0:00 God is good all the time. He's put a song of praise in this heart of mine. God is good all the time. Through the darkest night, His light will shine. God is good. God is good all the time. 0:26 We were sinners, so unworthy. Still for us, He chose to die. He filled us with His Holy Spirit. Now we can stand and testify that His love is everlasting. 0:48 God is good all the time. He's put a song of praise in this heart of mine. God is good all the time. Through the darkest night, His light will shine. 1:12 God is good. God is good all the time. Though I may not understand all the plans you have for me, My life is in your hands. Through the eyes of faith, I can clearly see. 1:40 God is good all the time. He's put a song of praise in this heart of mine. God is good all the time. Through the darkest night, His light will shine. God is good all the time. He's put a song of praise in this heart of mine. 2:08 God is good all the time. He's put a song of praise in this heart of mine. He's put a song of praise in this heart of mine. He's put a song of praise in this heart of mine. He's put a song of praise in this heart of mine. He's put a song of praise in this heart of mine. 2:16 He's put a song of praise in this heart of mine. He's put a song of praise in this heart of mine. He's put a song of praise in this heart of mine. He's put a song of praise in this heart of mine. He's put a song of praise in this heart of mine. He's put a song of praise in this heart of mine. 2:29 He's put a song of praise in this heart of mine. He's put a song of praise in this heart of mine. He's put a song of praise in this heart of mine. He's put a song of praise in this heart of mine. He's put a song of praise in this heart of mine. He's put a song of praise in this heart of mine. 2:40 He's put a song of praise in this heart of mine. He's put a song of praise in this heart of mine. Celebrate, celebrate, celebrate the victory of the Lord. 3:02 He has done mighty things yet again. He has done mighty things yet again. He has done mighty things yet again. He will do mighty things yet again. He will do mighty things yet again. He will do mighty things yet again. 3:40 He will do mighty things yet again. He will do mighty things yet again. Celebrate the victory of the Lord. Come on and celebrate this gift of love. We will celebrate this gift of love. We will celebrate the Son of God who loved us and gave us life. 4:03 We will shout your praise in the King. He will shout your praise in the King. He will do mighty things yet again. He will do mighty things yet again. He will do mighty things yet again. offering in celebration grave. Come on and celebrate his gift of love. We will celebrate the Son of God who loved us and gave us life. We'll shout your praise, O King. You give us joy, nothing else can bring. We'll give to you our offering in celebration grave. 4:43 Come on and celebrate, celebrate, celebrate and sing. Celebrate and sing to the King. Come on and celebrate, celebrate, celebrate and sing. Celebrate and sing to the King. 5:13 Shout for joy and sing your praises to the King. Lift your voice and let your hallelujahs ring. Come before his throne to worship and adore. Enter joyfully now the presence of the Lord. 5:38 You are my creator. You are my creator. You are my deliverer. You are my redeemer. You are Lord and you are my healer. You are my provider. You are now my shepherd and my guide. Jesus, Lord and I worship you. Shout for joy and sing your praises to the King. Lift your voice and let your hallelujahs ring. Come before his throne to worship and adore. Enter joyfully now the presence of the Lord. 6:22 I have found a fortress. I have found a fortress in the living God. I have made the sovereign Lord my refuge. I have found a fortress in the living God. I have made the sovereign Lord my refuge. I have found a fortress in the living God. I have made the sovereign Lord my refuge. 6:29 And my voice will tell of all his saving grace. I have found a fortress in the living God. I have made the sovereign Lord my refuge. I have found a fortress in the living God. I have made the sovereign Lord my refuge. And my voice will tell of all his saving grace. 6:45 I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. 6:49 I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. 6:55 I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. 7:00 I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. 7:06 I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. 7:12 I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. 7:18 I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. 7:25 I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. 7:31 I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. 7:37 I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. 7:43 I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. 7:49 I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. 7:55 I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. 8:04 I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. 8:10 I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. 8:16 I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. 8:24 I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. 8:30 I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. I have found a fortress in the living God. 8:36 Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah to my King. Hallelujah, hallelujah, Jesus Christ my everything. 9:03 Let's sing hallelujah again on your voices. Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah to my King. Hallelujah, hallelujah, Jesus Christ my everything. 9:32 Another year is dawning, dear Father let it be. In working or in waiting, another year with Thee. 10:00 Another year of progress, another year of praise. Another year of proving Thy presence all the day. Another year of mercies, of faithfulness and grace 10:29 Another year of gladness, in shining of thy face Another year of leaning upon thy loving rest Another year of trust, of quiet, happy rest 10:55 Another year of service, of witness for thy love Another year of training, for all your work I love Another year is dawning, dear Father let it be 11:23 On earth or else in heaven, another year for thee Thou art worthy, thou art worthy, thou art worthy, thou art worthy, O Lord 12:00 To receive glory, glory and honour Glory and honour and power For thou hast created, thou hast all things created 12:24 And for thy pleasure, thou art worthy, O Lord And for thy pleasure, they are created Thou art worthy, O Lord 12:47 Thou art worthy, thou art worthy, thou art worthy, thou art worthy, O Lamb Thou art worthy, thou art worthy, O Lamb Thou art worthy, thou art worthy, to receive glory and power at the Father's right hand 13:22 For thou art worthy, thou art worthy, O Lord Thou art worthy, O Lamb 13:45 Thou art worthy, O Lamb Thou art worthy, O Lamb Thou art worthy, O Lamb Thou art worthy, O Lamb Thou art worthy, thou art worthy, thou art worthy, thou art worthy, thou art worthy, 14:18 Thou art worthy, thou art worthy, thou art worthy, thou art worthy, thou art worthy, thou art worthy, forget about everything else. 14:46 Bow down in our hearts before our Lord and King. The Lord is in his temple at all the earth. Be silent before him. Thou art worthy, O Lamb. 15:15 There is nothing else to say that is worth saying that can hold up against the light and the truth of that word. Let's forget about ourselves. Concentrate on him. He has clothed us in white robes, 15:38 made us kings and priests, that we might come before him, that we might give him praise and honor that's due unto his name. 16:02 It says about the Lord Jesus prophetically in the book of Isaiah. The God of all history wrote this hundreds of years, 400 years before Jesus came to the earth. 