Okay, so we're going to talk about pursuit of joy today.
And joy is a word, it's something that I think there's echo.
Joy is a word that's often confused with happiness.
Because if you even look at dictionary, you'll find that the two words are interchanged quite
a bit.
But then if you belong to Jesus, if you belong to Jesus Christ, happiness and joy are two
different things.
Because with happiness, you can be at the peak of happiness in a second.
And in the very next second, you can be in despair.
That's what happens to Bishop all the time when he watches Manchester United play.
One second he's so happy, he's dressed up like this, and then the next second he's
like crying.
So happiness is not equal to joy.
Joy and happiness are two different things.
Happiness is very superficial.
It can be superficial, but joy is something deeper.
Happiness is finite.
Joy is infinite.
And for us in the kingdom, we cannot use those two terms interchangeably.
Because we have to look at these two things as two different things, two different experiences.
One is a gift from God that we can engage in.
I wrote it down like this.
I said, joy has a place of significance and it must be pursued because it's the very expression
of God that he has given us to experience.
Joy, it has a place of significance.
It must have a place of significance in our lives.
And we must pursue it because it is the very expression of God our father that is for us
as children to engage and experience.
Jacob has taught us this definition for kingdom, which is when God is in our midst, his rule
and his reign is in our midst.
The kingdom of God is his rule and his reign.
And in Romans chapter 14, 17, it talks about this very kingdom and it says the kingdom
of God is not eating and drinking.
The kingdom of God is righteousness.
It is peace.
It is joy in the Holy Spirit.
It's amazing how sometimes, at least for me, I understand the righteousness part.
I understand the peace part.
But the joy part, oftentimes could be neglected because you confuse that with other feelings.
You confuse that with happiness.
You perhaps do not pursue it enough.
And today we're going to talk about why joy is this expression of the father.
It is innate in him and as children, it is something that we can engage with.
We can experience.
It is something of significance.
It absolutely is.
It's not one of the things, but it is a precious commodity in heaven that is for us to experience
and live in.
And that's what we're going to do today.
I'm glad we sang the songs we sang.
I'm glad we said the things we said because, my goodness, we can be different.
We can see that's why when Pawan comes up, there is much validity to what he is saying.
There is because he's coming up and saying, you guys are so quiet.
We don't need to be quiet.
We can be a little joyful.
We can be happy.
We can shout.
We can express ourselves.
We don't need to be in this fenced way of thinking or being.
And in heaven, trust me, it's not quiet.
Heaven is loud.
Heaven is absolutely loud.
And for us, as we prepare ourselves for that place, we've got to be loud here as well.
Loud is good.
So Romans 14 17, for the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of
righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
And so when the kingdom of God invades a particular place, we should be able to see in the physical,
we should be able to see righteousness, we should be able to see peace, we should be
able to see joy.
We should expect it.
I remember a time when probably two or three winters ago, Jeevan and I, hey bro, if you're
three winters ago, we went out to Langley and Jeevan had these care packages that he
got from someone.
And we were supposed to, we were walking the streets and giving it to people.
We met a guy and we asked him, hey, can we pray for you?
Is there something we can pray for you?
And he quickly responded with, yes, I have no peace of mind.
Can you pray?
And as soon as he said it, we couldn't even pray because you don't expect that response.
I have no peace of mind.
Can you pray?
And then you have to think about, yeah, yeah, we'll pray.
We'll pray.
But the lack of peace of mind is real.
And when the kingdom comes, we know that God can give peace.
with righteousness, along with peace, we have to pursue joy.
We must absolutely pursue joy.
Now, God is exuberantly joyful.
I want to read a couple of verses that we should think about as we talk about joy.
First one is Cephaniah chapter three, verse 17.
Cephaniah chapter three, verse 17.
The Lord your God is in your midst.
A mighty one who will save, he will rejoice over you with gladness.
He will quiet you by his love.
He will exalt over you with loud singing.
Read that again.
Cephaniah chapter three, verse 17.
The Lord your God is in your midst.
A mighty one who will save, he will rejoice over you with gladness.
