Sacred Delights
Choose JOY!
Sunday, May 5, 2024
Call to Worship:
Psalm 100-let’s read it together. Please stand.
1 Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. 2 Worship the Lord with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs. 3 Know that the Lord is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name. 5 For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.
Praise Songs
Intro:
We have seen or heard of those who by all standards would have every right to be miserable, depressed, or hateful people given their debilitating conditions be it where they live, their physical ailments, a disease bringing their life to an end far too soon…and yet… they live the life they have with an unbending joy!
Author and Pastor Max Lucado, shares in one of his books of such a person by the name of Robert Reed.
He was a man born with cerebral palsy. His hands and feet were twisted and mostly without function. He needed assistance for bathing, feeding, brushing his teeth, combing his hair, and putting on his undergarments. All independence in the way you and I can take for granted, Robert, never had the luxury of enjoying. His shirts were held together with strips of Velcro. His speech was slower and dragged on as he talked. He couldn’t drive a car, ride a bike, or enjoy going for a walk by himself.
But Robert didn’t let any of that stop him. He graduated from high school going on to a Christian University and graduated with a degree in Latin. He taught at a junior college in St. Louis and went on five overseas mission trips! He then became a missionary in Portugal. He moved to Lisbon alone in 1972 and rented a hotel room. He studied Portuguese. He made friends with a restaurant owner who would feed him after the rush hour, and a tutor who would instruct him in the language. Then he stationed himself in the park every day and shared brochures about Christ. In six years, Robert led 70 people to Christ-one who became his wife. Robert would go on to speak in many venues about his love of the Lord.
He could have asked for sympathy or pity. He could have been bitter or hateful-but his favorite phrase to shout with his hand in the air was, “I have everything I need for joy!”
Ponder that for just a moment.
Robert Reed had everything he needed for joy. Everything. Do you also have everything you need for joy?
There is another man who understands the heart of Robert. He too had every reason to be miserable, yet there was no one more joyful.
His first home was a palace. His name was known and loved. He had everything.
And then He had nothing. One moment he was royalty; the next He was in poverty.
His bed usually became the hard earth and he was dependent on handouts for His income. He knew what it was like to be rained on and cold. He knew what it meant to have no home.
Before, everything around Him was spotless; now He was exposed to filth. Before, He knew no disease, now He was surrounded by it.
In His kingdom, He was revered; now ridiculed. He was a novelty for many and used for tricks and entertainment. Until He was no longer popular and they were done with Him, then they wanted to kill Him.
He was accused of a crime He never committed, witnesses hired to lie, a rigged jury, and a judge swayed by politics. He was handed down the death penalty. They killed this once beloved king. He died with nothing.
This man should have been miserable and bitter. He had every right to pour out His wrath upon those who treated Him so poorly. He should have been steaming with anger-but He wasn’t.
He was joyful. Not happy, but a deep-seated, unbending joy flowed within Him.
Why?
Because sourpusses don’t attract a following. Crowds won’t gather to listen to the woeful and pitiful.
Why did people follow Him wherever He went and children loved to be near Him?
He was joyful!
This man and King is Jesus of course, our beloved Savior.
He embodied a stubborn joy-refusing to bend in hard times; holding its ground in deep pain; a joy founded in what is eternal, not temporal.
No doubt this is the same joy those like Robert Reed came to know and clinged to.
Max Lucado defines this joy as a Sacred Delight.
This is what we’ll be focusing on over the next several weeks.
Sacred because it’s not of this world it is of God and granted by God.
Delight because it both satisfies and surprises us!
This is God doing what only God can do, in ways that only God would come up with to bring glory to His great name and care for His children. These gifts are sacred because they can’t be taken from us no matter what comes. It’s delightful because we can’t predict how and when God will show up and when He does it’s absolutely thrilling to experience!
It’s God’s gladness shared with us and sacred delight is what Jesus promises in His famous sermon on the Mount. He teaches His disciples and other listening ears nearby about these sacred promises of delight. We know them as the Beatitudes.
Over the next several weeks we’ll unpack them in greater detail so we might continue to expand our territory of all God delights in granting to us, His beloved children.
Listen today as we read them again. Have a fresh ear and take notice of who these blessings are for. Hear the promises for heavenly joy; a sacred delight to those who will follow and receive.
There is a cost involved; there is a requirement for a radical reconstruction of our hearts Jesus is addressing. Is it worth it? That’s for you to decide in your heart.
For me, to live in a heavenly joy that circumstances of this world cannot touch, is worth everything.
Matthew 5: 1-12 NIV
Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them. He said: 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled. 7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. 10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
- Unbending Joy.
Robert Reed had this and professed frequently, “I have everything I need for joy!”
By the world’s standards, he had nothing for joy and everything for misery. But he chose joy! No matter what the circumstances were Robert chose joy, and joy is what manifested in his life. Isn’t that interesting-simply by making a choice in our hearts, we manifest that experience in our lives?
Robert had joy in his time with the Lord-soaking in the presence and wonder of God at work in his life. Joy in those who would help him and show kindness to him. Joy in learning so much throughout his life. Joy in teaching others and watching them learn. Joy in sharing the Good News! Joy in traveling the world and seeing God in the world!
