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So we're in a series titled The 
Fruit of the Spirit, and Eric 

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kicked us off about two weeks 
ago and his message was titled 

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Walk in the Spirit. 
And then Hillary took us last 

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week through the Fruit of the 
Spirit. 

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That was love. 
So let me just remind us out of 

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Scripture what these fruits are.
So in Galatians 522 to 25 it 

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says, but the fruit of the 
Spirit is Lovejoy, peace, 

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forbearance, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness and 

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self-control. 
Against such things there is no 

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law. 
Those who belong to Christ Jesus

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have crucified the flesh with 
its passions and desires. 

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Since we live by the Spirit, let
us keep in step with the Spirit.

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Let us not become conceited, 
provoking and envying each 

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other. 
So today we're going to be 

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focusing on one of those, namely
joy. 

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And our main scripture, if you 
have your Bibles here, will be 

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out of Philippians. 
So Philippians 4 verse 4 to 7 is

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what we will be reading. 
Philippians 4 verse 47 says 

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rejoice in the Lord always. 
I will say it again, rejoice. 

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Let your gentleness be evident 
to all. 

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The Lord is near. 
Do not be anxious about 

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anything, but in every 
situation, by prayer and 

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petition, with Thanksgiving, 
present your requests to God. 

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And the peace of God, which 
transcends all understanding, 

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will guard your hearts and your 
minds in Christ Jesus. 

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Lord Jesus, thank you for your 
word. 

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Thank you that we can gather you
this morning. 

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Thank you that we can come, 
expectant Lord, to to hear from 

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you. 
Lord, I thank you that you use 

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imperfect people. 
And I pray, Lord, that you would

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use me this morning to preach 
your word faithfully. 

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I pray that through Holy Spirit,
Lord, that our hearts would be 

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open, our ears would be open to 
hear. 

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Yeah, we Lord, we know that our 
flesh is against you. 

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So we pray, Lord, that that you 
would open our ears, you would 

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soften our hearts. 
And may we hear you this morning

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in Jesus name, Amen. 
So maybe just a little bit of 

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context, Paul is writing to the 
church in Philippi and he is 

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imprisoned. 
So that's just a short, I think 

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relevant point. 
If you consider he's what he's 

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saying to these people, rejoice 
or other translations may say be

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glad. 
And you might think like, well, 

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Paul is in prison and his 
message to these people is 

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rejoice, be glad. 
And I just think it, it shows 

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something of Paul's confidence. 
It shows something of Paul's 

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way. 
He actually puts his trust and 

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his faith that he can sit in 
prison and send a message out 

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and say be glad, rejoice. 
But what does it mean? 

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What does it mean when we say 
rejoice? 

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Or what does joy actually mean? 
Joy, as we may know, is not 

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something that I can put on a 
plate for you and something that

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we can touch. 
It's not something tangible in 

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the physical sense. 
Joy is what we would refer to as

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an emotional trait or emotional 
characteristic. 

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It's not something physical, for
example. 

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Tried my best to come up with an
example here, but a physical 

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trait might be breathing. 
It's something that I am 

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physically doing. 
When I'm breathing, you can see 

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that I'm breathing in and 
breathing out. 

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You can see my chest moving. 
If you're really close to me, 

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you can even feel me breathing, 
and you might even smell my 

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breath, and evidence of me 
breathing would be that I'm 

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still standing here and I'm 
alive. 

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But joy is not a physical thing 
like that, and it's not easy to 

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explain something like a 
emotional characteristic or 

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trait because none of us really 
know what the other person is 

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experiencing emotionally. 
We are all very good with 

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putting up appearances. 
We may physically portray a 

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positive appearance even though 
emotionally that's not how we 

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feel. 
You also may have heard that in 

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Christian circles people say 
that joy is not something that 

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the non believer can experience.
Joy is only something that a 

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Christ follower can experience. 
People that don't know Jesus, 

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rather we say that they don't 
experience joy. 

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We say they experience happiness
or pleasure. 

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And in one sense I agree that 
true, deep meaningful joy really

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only comes with Christ. 
But in another sense, I do think

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that there is a joy that is 
experienced by all people. 