He will quiet you by his love.
He will exalt over you with loud singing.
We understand the saving nature of God.
Let me put it this way because I asked myself this question.
During this week, there are times when I thought about, pondered on the saving nature of God.
There are times when I looked at and understood that God loves me.
But how many times do I know that God as a father is exuberantly joyful and that he is singing songs over me?
And that he is exuberantly joyful over me?
And it's his nature.
And the question is, if I were not preparing this sermon, that wouldn't have been for me a standout thing from my week.
And it could be perhaps the same for you too.
Because we understand the saving nature of God.
We understand the healing nature of God.
We've got to ask ourselves, do we actually live our daily lives knowing fully well that he's exuberantly joyful?
He's a joyful God.
And that we should desire it.
We should, as Kira was saying today, there are some things that we have to take a position for.
We have to say, I want this.
And joy is something that we shouldn't trade for anything.
We should absolutely pursue it and see what God has for us.
See, happiness is a result of things that work well.
So that's why Bishop gets happy every time they score a goal.
But as soon as the other team scores, Bishop is not happy anymore.
But happiness is a thing that, it depends on your circumstances.
But joy is not constrained by your circumstances.
It is far beyond that.
And so if I'm joyful, and I want us to slowly think about our lives.
Because if I am joyful and you are with me, you have to experience this joy.
If I am joyful and I live like this, you should be able to hang out with me and think that, ah, that guy is actually joyful.
It should be the same for each of us.
People should be able to hang out with us.
And they should be able to see a characteristic of God that they don't otherwise see.
They should be able to go and say, I hung out with this person and there is something special about them.
They are just happy.
That may be the word that they use.
But they are joyful.
Habakkuk chapter 3, 17 and 18.
A verse we all know very well.
Though the fig tree shall not blossom, though there is no fruit on the vine, even if the fields are empty,
even if some of the flock is not part of the herd anymore, it doesn't matter.
Circumstances don't matter.
But I will still rejoice in the Lord.
So take that verse and put it, because those analogies may not apply to us, take that and put it in your life.
Doesn't matter what happens.
Doesn't matter if I have a job tomorrow and I don't have a job tomorrow.
Doesn't matter what it is.
I should be, because God is a joyful exuberant father, I should be able to experience joy every day.
And it is not based on circumstances or what's happening around me.
It is absolutely based on this gift he has given us for us to enjoy.
Luke chapter 2, verse 10.
Gospel of Luke chapter 2, verse 10.
And the angel said to them, fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of what?
Good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
See, Jesus Christ became a man of sorrows so that we can experience the good news of great joy.
It's not a good news. It's a good news of great joy.
And what did the shepherds do?
As soon as they heard the good news of great joy, they started walking that way.
We've got to walk this way.
We've got to pursue this gift that is poured out on us by God,
which is not for us to manufacture because we don't need to create it.
We need to pursue it.
And the shepherds did that as soon as the news came that Jesus is born.
And you've got to head this direction.
And you know what? This is a good news from heaven.
But it's a good news of great joy.
And they started pursuing it.
One of the things that the Bible says over and over again is this idea of God pouring an oil of gladness,
an oil of joy over you.
Sometimes we should just symbolically do that
so that it becomes part of the way we think and live.
These things are for us to experience here on earth.
So maybe one of the things that you can do is knowing that,
my God, you pour your oil of gladness, your oil of joy over you.
I believe that and I'll walk in it.
And symbolically for you, you can apply it.
It's so deep in our minds that I am supposed to be walking regardless of my circumstances.
And it may be difficult. I'm not saying that it's easy, easy, easy-peasy.
No, it may be difficult, but we can do it with the Holy Spirit.
It is absolutely possible.
Philippians is an epistle that Paul wrote.
I didn't know this, but apparently it's called the Epistle of Joy.
That's what they teach you in Bible schools, Epistle of Joy.
I know that too now.
So the idea is that guy, when he was in prison, he wrote all of that.
So it is possible.
