Proverbs 29:18. Have you Heard the Joyful Sound?

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1 Proverbs 29:18 Have you Heard the Joyful Sound? Introduction The text says that where there is no vision, the people perish. There are many today who will take this text and use it like a trampoline and jump from scripture to scripture trying to emphasize the importance of Christians having a vision in our service. First of all, a Christian s outlook is important. A Christian should be looking unto God at all times for all things, and that includes our service, and the results of our service. Secondly, this text has nothing to do with that. There are other scriptures we can use to drive home the point of having great ambition for the Lord, but this is not one of them. So what does it mean? In the Bible you will find the word vision used 5 times before the text I am about to read. However the word vision that appears in proverbs 29:18 first appears in 1 st Samuel 3:1 where the Bible says And the word of the LORD was precious in those days; there was no open vision. The word of the Lord was precious, meaning that it was scarce. The reason? There was no open vision. 1 Samuel 3:1 puts this word in its proper context. The vision is referring to the word of God. During the Old Testament, God would speak through visions to His prophets. His prophet would then relay the message to others. However, during this time, that was not happening! God wasn t speaking! Proverbs 29:18 is not talking about us receiving some special insight from God in our mind like a dream. However, what it is saying is that without a word from God, the people perish! Heb. 1:1 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, 2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, Amos 8:11 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD: Priscilla Jane Owens wrote the Hymn we have heard the joyful sound. The first line of this great Hymn says we have heard the joyful sound: Jesus saves! Jesus saves! Throughout the rest of the sound Priscilla Owens penned some wonderful words about the most joyful sound every heard by mortal ear, namely that JESUS SAVES!

2 Jesus is the greatest letter ever written, the greatest word every spoken, and indeed the greatest song every sung! His name causes demons to tremble, angels sing, mountains melt, the earth shakes, rocks break, and the dead are brought to life! Truly hearing the joyful sound of Jesus transforms a person s life. Once someone hears the saving sound, they are never the same. I would like to point out several effects of hearing the joyful sound: as I preach on the Joyful sound of Jesus. The first effect of hearing the joyful sound is that I. You Receive your Sight Our text says that when there is no vision the people perish. The word perish carries with it several meanings. Hearing the joyful sound causes us to see! 2 Cor 4:3 says that if the gospel is hid, it is hid from them that are lost. V.6 says that the God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ! It is the saving sound of Jesus that causes us to see! What do we see? A. We see our Condition One meaning of the word perish is to expose, bare, or to make naked. It is through the Gospel of Jesus Christ that we see ourselves like Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden; naked in our sin! We see ourselves and our sinfulness uncovered and exposed before a holy God! B. We see our Course Another meaning of the word perish is to go back, or to take the lead. It was upon hearing of Jesus that we were made to see that we were leading our own life! We saw that like sheep we had turned every one to our own way! We saw that the Lord of Lords was not our leader, and that we were headed down a wrong road! C. We see our Consequence The words perish finally means to absolve, and to die. We see that the consequences of continuing down the self lead road of life leads to eternal death and destruction! We see that if we continue down the road without God, we are doomed for an eternity without Him!

3 D. We see our Consolation However, the good news of Jesus is just that, good news! Its causes us to see our sinfulness, our way, and our fate, but it also points the light to a Savior, who had the iniquity of us all laid upon Him! He points to the one who suffered and bled and died in our place, that we might have life, and life more abundantly! The old song writer said it like this: Lord nothing good have I, whereby thy grace to claim, Ill wash my garments white, in the blood of Calvary s Lamb! Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe, sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow! I am so glad I have heard and do hear the joyful sound! I have saw and do see the glory of God in the face of Jesus! The second effect of hearing the joyful sound of Jesus is that II. You are Redirected by your Shepherd The great Shepherd has redirected us! How were we redirected? A. Our Perception was Redirected What we looked too is different! The word keepeth means to regard, and observe! Like a watchman waiting for the morning, we now look to the law (the words of our God)! What we once ignored, now we are so careful to observe! B. Our Path was Redirected The word happy comes from a word that means to be lead, and to walk straight! He now leads us in green pastures, He now leads us beside the still waters, He now leads us on the straight and narrow way! We were lead by our sinful desires, but now we are lead by our saving shepherd! Once as lost sheep we wondered far and wide, but since we heard the shepherds voice, we stay close by His side!

4 C. Our Pleasure was Redirected The word happy means joyful, delight, to enjoy, and to be satisfied! Once we were on the pursuit of happiness, but every trail was a dead end. Though we said we were happy, we were never satisfied. There was a deep emptiness that nothing could fill! What we once threw away, we now cling to! What we once hated, now we love! What we once thought was foolish, is now our greatest desire! What we once thought was so lowly, we now consider to be the most profitable way to live! We once thought this so beggarly, but we now think it a fortune! We are so happy, we feel so fortunate, and we are content to stay in the way forever, because we heard the joyful sound! The third effect from hearing the joyful sound of Jesus is that III. You Relay the Story We tell this story for one reason. We understand the way of salvation. Rom. 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Rom. 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. Rom. 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. 1Cor. 15:3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: We understand that apart from this saving message, this joyful sound, the name of Jesus people perish! So we tell it! JESUS SAVES JESUS SAVES! I love to tell the story for some have never heard, the message of salvation, from Gods holy word. I love to tell the story, for those who know it best, seem hungering and thirsting to hear it like the rest! And when in scenes of glory I sing a new new song, till be the old old story that I have loved so long!

5 Conclusion: Now that we have saw the effects of hearing the joyful sound of Jesus; have you heard? Do you see? Do you tell others about Jesus and what He has done? Are you satisfied with Jesus alone? Today is the day of salvation, and now is the accepted time. Come to Jesus, and He will save you today! Maybe today you see Him, but you aren t speaking of Him to others, as you should. Or maybe you aren t satisfied with Him. Wherever the message finds you today, God can help you! Would join me in asking God to give us ears to hear Him, eyes to see Him, and a heart to be thrilled with HIM? Lets ask God to give us an attitude of gratitude, a spirit of thankfulness to Him for speaking to our hearts, and ask for grace and boldness from Him, that you might speak to someone else about Him!