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For example, I think that the 
believer and the non believer 

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alike experiences a sense of joy
in their children, the birth of 

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their children, the dedication 
year, in the growing up of their

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children. 
I think that people alike 

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experience joy in friendship and
in relationships, in marriage 

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and in creation. 
And I do think that believers 

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mustn't think that we can't use 
the word happiness, that that's 

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like a dirty word for Christ. 
For no, we're too good for 

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happiness. 
We're too good for pleasure, 

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because the Bible speaks about 
happiness and the Bible speaks 

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about pleasures. 
So those are not inherently bad 

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things. 
For example, I might be happy 

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when my sports team wins. 
I might be be happy to to go for

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a run. 
Well, I don't. 

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I'm not often happy when I go 
for a run, but some people may 

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be happy going for a run. 
My point is that sometimes we 

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make these emotions exclusive 
either way, and I just don't 

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think it's as simple as that. 
So what then is the difference 

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between joy that is experienced 
by anyone and joy that is a 

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fruit of the Spirit? 
Is there even a difference? 

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I would argue that there is a 
difference and that Christian 

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joy is very closely linked, if 
not inseparable from Christian 

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hope or the believers hope. 
Much of the below that I'm going

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to go through now is informed by
some of the writings of John 

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Piper. 
I say writings. 

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I think it was actually a sermon
that I just read. 

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The message was titled the fruit
of Hope Joy, and you can find 

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that if you would like to go and
read it on the Desiring God 

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website. 
So let's start by saying what 

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joy is not Christian joy is not 
something that we can do. 

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And when I say that we can't do 
it is we can't will Christian 

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joy. 
It's not based on my willpower 

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or my decision. 
OK, now I'm going to experience 

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this joy and I'm going to decide
to experience it now and then 

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I'm going to stop experiencing 
it. 

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Now remember I used the example 
of breathing, which may not be 

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the perfect example, but the 
point is if I choose to, at 

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least for a time. 
I can stop breathing and I can 

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decide to start breathing again.
Yes, there may be a point where 

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I'm forced to start breathing, 
but I have a sense of control 

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over my breath. 
I cannot in the same way, decide

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to start having this joy and 
then stop having this joy. 

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It is a spontaneous emotional 
reaction that comes from our 

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heart and many of us here may 
have experienced it. 

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I think for me, I've probably 
experienced it most singing a 

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song which I've sung 1000 times 
before and the words just seem 

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to have a new meaning one day 
and it just fills me with joy 

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seeing that truth which I've 
seen many times. 

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Secondly, and importantly, 
Christian joy is not based on 

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circumstances. 
Paul says to rejoice in the Lord

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always. 
So before we go on, we know that

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Paul says this while imprisoned,
but he says rejoice in the Lord 

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always, which first tells us 
that the object of our joy is 

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not where we are or what we 
have. 

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The object of our joy is the 
Lord and always tells us that 

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there's no specific good or bad 
time to be rejoicing in the 

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Lord. 
This joy that Paul speaks of 

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transcends or goes beyond our 
circumstances. 

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This is where Christian joy 
differs from other joy. 

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The Bible teaches that that joy 
is present in spite of our 

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circumstances. 
In fact, in the worst of 

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circumstances the believer 
should rejoice. 

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Couple of scriptures that will 
not be on the screen, but this 

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just speak to this point. 
The first one is Romans 5. 

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Verse three to five says, not 
only that, but we rejoice in our

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sufferings, knowing that 
suffering produces endurance and

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endurance produces character, 
and character produces hope, and

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hope does not put us to shame 
because God's love has been 

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poured into our hearts through 
the Holy Spirit who has been 

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given to us. 
James One. 

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Verse 2 to 4 says, Count it all 
Joy, my brothers, when you meet 

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trials of various kinds, for you
know that the testing of your 

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faith produces steadfastness, 
and let steadfastness have its 

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full effect, that you may be 
perfect and complete, lacking in

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nothing and one. 
Peter 4, verse 13 says, But 

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rejoice in so far as you share 
Christ's sufferings, that you 

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may also rejoice and be glad 
when his glory is revealed. 

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Thirdly and finally, Christian 
joy is not natural, it is 

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spiritual. 
What makes something spiritual? 