16:24 Isaiah 61, the spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord God has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted. In the margin it says, good news to the humble. He sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives, 16:45 and freedom to prisoners, and proclaim the favorable year of the Lord. This is what the Lord has done for us. And there is a day of vengeance of our God, but today is still the day, 17:06 the year of his favor, of his grace. Let's draw near to him. And Jesus came to comfort all those who mourn and to give them a garland of beauty instead of ashes and the oil of gladness instead of mourning, 17:27 a mantle of praise instead of spirit of fainting, so they will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified. Let's stand with the assurance 17:48 that the Lord is the one who has clothed us and planted us. And he will give us grace that we might give him glory. Let's lift up our voices, brothers and sisters, give thanks and praise to God for all that he's done, for he's a great and mighty redeemer, 18:07 and he's mighty to save, and his loving kindness endures forever. And his faithfulness is great, and his mercies are new, morning by morning. Yes, Lord, we want to praise you. We want to give you thanks. We want to give you glory, Lord. 18:22 You are worthy of all praise and honor and glory and exaltation, Lord. We thank you. We thank you, Lord, for your great faithfulness, for your great love, Lord, for your loving kindness that overflows, Lord, for your wisdom 18:36 that's unsearchable, Lord. We thank you and praise you. We thank you for your great, great compassion, Lord. Yes, Lord, you will never leave us nor forsake us, Lord. We thank you that you're always on our side against the accusations 18:49 of the evil one, Lord. We thank you and praise you that you have overcome Satan and crushed him under your feet, Lord, and you are crushing him under our feet also, Lord. We thank you for the spirit of grace, Lord. We thank you 19:01 for the spirit of liberty. We thank you, Lord, that the veil is lifted and we can glimpse you, Lord. We just want to praise you and thank you, Lord, and exalt you worthy of praise and glory and honor, Lord. All thanksgiving 19:12 and honor and blessing and praise be unto you, Lord, forever and ever. This time, Lord, we ask that you be exalted. Lord, we want to have a zeal for your kingdom. We believe that you'll put this in our hearts. Give us years to hear 19:32 that you might write faith in our hearts even today, Lord. We thank you. We praise you. We pray in your mighty name, Jesus. Please be seated. So, let's go over our memory verses. 19:56 Last week, we had this verse from Ephesians 4.1. You can repeat after me. Ephesians 4.1. Walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called. 20:17 Amen. And this week, we have this wonderful promise from the Lord who came to set us free. He said, if the Son of Man sets you free, you will be free indeed. Let's enter into this freedom. 20:37 Please repeat after me. Acts 13.39. Through Him, everyone who believes is freed from all things from which you could not be freed. say that again. 20:58 Say that again. Through Him, everyone who believes is freed from all things from which you could not be freed. That's Acts 13.39. So, 21:18 brothers and sisters, let's pay close attention to what the Lord wants to speak to us. We have the privilege of having our dearly beloved brother Santosh. I believe most of you, all of you, I hope, for those of you who don't know 21:38 brother Santosh, he's a dear brother to us. He's one of brother Zach's sons who's made it a point to come and be with the church in Bangalore and bless us. And he's done that many times. And we're so thankful and privileged 21:51 to hear him. We believe the Lord will speak to us according to our need. Our eyes are on the Lord and our ears must be tuned and the Lord will speak to us a word according to our need. Brother Santosh, can you hear me and can you see us? 22:09 Yes, I can see you and I can hear you and I wish I was there in person. Right, Brother Santosh. Thank you so much for joining us this morning and we're all eager to hear what you have to share with us. Please, please share 22:24 what's on your heart. Yes, thank you Brother Suresh and the other elders, Brother Charles, Brother John, Brother Danish, and also all of you dear brothers and sisters and the children there in CFC are seeing the view of the hall 22:44 there makes me very homesick. I've been tremendously blessed the last two years to be with you all and I felt very spoiled, all of my children, my wife as well. They send you their greetings, they wish they could see you 23:01 all again soon and God willing, we hope to. I'm not making any promise about exactly when that will be but I hope soon. It's a real joy. I cannot express enough how much you all mean to us and I really mean that. I never like to exaggerate 23:18 or flatter but you all are really very, very precious to my family, to my parents of course but to me especially and to my wife and my children. I just hope you know that and we think about you often, we look back on pictures 23:35 and talk about memories that we have of being with you all so thank you for how much you have always filled up our hearts. I'm very blessed by the theme that you've chosen for this and praise the Lord for 51 years of blessing 23:55 but what a good time to rejoice, rejoice in hope and in the blessing of God and how much God has done for us. I think it's a very good thing to reflect on. Rejoice, rejoicing and joy is something that we don't often 24:15 think about. We hear often in the church about our calling in life is to become like Jesus and when you hear challenging messages and you're stirred up, it will produce in you a passion to be like Jesus. 24:35 I'm sure it does that you hear challenging, stirring messages and it produces in you a passion to be like Jesus. I have many memories especially in 40 Da Costa Square because the PE building was built after I left home but many memories 24:56 of sitting there and just being stirred in my heart to follow Jesus more wholeheartedly, convicted of sin and laziness or backsliding and being stirred on to follow Jesus more wholeheartedly. But in the midst of that passion 25:15 to be like Jesus, it's possible that we might miss joy and we might miss that joy is what God intended for us to have all along when he brought us into his family. I heard a little joke once about what is or a riddle 25:35 maybe is a better word for it. What is the biggest word in the English language? and the answer for that is the word smiles because it's got the word mile in the middle. It's one mile long. So for you 25:55 children, maybe you'll like that. The biggest word in the English language is the word smiles because it's got the word mile in the middle. now it's just a nice little riddle but there's something there that I often think about 26:10 that should be a reflection of our Christianity. See, the closer we get to God, I believe, the more we will really know his joy. If you turn with me to Psalm 16, it's a verse 26:31 that we have heard often in the church. Psalm 16. The last part of verse 11 reads like this, In your presence is fullness of joy. 26:51 In your presence is fullness of joy. I've thought about it like this. Imagine if you're walking by a restaurant that you know cooks good food. As you know that you're getting closer to the restaurant if they're making the food 27:10 there, or let's say, maybe let's use a better example. You're coming home from work after a long day and you really love your wife's cooking, which I hope us husbands all do. And from a distance you can get the smell of 27:26 what your wife is cooking at home. Some lovely chicken curry or something like that, whatever your favorite meal is and you can smell it from a distance and your heart gets excited that you get to eat this wonderful delicious meal 27:44 that you can smell that's cooking on the grill or on the stove. I thought about it like that with Jesus, with God. If you're really getting closer to heaven, you will really be able to almost taste the joy that is in heaven. 