Joy in Ministry

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Joy in Ministry
EBC sermon summary, translated from the original.
21st June 2009
by Pastor Victor Liu
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Many people are looking for that “Joy”ful feeling and sometimes we are too busy to feel it. Joy is one of the fruit of the Holy Spirit and it is a pity if we have never felt it in our lives. Little kids are normally more passionate and joyful than us adults. They should be set as examples!

Read from these bible verses:

1) WE MUST LIVE WITH JOY

a. We are ordered to live with Joy
Read Philippians 4:4. This verse stresses how important it is for everybody to live with joy! “Rejoice in the Lord always” (“Always” – it means that it doesn’t depend on our mood or our situation).

This verse also uses imperative words (something that we are ordered to do) and we must obey! Rejoicing is not a “terms and conditions” to be a Christian but it is the consequence of being a Christian! Happiness is your choice!
Read 1Thessalonians 5:18.

b. Rejoice in the Lord
Many people measure what they have in the world as the measurement of Joy: money, position, etc.

Lots of celebrities look happy but most of them actually feel lonely and they never experience a true joy! Oh brothers and sisters, let us all have a true joy in Christ Jesus. Feel and experience His Wonderful Grace in our lives and understand what He’s done for us on the cross! It’s not what we have in this world that matters but focus on your characters and what God has done in our lives!

c. Rejoicing means present, now.
Not later, but NOW. Sometimes you may say “Only if I have ……. (fill in the blanks yourself), I will then rejoice in the Lord”. Really? Will you really rejoice in the Lord when you have what you want? Most of the time, we’ll still complain even when we have got what we wanted. When we graduate, when we get a job, when we get married, even when we already have children, we are still complaining. True?

2) THE MORE YOU REJOICE, THE BIGGER YOUR CAPACITY TO GLORIFY GOD

Read again Psalm 100:2, Leviticus 28:47-48.
When we rejoice while we do our minsitry, we will be more effective. Apostle Paul always rejoiced and asked us to rejoice in the Lord, even when he was in prison and suffered!

The more we rejoice when we are doing something for the Lord, the more grateful we will be to Him and the more He will bless our ministries.

3) REJOICING IN THE LORD IS OUR STRENGTH

Read again Nehemiah 8:11.

Rejoicing to the Lord doesn’t mean that we never shed any tears. No, no. Serving God doesn’t mean that we will never grow tired or feel down. However, those feelings have to be crushed with rejoicing in what we are doing! God has given us strength so that we can keep on serving Him. However, it is our duty to decide whether we want to rejoice in it or not!

Are you rejoicing in the Lord in what ever you are doing at the moment?

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Michael Aulia

Michael Aulia is a Christian blogger who lives in Australia. He is the owner of WriteForGod.com and also CravingTech.com

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