Joy - Part 2

Joy - Part 2 Jesus Opens You

Intro: Jesus Opens You = Lyrics from the song we sang: “There’s beauty in my brokenness.”  I’ve got real love instead of pain. There’s freedom though You’ve captured me. I’ve got joy instead of mourning.”

The way to joy is brokenness; from doing you own will to do God’s will.  

           There is beauty in brokenness.

Last week a person told me joy is when you do something that you don’t want to do but you know God wants you to do = Brokenness.

          Brokenness is usually a process where we reach a point we surrender to the will of God. Sometimes our lives have to be broken before we recognize our need of God. Even Jesus experienced brokenness. He took bread and break it saying, “This is My body broken for you.”

          A week before he went to the cross. Mary the sister of Lazarus broke an heirloom alabaster box and anointed Jesus. Symbolic of 2 things: Jesus would soon be broken on the cross. And all who follow Jesus must be broken and poured out in surrender too to God.

          Ill. I can imagine what it was like for her to realize HS was impressing on her to take her greatest treasure and keepsake in life and open it for the first time and anoint Jesus with it. Maybe she struggled with taking this sacred thing give by her parents/grandparents? Maybe people tried to talk her out of it. Don’t waste it – sell it and get money for it! But at some point she realizes God is leading her to do this and she experiences the beauty of brokenness and surrenders to Him.

One gospel said the fragrance filled the whole house.

          This one little seemingly insignificant act was so beautiful God recorded it in the Bible. “There’s beauty in my brokenness.”

Joy is the result of brokenness to my will and obeying God’s will.

JOY is JESUS Opening You

          He doesn’t break you – you voluntarily break your will to His. IT may look like such a waste to others!

“The house was filled with the fragrance of the ointment.” Jn 12:3

When God comes into a place – He plans to fill it with Himself!

 At dedication Solomon’s temple – “priests could not continue to minister because the glory of the Lord filled the house.” I Kgs 8:11

  At Pentecost - “sound of wind from heaven filled the whole house.”  Acts 2:2

“and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues. . .” Acts 2:4

ill. When you get saved God comes into your life in part. Jesus is in you but not filling all of you. Like Jesus knocking on the door of your house and you invite Him into foyer, living room, kitchen but there are some places in your life you don’t want Him to be just yet. He wants to fill your house with His Presence – His fragrance gets on you in every area – not just part. He wants His Presence to fill your house so much that everyone knows you have been with Jesus.

          Ill. Peter and John and lame man healed in Jesus’ name. Confronted by religious officials which normally would have been intimidating. Yet Peter and John confident and boldly testified of Jesus to them. Scripture declares “They recognized they had been with Jesus.” Acts 4:13

          Broken from trying to save their lives to surrendering their lives into God’s hands. In brokenness you are submitted, settled, at peace, more occupied with God that people or things, rested, content yet willing to take risks.

There are some areas of your life you are not open to Jesus yet!

He will encourage you to trust Him but He will never force His way in!

Ill. Jesus was resurrected on the feast of firstfruits. He is the firstfruits of a resurrected life. Then 40 days later He ascended into heaven. Just before this He said, “don’t depart Jerusalem until you receive the promise of the Father – HS.” We don’t know how many people were present when He ascended but I Corinthians says “over 500 people at one time saw Him in His resurrected body.” My guess is this was at His ascension into heaven. If that is correct, then over 500 people heard Him say stay in Jerusalem until the promise of the Father comes upon you. Even if 500 did not personally hear Him say this – others who did would have told the other disciples what He said about waiting. “What were His last words?” = last words are important words.

9 days later the feast of Pentecost and only 120 are together in the upper room when HS came and filled house and the people and they spoke in other tongues. Where were the others? I don’t know the answer but I want to suggest a thought.

          People’s zeal comes and goes like the wind. The joy of life with God can elude us if we don’t intentionally go deeper in relationship with Him. He wants to fill your whole house not part.

Is there some part of your life that you have not made available to God so that He is allowed to fill?

-         You have to give Him your time, your willingness, your effort to seek Him with all your heart. You can’t wait for inspiration to come.

Whenever God gives us a promise – He expects us to pursue Him with that promise and increase our awareness of His Presence.

          He told His disciples to “wait for the Promise of the Father”. How many held onto that promise until they experienced Pentecost?

They had no idea of what that promise would look like. They had to be open to God.

Maybe at first there were over 500 gathered together – we don’t know. But day by day maybe the number decreased to finally 380 were no longer waiting for the Promise of the Father to come.

          I can hear some of the people. “We don’t know when this promise will come. It could be a year or a thousand years from now! Others may have said, “I’ve got crops to harvest in the field. I can’t stay here and wait an y longer. Another says, “I’ve got a job to go to.” There will always seem to be a legitimate reason not to do what God tells you to do. “Surely God does not expect me to lose my job, my crops, my etc.”

           Only you can say what you believe the Lord is telling you to do.

 2 most important questions:

What is the Lord saying to you?