28:04 Another place in the Psalms it says, taste and see that the Lord is good. And I really believe that if we are actually getting closer to God, closer to him in his nature, and heaven is just a place in heaven. It says, in his 28:23 presence is fullness of joy. Wherever God is, there will be joy. It's not just in heaven. We pray often that his presence will be in our meetings. In every meeting, we pray that his presence will be there. And what is the 28:39 mark of his presence if Psalm 16, verse 11 is true? There will be a joy about us. And I often try to test that I'm actually getting closer to God by this test. How much joy is there actually in my life? And yes, 28:59 of course, we want to be more holy. We want to be more like Jesus. We want to be pure in our speech, in our thoughts, in our attitudes and motives. But with all of that holiness, growing in that holiness means also growing in 29:16 the joy of the Lord. In Matthew 25, we read a story that Jesus told, which again, you all know very well. It's the story of the talents and in the 29:38 story, we're told that this master gave three different servants of his some talents. He gave one of them five, another of them three, two, and the other he gave one. I won't read the whole story, but I want you to describe the 29:55 reward. I want you to see the reward that these first two servants get because they were faithful in what they did. Because they were faithful, here's how that reward is described. This is a picture of us getting to be in 30:13 the presence of the Lord, getting to be there finally. This is the final destination. We've worked hard, we've been diligent, we've been faithful, and now we get to the reward. What's the reward? In Matthew 25, verse 21, his 30:32 master said to him, well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things. I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master. In other words, come and see how happy I am with you, is 30:52 how I paraphrase that. The joy of the master is what? How happy the master is with this servant who was faithful. He says the same thing to the second slave in verse 23, the last part. Enter into the joy of your master. 31:12 When I imagine Jesus swinging the gates open to heaven to welcome you in or welcome me in. He'll say, come and see how happy I am here. How joyful it is here. This is heaven. And we can fool ourselves into thinking that 31:32 we have become more like God because we obey certain rules or we understand certain doctrines or we think that our standard of outward righteousness has reached some level. we know the Bible more or we go to more prayer 31:49 meetings or I'm a part of this church. We can easily fool ourselves into thinking that we have become more like God. See, Satan has managed to convince the world that God has extremely high expectations of us. You have to 32:06 be like this and you better not mess up or if you messed up, God is angry at you. And he's convinced even Christians who are children of God, he's convinced them that God is very hard to please. He's always just upset and 32:24 angry about some little thing that you did. Oh, you slipped up, you lusted for a moment or you said something with your tongue. Yes, sin is serious, but the devil has managed to paint this picture of a God who just always seems 32:39 grumpy and gloomy and just grumpy. You know, some dads are like that sadly, some grandpas are like that, but God, that's what the devil has convinced many Christians, a grumpy dad up in heaven who's just, oh, you messed up 32:55 again, you messed up again, or that he's boring, that he's just always, if there's anything enjoyable, he doesn't want you to have that. And the result was that in Jesus' time, the people who were pursuing showing God outwardly, the 33:12 most, ended up looking exactly like that. If you met the Pharisees, you would meet a bunch of glum, stern, strict-looking people, always looking like they're looking right into your soul almost, and you better not mess up, 33:30 and I'm sure the little children, when they saw the Pharisees coming, they were afraid of, they might yell at them or something, so they ran away, and they were always in fear, and the result of that was, you see that in 33:46 the Pharisees' life, it's described like this in Matthew 23, turn back a couple of pages, in Matthew 23, you can read a description of the people who thinking that God was this angry, glum, hard-to-please person, they 34:08 ended up like that, they themselves ended up angry, glum, hard-to-please, because they didn't have the joy of the Lord, and they probably thought we're the most spiritual people in the world, we're closest to God, and yet they were 34:23 the farthest from God, and if we really knew God, and we knew that God is joy, he's full of joy, his presence is full of joy, joy just comes out of him, as it were, like a fragrance, you come near God and you'll smell joy, you can 34:43 see it from a distance, and the people who thought they were getting closer to God, if we, if they had really known, they knew Psalm 16, verse 11, it was in their Bible, the Pharisees did, but they didn't think about that verse, 34:58 if they had really meditated on it, there was a Pharisee who thought, Lord, you said that in your presence is fullness of joy, but I don't have joy, I think such a Pharisee would have come to know the truth, and come to 35:11 really know God, and so you see, for example, the fruit of such a life, of following a God who is angry and stern, and always ready to pick at some little thing about me, you see, for example, in Matthew 23, verse 14, he 35:33 says, woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you devour widows' houses, and for a pretense, you make long prayers, therefore you will receive greater condemnation. What's wrong with a long prayer? They prayed 35:49 long prayers in public, they wanted to be heard, and Jesus, what do you think he prayed? He prayed forever prayers. See, there's long prayers, which is you're measuring how long it is, and then there's prayers which are, you 36:08 cannot measure because it's constant, it's forever, because it's a conversation. If prayer is a conversation with God, then you're not measuring how long it is. You're just talking to God. I mean, do you ever measure how 36:26 long you talk to your wife or your husband, if you really love your husband or wife, do you sit there and say, guess what wife, honey, we spoke for 45 minutes. You don't think like that. If you really love your wife, you 36:39 really love your husband, you could speak for hours, days, and you're not measuring the time. The Pharisees were measuring their prayer meetings because they were serving a strict glum God. Jesus, when he spoke to the father, it was 36:57 his father in heaven. There was no time limit. If he got tired and the prayer had to stop because he had to go to sleep, okay, go to sleep, but get up in the morning and continue talking to your father in heaven. So you see how 37:11 for the Pharisees, because they served this strict God, and they thought, they probably thought, oh, if I don't pray for at least half an hour today, God is going to be angry at me, so I better pray a long prayer, and you 37:24 missed it, you forgot to pray, you only prayed for 10 minutes, God is angry with you, he's going to punish you, you're going to fail your exam. These are the lies the devil tells us about who God is. Here's another one, 37:38 you skip down to verse 27. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you are like whitewashed tombs, which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead man's bones and all uncleanness. 37:58 So you too outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. And they weren't merciful, because the God they served was so strict and unmerciful and unloving and demands, high demands 38:16 on people, they became like that to others. They put heavy burdens on people and wouldn't even help them at all. This is the lie that the devil has managed and I think it's possible that we are sitting in a church like this and having 38:32 such thoughts that God is like that. I believe it's quite possible and I know that because that's how it was for me. Now, I believe that when we really preach a high standard of holiness, a high standard of righteousness, because 38:47 God is extremely righteous, far more holy than we realize. But the danger is because we are human beings, we only see dimly that we can paint an idea of God that in our own idea of what the righteousness of God and the holiness of 39:05 God looks like, we imagine that that must look very strict and don't have any fun because fun and holiness cannot mix together because we have this earthly idea of what holiness is and fun is, that they are two very different 39:22 things, that joy and holiness cannot be together. But that's a lie from the devil. It's the devil who has convinced us that if you want to be holy, you cannot have joy. And if you want to have fun and be joyful, then you cannot be holy. 39:37 And yet, God is completely holy and completely full of joy. That's what Jesus came to show us. When Jesus came and the disciples saw him, they saw somebody who was far more holy than any of the Pharisees, but he was joyful. 