So Are you ready? Because we are going to go
straight into the Word of God. God has given us word from the
book of Nehemiah, chapter 8, and it's got a day.
I'll have the Scriptures. I'll put it on me on the screen
for US. Nehemiah Schmatter 8 Whoo Hoo.
I feel the joy in this place, right?
Yeah, yeah, yeah. We've got some radical, joyful
people. Yeah.
This is a festive celebration, my God.
Hallelujah. So let's pick it up there from
verse 9. And it says then this day is
holy to the Lord your God. Do not mourn or win.
Verse 10 Nehemiah said go and enjoy choice food, sweet drinks
and center to those who have nothing prepared.
This day is holy to our Lord Hallelujah.
That sounds like a holy celebration.
Do not grieve for the joy of the Lord is your praying Hallelujah.
Let's just by Father, we thank you for this word of
celebration. Holy Spirit annoying my lips
open our hearts. Let the rivers of joy flow in
this place. Flow in every heart through US.
Oh Lord have your way Holy Spirit release fresh strength.
Oh, fresh joy in this meeting today.
And we give you praise in advance of what you're about to
do in this place. And all of God's people shout,
Amen. Put your hands together and
reprise. OK, so our scripture here today
from the book of Nehemiah Chattai, God's people, the
Israelites, they have just come back from exile, the Babylonian
captivity. And so they back and they have
just rebuild the walls. OK, so the city walls they were
rebuild, but the problem is their hearts were still broken.
So they back in the city, yes, the city is standing, but their
hearts are still heavy. And so God raised up Nehemiah to
rebel and to restore what was broken.
And so then we see here just to give you this verse in context,
is that Ezra the high priest stood up and he read out the
book of the law. And so as he read out the word
of the law, what happens is that the conviction fell on the
people. And so they start.
The tears started streaming on their faces because they realize
how far they have drifted. And so right, they're in the
middle of they weeping and they crying and they saw Nehemiah
stood up and Nehemiah interrupted and he said, listen,
do not mourn. Do not grieve.
This is a holy day. It is a time to celebrate.
And then he says this powerful statement because and this is
the revelation, because the joy of the Lord is your strength.
Somebody shout Hallelujah. I feel like preaching here
today. Are you ready?
Somebody can I preach this because here is Nehemiah.
He interrupted. They sadness, they crying, they
tears. He interrupted and he gave them
permission on the holy day to celebrate, to have a joyous
festive celebration. Somebody shout, celebrate.
Come on, try to celebrate. Tell your neighbors.
Celebrate. Yeah.
And so Nehemiah stood up, and he said something that shifted the
entire atmosphere shifted what was going on?
And he was saying anything. Listen, do not camp in guilt.
Now is not the time to stay stuck in a place of sorrow.
Do not live with the weights of the past, because this is a day
of celebration. This is a day that the Lord has
made. And he goes on and he says, the
joy of the Lord is your strength.
Are you getting this somebody? Are you receiving the word
today? OK.
You see, this was not a time to camp out at guilt.
It was a time to step into celebration.
This was a time to step into greater grace.
OK? Listen, this was not a funeral.
This was a homecoming, OK? And so this time of celebration,
Nehemiah understood this revelation, this principle, and
that's why you were saying this joyous feast of celebration,
relation equals strength. The joy of the Lord is your
strength. Somebody say that the joy of the
Lord is my strength. So I say it again, the joy of
the Lord is my strength. I want you to grab that and get
that in your spirit today. Hallelujah.
OK, Now that word strength, in the Hebrew, it is maozed.
So it means a fortress. It means a safe place, a
stronghold. So it's a place of safety.
So joy isn't just a flimsy feeling.
Joy is a fortress, OK? It's something that God bolts
around your heart and your mind. Joy is like a shield.
It's a protective shield around you, keeping you protected
against discouragement, despair, and defeat.
OK, and so when you're Maya explained the word of the law to
them, I want you to go and read this whole chapter in context as
well. You explained it to the people
very clearly so that they could understand.
Then something shifted when they finally got it, when they
understood the word of the law, something changed.
And what happened? They tears turned into dancing,
they mourning turned into feasting and the entire thing
shifted around and what happened?
The people broke loose and they ate and they drank and they
shared their food and they started with a celebration, a
festive celebration after they got the revelation what Nehemiah
released. And I trust God to date that,
that some revelation will hit your life.
But that revelation that the joy of the Lord is your strength
will hit you and you will start celebrating and feasting like
never before in your life. Because it's time for the
Christian Church to celebrate. The days are over of mourning
and crying, and so it's time for the church to rise victorious
and celebrate more than the world.
The Christians know how to party and to celebrate.
Hallelujah. And so this is what the Bible
says. They celebrate it and listen, I
love this work because it says they celebrate it not just
little loop or little flaky. They celebrate it with great
joy. Somebody say great joy.
Now let me read it to you. It says here in verse 12.
Then all the people went away to eat and drink to same portions
of food and celebrate. Somebody shall celebrate us with
great joy because they now understood the words that had
been made known to them. Do you understand this church?
Once they got the revelation, once they got the Word, and that
is this celebration. Now I want you to see Heaven's
order, because there is order of flow, how things flow according
to the book of Nehemiah. The first thing is understanding
the word of the Lord, that once they understood the Word, joy
rises. Once the joy rises, strength
comes. When the strength comes, the
victory hollow. Somebody shout Hallelujah.
Judge, listen. Joy is not optional.
Joy is a fortress. It is a strategy.
It's not what you feel when everything is good.
Joy is not what you just feel when life is all perfect.
No, joy is what God gives you so that you can walk through the
difficulty, walk through the storms of life with strength.
That's the power of joy. Now Nehemiah made that clear to
the people. Listen and he said and explain
joy equals strength. Joy is strength, and that's what
I want you to get, because joy is how you keep on going when
you feel tight. And so joy is like the
thermostat of your spur. Now, let me just tell you the
difference between a thermostat and a thermometer.
