, that he might seek and follow the

name of his God. And now at the end of his life

he is saying, Lord, I'm not going anywhere unless you go

with us. Read on.

For how then can it be known that I have found favor in your

sight? I and your people?

Is it not by your going with us, Said we, I and your people may

be distinguished from all the other people who are upon the

face of the earth. What distinguishes you from

everybody at work? What distinguishes you from

everybody at school? What distinguishes you from

everybody in your neighborhood? It's the presence of God with

you. That's what it is, that there's

something about your life, there's something about who you

are that that just exudes the presence of God.

You walk into the room and people, they smell the presence

of God. It's everywhere.

It overrides your Cologne and perfume.

It over overrides the clothes that you wear.

It's the presence of God among you.

And Moses says, this is what's going to distinguish us from

everybody else. We can't go anywhere, Lord,

unless you are going with us. And that he says, the Lord said

to Moses, I will also do this thing of which you have spoken,

for you have found favor in my sight, and I've known you by

name. This is so precious.

I know you by name, Moses, you found favor.

You've been graced in my sights. I'm going with you all the way

journey in his presence. I just I can't emphasize this

enough. It's called walking in the

spirit. So you don't fulfill the lust of

the flesh, right that that's Paul's way of saying it in

Galatians and and Ephesians. Walk in the Spirit, walk in the

presence of Almighty God and you'll be distinguished from

everybody else because there's something unique and special

about you. Note this.

The Psalm was said in Psalm 16 verse #8 I have set the Lord

continually before me because he is at my right hand.

I should not be shaken. How do you know You journey in

the presence of God? Because you'll continually place

the Lord before you. He's at your right hand and you

never fear. You're never shaken, you never

stumble. Because God's at your right

hand. He is continually before you.

You're focused and fixed on Him. If I had time, I I would tell

you that the Prince of God supports and sustains you in

your service. Just read the book of Joshua.

Read the book of Deuteronomy. Read the book of Matthew.

When you're journeying God's, God's presence, he, he comforts

you amidst your crises. All you have to do is read

Paul's account in Acts 18 and Psalm 23 verse #4 that when you

walk through the valley of the shadow of death, you'll fear no

evil, for He is with you. He comforts you in your crisis.

He sustains and supports you in your service.

He strengthens you in your suffering.

Only the Lord can do that. That's Deuteronomy 3327 and 2nd

Corinthians 1 verses 3 and following.

And then you realize that He alleviates your anxiety.

He alleviates your anxiety. I'll have to read this one to

you. Isaiah chapter 41, he says,

Isaiah 41 · chapter mention

verse #9 you whom I have taken from the ends of the earth and

called from its remotest parts, and said to you, you are my

servant. I have chosen you and not

rejected you. So do not fear, for I am with

you. Do not anxiously look about you,

for I am your God. I will strengthen you.

Surely I will help you. Surely I will uphold you with my

righteous right hand, the presence of God.

When you journey in this presence, He alleviates your

anxiety, He comforts you and your crisis.

He is the one who sustains and supports you in your service,

and He is the one who strengthens you amidst your

suffering. I like this one.

Wish I had time for this. He eliminates your enemies.

All you got to do is read first Samuel 17 story of David right.

He went against Goliath with the Lord of hosts by his side, the

Lord of armies. And Saul told David before he

went, the Lord be with you, David.

And that's kind of quite ironic because the same Lord would have

been was Saul had Saul gone after Goliath.

But you see, he was afraid, but David wasn't.

He knew that the Lord would eliminate his enemy because he

had already alleviated his anxiety.

He'd already comforted amidst his crises.

He knew that He would strengthen him in his suffering and support

and sustain him in His service For the King.

That's what it means to journey in His presence.

Do you do that? You want to rejoice always Rest

in His Providence and the promises that go with Him.

Embrace His peace. Journey in His presence.

Next number 4. Obey his precepts.

Obey his precepts. Listen, there is no joy and

disobedience. You can't rejoice when you

disobey. You can only rejoice when you

obey that. That's why the woman, some woman

in the crowd, Jesus is walking by in Luke 11 says blessed is

the womb that bore you and the breasts that nourished you.