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Spiritual it that is that it 
comes from the Spirit of God and

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has the character of the Spirit 
of God. 

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So when we say that Christian 
joy is spiritual, not natural, 

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we mean that it is produced by 
the Spirit of God and it is the 

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kind of joy that God has and 
wants to see in US. 

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Romans 14 verse 17 says the 
Kingdom of God is righteousness 

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and peace and joy in the Holy 
Spirit. 

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The Kingdom of God is 
righteousness and peace and joy 

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in the Holy Spirit. 
So the next natural question 

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that arises from this then is 
how can Paul and others in the 

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Bible then command us to 
rejoice? 

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How can they tell us, be joyful,
be glad, rejoice, if it is not 

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based on my circumstances, it is
not something that I necessarily

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have control over, and it is not
natural. 

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It is spiritual meaning from 
God. 

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How can he ask me then to 
rejoice? 

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The answer is hope. 
We can see from Paul's other 

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writings that his joy is firmly 
rooted in hope. 

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The joy that wells up in him 
comes from his hope. 

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So let's consider Romans 5, 
verse two to five. 

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It's Paul again. 
He says, therefore, since we 

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have been justified through 
faith, we have peace with God 

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through the Lord Jesus Christ. 
Through Him we have obtained 

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access to His grace in which we 
stand, and we rejoice in our 

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hope of sharing the glory of 
God. 

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More than that, we rejoice in 
suffering, knowing that 

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suffering produces endurance, 
and endurance produces 

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character, and character 
produces hope. 

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And hope does not disappoint us 
because God's love has been 

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poured into our hearts through 
the Holy Spirit which has been 

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given to us. 
So the Scripture in Romans 

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really spells it out for us. 
It says to rejoice in hope 

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because of the grace in which we
stand. 

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What grace and what hope the 
grace lost. 

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My spot here refers to what 
Jesus has done for us, and I 

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never want to take it for 
granted that we know what he has

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done for us. 
So what did he do for us? 

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Jesus? 
And this actually comes in in 

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the the scriptures before Jesus 
was delivered over to death for 

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our sins. 
Jesus died for our sins. 

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We may have heard it many, many 
times, and maybe we've heard it 

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in a general term where it says 
Jesus died for everyone since 

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no, Jesus died for my sin and 
Jesus died for your sin. 

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But he was also raised to life. 
He was also raised to life for 

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our justification so that we can
stand before God righteous. 

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We stand in this grace by having
faith, believing that God did in

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fact do what he said he was 
going to do and what the Bible 

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said that Jesus did and what he 
accomplished. 

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We believe that we have faith 
that Jesus did die for our sins.

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We have faith that He was raised
from the dead and we believe 

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that that did achieve what He 
said it would achieve, which is 

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forgiveness of sins and a 
reconciliation between US and 

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God. 
Before this we were far from 

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God. 
The Bible even says we were not 

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only far from him, we were 
enemies. 

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We are his enemies. 
But because of what Jesus has 

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done, we can now be called 
children of God, Enemies to 

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children. 
The hope. 

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The hope refers to the hope of 
sharing in the glory or in the 

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glory of God because we have put
our faith in Him, the hope that 

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we have because of what He has 
achieved. 

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Our hope is in God that He would
return as He said He would. 

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That we who put our faith in Him
will spend eternity with Him 

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where there will be no more 
tears, no more pain, no more 

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suffering. 
Put put whatever you want in 

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there. 
No more corruption, no more 

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lies. 
This hope is not the same kind 

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of hope that you would have when
you say sheesh I hope my team 

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wins this weekend. 
That I would word as wishful 

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thinking rather than hope. 
This hope is based on faith in 

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God, a confidence in God, a 
confidence in His Word, in His 

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promises that He will do what He
said He is going to do, and He 

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has done what we see in the 
Bible he said he has done. 

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Hebrews 11 verse one says this 
faith is confidence in what we 

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hope for and assurance about 
what we do not see. 

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And this is what the ancients 
were commended for. 