OK? A thermometer reflects the
temperature, right? So that's a thermometer.
It reflects the temperature. So it tells you how hot or how
cold the environment. That's a thermometer.
But what's different between a thermostat?
A thermostat sets it. OK, somebody, you're getting
this because joy makes you a thermostat.
It sets the tongue. That's what joy will do.
So when life gets stormy and difficult and challenging, OK,
you don't reflect what's going on the outside.
You don't reflect the stormy and the difficulty because you set
the tongue. That's what joy will.
It sets the tongue. OK, somebody's getting it.
That's what a thermostat and hug you phrased about your city.
That's the tone, that's the atmosphere.
And so the economy may be cold, the news may be stormy,
difficult challenges on the outside, but on the inside you
set your atmosphere. You set the atmosphere, right?
So instead of it is cold out there, I'm feeling down and I'm
feeling miserable. Now you declare that God is
good, God is faithful, God's blessing.
This is the day that the Lord has met.
We will rejoice and be glad. And so you set it to, yes, I
will celebrate regardless of what's going on around us in the
world, in the situations on the news, you said.
And so the bottom line is, listen, you can't not always
control what is going on around you, cannot control the people
around you, can't control everybody or everything around
you. But by the spirit, by the joy,
by the famous, you can control what's within you.
You can set it in you. You can set that.
And so when you set a thermostat of joy and you set your joy,
when you do that, then strength comes and then the victory
follows. Somebody shout Hallelujah.
You know, I read about this marathon runner and he collapsed
just near the finish line. His muscles just go away.
His party just said there's no way.
But then when that happened was he crawled through the finish
line, He crawled across the line.
And so later he said my strength was gone.
My physical natural strength was gone.
But the joy of finishing carried me through.
The joy of finishing. Come on, somebody carried me
through. That's what he said, OK.
And so the joy of finishing now, that's what the Bible means when
it says that the joy of the Lord is your strength, OK?
And so joy carries you when your natural abilities runs out.
Did you hear that? Joy carries you when your
natural talents and your natural strength and natural abilities
runs out. Joy will carry you through the
situation. And so Nehemiah's message is
still speaking to us. Don't wait until everything
starts. Don't wait until life is
perfect. Rejoice now.
Choose joy now. Choose to celebrate now.
Come on, somebody now, joy. The thing is, it's not tight and
connected to circumstances. Joy is connected to Christ.
Can you say, I mean somebody? And so Nehemiah told the people
to stop crying, to stop mourning and weeping.
Do not mourn, but go and feast, go and celebrant, go and enjoy.
Go and have a great blessed life.
And he give them permission because he's saying this is the
revelation that we're getting today, that the joy of the Lord
is your strength. Now, God was not minimizing
their time of tears, OK? He did not minimize.
There is a time of weeping. There is a time of sorrow and
crying and mourning. So He did not minimize that, OK?
Listen, conviction of the Word, that is, and we see that in this
text. It is vitally important, OK?
But the problem is you cannot stay there.
This is the problem with so many Christians today, that they stay
going around the same mountain of feeling the failure and the
mistake over and over, repeating it over and over.
OK, so we cannot stay and park there and stay and feel
convicted and sorrow and cry over the mistake that I've made
five years ago and still crying. Other things that happened 10
years ago, still going to No, we cannot stay in the same place.
At some point, the crying needs to stop.
OK? I feel sad.
I feel sorry for what I've done. I apologize.
I'm so sorry, brother, sister, I'm sorry for what's happened,
what's done. But then you've got to move on.
We don't camp there and cry for weeks and days and months and go
around the same mountain. Families and situations in
workplaces, marriages, wherever. We move on from that.
We ask forgiveness, we repent. The conviction was they said so,
but we move. So we have got to, at some
point, move on to celebration. That's where a lot of Christians
are struggling. They get caught up with tilt and
shame and condemnation. But it's time to come off that.
Nehemiah is saying now is the time to celebrate.
It's time to move on because if you don't celebrate, you'll
never access the strength that comes with the joy.
Somebody, come on short. Hallelujah.
Oh, I feel annoyed to you, this place.
I feel the Princess of God in this place.
Hallelujah. Are you with me?
Somebody? It's like a wedding feast, OK?
The whole wedding is ready. The food's prepared, the party,
the excitement, the music's playing.
Everything is excitement. Big, huge wedding.
I know weddings because my mom, but she's wedding into the.
So this massive, big wedding is ready.
And then the case are weeping and crying because you know
their shoes are dirty from the journey to the wedding.
That's what happens when we keep on mourning and crying over the
same things. We keep on going around the
sunny mountain, keep on awning and crying when God has already
dealt with that. That's what happens when we keep
on crying and mourning and crying.
But God has already dealt with that.
God has already forgiven. God has already wiped that,
throtted it out, removed. They cancel it.
The Bible says he's already moved that as far as the east is
from the West. He's already dealt with that.
So why now we should be still carrying on crying.
Why should we still feeling sorry and what?
It's time to celebrate, It's time to move on.
Hallelujah. And God sent me here to David.
This word God said, tell my people it's time to celebrate.
I'm coming with the word of the Lord tonight.
Stretch. I'm just giving you the word of
the Lord of God gave it to me and I just want to give it to
the way that the Lord gave it to me.
And God sent me here today and said that heaven is not hosting
a funeral. Heaven is hosting A feast.
I'm going to say that again because that is so good.
Heaven is not hosting a funeral. Heaven is hosting A feast.
Somebody celebrate. Somebody shouts celebrate,
celebrate. And parents, you understand
this. You know when you give your
child a birthday present, wrap the birthday present, put the
wrapping on, look beautiful. Give the birthday present to
your child. And instead of smiling and thank
you, they're crying, crying, sorrow Corning.
Oh no, I'm not good enough for this present.
I don't deserve this present. It doesn't make sense.