39:57 He had such overflowing joy and he represented the Father. And my dear brothers, dear sisters, and even dear children, God has called us, he has placed us in the church so that we too can represent God. And without condemning 40:14 yourself, without feeling any shame or guilt, you ask yourself, what do the people who are closest to you think about God based on what they've seen about you? Your co-workers, let's say, or your relatives, your neighbors, your wife 40:35 at home, your husband at home, your children, your parents, what picture of God have they gotten from you? Has it been like the Pharisees? Oh, God is very strict. Don't do this, don't do that. Oh, you messed up here. Think, parents, think 40:51 about it with your children. What picture of God have they gotten from watching your life or from how you've interacted with them? Has it been like the Pharisees? Strict, glum, serious, no fun, no joy? Or was it like Jesus who 41:06 was so full of joy? In John 15, if you'll turn there with me, please. John chapter 15. John 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17 41:29 are Jesus' final sermon, as it were. And this is a sermon not to the crowds. In Matthew 5, 6, and 7, he gave a sermon on a mountain to his disciples, but also to a large multitude of people who were there. And many times you see him 41:45 speaking to the multitudes. But here was a private message, a private meeting with his disciples before he was killed. And in that, it's amazing if you think about it and you read about it sometime, you'll see how much he 41:59 mentions joy. And it's captured in this verse especially. Matthew, sorry, John 15, verse 11. These things I have spoken to you. In other words, all these three and a half years, he's telling Peter and James and John and 42:17 Thomas and Philip, Nathaniel, he's saying, I've been with you three and a half years and I've said to you a lot, but all of these things I have said to you so that you will have my joy. I have had so much joy throughout my 33 and a 42:36 half years and I'm about to go and hang on the cross and suffer and be beaten and blood will come gushing down my, I'm going to go to Gethsemane and their blood will come oozing out of my skin and then they're going to beat me and 42:49 they're going to put a crown of thorns on me. They're going to poke nails into my hand and crucify me and I'm going to die. But I have so much joy. And he said, listen, I've told you about the father. I've told you about 43:02 righteousness and purity and all of that because I want this joy that I have that's bursting inside of me. I want it to be in you as well so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be full so that you too can have this overflowing joy. 43:21 And I remember some years ago I read this verse and I actually just kind of put my hand on my chest and said, Lord, I missed it somehow. I've been in CFC from the time CFC started and I feel like I've missed joy. I have such a desire to be 43:41 holy and pure and I confess and I weep when I fall. But somehow in the midst of all of that I miss joy. And yet you've said here that all of these things that you said, even a command like where Jesus spoke about hell and gave warnings and all 43:59 those things he said. But all of this, even the warnings is so that your joy may be made full. I said, Lord, I want that. Now, the reason that we struggle with joy is because especially now, I think that if the standard that we are 44:17 taught is low, oh, you just confess your sins, get forgiveness and then just wait to go to heaven and that's it. Maybe such people will actually be more joyful because they think God is happy with them. And I understand that when 44:36 we preach that there's more to life than that, that God has called us to become like him. Jesus called us to follow him and to take up our cross, that there would be suffering in the Christian life. When those are the things that 44:50 we hear about, it's easy that in the midst of all of that hearing about suffering and taking up the cross and all that, that we miss that, all of that is meant to give us true joy. And we can think, well, how could God actually be joyful 45:07 over me when he knows everything about me? See, I know everything about me. And I know, yes, I know the things that God has helped me with, but I also know the things that are still imperfect. I know those areas that I still fall in. 45:23 I know those areas that are still, I'm embarrassed about or ashamed of. And I think, well, God, you see that too. How can you be joyful with me? I'm not joyful with me. When I think about myself, I think, oh man, I'm like this 45:37 and I'm like that and I'm not joyful. And I think God knows me even more deeply than I do. He's probably not happy with me either. And dear brothers, dear sisters, dear children, oh, that we would know how much God delights in us. 45:54 Psalm 103. Psalm 103, David begins by saying, bless the Lord, oh my 46:14 soul, and you know, David had such a joy in knowing the blessings of God. For example, verse 3, who the forgiveness of our sins and healing from sicknesses. He just delighted. He says, bless the Lord. 46:35 All that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord. Verse 2, he repeats it. Don't forget his benefits. David rejoiced so much in something that he was given from God, like forgiveness. We have been given far more 46:51 than that. As you hear, forgiveness is what they had in the Old Testament. Sanctification, becoming like Jesus, that's our calling in the new covenant, and that's a higher standard, yes, but it should be a reason for even 47:05 more joy. If all David was given was forgiveness, verse 3, and he was so excited about that, when we have been given so much more, the opportunity to be like Jesus, to be freed from all sin, to never be bound by sin ever 47:24 again, victory, and being saved completely from sin, when we've been given more, shouldn't our joy be more? Of course it should. But look at what he says in verse 13. Just as a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has 47:44 compassion on those who fear him. For he himself knows our frame, or the literal word there is when it says our frame, what we are made of. He is mindful that we are just dust. I love those verses. David realized that God's not 48:05 angry at me. He knows I'm dust, and he knows that, he knows my weakness, he knows how, my frame, he knows what I'm made of. And Jesus came to this earth, and was tempted, and in the same way as we are, and felt that same 48:23 pull, so that he understands even more. If David could say, God understands that I'm just dust, how much more should we be able to say that? Because Jesus came and took on this flesh of dust, and he is a sympathizing high priest, we're told 48:42 in the book of Hebrews. So, God is pleased with you because you're his child. Now, if you live a life that's displeasing to him, yes, we must take that seriously, but God delights in us simply because we are his children. 49:00 That's where it starts. When we accepted his invitation to be a part of his family, he was so excited about that because Jesus died for that reason, so that he could be the firstborn of many brothers and sisters. We're told Romans chapter 8, and also 49:19 in the book of Hebrews that Jesus says in one place, look, Father, me and all the children that we have. So, what I see there is that God is delighted when he has one more child, and when you accepted Christ's invitation, 49:36 when you repented of your sins and accepted in faith Christ's invitation for you to be a part of God's family, it brought him so much joy. Any of you who are parents, you know what joy you feel when you have a little baby. 49:51 That baby's finally arrived, and you're so excited, and you're just full of joy. Everything is great. How much more our Heavenly Father when we are his children for eternity? So, God is bursting with pleasure over us. I like to think of it like that. 50:07 You know that verse in Zephaniah 3, verse 17? It says, he will rejoice over you with shouts of joy. And earlier, in verse 14, he says, shout for joy, O daughter of Zion. You're a daughter of the king. I love that he has an encouragement for 50:24 you sisters, and for you young girls. You're a daughter of Zion. You're a daughter of God. You're in his family. And he says, I rejoice over you. Why? Because you're my daughter. Because you're my son. So, God, I love to think about this, that 50:41 God is bursting with pleasure with me. Yes, he knows that I still have a long way to go. He knows my frame. He knows what I'm made of. He knows my weakness. But if you're honest with God and say, Lord, I want to live a life that's 50:55 pleasing to you. I haven't done it right so far, but I really want to follow you. Help me. I'm your child, and please help me. And he's bursting with pleasure simply because you are his child. If you turn with me to Matthew chapter 13, 51:13 I want to show you one of the shortest parables that Jesus told. Matthew chapter 13. This is a parable that is exactly one verse long. It's a very short parable, and maybe one that's easy 51:34 for us to overlook and forget about. Matthew 13, verse 44. It says that the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again. A treasure which is hidden in the field. 