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Now before Hebrews 11, there's a
a whole list of if you want to 

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go and read it of examples that 
Paul gives of people that lived 

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with this hope and lived with 
this faith and maybe just a word

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on suffering. 
I think Paul, we, we saw in the 

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Scriptures that Paul often 
speaks about all the the other 

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writers as well about rejoicing 
in suffering. 

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But it's interesting to read in 
Romans that when Paul says that 

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we must rejoice in suffering, at
the end of the day, what it 

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produces According to him is 
still hope. 

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So actually he's saying to 
rejoice in hope. 

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Matthew Henry wrote a commentary
on Romans 15, says the 

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following. 
The joy and the peace of 

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believers arise chiefly from 
their hopes. 

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What is laid out upon them is 
but little compared with what is

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laid up for them. 
Therefore, the more hope they 

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have, the more joy and peace 
they have. 

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So Christians should desire and 
labor after abundance of hope. 

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So true spiritual joy comes from
hope. 

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Hope comes from God. 
What God has done for us, what 

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God has promised to do for us, 
it comes from God's love. 

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The scripture above speaks about
about that. 

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God gave us a spirit through his
love, and this love comes from 

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the Holy Spirit. 
And the Holy Spirit is a gift. 

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And that gift is given to people
who put their faith in Jesus, 

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who put their faith and their 
trust in Jesus and what he has 

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done and what he has 
accomplished, and who put their 

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faith and their trust in Jesus 
for what he will store, 

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accomplish, and what he will 
still do. 

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00:21:18,490 --> 00:21:23,410
So considering what Jesus has 
done for us is a gift that the 

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Holy Spirit is a gift that the 
love of God is a gift which 

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produces in US hope in which we 
can rejoice. 

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It is clear that joy is not 
something that we can 

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manufacture. 
It's not something that we can 

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will out of our own. 
It is a result of God's gift to 

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us and his promises to us. 
Hope should be one of the most 

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defining characteristics of a 
Christ follower. 

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Our hope rests on what Jesus has
done for us. 

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And I think of Paul in 
Corinthians and I might just 

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read the last bit of this. 
It's 1 Corinthians 15, verse 12 

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to 19, but he's speaking about 
the resurrection and he's saying

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that if there is no 
resurrection, then Christ is 

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also not raised from the dead. 
And then from verse 17 it says, 

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and if Christ has not been 
raised, your faith is futile. 

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You are still in your sins. 
Then those also who have fallen 

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asleep in Christ are lost. 
If only for this life we have 

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hope in Christ. 
We are of all people most to be 

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00:22:45,560 --> 00:22:50,920
petite. 
So Paul saying like if, if, if 

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our hope in Jesus is only for 
this life. 

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Poor us, poor us. 
If, if our our hope in Jesus is 

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only for this life. 
Is there hope in Jesus for this 

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life? 
For sure, definitely there is. 

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But Paul saying, if it is only 
if, if Jesus has not been 

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raised, if there is no 
resurrection, then we are the 

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00:23:11,040 --> 00:23:16,760
most to be pity. 
We believe Christ is raised from

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00:23:16,760 --> 00:23:20,320
the dead. 
So we have hope in Christ for 

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00:23:20,320 --> 00:23:22,600
this life, but also for the 
next. 

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00:23:23,320 --> 00:23:27,960
Our hope is in Christ and 
therefore we have reason to 

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00:23:27,960 --> 00:23:34,360
rejoice. 
So how do we fight for joy? 

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00:23:36,160 --> 00:23:40,200
If I can refer back to that 
quote from Matthew Henry, it 

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00:23:40,200 --> 00:23:44,960
ended with this phrase that says
Christian should desire and 

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00:23:44,960 --> 00:23:48,400
labor. 
Labor meaning should work after 

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00:23:48,400 --> 00:23:53,600
abundance of hope because he 
argues that the more hope we 

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00:23:53,600 --> 00:23:58,160
have as Christ followers, the 
more peace and joy we will 

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00:23:58,160 --> 00:24:03,600
experience. 
So we can fight for hope, which 

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essentially would be fighting 
for joy and fighting for peace. 

