Choosing Joy: Embracing the Gift of Salvation

And I just want you to know that a gift can be yours, but unless you redeem it, unless you receive it, unless you use it, you never get the benefit of it. God gives us the gift of joy. Joy. But so many people are not redeeming that gift. In fact, every morning, you've got to wake up and you've got to choose joy. [00:41:52] (23 seconds)


It's one of the values of our church. We love God and we love people. That's the great commandment. The next one is we pursue excellence. Whatever you do, you do all for the glory of God. Do the very best that you can for him. And then number four, we choose joy. Whatever you do, do it with joy. Now, joy is not going to come by accident. It's going to be intentional. I said every day. You've got two choices. [00:42:57] (24 seconds)


The Bible says it like this. Where your treasure is, that's where your heart's going to be. So even in giving, you don't give because you feel like it. You give because you know that's what God asked us to do. And guess what? The feeling follows. Then your heart will be there also. Are y 'all getting anything out of this sermon? One of my favorite stories is about two little boys. They were fighting on the playground. A little girl saw them and ran to the teacher and said, Teacher, teacher. Come quick. They're two boys fighting on the playground. [00:43:41] (27 seconds)


And this is not a Charles Stanley sermon, but he was the only man I ever knew who could do this. He could preach 10 points in one sermon. And I'm going to do it today. All right? Old school. You ready? Saddle up. Here we go. Number one, the joy of salvation. The joy of salvation. Just make a note of all these scriptures. Luke 10, verse 17. The 72 returned with joy and said, Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name. Jesus said, do not rejoice that the demons, the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written where? In heaven. Salvation is all of God. Salvation is not of us. It's the fruit of the spirit. The fruit of the spirit's not of us. The fruit of the spirit's all of God. And I'm telling you, we do not have a faith that is spelled D -O. You got to do this and you've got to do that. You got to do this and you've got to do that. No, it's not spelled D -O. It's spelled D -O -N -E. Done. It's finished. Jesus did for us what we could not do for ourselves. Look at what they say about salvation in heaven. Revelation 7, 10. And they cry out in a loud voice. Everybody say it. Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb. So salvation is all of God. And I want you to know because it's all of Him, just like He gives you salvation, He gives you joy. [00:45:31] (90 seconds)


He gave us marriage not to be endured but to be enjoyed. He gave us our kids not to be endured but to be enjoyed. He gave you your job and your health and your work and everything about your life. Listen, because of Him, you don't just endure it, you're to enjoy it. Look at Hebrews chapter 12, verse 22. But you have come to Mount Zion to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly. How is the assembly of heaven described? Joyful. So what should the assembly of God's people, the living God, be like on earth? [00:47:08] (39 seconds)


Number two, the joy of security. The joy of security. Psalm 1611 says this, You make known to me the path of life. You will fill me with... With joy in your presence. There's joy in the presence of God. And it's with eternal pleasures. Not temporary. Eternal. At your right hand. He not only saved us, but I want you to know, we are saved and secure in Him. Look at Isaiah 61 .3. To console those who mourn in Zion. To give them beauty for ashes. The oil of joy for mourning. Garments of praise for a spirit of heaviness. Now look at this. [00:49:21] (44 seconds)


The world didn't give it to me, and the world can't take it away. Listen, I didn't do anything to get it. I can't do anything to lose my salvation. I don't have a hope so, salvation. Or a maybe so, salvation. No, 1 John 5. We studied it when we went through 1 John. 1 John 5 says we have a know so, salvation. [00:50:22] (24 seconds)


Now, I just told you that the devil can't take away your salvation. Oh, but he wants to rob you of your joy. The devil doesn't want you to have joy, and here's why. The joy of the Lord's your strength. And even if you're not a Christian, if he can rob you of your joy, then you're a weak Christian. Remember what David said in Psalm 51, 12, restore to me the joy of your salvation. This is after his sin. [00:51:19] (24 seconds)


Notice David, after his sin with Bathsheba, did not pray, Lord, restore unto me my salvation. He prayed what? Restore unto me the joy of your salvation. So again, we're reminded, it's not something we produce. It's a gift from God. Salvation's all of him, and so he who began a good work in us will continue to perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. Justification is a completed work. Completed. [00:51:44] (31 seconds)


And this, I'm just telling you, this is the strategy of the thief, the devil. He steals your understanding. He kills your joy. And if he can ever do that and get you to throw in the towel and quit, he will have destroyed God's purpose for your life. I'm just telling you, write this down. I want you to get this. [00:53:26] (22 seconds)


And that's what people do all the time. They're looking for joy in all the wrong places. And they think, oh, I just have so much joy. I'm so tired of my marriage. I'm so tired of my job. Oh, that job over there looks better. I'm telling you, that mate over there looks better. And you think if you can just get out of that fence that you're in, that joy's going to be somewhere. Joy's not out there. Joy's in Jesus. [00:55:26] (24 seconds)


And so I want you to understand there's a joy in soul winning. We were found to find others. Saved to save others. Reached to reach others. I tell you all the time, we're here for those that are not yet here. And there is no joy like seeing a baby born into a family. And there is no joy like seeing people come to Christ and be born into the family of God week after week after week in a church. [00:58:25] (23 seconds)