52:00 I don't know what picture comes to your mind when you think about this field. I used to think about it like just a field. Okay, there's nothing wrong with a field. You find the treasure in it. But I started to see this field as a picture of my life. 52:16 And sometimes we can get this picture of my life being like a junkyard. A lot of mess. Things, garbage thrown there, and weeds growing. If you've ever driven by a field where that doesn't belong to anybody, maybe a property that somebody's bought, 52:33 but they haven't built the building on it yet, you see these weeds are growing, probably some snakes there, some rats, and junk people throw there, garbage there. That's that field. And that's what I think this field was like. 52:50 Very ugly to look at. Very messy. A lot of junk and garbage and trash and bad smelling and weeds growing and all of that. And maybe you think of your life like that. When you think about your earthly life, you think about all the messes you've made 53:07 and how you wish you could do things better or had done things differently. You made a mess of your life. You've sinned. You've failed God in different ways. You're not as spiritual as some others in the church. You're not as spiritual as you thought you would be 53:22 after coming to the church for so long. All these thoughts the devil tries to put in as he has put into my life, in my mind as well, which cause us to look at our life like this messy field, this junkyard, this lots of trash and garbage there. 53:39 But it says that this treasure was hidden in exactly such a field. And it brought me much joy some years ago to see that God has hidden joy in my life and I was tempted to think what a mess I've made of my life or so much regret perhaps. 54:10 And the Lord said, your life is like this. In the midst of this, there's a joy that's hidden somewhere. There's a treasure that's hidden somewhere. And I want to encourage you, maybe somebody here in this meeting or listening to this message, 54:23 who feels like that's a picture of their life, a field that's full of mess and foul smelling and just weeds growing and gotten out of control. You don't know how to get out of that mess. In the midst of that mess, I hope you'll be encouraged to know that there is a treasure hidden. 54:43 And God changed my perspective of my life when I realized that he has hidden himself right here in my circumstances in my life. So whatever your circumstances are like, today is Sunday, tomorrow maybe you have to go to work, 54:59 maybe it's a work situation, maybe it's a family situation, a situation in your marriage or with one of your children or dealing with a financial problem or a health problem, whatever it might be. It could feel like a field that's a complete mess. 55:13 There's no hope in sight. It just seems impossible to ever recover from this. In the midst of that, Jesus says, I want to be there. And what does this man do? He finds the treasure. The field is the same. It's still a mess. 55:29 The weeds are still there. But he says, I've got to buy this field because there's a treasure there. And God gave me a willingness and a love for his circumstances and his doings in my life. Like that hymn that Frederick Faber wrote, 55:47 I worship the sweet will of God. Whatever another hymn we sing, whatever God ordains is right. That means that I accept joyfully whatever God is allowing because I realize that this field that he's giving me has a treasure hidden in it. 56:05 Look at what this man does. A man found the treasure. When he found the treasure, that became the focus. And for him, the field, whatever the circumstances of the field looked like, whatever that field looked like, didn't matter to him. 56:20 His focus was on the treasure. And I want to encourage you, dear brothers, dear sisters, dear children, as I was encouraged through as I meditated on this short little parable, that in my life circumstances, exactly as they are, 56:35 God has hidden a treasure. And when I see that treasure, then I can be joyful. I can be proud of this plot of land. And when he told his neighbors, hey, I bought a piece of land. And they asked him, where's this piece of land? 56:49 And he says, yeah, it's over there. And they look at him and they say, well, what, how can you be excited about that junk piece of land? What good is in that land? What they didn't know is that he had found the treasure. 57:01 And people may look at your life and think, why are you so happy? Things don't seem to be going your way. And you have this sickness or you have that other trial you're going through. You're suffering in this way. But what they don't know is you have found joy. 57:16 You have found Christ. There's a hymn that we like to sing here at RLCF. It goes like this. Little is much when God is in it. And another part of that chorus goes, there's a crown and you can win it if you go in Jesus' name. 57:37 If Jesus is in that field with you, hidden deep down within it, there's a crown waiting for you. And you can win it. It's for you. Don't worry about somebody else's crown. Don't compare yourself with somebody else's piece of land. 57:49 But exactly in the life circumstances that God has given you and given me, if Jesus is there and we find that treasure of Jesus hidden in my life, then it'll bring us joy. And so I've gone about life circumstances now, or I try to at least. 58:08 I sometimes don't do it perfectly. But whenever I go through life, I say, Jesus, you're here somewhere. I'm walking through the weeds and I'm getting poked with thorns and I'm smelling this and there's some more trash or garbage over there. 58:24 But Jesus, you're here somewhere. I want to find you, Jesus, in this trial. That's how we will find joy. In the midst of that, say, Lord Jesus, you're here somewhere. It's like a hide and seek. He's hidden himself in this ugly looking field. 58:40 That is my life. And then this man goes and hides it again. And then he says, I will sell everything to find Jesus in the midst of my circumstances. Paul experienced this. If you read in 2 Corinthians chapter 6. 59:00 It's a little phrase he uses here, but it's a very powerful one. 2 Corinthians chapter 6. We read in verse 10. Sorrowful yet always rejoicing. A very short phrase. Sorrowful. He was going through sorrow. 59:21 He was going through lots of problems he was facing. Paul probably faced far more problems than you and I ever faced. But in the midst of that, he was honest. He says, yes, I'm sorrowful. There's maybe tears coming down my eyes. 59:35 And I try to do it in secret so that I don't bring too much attention to it. He says, I'm sorrowful, but always rejoicing. So maybe Paul, you know, Paul had to, as he walked through, I'm sure it grieved him when he looked at the churches that he planted and how so many of them were backslidden. 59:55 In one place, he says, I have many co-workers, but only one of them really seeks Christ's interest. All the others seek their own interests. And that must have grieved Paul so much to see one person after another. When Paul writes about Demas, saying he has left us and chased, gone after the world, there 1:00:13 was sorrow in Paul's life to see his co-worker walking away. And yet in the midst of all of that, he says, I'm always rejoicing. You cannot steal my joy from me, was what I hear Paul saying. You can allow, you can pierce my body. 1:00:30 You can hurt me emotionally. You can do this or do that. But I'm always rejoicing. And if God could do it for Jesus, in spite of all he faced, if God could do it for Paul, he can do it for us. Before I close, I thought I would just share a few things that I see in scripture about how 1:00:50 to truly have joy, to have this rejoicing. Rejoicing, you know, it's not just joy. It is the act of being joyful. And so I want to talk about that. So it's not just a feeling. There's an action involved in us. So in that regard, I want to just mention five things. 