Even if circumstances may be difficult,
even if no one may understand what you're going through,
even if it seems like there is much pressure on your lives,
it is absolutely possible for his children to walk in joy
because he pours his oil of joy over you, over us.
Psalm 45, 7, Therefore God your God has anointed you,
pouring out the oil of joy on you more than on anyone else.
So this expression of God, this gift of God is something we will walk in.
We will choose to walk in.
So we have to choose that this is the lifestyle that we want to have.
We have to choose that, yep, I lack this in my life,
but Father, I want to pursue this and I want to experience it
because your Holy Spirit gives it freely and it is for me to walk in
and I will not let go of it or trade this for something else.
I want to walk in it.
And when we all walk in it together as a people,
Paul won't come up and say what he said.
He won't because he will be like, hey guys, quiet down.
Shouldn't we be like this?
When we come together, we should be joyful.
We should celebrate.
It should not be difficult for Jane or someone else to say,
Guys, come on, let's do it.
We should shout more louder so that they can't catch up.
This is for us to live, guys.
Let's practice this. Let's do it.
When we come in, let's come in with this.
Because we have lived our week like that,
no one needs to stir us up.
We don't need stirring up.
We don't need to be like, oh, I'm going to be like this.
We don't need stirring up.
We're walking like this Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday,
and then we step into this building on a Sunday,
and we make Jane's life much more easier.
And as with all the other gifts, we have to steward the gift of joy.
We have to steward it.
And here's the other thing.
We cannot represent Jesus accurately.
We cannot represent the Father accurately if we do not engage in joy.
I heard the story of a guy this week.
He's like a preacher, an evangelist in somewhere in the UK.
This guy gets saved, okay?
He gets saved and then he's like so zealous for the Lord.
He can't keep this good news inside him.
So he gets hired at this paint shop.
It was like 30, 40, 50 years ago.
He's hired at this paint shop, and day one,
there's an old lady who is walking into the store.
So she can barely walk.
She comes in and she says, and this guy asks her, what do you want?
And she says, I want some sandpaper.
And he says, it's not sandpaper that you need.
You need Jesus in your life.
You don't need sandpaper at this age.
You need Jesus at this age.
And then a couple of days later, the boss calls this guy to the office.
And he said, you know what?
I've had too many complaints about you over the last couple of days.
No one wants to hear at 9 a.m. that they're going to hell.
And he responded and said, Mr. Roger, that's where you're going if you don't believe in me.
Why this story?
Because he was saying how he was not accurately representing the father,
even though his heart was at the right place.
He wasn't able to do it right.
Same way for us to represent Jesus, for us to represent the father,
we've got to catch this right.
Israel was a sign for other nations for who God is.
We've got to be a sign as to who our father is to those who are around us.
So it's impossible to represent Christ accurately if you're not joyful in the Lord.
Matthew chapter 25-21.
You don't need to read it.
But that's the story of the master who leaves talents with his servants.
To one, he gave five.
To another, he gave three.
To the third one, he gave one talent.
And he goes away and he comes back.
And the first two, they've traded with the talents and they've multiplied it.
And the last guy, he dug it in the ground.
And the master says, here's why it's important.
The master comes and says, well done, good and faithful servant.
You've done well.
You've been faithful over a little.
I'm going to keep you in charge over much.
Now enter into the joy that I've kept for you.
It's a reward.
Hebrews chapter 12 verse 2.
Jesus endured the cross.
Why?
Because of the joy that was set before him.
Joy is a commodity in heaven.
It is something that God gives for us to enter into.
Yes, you have done well, my servant.
And you know what I'm going to give you?
Now come enter into this reward, this gift, this pleasure, this life to live, which is joy.
That was Hebrews chapter 12 verse 2.
Jesus lived all his life here on earth.
He endured the cross so that...
Why?
On one hand, yes, he loved us.
But there is joy that was set before him.
Joy from the father that was set before him.
We've got to look at our life and say, this is us, his children, for us to live in.
We won't trade this because this is precious for us.
We can't let go of it and live without engaging with it.
So not only is the father joyful, he's a joy giver.
On one hand, the father is joyful.