And Jesus stops and says, oh, On the contrary, blessed are all

those who hear my word and obey my word.

That's where the blessing comes, that that's why John 13 is so

important. John 13 begins the, the evening

of the last night of our Lord's life, John 13 through 17.

And we get to our study of John. We'll spend we'll spend months

in those chapters, John 13 to 17, because it's the last night

of our Lord's life on earth and he begins that night.

Remember, there's an argument that arises among among the

disciples about who's the greatest in the Kingdom and, and

and Jesus begins to get up and and tie his slaves apron around

his his waist and and gets a wash basin and begins to wash

the disciples feet. You know that story.

And Peter said, what are you doing Lord?

Well what I'm doing Peter is I'm I'm washing your feet.

He says no, let me wash your feet.

Christ says if I don't wash you, you have no part with me.

Peter says throw the whole bucket of water on me then I

want to be cleansed. Christ says you don't need a a

cleansing you just need a, a washing because the wash

disciples feet and what's all said and done.

He says you've seen what I have done for you.

I've set you an example. John 1317 And blessed are you,

joy is yours when you do what I have done unto you.

And people think, well, the joy must be in washing somebody

else's feet. Are you kidding me?

There's no joy in that. We don't want to wash your

crusty toes and all that kind of stuff.

There's no joy in that. That's, that's not what the, the

Bible says. Well, where's the joy?

The joy is that when you are suffering isolation and

loneliness and nobody cares about you because the disciples

didn't care about Jesus. They just argued about who was

the greatest in the Kingdom. So Jesus says, you know, when

nobody cares about you, when you're completely isolated and

nobody's praying for you in all your suffering and no one's

paying attention to the fact that you're going to die for the

sins of man, know what you do? You serve your fellow man, you

serve him. That's where the joy is.

That's how you rejoice, always obeying the precepts of God.

When it's the hardest to do so, when you don't want to do so,

that's where the joy is. So you say I'm going to serve my

fellow man when my fellow man could care less about my my

future tomorrow, could care less about my physical condition,

could care less about anything going on in my life.

But in our narcissistic society, we are so consumed with

ourselves we can't even look outside of the wash basin

because all we can think of is me, me, me, me, me, me, me.

And that's why you have no joy. That's why you can't rejoice

always. It's all about you and God's

program. It's all about Him and everybody

else. So you rest.

I know I'm late, but I'm going to finish this today.

You rest in His Providence and the promises that go with Him.

You embrace His peace, you journey in his presence, you

obey his precepts, and then you identify with his plans and his

purposes. Not your plans and purposes, his

plans and purposes. You must identify with his

plans. That That's why the Bible says

in Romans 12, you present your body a living sacrifice wholly

acceptable in the God, which is your only logical form of

worship, that you may be able to prove what is that good and

acceptable and perfect will of God.

But but you, you must present your your life as a living

sacrifice. That is see the problem with the

living sacrifice is that you can jump off the altar whenever you

want to, right. When things get a little hot,

you jump off the altar. When the blade looks really

sharp, you jump off the altar. But when you present yourself as

a living sacrifice, you're, you're, you're, you're, you're

seeking to please and, and honor the name of God because you want

his will done in your life. So you have this scenario in

Matthew chapter 16 where, where Jesus asks, who do men say that

Matthew 16 · chapter mention

I am? And Peter makes that great

confession now with the Christ, the Son of the living God, and,

and, and Christ commence him for what he says.

Flesh and bloods not reveal that to you my friend Simon, but my

Father in heaven is revealed to you.

Then you had that scenario where Christ begins then to talk to

them about his crucifixion, his death, his beatings and how it

rise again. And Peter says, oh, far be it

from you, Lord. Peter began to rebuke him, says

Can you imagine rebuking Jesus, Peter?

Peter was so comfortable with Jesus, he felt like he could

rebuke him, said Lord that that's not going to happen to

you. What did Christ say?