1:01:14 If you have a pen and paper, you can write it down and meditate on it. Maybe the Lord will show you some other things. But here are five things I see in scripture that show me how I can truly always be joyful. And the first is to truly repent. 1:01:30 You know, it's interesting to me that when Jesus talked about, in Luke chapter 15, about things that were lost, there was a lost sheep, there was a lost coin, and there was a lost son or a prodigal son. The son was lost. 1:01:49 In all three of those parables, there's one thing that's common, or two things that's common, let's say. The first thing is that something was lost and it was found. That's the first thing. That's in all three of those stories. 1:02:05 The other thing you see in all three of these stories is there's tremendous rejoicing. This is the parable of joy. I don't, I don't like to think of it as a lost parable. Some people call it the lost parables. I call it the joy parables because at the end of the story, there's lots of joy. 1:02:24 There's a big party going on. The, the, the, the, the shepherd calls his friends and says, rejoice with me. The woman calls her friends and says, rejoice with me. The father throws a big party, calls his friends and says, rejoice with me. 1:02:42 So it is a, it's the parables of rejoicing. And, but that comes through repentance. This son repented. And because he repented, he experienced the, I don't think he'd ever seen his father as joyful as he did. 1:03:02 And that's why the devil doesn't want you to repent. He knows that when you repent, you will experience the joyfulness of God. There's a Psalm in which I see the word joy coming often. You know which Psalm that is? It's Psalm 51. 1:03:21 A Psalm that David wrote after he had sinned deeply. After all that God had done for him, he sinned horribly. He committed adultery with another man's wife, one of his best, most trusted servants, soldiers. One of his most trusted soldiers, while that soldier was fighting for David. 1:03:44 In fact, at one point, David went into the battle and the, his generals told him, probably Uriah also told him, David, you shouldn't be here. They almost killed you. They cornered David at one point, almost killed him. And he was just rescued at the last minute. 1:03:58 And after that, his soldiers told him, don't come into battle anymore. You stay home. And here's one of the soldiers saying, we'll fight for you. You, you take it easy. And while he's taking it easy, David commits adultery with the wife of one of his trusted 1:04:13 generals and then kills that general so that he can marry this wife, horrible, horrible sin. Nathan, the prophet came and confronted him and said, you're the man. David's response was, you're right. I am the man. I have sinned against God and I repent. 1:04:32 And after that, he writes this, this Psalm, Psalm 51. It's precious. It's a, it's a Psalm of repentance, but it's also a Psalm of joy. I want you to see how many times joy is written in this Psalm. Verse eight, make me to hear joy and gladness. 1:04:50 Let the bones, which you have broken, rejoice. If God has disciplined you, if God has allowed you to go through some difficult trial because of your sin, even his purpose in that is that when those bones that he has broken come back 1:05:06 and are restored, that there is joy. There's always greater joy after repentance. There it is. And then we'll continue reading in verse 12. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and sustain me with a willing spirit. 1:05:28 Verse 14, deliver me from blood guiltiness. Oh God, the God of my salvation. Then my tongue will joyfully sing of your righteousness. So this isn't a Psalm of regret, a Psalm of shame. This is a Psalm of true repentance because David is speaking about joy. 1:05:48 And here's a mark I've come to see of true repentance. If you truly repented, yes, there will be guilt. There will be, sorry, there will be weeping, but there will be joy. There will be joy. And I've come to see that, you know, condemnation will leave you without joy. 1:06:09 True repentance is a radical hatred for sin, a turning, and then an experiencing of the joy of the Lord. And David experienced it, I believe. And that repentance also must produce a hatred for sin. 1:06:32 If you turn with me to the book of Hebrews, chapter 1. So it's not just repentance that produces or creates joy in us and shows us the joy of the Lord. It is actually a hatred for sin. Repentance is hatred for sin after I have sinned. 1:06:54 But the best is don't sin at all and hate sin. And that's what Jesus had. In Hebrews chapter 1, we read in verse 9. Hebrews 1, verse 9. Speaking about Jesus, you have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness. 1:07:15 Therefore, because you love righteousness and hate sin, God has anointed you with the oil of gladness above anybody else. This verse is telling us that the happiest person, the most joyful person that ever lived on this earth was Jesus. 1:07:34 And there's only one reason why. That we're told here, he hated sin. That's a secret to true joy. Hate sin. If you find any little sin, don't cover it up. Don't make an excuse for it. If your wife says, you spoke to me a little rudely that way, don't defend yourself. 1:07:52 Don't make an excuse. Hate it. And if our hatred for sin is great, our joy will be just as great. Jesus hated sin the most, more than any other human being. And therefore, his joyfulness was the most of all. Do you want to be joyful? 1:08:08 Then hate sin. So that's, first of all, repenting and hating sin radically. Secondly, if you turn with me to John chapter 16. Simply ask. That's the second thing. Just say, Lord, I don't seem to be joyful. I want you to make me joyful. 1:08:26 Make me a joyful person, Lord. John 16, you read in verse 24. John 16, as you know, is a chapter of the Holy Spirit, where he says that the Holy Spirit will come and I will send you a helper. The fruit of the Spirit is joy, we're told in Galatians chapter 5. 1:08:44 And then in this context, John 16, verse 24, Jesus says, until now you have asked for nothing in my name. Ask and you will receive so that your joy may be made full. So simply ask. Say, Lord, I don't want to fake joy. I don't want to pretend that I'm joyful. 1:09:05 I'm tired of this plastic smile I put on my face whenever I show up for the meeting. I want joy. And Jesus says, just ask me. Just ask me. Ask. That's it. Just ask. And you will receive. And your joy will be made full. I think one of the reasons, you know, it's sad. 1:09:26 I remember hearing readings, a comment somewhere or an article, I think, I forget where it was, where somebody said, Christians are some of the glummest looking people, saddest looking people. And I was convicted by that. 1:09:38 And I said, Lord, is that true? If somebody in work knows that I'm a Christian, will they say, man, I know he's a real Christian because he's really joyful. Not, oh, he's so holy or he reads his Bible or he prays all the time. 1:09:53 The real test of our Christianity should be joy because that's the mark that we are in God's presence. So, ask and the Lord will give and our joy will be made full. Thirdly, choose joy. It's a choice. In Philippians chapter 4, we're told this verse. 1:10:16 Philippians chapter 4 and verse 4. Rejoice in the Lord always. And like I was just saying a few minutes ago, that word rejoice is that make that joy come. There's an act involved. 1:10:37 This is a command we have to obey. So, it's something I have to do. Rejoice in the Lord. It's not just have joy. It's rejoicing. That means there's an act involved in my part to rejoice in the Lord. It's a choice I make. 1:10:52 And then he says again, I will say rejoice. So, rejoice is more than just having joy. It is saying I choose joy. Which means, I think of it like in Deuteronomy 30, I think where God at the end of all the commands that he gave the Israelites, he says, listen, I set before you life and death. 