Absolutely he is.
Those are the verses that I gave you before.
So we don't need to therefore create joy because joy is given to us by God.
It is given to us.
And if it is given to us, all we've got to do is steward it well.
We have to recognize that it is a gift and we have to walk in it.
Isaiah chapter 61 verse 3.
Jesus was appointed to do what?
To give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning,
the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.
Jesus gave joy to others.
Not only did he receive it, he gave it to others.
So I should be able to receive this joy that my father gives me so that my life is transformed.
But I can also give the same joy to others as they interact with me.
Romans chapter 15 verse 13.
Now the God of hope fill you with all joy.
God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing that you may abound in hope through the power of the Holy Ghost.
And they're related because someone said this.
With hope you can actually enjoy the benefits of the breakthrough before the breakthrough comes to you.
With hope you can enjoy the benefits, the results of the breakthrough before the breakthrough comes to you.
And with joy I can today live my life even though I'm expecting some things to happen tomorrow because God is going to do it.
I don't need to wait until tomorrow to shout my praises.
I don't need to wait until tomorrow to say, hey, it's happening.
Today I can live with hope so that the benefits of the breakthrough and what that looks like can be experienced today.
I don't need to wait till tomorrow.
John chapter 15, 11.
Gospel of John chapter 15, 11.
I've told you this so that, Jesus is saying, I've told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.
We're going through these verses because here I have to get it and here I have to accept that.
My goodness, there is this thing called joy being complete.
That I should get all of it.
Jesus actually wants me to enter into the fullness of joy.
That's why here it says, guys, to the disciples he said, I've told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.
I want your joy to be complete.
So what is he telling before that?
Some scriptures we have read and heard so many times before.
One, Jesus said, I abide in the Father and I'm connected to him.
And because I love him, I obey him.
I want you guys to abide in me so that you're connected to me.
If you're not abiding in me, then you're not bearing fruit.
That's what Jesus said just before he said what he said.
So the love of the Father, it's evidenced in obeying his commandments.
My mom at one point in her life, she heard enough about Jesus and knew enough about Jesus.
But in India, culturally, there's a thing that when you take baptism, it's a bold step.
You're literally saying enough of tradition, enough of all of that, I want to get baptized.
It's a big step.
And so culturally, people notice it.
It's not just the people in the church who notice it.
Everyone will somehow hear it, understand that this is what went on.
So she had a question about baptism.
And she was like, she didn't know if that was something that she had to take or are people pressurizing her?
Here's what she did.
So she was cooking one day.
In the morning, she was, whatever she was cooking, she was cooking.
And then she heard this voice that said, if you love me, you will obey my commandments.
And she was very new in faith.
So she did not know what it meant.
But somehow she felt like she has to go read the Bible.
So she goes and opens the Bible.
And it's John chapter 14, 15, where it says, if you love me, you will obey my commandments.
And the question was answered right there.
So that's what Jesus is saying.
I have I abide in the Father.
I'm connected to him.
It's a pleasure for me out of love to obey him.
I want you to abide in me.
And I want you to engage in obedience out of love.
And when you do this, your joy will be complete.
We'll get to that in a little bit more detail.
But being in love with the Father is the evidence of our intimacy.
And it's an everyday thing that we have heard so many times about, but we can't let go of.
It's an everyday thing.
Every day, every moment.
Jesus is looking for a people who is intimately in love with him.
Not in words, but who are intimately in love with him.
You can be partially in love with him.
You can be periodically in love with him.
But Jesus is looking for a people who can't have a life without him.
Jesus is looking for a people who seek him.
And for him, he is their breath.
I'm reminded of something that Jacob said some time ago.
He said,
You should be someone who will you notice if the Holy Spirit is not here anymore?
Will if the Holy Spirit is not here anymore, will you notice it?
Is it such a big thing for you?
Is it something you live in that the absence of it will make you go, oh, he's not here?
So Father, we want to be like that.
We want to be Jesus' lovers, Jesus' seekers who are not partially in love with him,
who are not periodically in love with him, who are not occasionally in love with him.