Listen and you tell your child. Listen child, I'm not giving you
this present because you deserve it.
I'm not giving you this present because you have now not been
naughty or you've been a good boy.
I'm giving you this present because I love you.
I love you, Mommy and daddy, we love you.
God loves you. Hallelujah.
We're the children of God. Somebody shout Hallelujah, Glory
be to God. So it's not because you earned,
it's because of the love of God. So that's what God says to us.
God is saying stop crying over who you know.
Stop crying over the mistakes in the failure.
Start celebrating. God is saying start celebrating
with who I am. And that's powerful because we
should be celebrating how good our God is, how amazing parties.
Oh God, you are glorious. You are awesome.
You are Somebody shout Hallelujah.
God is good. God is good.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Hallelujah.
So the walls of Jerusalem were rebuilt, but God was building
joy walls on the inside. Joy walls.
Somebody say joy walls. OK, Because without joy a heart
is like a city. Without walls, it is vulnerable.
OK, so it's wide open to discouragement, despair, and
defeat. Now listen, you can have talent.
You can have money, you can have jobs, you can have
opportunities, but without choice, you're vulnerable.
Without choice, celebration, you are vulnerable.
You're because The thing is with choice, joy is a fortress.
Joy is a safe place. It's protection and joy.
Come on, somebody. So this week when you spend time
on the word and you read the Bible, OK, When you read the
word, celebrate it. Yes, when you read that
scripture, when you yell or speak to you celebrate it, it,
show it and you speak it when you yell, I promise from the
Lord. I mean, don't just nod, OK?
Read the Bible in a little scripture again.
Yeah, Rejoice. Wow, what a loss of word from
God. If I can read John 316, I've
read it out of thousands of thousands.
So I've read through it so many times, but it's still fresh.
It never gets old. It never gets old.
It's never gets old. I would read that same very
verse over again, John 360 for God.
So love the world and I would read it and I would still get
excited. Yes, you get excited about the
work. So this week when you spend time
in the work throughout your day, take 10 second praise breaks.
I love taking praise breaks. You know, when you take a praise
break, listen, you just pull joy walls.
When you take these praise breaks.
Listen, you've got like a a tough meeting at work and it's
difficult and stressful. Take a take a joy break.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. You take a joy break.
Difficult meeting, boardroom meeting.
Listen, I've been in the corporate world.
I'll go to the bathroom. Just take a quick joy break in
the bathroom. Jeez.
Yeah, yeah. Something happens, you know, or
kids acting up. Difficult situation.
You just take a joy break. Just take a joy break.
I just go and sit and laugh for 10 seconds.
You just laugh and you just take the joy break and you just
declare the word you say, listen, this is the day that the
Lord has made. I will rejoice and I will be
glad. Yeah, you take a joy break.
And so the bulls are piling up. Difficult situation.
And so in the kitchen you just start singing while you're
making tea. This is the day.
This is the day that the Lord has made, that the Lord has
made. We will rejoice.
We will rejoice and be glad in me and be glad in you.
That's what I did. OK, so we take these joy graphs
throughout the day. And so this week try these joy
breaks. And So what you do is, and this
helps, they've proven this psychologically as well, that
when you smile, so you, you, you smile on purpose and you can
look in the mirror and you can smile and it released happy
hormones, you feel better. So when you smile on purpose,
I'm not talking about the situation or sugar.
I'm not talking about you lying on the beach.
I'm talking about just before you go into a stressful board
meeting. You smile on purpose.
OK, so it's rather so because The thing is your face has to
prophecy of your feelings. Your face has to prophecy of
your feelings, OK? And so you just put on a joy
laugh. So I'm saying it's a fake laugh.
Like you laugh because when you laugh, you will tell you will
overrule the feelings, OK. And so you don't wait for the
joy to come. You don't wait for the joy or
the happiness to arrive somewhere.
No, you release it, you make it twice a decision in hospitals
kinds of they showed them funny comedian videos you can watch on
YouTube, these trips with this video, the cats and the dogs and
things make people laugh. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
It's, it's it's proven. It's it's it's physical,
logical, but it's also Bible make people laugh, feel better.
Yeah. So you release it and then
strength follows. And so this is Nehemiah.
He got the revelation. It's in the Bible.
He said, listen guys, you need to go and celebrate this crying
and this sorrow, this and this and you need to shake off the
dust. You need to start celebrating
some choice festivity because he knows what's going to happen.
He knows that the people are going to be lifted up.
You walk out of a church meeting, you've had a full belly
laugh. You feel better.
And those of you, I've been in Rodney R Brown's meetings in
Johannesburg now. When I walked in that the first
time, I really thought it was a circus because he was not
telling any jokes. But the people were laughing
constantly laughing and laughing and laughing.
And so it caught guns on me and I couldn't stop.
And I walked out there and I felt lighted.
It's Bible. Have you noticed when you start
laughing and you can be around people all of a sudden, not
before long, people are laughing with you.
Yeah, people are laughing even if they don't, even if you
haven't told a joke, you're just standing around people and they
love and they don't even know why they're laughing.
No, because that's how joy, it's contagious.
It spreads. That's joy.
Laughter.
Yeah, it's contagious. Listen to we live in a stressful
world, OK? The world is stressed out.
There's heaviness, there's fear. The vision, the answer is joy.
Joy is medicine. Listen, I'm telling you, the
Bible, the Bible says that the joy, this is the medicines of
the world. And listen, it sits with the
questions, it sits with the church.
The church is supposed to be the solution to the world, to the
problems in the world, not the other way around, not the
government, the politics, no, the church, the government of
the church is the solution to the problems and the challenges
of the world. The joy of the Lord.
It's medicine, the joy, the Bible says it.
Laughter is the book of Proverbs.
Laughter is as taking good medicine.
So when we are laughing in church, we are taking our
medicine. We are having our dose of
medicine. Yes, Judge.
Now let me show you something else what he said because she
goes on and he says this Nehemiah said go and enjoy
choice food and sweet and drinks.