What has the Lord been saying to you?

-         It may take 9 days like it did them before you figure out what God has been saying to your life – but it would be worth it.

But we know there were 120 people nine days later intentionally still waiting for a promise from God. If you were to ask any one of them why there were meeting together like this – they would say, “I just believe God wants me here.” They were so open to God.

When you are open to God – His life flows through you. When you cooperate with God, even when you don’t understand what HE is doing

– the life of God flows through you!

Jesus said “I am the Vine, you are the branches. He that abides in Me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit. For apart from ME, you can do nothing.” John 15:5

Abide = remain = continue = wait = endure

2 kinds of fruit:

1.    Inward fruit – the fruit of the Spirit       (L,j,p…)

2.    Outward fruit – ministry fruit      (people)

 

How do we abide in Him?

1.    Connection – listen/talk to Him

2.    Continuance – obey what He tells you to do.

3.    Confidence – Trust/rely on Him instead of your feelings.

This confidence is how to stay open to God!  You have learned to obey what He tells you to do even when you don’t know how things are going to turn out.

-         You are pregnant with a promise from God. When you are pregnant you don’t know they exact time the baby will be born but you have a general idea.

Ill. When the angel of God visits Mary and tells her she will become pregnant with a promise from God. You will have a baby boy. How can this be – I am a virgin? The HS will come upon you. Then he leaves her with these immortal words ringing in her heart.

“For with God nothing will be impossible.” Luke 1:37

“nothing” – 3 Greek words together meaning = no utterance by the Living Voice.

“impossible” – without ability

Translated – No Word from God will come without it’s own ability to perform it.

If God gives you a promise – then hidden within that promise is the grace to enable you to do what He requires.

What does Mary do? “I am the handmaid of the Lord. Be it unto me according to Your Word.”   = Brokenness.

-         After this she visits her cousin Elisabeth who is pregnant with John the Baptist. Baby John leaps for joy in Elisabeths womb when Mary enters the house.

-         After this in your Bible is what is called the Magnificat of Mary or the song of Mary. She is pregnant with a promise and like any woman who is pregnant she is more alive than ever.

When you are pregnant with a promise from God you are alive with the life of God in you = joy. You are so open to God now!

This is a spontaneous love song Mary sung to God and God liked it so much He recorded it in our Bible. “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior” and for nine more verses she sings to Him. We don’t have the music but I wonder what it sounded like.

What is she doing? She is doing what David wrote about in Psalm 37.

“Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.” Psalm 37:4

“Delight” – to be happy over, to make merry, to make sport of, to laugh together with, to enjoy, to rejoice about.

Do you do this? Intentionally push aside everyone and everything and focus all your delight on Him. Get awed and stunned by His unconditional love for you.  

What does it look like for you to delight yourself in the Lord? How do you express delight in Him?

Mary sang a love song to God. So did David and others in the Bible.  Have you ever enjoyed God so much that you spontaneously sing love songs to Him? Have you ever taken a love song that was meant to be sung to another human but instead sing it to God? As I was thinking about this an old song love song came to my mind and I change it a little and sang it to God.

“I will spend my whole life through – loving You – loving You.

Winter, summer, springtime too – loving You – loving You.

Makes no difference where I go, or what I do.

I will spend my whole life here – loving You.

Your part:

“I will spend my whole life through – loving You – loving You.

Winter, summer, springtime too – loving You – loving You.

Makes no difference where I go, or what I do.

I will spend my whole life here – loving You.

(I may be a preacher – or a teacher

I may be a musician – or electrician,

Makes no difference where I go, or what I do.

I will spend my whole here, loving You.

 

The point is, delighting yourself in the Lord is intentional. You don’t wait until you feel delight before you delight. You just start delighting yourself in the Lord without any feeling or inspiration.

 

Ill. Cowboy western. Drunk cowboy in saloon tells piano man to dance. Man says I can’t dance without music. Drunk fires gun at man’s feet and he dances without any music.

-         This week Pam told me I need to speak kindly and show love towards someone.  I said to her, “I just can’t do that.” She said yes you can do that. She was right – I could but I was waiting until I felt like it before I did it.

When you say you can’t do something that God has told you to do – the HS will come to you in some way whispering to you, “Yes you can do this!”

Whenever God gives you a Word – He gives you the grace to obey or trust Him for what He promises.

Your part it to remain open to Him!

So when we get a command form God like,

“Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice.”

This means, hidden in this Word from God is also the grace or ability to be able to do it. Why would God tell us to do this?

-         Because there is hidden strength in this word you need to discover. Your joy is like a treasure hidden in a field. When you find it you you rejoice at finding it.

Law requires but grace enables. Law requires us to do the impossible for us. But by grace He enables me to do what He requires me to do.

When you say I can’t do this – HS whispers “Yes you can do this.”

Stay open to Him. Remember nothing is impossible with God. Be like Mary and Make the choice to rejoice.

Concl:

 

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Joy - Jesus Opens You  – Part 4

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Wed night, Dec. 5, 2018