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So how do we do that? 
Number one, we must acknowledge 

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00:24:14,640 --> 00:24:22,600
our very far shortcomings. 
We must acknowledge that we are 

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00:24:22,600 --> 00:24:27,760
sinful people, and we will 
always be more inclined to 

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00:24:27,760 --> 00:24:31,120
glorify ourselves than to 
glorify God. 

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00:24:32,920 --> 00:24:34,960
But we come before God and we 
confess. 

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00:24:35,360 --> 00:24:39,840
We confess our need, we confess 
our helplessness, we confess our

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00:24:39,840 --> 00:24:45,520
imperfection, and we confess our
dependence on Him and on the 

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00:24:45,520 --> 00:24:51,440
Holy Spirit. 
We pray that the Spirit of God 

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00:24:51,600 --> 00:24:57,040
would pour His love into us, 
into our hearts so that out of 

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00:24:57,040 --> 00:25:02,120
the love of God we may 
experience a abundance of joy 

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00:25:02,360 --> 00:25:07,720
and peace. 
So we pray. 

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00:25:08,200 --> 00:25:11,320
We pray for more of God, We pray
for more of His Spirit. 

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00:25:11,440 --> 00:25:14,760
We pray for more of God's love 
in our lives. 

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00:25:16,920 --> 00:25:19,840
We set our eyes on the hope 
before us. 

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00:25:20,400 --> 00:25:24,800
And if I had to say in my life 
and in many I believe believers 

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00:25:24,800 --> 00:25:29,120
lives, this is probably the last
thing on our minds. 

315
00:25:30,320 --> 00:25:36,080
What comes after eternity, Life 
with God? 

316
00:25:36,680 --> 00:25:39,760
Are we setting our minds on 
that? 

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00:25:40,240 --> 00:25:42,960
Are we setting our minds on the 
things above? 

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00:25:43,640 --> 00:25:47,200
Are we setting our minds on life
with Jesus? 

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00:25:47,400 --> 00:25:51,840
Eternity with Christ, where 
there's no need for a son 

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00:25:51,840 --> 00:25:53,920
because he is the light of his 
people? 

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00:25:54,320 --> 00:25:59,960
Is our minds and our hearts on 
eternity, Or like I often do, 

322
00:26:00,480 --> 00:26:03,880
we're just thinking about today.
How can I get through this next 

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00:26:03,880 --> 00:26:07,680
thing, this next deadline that I
have to meet, this next thing 

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00:26:07,680 --> 00:26:12,200
that I need to get? 
So let's set our eyes on the 

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00:26:12,200 --> 00:26:17,240
hope before us. 
We get to look forward to 

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00:26:17,240 --> 00:26:22,840
eternity with Christ. 
We get to look forward to 

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00:26:22,840 --> 00:26:26,920
eternity without suffering, 
without pain, without tears, 

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00:26:27,440 --> 00:26:29,800
without lies, without 
corruption. 

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00:26:30,880 --> 00:26:38,640
Let's set our eyes on the hope 
before us, and let's familiarize

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00:26:38,640 --> 00:26:42,960
ourselves with the evidence in 
the Bible of God's love for us. 

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00:26:44,280 --> 00:26:47,400
It's God's love that produces 
the joy in US. 

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00:26:47,760 --> 00:26:51,640
It's what He has done for us. 
It's His promises is what He has

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00:26:51,640 --> 00:26:56,280
in store for us that produces 
the joy in US. 

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00:26:57,200 --> 00:27:00,560
It's focusing on those things, 
it's meditating on those things,

335
00:27:00,560 --> 00:27:04,160
it's reading those things, it's 
praying through those promises. 

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00:27:04,840 --> 00:27:07,280
Never will I leave you, never 
will I forsake you. 

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00:27:11,200 --> 00:27:15,600
And focusing on Christ's 
example, Hebrews 12 verse one to

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00:27:15,600 --> 00:27:20,200
three says, Therefore, since we 
are surrounded by such a great 

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00:27:20,200 --> 00:27:24,560
cloud of witnesses, let us throw
off everything that hinders and 

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00:27:24,560 --> 00:27:28,240
the sin that so easily 
entangles, and let us run with 

341
00:27:28,240 --> 00:27:33,240
perseverance the race marked out
for us, fixing our eyes on 

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00:27:33,320 --> 00:27:36,360
Jesus, the pioneer and perfector
of our faith. 