I just hope no one's fasting. We celebrated today and send
some to those who have nothing prepared.
OK, we'll have some more fast coming up anyways.
But today's day of celebration anyway.
So it just means that joy doesn't just stay with you.
Joy overflows. It overflows, OK?
It's joy. It doesn't hoard Joy shares.
Yeah. Feed off.
OK, since we're talking about, we are having now Pastor
Michelle's birthday at Jock's Day today.
How exciting is that? And so that's going to be
awesome. Now think about birthdays,
right? OK, let's talk about a birthday
cake now. A birthday cake.
When we bring out the birthday cake and it's happy and
celebrating everybody, wow, there's a nice cake and
beautiful cake. Birthday cake.
What do we do with the birthday cake?
OK, The birthday cake does not just go to the birthday person.
The birthday cake, kids, what? Sliced up and shared with
everyone around the table. We all.
That's how joy is supposed to be.
It's meant to be shared. Joy is missional, it's
evangelistic. It's reaching out.
Now, listen, this is what I've learned over the years.
Now I've been in many industries, corporate
industries, customer service, hospitality and Bristol.
I was the first face of the organization to Monica tries.
And so the first point of contact, the first face, right
People when they walk in, OK, now this is talking about a
retirement village for the retired people that there's a 10
year waiting list, very affluent, all enlisted
buildings. OK, A lot of people want to.
So I'm the first one of gone people.
The first thing they want to see is when they walk in through the
doors into my office. I had a big dance with my deputy
manager. The first thing they want to see
is a small voice. OK, am I right?
Somebody who's who's come on now, they want to walk in.
This is people that retired, OK? These are people that pay
£1,000,000 for one flat, OK, That's, that's the people we are
dealing with. You know, people walking through
very professional people. What's the first thing they want
to see? They want to see a small face.
I've learned over the years, over many, many years, people
are not drawn to long faces. And that's not a very big, huge
revelation today. But I just want to tell you
that, listen, people are not drawn.
They are not attracted to a long face.
Sometimes just look in the mirror and just smile at
yourself because it feels bigger.
Yeah, people are not attracted. They are not drawn.
If you know, in the gym industry, in the sport industry,
whichever industry they want to say they are not attracted to
heaviness, sorrow. Now people want to see joy walk
in the street, smile at people you'll see go change the to that
go and walk and just walk around smiling.
You'll see the difference because people want to see hope,
they want to see joy. And so when you walk into work,
so on Monday you walk into work with a smile on your phone.
So when you smile now the pressure is real.
OK, it's stressful in the office.
OK boss, OK, things are going on board me and readings.
I know that in mystery, but you walk in the smile, people will
take notice. They will look at you and I say,
listen, there's something different about you.
How is this possible that there's so much stress going on
in this office, but you are still smiling?
How is that possible? That's a great moment to say to
them, listen, the joy of the Lord is my state.
Come on, somebody shout Hallelujah.
Oh, we need to go. The joy of corners was straight,
so guess your cup should be so full that it spills over.
Everywhere you go, at work, everywhere there should be joy.
I know fights. Christians are supposed to be
the happiest, most joyful people on the planet.
We are supposed to be there. I am not talking about
situations and circumstances. I'm talking about us, the
happiest people on the planet. Happy, happy, happy, full of
joy, spoils over everyone. And think about it, when you are
full of joy, you don't just want to keep it to yourself, you want
to share it. You want to give it to somebody
else. OK.
And so this week, just back to sending these portions because
that's what he's saying. He said, listen, right now we've
got the joy. So now we're going to send it.
So this week, so you go out and you take somebody on an
encouraging text, send them a message of encouragement, tell
somebody, give them a word of hope, give them a word of
healing, give them a word of strength.
Reach out to some, go and buy somebody some groceries.
Go walk up, shock somebody, stand at the camp and say,
listen, I'm paying for your groceries today, can I go
listen, Just go buy somebody coffee.
Just do something radical. Listen, you just find that
friend that is struggling saying that phone that would reach out
to that. Listen, you invite and go and
invite somebody to church this week and fight somebody just and
say, listen, I've got more than enough for both of us.
I'm overflowing with someone. And listen, evangelism works
very, very powerfully. When you walk up to somebody
with a big smile, big smiles, I'm telling you, people love
that. Big smiles, great conversation,
everyday language, come on, will not come up.
Be religious. It's not a funeral, it's a
feast. Somebody show up.
It's a feast. Yeah.
Hallelujah. Abundant life.
This is what Jesus said. Remember what Jesus said in John
changing. I have come that you might be
full of sorrow, sadness, crying, wig.
I have come that you might have life to the full.
Far is abundant, overflowing, enjoying life.
It doesn't mean there's no troubles in the world and
difficulty. Jesus said there will be
trouble, but be of good. Sure, I have overcome the world.
It's going to be challenges. But James says counting all joy
when these trials come. But that should not make a sour
a storm. A difficulty in life should not
make a sour, Jesus said I've covered you my life, abundant
life. Joy is festa, joy is victory.
It's a continual journey, everyday journey of joy.
It's overflow. That's what Jesus said over and
abundantly more than enough. And so that abundant life is not
just a reward one day. So we have got to struggle now
for 506780 years on the earth struggling or life is so hard.
As a Christian sour, I've been eating Ceres lemons and all the,
you know, change it into lemonade.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. When life throws you lemons, you
just change it into lemonade. And so it's not just one day and
then in heaven we're going to laugh and then abandoned.
Life is a reward. It's an everyday, everyday
journey, victory. It's a continual celebration.
And so this isn't joy isn't something that you feel or do
when life is better or everything is perfect or once
the after the devil leaves, joy makes the devil leaves.
Come on, come on, If you want to do this, laugh at the devil,
laugh at the problems, laugh at the demons and the secret of the
devil. I I just laugh at all.