Get thee behind me, Satan, for you do not have in mind the

plans and purposes of God. You see, Peter only had his

plans and purposes in mind. He had his idea about the way

the Messiah should be. He had his idea about the way

Christianity should be. He had his idea about the way

church should be. He had his idea about how he

should walk with the Lord. He didn't have the Lord's idea

in mind. The Lord's mission was to was to

suffer and die and rise again. That was his mission.

Peter didn't want that. He wanted something different

because he thought his way, his plans, his purposes were better

than Jesus's plans and purposes. You ever been there?

Sure you have. Yeah.

You you want to marry somebody, right?

And they're not a believer. That's your plan.

That's your purpose. And God says don't do that.

I got my own plan. I got my own purpose.

And God says don't do that. It's OK.

I got this, Lord, don't worry about it.

They'll get saved later down the road and they don't see what we

we have our own plans and we think that they're right, but

for the most part they're, they're wrong because they're

not in line with what the Lord has said His word.

So you must identify with his plans and his purposes.

But you can only, only do that when you obey his precepts.

And the reason you obey his precepts is because you embrace

his peace. And the only way you embrace

this peace is because you're resting in the province of God.

And the promises that go with them make sense.

Of course it does. Two more Consider, say again,

I'm just, I'm just getting started.

Consider his person. Consider his person Hebrews

Hebrews 12 · chapter mention

chapter 12. Therefore, since we have so

great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside

every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us,

and let us run with endurance the race that I set before us,

fixing our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfector of faith,

who for the joy set before Him endure the cross, despising the

shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners

against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose

heart. You must consider Him His

Person. He did what he did because of

the joy that was set before him. You know, there's only one time

in the New Testament that says that Jesus rejoiced only once,

and that's in Luke's Gospel, the 10th chapter, when it says that

Jesus rejoiced greatly. Why?

Because He told his men that even though you got back from

ministry and you saw great things happening, rejoice in

this, that your names are written down in heaven.

And then he says he rejoiced greatly, because His Father in

heaven has hidden these things from the wise and the

intelligent, but has offered them up to the infant, the

lowly, that they might embrace the Messiah.

The joy before Him was the salvation of lost souls.

And so when you, when you have, when you consider the person of

Christ, you're considering the joy that was before him, and the

joy was the salvation of lost souls.

You rejoice always when the salvation of lost souls is

preeminent in your mind as it was in the mind of Christ.

Rest in His Providence and the promises that go with them.

Embraces peace. Journey in His presence.

Obey His precepts. Identify with His plans and

purposes, and then consider His person.

Once you do that, you can finally enter His gates with

praise. Psalm 100, which says these

words. Shout joyfully to the Lord all

the earth. Serve the Lord with gladness.

Come before Him with joyful singing.

Know that the Lord Himself is God.

It is He who made us, and we, not ourselves.

We are His people in the sheep of His pasture.

Enter His gates with Thanksgiving, and His courts

with praise. Give thanks to Him.

Bless His name, for the Lord is good.

His loving kindness is everlasting and it's

faithfulness to all generations. You want to rejoice always,

that's how you do it. R Rest in His presence and the

promises with Him. E Embraces peace.

J Journey in His presence. O obey his precepts, right.

I identify with his plans and purposes.

C Consider his person. E enter his gates with praise.

You want to rejoice always. That's where it begins.

And May God give us the grace to obey the command that says

rejoice always, let's pray together.

Father, we thank you for today, the opportunity you give us to

look into the Word of God so much we did not even touch on

today. And yet, Lord, we trust that the

things that we have learned would be with us and grow us

deep and our walk with the Lord. And so, Lord, I pray for every

one of us in the room. And I don't know what's

happening in families or workplaces or schools, in the

individual lives of those who are here, but you do.

And that's all that matters. You're with them.

You've inscribed them on the palms of your hands.

You know them intimately in every detail.

May they embrace the peace that you give them because you give

it to them continually. May they rest in the in the

Providence of Almighty God, journey in your presence, obey

your precepts, identify with your plans and purposes, and

consider you the great God of the universe, that they might

enter your gates with praise and Thanksgiving, shouting joyfully

unto the name of our God. Pray this in the name of Jesus

Christ, our coming King, Amen.