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00:27:37,160 --> 00:27:42,320
For the joy set before him, He 
endured the cross, scorning its 

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00:27:42,320 --> 00:27:46,040
shame, and sat down at the right
hand of the throne of God. 

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00:27:47,080 --> 00:27:52,160
Consider Him who endured such 
opposition from sinners so that 

346
00:27:52,160 --> 00:27:54,440
you will not grow weary and lose
heart. 

347
00:27:56,480 --> 00:28:00,960
So, because of His great love 
for us, Jesus endured the cross.

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00:28:02,240 --> 00:28:08,120
Because of the joy set before 
him, Jesus endured the cross. 

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00:28:08,400 --> 00:28:12,760
And what was that joy? 
That joy seems to be sitting at 

350
00:28:12,760 --> 00:28:18,040
the right hand of God. 
It seems to be that making a way

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00:28:18,040 --> 00:28:22,600
for us to be reconciled to God 
was His joy. 

352
00:28:25,200 --> 00:28:29,800
We too should rejoice in the 
hope that because of what Jesus 

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00:28:29,800 --> 00:28:34,400
has done, we do not have to 
spend eternity apart from him. 

354
00:28:38,000 --> 00:28:45,680
So in conclusion, Christian joy 
rests on Christian hope. 

355
00:28:47,280 --> 00:28:51,600
And we say that Christian hope 
is not wishful thinking. 

356
00:28:51,880 --> 00:28:56,080
It's not holding thumbs hoping 
for the best. 

357
00:28:56,520 --> 00:29:00,000
It is faith. 
It's assurance of those things 

358
00:29:00,240 --> 00:29:04,160
that we do not see. 
And this all comes from God's 

359
00:29:04,160 --> 00:29:08,880
love, God's promises, and the 
completed work of Jesus. 

360
00:29:10,520 --> 00:29:14,480
Although we cannot manufacture 
this joy, we can prepare the 

361
00:29:14,480 --> 00:29:20,280
ground for this joy by humbling 
ourselves before God, praying 

362
00:29:20,280 --> 00:29:24,280
for more of His love and spirit 
in our lives, and keeping our 

363
00:29:24,280 --> 00:29:28,560
eyes fixed on Jesus, the author 
and perfector of our faith. 

364
00:29:29,440 --> 00:29:35,000
We can labor after this hope, as
Matthew Henry put it. 

365
00:29:37,200 --> 00:29:42,440
So finally, I want us to read 
the scripture again, and I'm 

366
00:29:42,440 --> 00:29:44,200
just going to add in a couple 
things. 

367
00:29:44,840 --> 00:29:52,960
So if you can go back to 
Philippians 4 verse 47, it says 

368
00:29:53,520 --> 00:29:59,280
rejoice in the Lord always. 
I will say it again, rejoice. 

369
00:30:01,560 --> 00:30:05,000
We are rejoicing in what He has 
done for us, in what He is doing

370
00:30:05,000 --> 00:30:10,000
for us, and in what He will 
still do for us, the hope of 

371
00:30:10,000 --> 00:30:12,400
sharing in His glory and 
eternity. 

372
00:30:13,160 --> 00:30:19,200
And when we put our focus there,
this allows us to let our 

373
00:30:19,200 --> 00:30:25,840
gentleness be evident to all. 
And we do that. 

374
00:30:26,160 --> 00:30:32,320
We are gentle to all. 
Because the Lord is near, His 

375
00:30:32,320 --> 00:30:35,400
coming is near, His presence is 
near. 

376
00:30:36,320 --> 00:30:42,840
And because the Lord is near, we
do not need to be anxious about 

377
00:30:42,840 --> 00:30:46,040
anything. 
But in every situation, by 

378
00:30:46,040 --> 00:30:50,120
prayer and petition, with 
Thanksgiving, we should present 

379
00:30:50,120 --> 00:30:54,000
our request to God. 
And the peace of God, which 

380
00:30:54,000 --> 00:30:58,120
transcends all understanding, 
will guard our hearts and our 

381
00:30:58,120 --> 00:31:03,200
minds in Christ Jesus. 
So what I want you to do now is 

382
00:31:03,200 --> 00:31:08,440
I want you to pray. 
I know that while I'm standing 

383
00:31:08,440 --> 00:31:12,640
here, I have anxious heart, and 
I know that many people here 

384
00:31:12,640 --> 00:31:16,840
have anxious heart as well. 
I know that I want to take hold 

385
00:31:16,840 --> 00:31:22,480
of these scriptures to not worry
and to not be anxious, but I 

386
00:31:22,480 --> 00:31:24,280
also know that it's a work of 
the Spirit. 

