THE JOY OF THE LORD IS YOUR STRENGTH (Discuss the context of Nehemiah 8:10) A. As Christian we should give A LOT of thought to our spiritual strength how to increase it. 1. For example, we can increase our spiritual strength in many ways a. Pray regularly through the day. b. Filter evil thoughts & images out of our minds. c. Take into our hearts God s refreshing Word. d. Consider ways to overcome evil with good. e. Consider ways to lift the spirit of a brother. B. Furthermore, we ought to know WHERE to find the source of spiritual strength (Psa 105:4-5). a. And not because there was any virtue in just listening to God s word, but because they reminded anew of what God was like & what He expected them to do, & they were ready to carry out His wishes. 2. But the text points out something else of importance; there was something specific about the SOURCE of their strength for the JOY of the LORD is your strength (8:10). [What is the joy of the Lord, & how can it be a source of spiritual strength for us? Joy is cheerfulness, calm delight (Strong s); it is used by metonymy here as the cause or occasion of joy (Thayer s) First, Jesus was strengthened by the joy of the Lord.] I. THE JOY OF THE LORD STRENGTHENED JESUS TO OBEY 1 1. Those Jews, who listened to Ezra read the Law of God, were strengthened. A. We are told that even the Lord had to LEARN something; He had to LEARN obedience.
Heb 5:7-9 who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers & supplications, with vehement cries & tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, & was heard because of His godly fear, 8 though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. 9 And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him, 1. He understood the definition of obedience from an early age; He obeyed Joseph & Mary long before He ever truly had to suffer. 2. But when His obedience caused Him to suffer then He truly learned obedience. a. It was then that He learned ALL that was involved in being obedient to God the Father. Heb 12:1-3 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, & the sin which so easily ensnares us, & let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author & finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising [disregarding: to think little of] the shame, & has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary & discouraged in your souls. 1. The joy set before Jesus that strengthened Him to endure the cross was the cheerfulness & calm delight of being with His Father once again (John 17:5). C. Any time we have to do something unpleasant or difficult, or endure a challenging situation in our lives, what is it that generally gets us through it? Isn t it the thought of some future joy? b. It was then He learned that ALL obedience didn t lead to happiness, sometimes it resulted in much pain & sorrow. 1. Joy empowers us to have the patience & endurance to go through the difficulty. B. What strengthened Jesus to endure the suffering? Was it not the joy of the Lord? 2. Sometimes the small doses of joy we get from being with the church will sustain us through our difficulties. 2
3. But at other times our distresses are so constant & so great that the only joy that can carry us through is the cheerfulness & calm delight of being with God in heaven. Matt 25:20-21 (Parable of Talents) So he who had received five talents came & brought five other talents, saying, Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them. 21 His lord said to him, Well done, good & faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. ENTER INTO THE JOY OF YOUR LORD. [That s the joy of the Lord that strengthened Jesus to obey His Father & endure the shame of the cross, & that joy ought to motivate us to do the same.] a. That judgment scene was depicted later in Matthew 25 as occurring in a general way to all the sheep (faithful in Christ). II. THE JOY OF THE LORD STRENGTHENS THE CHRISTIAN TO OBEY A. There is nothing with the potential of giving us more strength than the prospect of never ending joy! 1. Can you envision meeting the Lord on the judgment day? Does that thought bring you an overwhelming sense of joy? Matt 25:34-36 Then the King will say to those on His right hand, Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 for I was hungry & you gave Me food; I was thirsty & you gave Me drink; I was a stranger & you took Me in; 36 I was naked & you clothed Me; I was sick & you visited Me; I was in prison & you came to Me. b. So what appears to be a general statement made to all the faithful is described in the parable as a private meeting between you & the Lord on that final day. 2. Can you envision having a private moment with the Lord on the judgment day? c. He will speak specifically to you! Is that strengthening? 3
3. But what is equally strengthening is the promise He made to the faithful: Come you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you. Enter into the joy of Your Lord. [The joy of meeting the Lord & entering into His joy ought to strengthen us to be faithful to Him.] 3. That s why Peter said what he did in his first of two letters to the Christians of his day. 1 Pet 1:13-15 Therefore [verses 3-5] gird up the loins of your mind [prepare your minds for action], be sober [grave, serious], & rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ [eternal salvation]; 14 as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; 15 but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, III. TO STRENGTHEN US THE JOY OF THE LORD MUST BE OUR FOCUS B. How do we keep the joy of our Lord on our minds at all times? Let s go back a few verses. A. In order for something to strengthen you, don t you have to keep it on your mind? 1. The strength we get from eating is not hard to forget, since we need to eat several times a day & we enjoy it. 1 Pet 1:6-9 In this [eternal salvation] you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, & glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, 8 WHOM HAVING NOT SEEN YOU LOVE. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible & full of glory, 9 receiving the end of your faith the salvation of your souls. 2. But the spiritual strength we get from learning obedience (through suffering) is difficult to keep up, because we don t enjoy suffering. 1. Notice that Peter didn t command them to love the Lord; Peter knew they already did (read vs. 8)! 4
2. In fact, look at what Peter knew already knew about these saints: 3. How do we stay focused on the joy of the Lord so that it can be our strength? a. He knew they were greatly rejoicing in their salvation (6). b. Yet he knew they were grieving because of their various trials (6). c. He knew their faith was genuine & more precious than gold (7). d. He knew their faith would bring praise, honor & glory to Jesus Christ (7). e. He knew they believed Jesus would one day be revealed from heaven (8). f. He knew they were rejoicing with a joy they couldn t express with words (9). g. But there was one factor that motivated them above all the others; THEY LOVED JESUS, THOUGH THEY HAD NOT SEEN HIM (8). a. Very simply, WE MUST LOVE HIM for all the same reasons the early Christians loved Him. b. How do you love a Person you cannot see or have never seen? You stop & think about the affect that person s life has had on your own. Why do we love Abraham Lincoln? He helped to prevent our nation from dividing. By the grace of God, Lincoln s decisions eventually led to a unified & powerful nation. You can travel the length & breadth of this nation without getting authorization. You can enjoy the fruits of this land from North to South. c. How much more has the Lord s life effected us & for an eternal benefit? (1 Pet 1:17-21). [When you have a true & genuine love for the Lord, then the joy of the Lord will be your strength.] 5
CLOSING A. Why is there so little spiritual strength today? 1. Perhaps because there is so little love for the Lord, so little appreciation for the spiritual blessings He offers, & so little consideration of His love, mercy & grace toward man. 2. If you have a love for the Lord then it bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails (1 Cor. 13:7-8). 3. Is the Joy of the Lord is your strength? GOD S PLAN FOR OUR SALVATION: Hear or read the gospel of Jesus Christ: Mark 16:15-16; Acts 2; 3; 13; 17; Rom 10:17 Believe Jesus to be Lord, Christ, Son of God and Savior: Acts 2:36; John 3:16; 8:24; 20:30-31; Acts 4:12; Heb 11:6 Repent and turn from sin: Acts 2:38; 3:19; 17:30; 1 John 3:4 Confess faith in Jesus Christ: Matt 10:32-33; Acts 8:37; Rom 10:9-10 Be baptized for the forgiveness of sin and salvation: Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; Rom 6:3-4; Gal 3:27; 1 Pet 3:21 Obey the word of Christ, He will be your Judge: Titus 2:11-12; Heb 5:9; 2 John 9; Rev 2:10; John 12:48 6