Sermon Preached by: Rev. Enock Mbayi on 25^th OCT. 2020

Rev. Enock Mbayi: Centre Associate Pastor

Introduction

The Lord said in (John 10:10) the thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. It is interesting to me how blind people can be when it comes to things they have lost through the years; that is material goods, health, money, love and dear ones yet they don’t have a clue why or what they can do about it but there is an encouragement for them to be joyful.

Overview

Christian joy is more than happiness, which is an emotion. Joy is more accurately defined as an inner state of peace and sense of well-being regardless of outward situation. Another key ingredient to a joyful life is having a thankful heart. And, a thankful heart is the direct result of remembering and reflecting on who God is and what He is doing in your life.

We lose our joy because we fail to honor God and give Him thanks (Ro. 1:21). On the other hand, the Lord tells us through the psalmist, ‘He who offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving honors me’ (Ps. 50:23) our joy is primarily angered upon two things: 1) Our understanding of God; and, 2) The state of our communion with Him

1. There is joy when God restores back what the enemy stole or destroyed (Jeremiah 30:17)
2. Fear not, but be glad and rejoice (Joel 2:21-26)

1. We can rejoice and be glad even if nothing seems to be going right in our lives.
2. The rain the scriptures refer to is the anointing from God. Overflow is the characteristic of this anointing; when he anoints us we see this overflow.
3. We must not get confused. We see lack when we look back to Egypt, but we see overflow when we look at Goshen.

1. We should never be hopeless (Psalms 51:12)

1. 1. As Christians we must find our joy because it’s through this that other thinks in our lives will be restored.
   2. Paul gave a powerful testimony when he professed that, despite all he went through, he finished the course (2 Timothy 4:7)

1. God would always provide full restoration

1. 1. God changed Job captivity when he prayed for his friends. God also gave him twice as much as before (Job 42:10)

• Job was in pride, and he was blessed only when he humbled himself and forgave his friends.
• Pride stops
• Pride is submitting to our performance and our way of doing thinks. But humility is submitting to God, relying on him, and doing what he says.

1. 1. Praising him even when we do not feel like it is a sacrifice. He will turn our joy back into our lives (Jeremiah 33:9-11)

Why be joyful

1.     Abiding in Christ gives us all we need to live joyful lives.

Abiding in Christ fills us with an eternal source of joy. We can take joy in God’s love even if the world doesn’t always show us love, because at the end of time we know whose love matters the most

2.     Where the world sees defeat, Christians see opportunities through faith

They would always ask a question; are you going to be a victim or a victor? With Christ, we are all victors. He has given us the victory. We only need to claim it. Every seeming defeat is an opportunity to let ourselves and the world know that Jesus is in charge and he has the very best in store for us. It is an opportunity to show true faith.

 Reflection

Sometimes when we go through adversity we tend to forget whatever happens in the negative can be restored. Hearing Gods word is one of the powerful things we can do, and resting in what the word says can bring joy and restoration regardless of circumstances it is the will of God.

Conclusion

The world can be a depressing and discouraging place to live in. However, the Holy Spirit enables us to experience joy that doesn’t depend on the world but depends fully on God.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sermon preached by Rev. Mbayi Enock Center Associate Pastor.