1:11:16 You pick. I hope you'll choose life, is what he's saying there. He says, I put in front of you life and death. Don't choose death. Choose life. The choice is ours. And I see that God is also offering us the same in our lives today. 1:11:32 He says, I offer you joy or gloominess. Choose joy. In other words, when you're going through that trial, when you're going through that situation, instead of just sitting on the pity pot and feeling sorry for yourself because things are not going the way you want it, say, I refuse. 1:11:49 I'm going to choose joy today, Lord. And I used to always choose gloominess. Today, I'm going to choose joy. In that verse, he says, choose life that you may live. I think of it like the same way Jesus telling us, choose joy today and see what a difference you'll make in your own life. 1:12:11 What a different day you'll have. What a different week you'll have. What a different week your wife and your husband will have around you because you simply made that choice to choose joy. It's a choice we have to make to rejoice. 1:12:26 Fourthly, if you'll turn with me to Romans chapter 12. Fourthly, turn off the world's inputs. I'll explain what I mean by that. Turn off what the world is trying to tell you. 1:12:46 Romans chapter 12, we read in verse 12, similar verse to our theme. Our theme comes from Romans 5, I think, verses 2 and verse 11. But here's a similar verse. Romans 12, verse 12. Rejoicing in hope. Rejoicing in hope. Persevering in tribulation. 1:13:04 Devoted to prayer, etc. But this comes as the consequence of what we read at the beginning of that chapter, in Romans chapter 12, verse 1, where he says, Therefore, I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 1:13:28 And then he says, do not be conformed to this world. And, etc., etc. And then, rejoice in hope. So I see that there's a connection there. And I'll tell you, it's not just that it's in God's word. I've seen this in my own life, that I've found that the times when I was often lacking in joy came after I had looked at something in the world, or someone in the world. 1:13:58 Or something else. And I said, I wish I had that. I compared my life circumstances with somebody else's life circumstances. Or I listened to some worldly person saying something. I got some worldly input. It could be through worldly music, through worldly preachers, worldly speakers, even good speakers, you know, your best life now type of speakers, and trying to present you with something artificial. 1:14:27 Or even world-loving preachers, preachers who have a worldly mindset. So, if I was receiving the world's input, I found that I couldn't really have joy. It was frustration. And I was jealous. And I was dissatisfied and discontent. 1:14:49 But when I turned off the world's input, and I said, I refuse to be conformed to the world. So, when the world tries to tell me, oh, you need to have this gadget, or you need to have this new car, or you need to wear these clothes, or you need to wear your hair like that, or you need to buy this, or you need to go to that party. 1:15:10 Or when the world tells you that, and you push it aside, you'll find you really have joy. But if you allow the world's input to come in, then you'll find that that joy is lacking. I found this in my own life, and I said, Lord, I don't want to buy into the world's idea of joy. 1:15:28 Many of you young people, perhaps, maybe older people as well, social media can be like that. Facebook, and Instagram, and whatever other kinds of social media they have. I believe that that's a tool that the devil is using to rob people of joy. 1:15:46 Well, you look at what somebody else looks like, they're having a good time going on a vacation somewhere, and they're posting pictures of it, and then I feel sad that I don't earn enough money to go on that vacation. And it's all fake. 1:15:58 And they've presented themselves to look a certain way and to dress a certain way. They call them influencers. That word in itself ought to be a red flag that I don't want to follow an influencer because they might influence me. 1:16:13 I don't want to be influenced. That's what Romans 12, verse 2 is telling me. Don't be influenced by the world, especially on social media, because that will rob you of your joy. Turn off the world's input. If you find that it's starting to, if you find that you're scrolling, they call it doom scrolling. 1:16:32 You just, you end up doomed. You've got doom and gloom because you're scrolling, and you're looking at this and looking at that, and it just spins a web around you, leaving you lacking in joy. So, turn off the world's input, because you don't want that. 1:16:49 That will never lead you to true joy. And lastly, if you continue reading in Romans 12, we read verse 12, rejoicing in hope, Romans 12, 12. Then in Romans 12, 13, he says, Contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality. 1:17:09 The way I would word this is the fifth point I'm mentioning is, don't forget that you have a bag of seed. Don't forget, in the midst of all your trial and your circumstances, don't forget that you have a bag of seed. Where is that from? 1:17:25 If you turn with me back to Psalm 126. Psalm 126, we read in verse 6. Psalm 126, verse 6. 1:17:49 He who goes to and fro, weeping, carrying his bag of seed. In other words, he's going to and fro. To and fro means that sometimes there's a, it doesn't feel like anything's really happening. I'm not making much progress. 1:18:08 Does your life sometimes feel a little bit like to and fro, back and forth? Your job sometimes feels like, oh, I don't know what's happening here. My life, I don't, I don't really feel like I'm making much progress. To and fro. 1:18:22 Well, while you're doing that, this man is carrying his bag of seed and just dropping seeds as he's going to and fro. He's planting. He's planting those seeds, going to and fro, to and fro. Think about going to and fro to work in the traffic, the traffic in Bangalore. 1:18:41 To and fro. To work, back. To work, back. Seems like it. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. A little bit of weekend. Then you're back to work, to and fro. But while you're doing that, you're carrying a bag of seed. 1:18:55 Maybe you're sitting on the scooter or in the car or on the bus, praying for somebody. Saying, Lord, I don't want to just waste this. You're stuck in a traffic jam, but I don't want to waste it. You've given me a bag of seed. 1:19:06 I want to plant that through prayer or through messaging somebody to tell them, I want to encourage you, brother. I want to encourage you, sister. While I'm sitting in this traffic. But planting that seed. So like I said earlier, don't forget that in the midst of all your circumstances, you've been given a bag. 1:19:26 Every one of us has been given a bag of seed. Just plant that somewhere. If you're a part of this local church, this church alone, you can plant into the little children or others in this church by praying for them. Think of the different brothers and sisters in your weekday groups or even others that you interact with and pray for them. 1:19:50 It says, the last part of that verse says, this person who goes to and fro carrying his bag of seed shall indeed come again with a shout of joy, bringing his sheaves with him. One day you'll see the fruit of those years of, he was weeping. 1:20:08 Why was this man weeping? Because he was going through a difficult trial himself. Things were really hard in his own life, but he still had the bag. And he didn't use those difficult trials in his life as an excuse for not planting the seed. 1:20:23 And I know I can think of times when I was going through something difficult and I was so preoccupied with my own problems that I forgot about the bag that I had in my hand. And may that never be for any of us, that if you've been sitting and just spinning circles about how bad your life is or how difficult your trial is. 1:20:44 Remember, brother, sister, child, there's a bag in your hand. Plant those seeds. You will come rejoicing. Proverbs 11 verse 25. He who waters others will himself be watered. This is the life of rejoicing. 