Many times I drive in my car after meetings and I had such
difficult streets, I would just laugh it off.
I would, I would laugh out loud. I would just put on laughter and
I would laugh it off. Yeah.
Now, by the way, there is a difference between joy and
happiness. OK, So happiness that comes from
happening. Things happening.
OK, happening. So when things go your way, then
you're happy. When things don't go your way,
then happiness disappears. But joy, on the other hand, joy
comes from Jesus. So that means that even if
things do not go your way, you still stay steady because joy is
steady, because Jesus is steady. The Bible says it's the same
yesterday, today and forever. Come on, somebody.
Hallelujah. Yeah, that's the thoughtless.
And so happiness is like the weather in the UK.
It's unpredictable, OK, from sunny to stormy, the weather's
going up and down. It changes all the time.
Happiness changes all the time, but joy is the same.
Joy stays the same. I might have had a very
difficult day at the office, but joy still stays the same.
It's like a rubber, it's like a water well.
It flows. It's throughout every season,
it's flowing. It's the same.
It's that the most stat that you set?
OK, now joy does not deny the problem.
It's not denial. It's defying faith.
So, for example, I see the storm, but I am still going to
celebrate. Even though I see the storm, I'm
still going to celebrate. I see the problem, but I am
still going to rejoice. I am still going to praise even
though it is a problem. I'm going to still praise my
God. This is what David said, Psalm
118, verse 24. This is the day that the Lord
has made. We will rejoice and be glad in
it. Every day is a gift from God.
And so God has made the day. He's loaded the day.
Oh, yeah, baby. He's loaded it with new mercies
every morning. Daily break.
Yeah. Wisdom for choices,
opportunities. It's loaded.
Now, here's the key. The key is Joy unwraps and opens
that gift, the daily gift package that you get every day.
Joy opens it. Complaining seals and closes it.
Rejoicing opens the gift that God has given us every day of
our lives. So David did not say, if the day
goes my way, then I will praise. He said I will, He said, that's
what we will do. We will rejoice.
We will praise, we will give God praise, we will rejoice.
So he said, regardless of what's going on, if now go my way or
not, we will praise, we will rejoice.
So what's that? That's a pre decision.
Pre decision meaning in advance, OK, before.
So that is I choose to rejoice and to praise before the traffic
jam, OK, before the news report, before the deadline, pre decided
in advance. So you preset your thermostat of
joy for the day you pre return. And so when you do that, then
your celebration, it becomes your prophecy.
Wow, I feel the anointing. Can you feel that somebody you
decide in advance? And so the enemy doesn't just
want your health or your money or your relationships.
It's after your joy because he knows if he can poke holes in
your joy, then he can drain your strength.
It's after your joy. But that's why Jesus gave us
John 16 verse 22. Watch this.
No one will take away your joy. No one.
Not a boss, not a doctor, not a bill, no demon in health, no
circumstances can cancel your joy.
Somebody shout Hallelujah. They cannot insist.
Nothing can take away your joy. OK, so no, it can't.
So what happens sometimes with blockages?
What happens sometimes with it doesn't feel like the joy is
already there. This is the thing.
Nothing and no one can say unless you hand it over, unless
you give it, you should render it.
OK. Are you getting this somebody?
Because the joy of the Lord is your strength.
Say that with me the joy of the Lord is my strength.
Now Paul wrote in Philippians 4/4.
Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I read it out loud.
Again, I will say, rejoice. They're sitting together,
everybody 123 rejoice in the law always.
Again I will say, rejoice. When Paul wrote that he was in
prison, not on a beach in Bahamas.
He wrote that from prison when he wrote that verse.
OK, now anyone can rejoice at noon when the sun is shining,
but it takes faith to rejoice in midnight.
Are you with me, somebody? It's easy to rejoice when the
sun is shining, but it takes faith to rejoice in the midnight
season. So don't fall into the trap of
as soon as, as soon as I get the promotion, I'll be happy.
As soon as the kids act up, then I will rejoice and then I'll
celebrate. As soon as the healing comes, my
body feels better, the pains lift, then I will celebrate,
then I'll be happy. As soon as the kids behave or as
soon as you know, I get the breakthrough, then I will
celebrate. When I get the breakthrough,
then I'll be finally happy. Now the celebration, OK, the
rejoicing, the joy is what carries you.
And it brings the breakthrough. Can you say, I mean, somebody
let's think of like an umbrella. The weather doesn't determine
whether or not you're going to stay dry.
Now you do. You decide, OK, right.
It's a, it's a rainy day. Now you decide to take an
umbrella, not the weather, not the outside circumstance, you
decide I'm going to take an umbrella of praise.
I'm going to put on joy. I'm going to set my thermostat,
I'm going to open the umbrella. And so I'm going to be walking
through the rain dry, so a cupboard, I'm going to walk in
through the storm cover. So that's how you decide like an
umbrella of praise. And so that is why Paul had this
revelation and he could say rejoice always rejoice.
We mean all the time, rejoice all the time for all
circumstances, difficulties, challenges, rejoice with storms,
any situation, any season, rejoice, always rejoice.
Anyway, that's what Paul was saying because he's changed in
prison did not control his choice.
The situation that he was in in prison did not dictate to his
spur the prison cell. The prison change did not
dictate the outward that not so to His Spirit.
He decided I choose joy on purpose.
If I'm now on a beach in the Bahamas, or if I'm now in a
prison cell captured being marketed for Jesus, I am still
rejoicing if I'm suffering or if I'm on a beach.
If I'm on a holiday difficult, I'm still choose joy on purpose.
Choose joy on purpose. Say it with me.
I choose joy on purpose. Say it again.
I choose joy on purpose. Now put your hands together and
praise the law. Hallelujah.
Right? Because listen, I want to show
you something else, which is actually the amazing Quebec
Chapter 3 by 70 watches. Though the fig trees does not
bite and there are no grapes on the bones.
Though the olive crops fails and the fields produce no food.