But we are in deep love with the Master who gave his life for us.
Deep love.
So when we are in such deep love, others will come around and they'll be like,
Man, this is something we can aim for.
We can't be here. We have to be there.
Because there is no limit to this.
There is no limit to this. There is no limit to living like this.
Jesus wants a people like this.
This is the bride he is after.
A bride who is fully devoted to him.
A bride who is adorned day after day.
Her heart day after day is renewed in love for him.
That's the bride he is after.
And we can be so accelerating, so moving forward, so making progress in our love for him.
May we have such a desire in our...
This light that he lit in us should spring us forward quickly in the direction that he has set for us.
And there is so many miles for us to travel together.
So many miles for us to travel together in this direction.
So over the last few days, I've been asking this question to the father.
Okay, Abba, if you're saying all of these things and I need to pursue joy and happiness,
and this is who you are, and you give this, and this is for me to engage in,
how do I live in this?
How do I make it real for us on a daily basis?
Psalm 30 verse 5, it says, Joy comes in the morning.
So when I wake up, Joy is there.
It doesn't say, Psalm 35 doesn't say, David didn't say,
Oh, you know what, you need to wake up and then you need to ask for Joy.
And when you ask for Joy, Joy will come.
No. When I wake up, Joy is there.
When I wake up, Joy is there.
So now the next question is, if Joy is already there, how do I steward it?
How do I take what is given to me and live in a way where I grow in this more and more
and I don't let go of this gift that has been given to me
and then I begin to represent the Father accurately to those around me.
So let's look at that and we will wrap up.
In 20 minutes.
No, no.
In 20 minutes or so.
So if I live in complete Joy or the fullness of Joy,
it must touch my past, my present, my future.
If I live in Joy, if I am living in Joy, it must or Joy must touch and transform and cover
whatever word you want to use.
Whatever word you want to use.
My past, my present, and my future.
And that is important.
Because sometimes we get one part of it or one aspect of it right.
This is what God has been telling me.
Derek, you want to walk in the fullness of it?
This is what you got to do.
Allow Joy, allow, allow Joy to touch your past, to transform your past.
Allow Joy to color your present.
Allow Joy to picture your future.
All three.
Not one of it can be missed.
So let's look first at Nehemiah chapter 8.
So this is Joy covers the past.
Nehemiah chapter 8.
You can read it later.
It's one of my favorite books in the Bible.
So there is Nehemiah and then there is Ezra.
And Nehemiah is about rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem.
Ezra is about rebuilding the temple.
So listen to me here.
In Nehemiah chapter 8, you see this picture.
So Nehemiah was, he came for about 70 plus years or 70 something years.
Israelites have been trying to build the walls around Jerusalem.
70 something years.
And then comes this guy, Nehemiah, whose name actually means comforter.
Who is able to finish this rebuilding in 52 days.
Side note for us.
That's what the Holy Spirit does.
What we can, what we try to do and try to do and try to do.
When we do it with the Holy Spirit, what should otherwise take 100 years?
Or what they could not do in 70 years?
The Spirit of God, through one man's obedience, was able to do in 52 days.
And so for me and for you in our lives, what we've been trying or what we've been pushing for,
it is absolutely possible for the Holy Spirit to come in and say,
I know you've been trying, allow me to.
I know you've been trying hard, allow me to.
Applies to your life and applies to lives of those around you.
One of the difficult things to do sometimes is to allow the Holy Spirit to work in someone else's life.
Because you want to control it.
Nehemiah had to learn that.
Give others to God.
Trust in his work.
Give what you've been trying and trying and trying hard to God.
Allow the Holy Spirit to work.
Because this is something he loves doing.
It's almost like the Holy Spirit, whenever you say, come do this, I'm done.
He's like, this is exactly what I like doing.
Because I like coming in, what you were struggling with, I'll take over.
And you come with me, you stay here, I'm going to show you how to make this happen.
So pick on this and apply it in your lives.
The stuff that you thought will take longer, the stuff that you thought you have to struggle through,
the stuff that you thought will take months more.