Did that mean Robert was without hardship and struggles? Of course not, every day he endured hardship and struggles, yet he didn’t focus on those. He found ways to work through them and focused on the joy within his days. This is an unbending joy. I would guess Robert lived more fully and joyfully than many people who have all use of their bodies because his heart refused to let go of the joy that comes from the Lord. Robert focused on the eternal things and by doing that he left a great impact on the world around him. The fact that we are sharing his story means he had an effect on others to the glory of God.
Proverbs 17:22 NASB A joyful heart is good medicine, But a broken spirit dries up the bones.
Which do you have? Which do you choose?
Galatians 5:22 NASB But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
Jesus also had an unbending joy. He knew of God’s sacred delights. These delights came as shepherds danced and shouted for joy as they gazed upon the baby Messiah; as Mary looked upon the face of God she was holding in her arms; Simeon who waited so long- praising God as he too looked upon the face of the promised Savior; Joseph a carpenter, teaching his Son, the Son of God, how to hold a hammer and how to build; in the eyes of a man born blind now suddenly able to see everything; watching Andrew’s face as their basket never emptied and they fed over 5,000 people from a few fish and loaves of bread; a crippled man suddenly able to jump up and dance around with joy overflowing; Peter and the other fisherman almost tipping their boat over because the nets were so heavy and filled with fish to cover their tax debt… JOY abounding. Sacred delights that come from God!
These are the moments and even greater still of what came through the cross that Jesus focused on when he had to endure tremendous hardship and pain as our Sacrifice. We are to follow His example.
Hebrews 12:2 NIV fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
- Sacred Delight.
Only God can grant these delights and we can’t predict any of them or they wouldn’t delight us as they do. These are hope where you least expect it. This is God hedging you in from every side and filling you with awe and wonder as you proclaim, “God how did You do that?”
Matthew 5:8 8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Jesus is teaching here in order to see these sacred delights and behold the majesty and wonder of our God, we must have a pure heart. The Holy Spirit purifies our hearts and removes from us anything offensive to God; anything that hinders our ability to see and hear accurately from our Father. Jesus teaches us we are blessed when our hearts are purified because only then will we see God at work in our lives.
We talk about our God being relational and how He enjoys spending time with us. The Bible teaches us in many passages that He delights in us in fact. We are called to delight in Him and He in turn delights in us.
Psalm 37:4 Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
As we delight in Him, we are allowing the Spirit to work in our hearts, purifying us and washing over us with truth and righteousness. As our hearts are purified and aligned with His heart, we desire what God desires. And He gives us those desires! Sacred delights.
Psalm 18:19 He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me.
Psalm 149: 4-5 4 For the Lord takes delight in his people; he crowns the humble with victory.
5 Let his faithful people rejoice in this honor and sing for joy on their beds.
Let us sing for joy in our hearts a song of thanksgiving to our God who delights in us.
- Radical Reconstruction of the Heart.
We experience more of this joy and sacred delight as we allow a reconstruction of our hearts. This is not just a casual shift in our attitudes. This is a demolition of the old and the creation of a new heart that lives for God.
Matthew 5: 3-4 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
We’ll talk more about this in future messages, but Jesus is saying you are blessed when you realize your need for Me; for a Savior; for God in our lives; for a remaking of our hearts. You are blessed when you mourn over your sin and look to the Savior for redemption. He says, this is good and as it should be because you are the ones who receive the kingdom of heaven-the sacred delights from God.
God isn’t about using duct tape on our broken, depleted hearts. In this case, He says I will give you a new heart. I will put My Spirit in you. So long to the old and hello to a new you in Christ!
Ezekiel 36: 26-27 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.
We are taught in Romans about this circumcision of our hearts. In Old Testament times, men had to be circumcised physically as a sign they were set apart as God’s people. After Jesus came that was no longer a requirement to the physical body because Jesus would live in each of us through the Holy Spirit. It is however a requirement of our hearts from a spiritual perspective for that is where God dwells. This is the radical reconstruction we go through as we receive Christ as our Lord and Savior. God is the one who praises us as we do.
Romans 2: 28-29 28 A person is not a Jew who is one only outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. 29 No, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a person’s praise is not from other people, but from God.
Conclusion: The One who had every reason to be bitter and miserable, chose an unbending JOY focusing on the sacred delight offered by the Father. These delights are the foundation of the promises found within the Beatitudes. Therefore, let us follow Christ and choose to live in an unbending joy as we revel in the sacred delights God bestows on us.
Let’s pray.
Communion: As we partake in the sharing of communion together and this holy sacrament, it too is a sacred delight given to us by our loving Savior. If we only focus on the horror of the cross, there is nothing to delight in. But if we like Jesus focus on the joy that came through the cross and the gift of salvation we all receive because of His willingness to die as the sacrifice for all of humanity; for the new life we have received as He resurrected from the grave; for the joy in knowing death has no hold over us and we have a secure future with Him for all eternity; and that we are never separated from God’s love that is within us always; that we are redeemed and seen as righteous before our Holy God-all because of what Jesus did on the cross, this moment we share together truly becomes a sacred delight.
Let us pray.
Luke 22: 19-20 19 And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.”
20 In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.
Offering:
Prayers:
Final Blessing: Romans 15:13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