Though there are no sheep in the pen, no cattle in the stools yet
everybody say yet. I will rejoice in the Lord.
I will be joyful in God my Saviour.
That little word yet that changes everything.
A little word like. Yet had Beckett looked at empty
fields, barren bonds. OK, drought everywhere.
It's dry. Everything in the natural says
this in is game over. It's gone.
There's nothing here. You could just as well give up.
OK, it's dry. But he made the decision.
Yet I will rejoice. And that's not denial.
He's not denying the problem. That is defying faith.
He say, I see the lack, but I choose to rejoice.
I choose joy. I feel the pressure, but I
choose the praise, OK. I choose, I feel, I see the
trials, but I choose triumph, OK.
And so when you say it, Heaven says yes, come on, somebody got
that. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
That's when you say yes, I will. Heaven says yes, Heaven.
The angels say, oh, did you hear that?
Did you hear that revival? Did you hear?
They rejoice and they praised before the breakthrough.
Let's release the miracle. Let's release the strip, let's
release the victory because these people are praising before
they see the breakthrough. Come on, somebody give God some
praise and this place, somebody shout, follow me out.
Come on, take the place like, oh, hello, don't read it to God.
And so today some of you, you are staring at into lands, into
fields and relationship feels dry.
It feels difficult, it feels buried.
Maybe it's a business deal but fell through.
Maybe it's a job you didn't get. Maybe it's a healing diagnosis
that shook you, but the Spirit of God is saying add yet,
because when you add a yet yet I didn't get the job yet, I will
still rejoice. I didn't get that promotion yet.
I will I the healing hasn't come yet.
I will rejoice. The breakthrough has not shown
up yet. I will rejoice because when you
say yet heaven releases yes, come on somebody your yet
releases Heaven's yes. Somebody shout yes, come on,
shout again. Yes, yes, yes.
Yes, yes, yes, yes. Come on, tell your name.
Yes, yes. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes,
Yes. I feel, yes, I feel heavens.
Yes. In this place I want to prophecy
on the Creator. Claire.
Yes to your blessing. Yes to your healing.
Yes to your finances. Yes to your family, your
marriage. Yes.
To your breakthrough. Yes, yes, yes.
Because you have been praising before the breakthrough.
Heaven says yes. Release the miracles.
Yes. Release the breakthrough.
Yes. Release the business.
Yes, yes, yes, yes. Release the presence, the joy
and the strength of almighty car.
Yes to your victory. Come on, somebody shout yes.
Hallelujah. I want you to leave me right
here. This is there.
This is where it gets powerful. Acts chapter 16.
Watch this verse. But about midnight, Paul
insiders were praying and singing hymns to God and the
other prisoners were listening to them.
Suddenly there was this not turned violent earthquake that
the foundations of the prison were shaking.
At once all the prison doors flew open and everyone's chains
came loose. Hallelujah.
Yeah, OK. Anybody can praise at noon, OK,
When the paycheck hits, when the money is in the bank, it's easy
to praise, OK. When things go good, when it's a
good report, things are working out, the sun is shining.
But a midnight price is different.
A midnight price, OK, don't just wait a midnight price.
It doesn't wait for the breakthrough to come.
A midnight praise brings us a breakthrough.
Somebody shout out of New York. Oh, you know that.
Come on. Oh, you know that.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's what the midnight crisis.
Did you get that? You got that.
OK. That's what a midnight price.
It doesn't wait for a midnight price.
Here's the thing. It brings the breakthrough.
That's the power of a midnight price.
Hallelujah. And so scientists, they tell us
about earthquakes. They they come that win, the
pressure pulls up on the ground. So when the pressure pulls up on
the ground, then it releases, it shakes the foundation, the
foundation shifts. And so this is what happened in
Philippa. And so the pressure was heavy,
They imprisoned, the chains are tight.
But when Paul and Silas started singing, suddenly the atmosphere
shifted and all of a sudden the foundations started shaking.
And the prison doors, oh Hallelujah, it shook.
And from wide open, Come on, somebody's getting this today.
Come on, somebody's getting this today.
The moment when they started praising, things started
shifting. Things started moving.
I don't know. Now notice this?
It wasn't just pulling silence. They changed for that.
It wasn't just Paul and Silas just changed that fellow.
It was everybody around them that chains fell off.
Come on, Somebody. Are you getting this?
Everyone's chains came loose. Not just no point in silence.
They were the ones praising. They were the ones rejoicing.
But everyone's face came loose. Listen, your praise doesn't just
free you. Your it Free someone else.
Oh, yes. Yeah.
Oh my God, yes. That's just free you.
It can free someone, everyone around you.
It can free the people around you.
It can free them. Your kids.
Your price can free your kids, your spouse, your marriage, your
family members. Yes, the people around you, your
Co workers, your praise, cut release and set others free,
even sitting and praising here, people in the gym right here,
even in the restaurant, even in this region, in Bracknell, you
can be praising here and people's signs are falling off
in the region. In the region, in this village
hotel, people can be in a hotel room right now and you don't
even know what's going in that hotel room, but they can be
sitting somebody that is ready to commit suicide in a hotel
room. They can be somebody that is
sitting in a hotel room and they can be so depressed.
They can before there's a church opening in this region because
there's people that has been praising somebody got free from
depression, somebody got healed of a sickness, somebody's
addiction. Because there's a group of
people that is praising in Bracknell, in ready in this
region, in London, in the UK and the revival break free because
the churches decided to finally come out of the closet and
celebrate and praise the movie Jesus Christ.
Yes, yes, yes, freedom, freedom in prep life for us, given us
the nation and this nation will be a Christian nation under God.
Only I feel a revival coming. I feel this for somebody today.
You have been in a midnight season.
It feels dark, it feels heavy and lonely.
But I am here to tell you that your praise has got power.
Your song has got power. Don't waste your midnight.
Don't let the darkness silence your praise.