No, it doesn't have to.
With the Holy Spirit.
And here's the thing, don't look at others' experiences.
Now we are completely going away from the teaching, but that's okay.
And don't look at others' experiences.
Because everyone has a story to share.
Everyone has good reasons to say.
But don't look at others' experiences.
There's only one experience you need to look at.
And that is the experience of Jesus Christ.
So back to Nehemiah.
So Nehemiah is rebuilding the wall.
The wall has been rebuilt.
And you then see this beautiful picture of the nation of Israel within this walled city.
They are gathered together.
It says from early in the morning to about noon time.
So let's say it's five hours or six hours.
They are all standing.
And the people say, Ezra, who is the priest, you need to read to us words from the book of the law of Moses.
So Ezra goes and gets the book, which has the law of Moses in it.
And Ezra comes up and Ezra starts reading it.
But there is a problem.
Half of the guys don't understand what's being read because of translation issues.
And they send priests, Levites, are running around explaining to each person who has a question,
here is what this book means.
Here is what is being said.
That's the picture.
Think of Ezra.
Think of Nehemiah.
They have worked really hard for this to happen.
And you know what happens as soon as the words are being read?
People start crying.
People start bowing down and worshipping.
But here's the thing.
You would expect them to say, good job, guys.
You responded to the teaching well.
You have responded to the words well.
No.
They say, guys, stop crying.
Stop crying.
Stop grieving.
The reason you're crying is because you know that here is what is asked of you.
Here is where you are.
There is a gap.
I want you and we want you to stop crying and stop mourning.
Stop grieving.
Instead, here is what we want you to do.
Go away.
Go eat the fat of the lamb.
Go drink sweet wine.
And whatever portion you have, send it to those who don't have enough.
And go and rejoice because the joy of the Lord is your strength.
It is a complete picture of Jesus Christ saying all of what happened.
As soon as you recognize, Abba, I need you.
Abba, I need you.
Yes, your grace, because I can't go back and fix it.
Jesus says, allow my grace to go back and wash it.
Do not mourn and grieve and be crying and tired and suffer with it.
I got it.
I'll take care of it.
It is a picture of grace depicted in the Old Testament.
And we should be able to look at that and go, Jesus, your joy, which is my strength,
will cover, has covered every day of my life that I've lived so far.
Every day.
Because what you would expect in that story, guys, is you would expect them to cry
and Hamayah to say, good, you've repented well.
That's what I would expect.
But somehow in that moment of grace, God says, go.
You've understood.
That's all that's needed.
Everything else I'm going to cover.
So if there is anyone listening to me here or online,
and if you have things from your past that keeps coming up,
if you listen to this and you go, it just keeps pulling me down,
or I feel like I made bad decisions in my past.
I feel like I did the same mistakes over and over again.
It feels like I never made progress like the other ones.
It does not matter because Jesus says, when I come in and you allow me to touch you,
I will color and transform your past.
It is absolutely true.
And Jesus can do it.
If he said he can do it, he will do it with us.
Only when we experience it for ourselves, can we then go and tell someone about it.
That is called witnessing.
We have to live in it first.
So Jesus, you have taken this and you've colored my past with your color.
You've transformed it.
You've covered it.
And that's number one.
So for us to live in joy today, we've got to let him do his work for what happened in the past.
If we don't allow him, the joy is not complete.
I pray that you take time to do it.
The work that Jesus wants to do with me, he wants to cover my past with his grace
and wants me to experience the joy that comes from his grace having covered it.
There is a joy that comes with it.
He wants me to experience it today.
Second, my present.
To operate out of joy today, I have to cultivate intimacy.
And that's what Jesus said.
Guys, I want you to enter into the fullness of joy.
That's what he said in John chapter 15.
And before that, he was just saying, abide in me.
So for me, now that my past is taken care of, for me to experience his joy fully today, today,
the one thing I should give my life to is relationship with him.
And when I am in relationship with him, all I got to do is do the next step of obedience that's before me.
I don't have to worry about the hundred other things I need to do over the next three months.
The next step of obedience.