387
00:31:25,960 --> 00:31:28,280
All that I can do is come before
God and ask him. 

388
00:31:28,720 --> 00:31:33,480
I always think of the the 
section where where Jesus asked 

389
00:31:33,480 --> 00:31:37,000
the man, do you believe? 
And he says, yes, I believe but 

390
00:31:37,000 --> 00:31:42,000
help my unbelief. 
So let's pray together. 

391
00:31:43,400 --> 00:31:48,360
Pray that God would fill us with
His hope that would result in a 

392
00:31:48,360 --> 00:31:54,400
godly joy. 
Pray that God would take this 

393
00:31:54,400 --> 00:31:59,040
anxiety of us and replace it 
with this peace that he speaks 

394
00:31:59,040 --> 00:32:02,120
about. 
Yes, peace that that surpasses 

395
00:32:02,120 --> 00:32:07,360
all understanding. 
The Scripture says to bring our 

396
00:32:07,360 --> 00:32:12,880
request to God. 
It says be gentle to people and 

397
00:32:12,880 --> 00:32:19,120
bring your request to God. 
Let's do that now, you in your 

398
00:32:19,120 --> 00:32:21,600
own language. 
If you want to pray out loud, if

399
00:32:21,600 --> 00:32:25,440
you want to pray quietly, let's 
do that now, together. 

400
00:33:16,240 --> 00:33:26,000
Lord Jesus, as we read and learn
about joy, just pray, Lord, that

401
00:33:26,920 --> 00:33:30,840
you would help us. 
We see that this joy is not 

402
00:33:30,840 --> 00:33:35,080
something that we can 
manufacture by our sure sheer 

403
00:33:35,080 --> 00:33:39,680
willpower. 
So we bring our request to you, 

404
00:33:39,680 --> 00:33:43,400
Lord. 
Lord, we we say that we want to 

405
00:33:43,400 --> 00:33:45,800
rejoice. 
We want to rejoice in what you 

406
00:33:45,800 --> 00:33:50,760
have done. 
We want to sing praises and 

407
00:33:50,760 --> 00:33:56,080
shouts of joy for what you have 
done for us, that you have died 

408
00:33:56,080 --> 00:34:00,240
for our sins, that you have 
taken my sin upon yourself, that

409
00:34:00,240 --> 00:34:04,200
you have taken everyone here 
years sin upon yourself. 

410
00:34:05,440 --> 00:34:09,840
We want to rejoice, Lord, that 
you say that you will not leave 

411
00:34:09,840 --> 00:34:15,679
us nor forsake us, that you are 
walking here with us, that you 

412
00:34:15,679 --> 00:34:16,639
are near. 
Lord. 

413
00:34:18,800 --> 00:34:22,520
Lord, we want to rejoice in what
you have in store for us, Lord, 

414
00:34:26,560 --> 00:34:31,679
that you will come back, that 
you will come and do what you 

415
00:34:31,679 --> 00:34:37,760
said you were going to do, that 
there will be a time where there

416
00:34:37,760 --> 00:34:43,960
does not need to be suffering 
anymore or tears or hurt, all 

417
00:34:43,960 --> 00:34:49,719
lies and deception. 
We pray Lord that you would help

418
00:34:49,719 --> 00:34:55,440
us, Lord, to keep our eyes fixed
on you, to keep our eyes fixed 

419
00:34:55,440 --> 00:35:00,520
on what lay ahead. 
And we pray for more of your 

420
00:35:00,520 --> 00:35:05,440
peace. 
We pray this in Jesus name, 

421
00:35:06,320 --> 00:35:06,680
Amen.