OK? If Paul and silence could praise
in the prison, if Paul and silence could praise in a
change, you can praise. In your challenge, you can
praise. In your situation, you can
praise. In your workplace, in your
school, in your place of work, you can praise.
If Paul and silence can praise in prison, you can praise your
workplace, you can praise we God has praised you.
Somebody shout Hallelujah. Take a place break, take a place
break. Give guys some place.
Come on, break loose, cut loose, celebrate, lift your voice, open
your lips. Friends, friends praise.
Praise him, praise him, praise him, praise him and watch when
the doors are opening. Change some falling, change some
falling. Family members are being loose
right now, generational process are being broken.
Generational cases from the third, the second, all the
generations are broken off Your families, you're praising God.
Praise doesn't just happen after the doors open.
Praise is the thing that one opens the doors.
Joy doesn't just come when the breakthrough shows up.
Joy is what brings the breakthrough.
I want you to hear this church. It brings it.
So when the midnight comes, that's your moment to lift your
voice and to celebrate. Somebody shall celebrate.
The joy of the Lord is my strength.
Say that the joy of the Lord is my strength.
Every day when you wake up, say that the joy of the Lord is my
strength. When that alarm clock goes off
and you don't feel like going to work, you declare, listen, the
joy of the Lord is my strength. Yeah.
And you just stick it out and you're like, oh, I don't feel
like going to work. But you say out loud, today is
going to be a good day. Yeah.
You say that over your life,
it's going to be a good day. Hallelujah, somebody.
Now I'm nearly done and I quickly just throw this in.
Just go a little deeper. Somebody, John 414.
The water I give them will become in them a spring of water
welling up to eternal life. Now, sometimes life can feels
like your well is drying. It feels dry.
But let me just tell you the truth, it's not dry, it's just
clogged up. It's just clogged up.
OK, The enemy, what the enemy does, it throws stones into the
well. They throw stones of
discouragement, defeat, OK, doubt, insecurity, guilt.
And so it throws these stones in the well, OK.
And so over time, it feels like the well, the river, it feels
blocked. It feels like that it's clogged.
But the good news is that it's still there.
OK? The river is still there.
John 738 says whoever believes in me, as Scripture said, rivers
of living water will flow from within there.
So the Spirit of God is still inside you.
It's still there. It hasn't dried.
The enemy wants to try and lie. He wants to lie and try and tell
you that it's gone, that your joy is gone, that is.
But the truth is God says no, it's just clogged up.
It's just blocked. It's still there.
Now watch this in Genesis 26 year it comes and Isaac dug
again the walls of water which they had dug in the days of
Abraham. Islam for the Philistines had
stopped. So that's why today is a well
digging day. Today, OK, we are removing the
stones. We are removing the stones for
the rivers to flow again. We are unplugging, unblocking
that. OK, it's time to let the rivers
flow again. Somebody, are you getting this?
Because that's what Jesus promised.
He promised living waters, rivers.
Now notice it's not just one river.
It's it's not just a little sprinkle or little drip or
little St. It talks about rivers.
Now, rivers. That means that that is joy
unlimited. That is joy, unspeaking,
unstoppable. That is strength with mowing
overflowing rivers of living waters.
Now listen, I've been on the farm with my grandfather.
Now farmers know that if they the well have not been used for
a long time, what happens over time?
The well gets clogged up. It gets blocked with dirt.
But listen, when the farmer goes and he dig it again, he finds
that the water is still there. Come on, somebody is still
there. You find it's the water.
The river is still there, waiting.
Now, maybe you haven't drawn joy lately because you've been busy,
OK, you've been tired and weary, and so you haven't.
But listen. If you will start praising
again, if you will start celebrating again, and you will
open your mouth and you'll start thinking again and rejoicing
again, you will see that that river of joy has never left.
Somebody shout Hallelujah. And so I believe that God is
saying to someone today that you are going to laugh again.
Less, less, less. You're going to laugh again.
Your choice. Your laughter is coming back.
Your song is coming back.
Your strength is coming back. I'm prophesying over your
church. It's coming back.
Yeah, the rivers of joy. It's flowing again.
Come on, somebody get excited. Give God some praise.
Yeah, Yeah, it's coming back. Somebody shot.
Hallelujah. Say this out loud with me.
The rivers of joy is flowing again.
My strength is coming back. Hallelujah.
I feel the joy. I can see it on your faces.
My smile is back. Come on, come on, say that.
My smile is back. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I see it on your face. You're smiling.
It's amazing the difference when I walked in you early this
morning. OK.
Sometimes, like it's not another cup of coffee.
It's just another dose of the only ghost.
It's just another dose of the joy of the Lord.
OK. And so my smile is back.
Yeah. Come on.
Say that. My smile is back.
Tell your neighbor my smile is back.
Yeah. Now, enclosing, because your
story is not one of shame. Your story is one of
celebration. It's a celebration story.
Church. Now, in closing, when a nation
wins a great battle, OK, they don't go back to the Baron
Barrack. Silence.
They don't tip it toe back home. All right, when they've won a
great battle, they March through the streets with a victory
parade. Yeah, that's the soldiers that
fought. Leave the families that
sacrificed. OK.
They publicly celebrate, OK, because the joy it seals the
victory, the joy, the celebrate, it's part of the victory, the
celebration, OK. And so because that's what
Nehemiah model the feast, it was not just a meal, it was a
prophecy. It was a prophecy, OK, And so
celebration, and This is why we're talking about celebration,
what celebration is. When we come together, we
celebrate. It's a public prophecy, that
celebration, a public prophecy that we are not under defeat,
that we are in victory. That's what happens when we
church comes together and we celebrate.
It's a public prophecy celebrating that we are not
under the feet, we are not under the weather, under the
circumstances, under the difficulties of the world.
We are in victory. That's what we declare when we
celebrate as the church, OK? Because celebration, that's what
it is, a declaration we are declaring.
And celebration is part of the victory, OK?