1:21:05 And one last thing, and that is that I often think that it really ought to be that if joy is in my heart, my face ought to show it. Now, we don't want to be artificial about this. We don't want to pretend to smile. But it really will show. 1:21:20 In Psalm 34, it says, they looked to him and their faces were radiant. Psalm 34, I think it's verse 5. They looked to him. They looked to God. And their faces were radiant. You know, what happens if you shine a bright light on your face? 1:21:37 Your face will look bright. Moses' face, he came out from being in the presence of the Lord, and his face was shining like the sun. He had to put a veil over it. And if I say I've been spending time with the Lord, I was in the presence of the Lord, my co-worker ought to be able to say, 1:21:55 Well, you don't look like it. You look kind of gloomy. And then I examine my life and say, Lord, let it be that people can see. Not to gain any honor from them or anything like that. But they too will want to have this life that people will see, man, he's been with the Lord. 1:22:15 His face is glowing. It's shining. There's a joy in his spirit. This is the life that God wants us to have. And a little verse in Ecclesiastes, I read some time ago, which I thought about it like this. Ecclesiastes chapter 8. 1:22:36 The last part of verse 1. Ecclesiastes 8, verse 1. If you don't know Ecclesiastes, children know anyone else. Psalms, Proverbs, and then Ecclesiastes. It's after the book of Proverbs. Ecclesiastes 8. 1:22:57 In the last part of verse 1, it says, A wise, a man's wisdom illumines him. That means brightens his face is the little word that brightens his face and causes his stern face to change. His stern face. Remember how I described the Pharisees' face was stern because that's the God they worshipped. 1:23:21 And then imagine that I used to be this stern person because I thought that's what God was like. And then I saw what God was really like when I saw Jesus. Jesus came to show us the Father. And I saw the Father that he's happy. 1:23:35 He's full of joy. May we carry the joy of the Lord on our faces. Not artificially, but may the Holy Spirit so come and fill our hearts. A genuine baptism of the Holy Spirit of joy. Have you pictured that when the Holy Spirit comes and baptizes you and you're baptized into joy? 1:23:57 Think about getting dunked into a big tub of joy. A big baptism tank of joy. What will happen when you get baptized into joy? You come out dripping with joy and seeking for the continual baptism into a baptism of joy. This is rejoicing in hope and what the Lord has done for us. 1:24:19 I just want to read a poem that I read some time ago. Annie Johnson Flint. If you ever have a chance to read about her, I share some biography stories, as some of you know, on YouTube at our prayer meetings here. And if you find that on YouTube, you can find the story of where I spoke about Annie Johnson Flint. 1:24:39 She suffered tremendously in her body. Extremely painful arthritis. She suffered and eventually she died with that pain. And she said, one time she described it as like a thousand needles poking into her skin, on her hands and on her feet. 1:24:58 And she dealt with that pain. But in the midst of that, she wrote some of the most beautiful, powerful hymns. His grace, his love has no limit. His grace has no measure. That's an Annie Johnson Flint hymn. And here's a poem she wrote. 1:25:12 I'll just read it. And it really challenged me to go further beyond what I know of Christ, where if I've paused with Christ, if I've just stuck at the cross or stuck at the tomb, then I'm still in gloom and discouragement and heaviness. 1:25:31 Listen to this. Here's the poem. Some of us stay at the cross. Some of us wait at the tomb, quickened and raised together with Christ, yet lingering still in its gloom. Yes, we're made alive, but we're still hanging out at the cross or at the tomb. 1:25:50 Some of us bide a stay at the Passover feast without knowing Pentecost, with Pentecost all unknown. We haven't known the power of the Holy Spirit. The triumphs of grace in the heavenly place that our Lord has made our own. 1:26:07 If the Christ who died had stopped at the cross, his work had been incomplete. If the Christ who was buried had stayed in the tomb, he had only known defeat. But the way of the cross never stops at the cross. And the way of the tomb leads on. 1:26:28 To victorious grace in the heavenly place where the risen Lord has gone. So, let us go on with the Lord, to the fullness of God he has brought. Unsearchable riches of glory and good, exceeding our uttermost thought. Let us grow up into Christ, claiming his life and its powers, including the power of his joy. 1:26:55 The triumphs of grace in the heavenly place that our conquering Lord has made ours. Christ overcame so that his joy would be in us and our joy would be made full. May it be so. Heavenly Father, I ask with all my heart that none of us will miss out on the life of joy that you long so much for us to have. 1:27:22 Forgive us, Lord, that we've been so taken up with the little things of earth, little problems, even failures, Lord, that we've allowed them to discourage us or to bring self-condemnation to no entry roads. Lord, I pray from now on we will receive that joy that you wanted us to have. 1:27:40 And we'll live in that. We'll experience a continual baptism in joy. Thank you, Lord, you will do that while you continue to make us more holy, more like you, more pure, more self-controlled, more loving to others, more forgiving and all of that. 1:27:58 More like Christ in his holiness. Make us more like Christ in his joy. I believe you will do that. Thank you, Father. In Jesus' name. Amen. Among the many takeaways from today's message, 1:28:32 I thought of these two things that I can take home with me. That is, one is sorrowful at rejoicing. And rejoicing in hope and persevering in tribulation. 1:28:53 This can happen only when Jesus is in us and with us. Think about these two people. Jesus, just on the eve of crucifixion, he said, My joy I have given to you. And I have said these things that your joy may be full. 1:29:16 And he knows that next day he's going to be crucified. And the other person is Paul and Silas. They were badly beaten up, bleeding. In the middle of the night, they both are singing in prison, not in palace. 1:29:40 Under chains and torture. They're singing. How did this happen to Paul and Silas? It's because they had joy unspeakable and full of glory. That's because the one who said, 1:30:02 My joy I give unto you was the one who was living in them. So, thank you so much, Brother Santosh, for sticking to our theme, rejoicing in hope and speaking on that and encouraging us. I always, when I contact Brother Santosh, he's always ready with the world, always ready with a positive response. 1:30:35 And thank you for accepting our invitation and sharing what was needed for us. And we are so thankful and grateful. And let's express that thankfulness by giving him a good round of applause. Yeah, just as you were hinting, we would like to look forward to having you over again soon, 1:31:20 before this year ends. So, hope you will remember what you said today. Okay. Thank you. Once again, Santosh, please convey our greetings to your wife and children. And yesterday, it was a joy to have Brother Zach and Sister Annie also. 1:31:43 And God bless you and your family. Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you. God bless. Now we will close the meeting with a closing song. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. 1:32:32 Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Sisters, we heard a rich word today. Let's turn to the Lord. 1:32:53 Sing directly to him. Really want to encourage you to sing this song to him in faith. As a recognition of all he's done and a confession of our hope. Jesus, you're the center of my joy. 1:33:18 Jesus, you're the center of my joy. All that's good and perfect comes from you. Jesus, you're the center of my joy. 1:33:48 Jesus, you're the center of my joy. Jesus, you're the center of my joy. Jesus, you're the center of my joy. Jesus, you're the center of my joy. Jesus, you're the center of my joy. Jesus, you're the center of my joy. Jesus, you're the center of my joy. 1:33:59 Jesus, you're the center of my joy. Jesus, you're the center of my joy. Jesus, you're the center of my joy. Jesus, you're the center of my joy. Jesus, you're the center of my joy. Jesus, you're the center of my joy. Jesus, you're the center of my joy. 1:34:03 Jesus, you're the center of my joy. Jesus, you're the center of my joy. Jesus, you're the center of my joy. Jesus, you're the center of my joy. 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