What that is, do it.
Life is much, which is why Jesus said, don't worry about tomorrow.
Can you add something to your life?
Can you add a day to your life by worrying about it?
Give it to me. Leave it to me.
Don't worry. Don't be anxious.
So to operate out of joy, I cultivate intimacy and focus on just one activity, my relationship with my father.
And I obey what is before me.
And as you do this, you will start enjoying him and you won't be contained anymore.
I remember this time when I was in Prince George, eight years ago or nine years ago.
I got a co-op position in Prince George.
I didn't know anyone in Prince George. Canada to begin with had much fewer people than India.
You come and you look at this and go, okay, that's what it is in the West.
Because we have way more people in India.
And then you come and you see this and then out of all of the places that God can give you a job in,
he gives you a job in Prince George.
And so I'm headed to Prince George as I go into, hey Jeeva.
Hey, hey, hey.
Good to have you bro.
Sorry.
Out of all of the places you can get a job and God gives me a job in Prince George.
So I am driving to Prince George and I'm soon finding out that my goodness, there's no one here.
Every now and then you see a car go by and I'm the only brown guy in town.
So I start living there.
But soon one of the things that happened by God's kindness is that I started wanting to desire being with him.
And so I had this small iPad or IP3 player, whatever you call it, the small thing.
What do you call it?
IPod. Yeah, sorry guys.
See, this is a message of joy.
So anyway, I had this IPod. So I got this IPod and I was like, I want to hear, I want to hear a song.
So I would just go to a park and I would just listen and listen and I would worship.
And it came to a point where as I was doing it, man, I was having such intimate times with God, such intimate times with God.
It was just me and just him.
And then I soon realized that this thing that is in me, I need to shout it.
I can't keep it inside me.
But there is a problem. I've got a house with three roommates, so I can't do that.
So I decide the best thing to do is to drive my car at night and go to a parking lot for a movie theater, at a movie theater.
Because everyone is inside the building.
The only guy who's outside in the parking lot is me.
So I have my doors closed and I go full sound worshiping, full sound talking to the Father.
Because there was something that was being created, that was with me spending time with the Father, I had to let it out.
When you engage with the Father, when you walk with him and you start enjoying him, you will praise him.
It cannot be cut short. It cannot be limited.
So this is why Jacob often teaches, whatever you enjoy, you'll praise.
Whatever you enjoy, you will praise.
And so how do I live in joy today?
Father, I want to be intimate with you.
I want to be with you.
I want to live with you and I want you to take care of all the details.
And as I am intimate with him, as I love him, I will obey him.
Because they are related.
He will give me the strength to obey him.
The next thing that I need to do, just do that.
And as I do it and I live in it, there is joy.
And there is fullness of it, like the Master said to the servants.
So I want us to read a couple of verses.
This is why David was able to write in Psalm 139 verse 2.
Psalm 139 verse 2.
You know when I sit and when I rise, you perceive my thoughts from afar.
You know, Father, when I sit and when I rise, you perceive my thoughts from afar.
And as I was doing this, living like this in Prince George, one day this happened.
I opened my eyes and as soon as I opened my eyes, I can't explain this to you.
But it was almost like a verse coming and hitting me.
The first thing I remember when I opened my eyes is I created you inside your mother's womb.
All parts of you are intricately woven and I know you well.
Paraphrasing 139, Psalm 139.
That changes you.
This is what is awaiting us every day.
Because joy is waiting.
It is there. Psalm 35. Joy comes in the morning.
How do I steward it?
How do I engage with it?
Ephesians chapter 518. You don't need to read it now.
You can read it later.
That's another verse where you talk about, where it talks about praising God, singing, making melody in your heart.
You don't need to sing well to make melody in your heart.
God actually enjoys pretty bad singing.
Next is future.
Joy transforms your future.
So joy is prophetic.
Joy is prophetic in that it grasps what is yet to come.
And you live in the experience of it today.
Joy is also prophetic.
So joy covers your past.
It transforms everything today.
And it will change your future.
Because it is prophetic in nature and it takes a hold of what is to come.