And so your praise is part of your prophecy.
Your praise is part of the victory, your praise.
And so don't wait until the devil packs up and leave.
Praise now, praise now. Celebrate now.
Rejoice now, because here it is, the battle is already won.
Somebody said Hallelujah, come on, stand to your feet.
Give God some cry. Somebody Hallelujah, the battle
is already won. Somebody shout, celebrate.
Yeah, that's why we celebrate the battles already won when
Jesus victoriously resurrected from the dead.
This is a holy moment. And so church, the Spirit of God
is inviting us to remove scones and clog the rivers of joy, to
die in the wells. And so let the joy can flow
again. And so some of you a stone have
been rolled into your well, and it may be a stone of
disappointment. Maybe you didn't get the job or
something fell through and you feel disappointment.
But the Lord is saying roll the stone away.
And so for others, maybe it's a stone of offense.
Maybe somebody hurt you and they they've turned up lights or they
never apologized and you feel you've got this grudge.
OK, maybe they just hurt you and now it's clogging your flow.
So it's time to release that. It's time to forgive and
release. So don't let those things be
your present. And so for some of you, it's
condemnation. Maybe you are keeping on
replaying your failure, going through the same mountain cycle.
But the Bible says that if God has removed it as far as it is
from the West, then it is gone. It's wiped away.
Now for others, maybe it's discouragement.
Maybe the door closed. Now that no doesn't mean never,
it means better. So Jesus said this in verse John
15, verse 11. I have told you these things so
that you will be full with my joy.
Come on somebody say my joy. Who's who's talking here?
Jesus, come on, say the joy of the Lord is my strength.
Jesus said listen, just I have told you these things that my
joy, which is the joy of the Lord, yes, your joy will
overflow somebody shout Hallelujah.
So choose joy on purpose, not because life is perfect, not
because God is good and God is faithful and God is on the
front. Now David plays something very,
very powerful about the joy of his salvation.
Watch this Psalm 51 restore to me the joy of your salvation.
That's powerful. If David could ask, and you know
what happened in Psalm 51, He went through a repentance.
The conviction hit him because of what's happened.
He repented before God. And then what did he pray?
He said, God, now no, I'm not going to carry on sorrow and
grief. I am going to rejoice.
So this is what I want you to do, Lord.
I want you to restore the joy of my salvation.
If he can ask it, you can ask the same.
Maybe you've gone through depression and difficult and
challenges. You can ask the same thing,
Lord, Restore the joy of my survive in my life.
Let the river of joy. Lord, I've not laughed for
months, for weeks, for years in my family.
I need to laugh again. Some of you just need to break
loose and laugh again. OK, Honestly, it's time to break
loose and cut and, and, and just laugh and enjoy life a little
bit more, especially with Christians for us to enjoy life
to the full. OK, now I declare today that
it's not just going to be a sprinkle.
It's not just going to be a sparkle.
It's not just going to be a little rough, but it's going to
be reverse Unlimited, unstoppable rivers are going to
rise again. You're going to laugh again.
Some of you are already laughing.
Some of you listen. You came in, you're very sad and
grieving. And down and heavy and weary.
But listen, today's an exchange counter.
This is what happens when we come to church, an exchange
counter. It means, listen, Lord, I'm
going to come and I'm going to trade my sorrow for your joy,
right? So we're going to try it now in
a moment, because I just love that song.
I'm trading my secret. I'm trading my sorrows for the
joy of the Lord. So this is what we're going to
do. We're going to come for we're
going to trade the sorrow, the grieving, the pain.
And we are going to give it to the Lord.
And the Lord's going to give us joy, joy, unspeakable joy.
OK, So if that is you today and you say, I want to try, just
raise your hands before the Lord.
If that's you and you say yes, raise your hands.
I just want to pray. Father, I thank you for your
presence in this place, in this house.
Holy Spirit, let joy rise like a river, overflowing, unstoppable,
unclog every well we lay, every stone.
Disappointment, offends, doubt, guilt, insecurity at the feet of
Jesus. And right now, by faith we
release, forgive Lord, restore the joy of our salvation, turn
mourning into dancing, turn heavenness into gladness, open
the fountain within rivers of living water flow.
I speak strength to the weary. I speak healing to the broken.
I speak freedom to the power. Freedom right now.
I declare this is the day that the Lord has made, and we will
rejoice and be glad in it. We choose joy on purpose and no
one can take our joy. Joy, Lord, anoint us right now
to send portions of joy, to share our joy with the world
around us. Bless our homes, our marriages,
our children. Bless our world, our witness.
For every midnight season, Give us a midnight song as we sing
and celebrate. Shake the foundations, open the
prison doors, and then every child.
Paul, Hallelujah. Somebody's young Hallelujah and
all God's people shout Hallelujah.
Judge. Now it's time to put the word of
God in action. Now, just like Paul and Silas in
prison, we are going to open our lips and we're going to praise
God. So right now, on the count of
three, we're going to take a 10 second of a midnight praise.
Are you ready for a midnight praise?
Somebody Remember, a midnight praise brings your breakthrough.
It brings freedom. Are you ready, somebody, to clap
your hands and lift your voice and shout unto God with a voice
of triumph on the 3123 shot? Hello.
Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. Whoa.
Yeah. No, no, no, no, no, no, no.
Hallelujah. Shop, shop.
Now, now, now. Change of home.
Yeah, now change of wells are flowing.
Joy is flowing. Joy is really joy is rising joy.
Somebody shout. Say this with me.
Joy is my fortress. I choose joy on purpose.
My wall is on clog. Come on, say it again.
My wall is on clog or unplugged. OK.
The river is flowing again. Yeah.
Yeah, it's flowing again. This is the day that the Lord
has made. We will rejoice and be glad in
it. Say it again.
This is the day that the Lord has made.
We will rejoice. I'll be glad in it.
I will celebrate. The joy of the Lord is my
strength. Now celebrate your.