And you live in the benefit of that today in your present life.
It grasps what is to unfold and begins to live where God's will is.
I want to share another story.
First Samuel 30.
You can read the passage later.
David, at one point in his life, he was fighting the Philistines.
And then he gets to this place called, I think, Sicklegg or something.
And he gets there and he finds out the entire place has been raided by Amalekites.
And his wives, he had two wives at that point.
Both his wives were taken.
And the entire place was burned down.
And children were gone.
No one left.
He had a few hundred people with him.
Think about it.
Everything that you had has been taken.
The place has been burned down.
A few verses down, it actually says that, let's not skip the verse,
it actually says there that David wept.
He cried with others.
He couldn't control it.
It had been taken from him.
It then says that he was in despair.
He was troubled.
And then a couple of verses down, it reads this.
And then David strengthened himself in the Lord.
How does a man go from that to that?
I'll tell you why.
He has written it all throughout in the Psalms.
The joy of the Lord is my strength.
How does a guy move from that place?
Doesn't dwell there for days on.
He quickly moves from that place to this place of strength.
Because what is to come, he goes and inquires of the Lord, it says.
And God says, you go chase them, I'll give them to you.
Everything was redeemed.
And the Amalekites were defeated.
Before he did that, he already knew what would happen.
And before he had received the gifts of that battle,
his family returning, people returning,
before he experienced it, he lived in the strength and joy of it that day.
So we can do that too with God.
Whatever is in the future that we are waiting for,
that we are hoping for,
God says, Derek, do you want to live in joy today?
And you want me to show you and have you live in the benefits of what is to come tomorrow today?
There is a way to go.
The joy of the Lord is my strength.
With hope, you take into today, you take possession of what is to come, you grasp it.
And that is called finishing faith.
You receive it today because Jesus has done that work for you.
And so all of a sudden then, my past, my present, and my future,
myself, everything that I have, I need, all of this comes under this umbrella,
this covering called joy.
And all of a sudden the word that seemed like happiness before,
that sounded like happiness before, all of a sudden it takes a completely different meaning.
And I recognize that this is what the Father has given me.
And I can actually allow the joy that comes in the morning,
the joy that is available for me to touch, color, paint, transform all of my being.
It is absolutely possible.
Even after this, even this morning, I had to stand for this, this morning.
I have to say, Father, it doesn't matter.
What you say is true.
These are not just words.
This is a life to live for us.
It's absolutely a life to live for us.
So tomorrow, it doesn't mean that when you wake up, there is nothing to think about, nothing to worry about.
There may be things, but you look at it right at the head, right at the face,
and you say, no, I will not worry because Jesus is with me.
That is what it means. It's not a thing of, don't worry about it guys, Jesus takes care of everything.
No, you have to fight for it.
You have to stand for it. You have to want it.
You have to desire it. You have to pursue it.
When you do so, it is yours. It changes everything.
So for me, thinking about this this way really helps because joy is not a thing.
It is my past, my present, my future, all of it covered.
Remember what the shepherds did when the news of great joy came to them.
They moved in that direction.
So we've got to move in that direction.
And Pawan was a prophet today.
He's saying, guys, come on.
Come on.
If you live like this, you've got to be joyful.
When we come in, it's got to be joyful.
It's got to be noise. It's got to be shouting and praising.
Any questions before we wrap up?
No? So Father, we come to you as a people.
Together as a people, Father.
Father, it is for one thing for us to hear, and it is another thing for us to live it.
And I desire for myself, we desire for ourselves as a church, as a community to live like this Abba.
Our past, our present, our future, everything taken care of by you.
And this oil of joy that you pour out on us, we want to live it.
So we thank you for the gift that is already ours.
And we go back to what was said before.
We are determined to live in it.
Father, next Sunday when we come together, because we have to practice this,
let us be in a place where during the week we were joyful.
And so when we come together, it is just natural for us to explore together.
Father, I pray that this becomes my way of living and our way of living.
Because you desire it and you want us to occupy this.
We want to occupy it Abba, in Jesus' name.