Joy of the Lord
Ezra 6:14-16 - Victory Fellowship
April 28, 2024 - Rev. Roderick Grabski
Healing Service
I. Introduction:
a. Have you ever worked at something to the point of exhaustion and when you are finished look back and although you are tired and worn, you feel a deep sense of satisfaction?
b. That is Joy.
II. RELATING THE TEXT
a. The Jewish exiles who returned to rebuild the Temple did have trouble in their world. They were discouraged, threatened, and intimidated to the point of stopping the work on the Temple.
b. Such was the case for nearly 16 years before God called up the prophets Haggai and Zechariah to spur them on again:
i. Haggai 1:13-14
13 Then Haggai, the messenger of the LORD, spoke by the commission of the LORD to the people saying, "'I am with you,' declares the LORD." 14 So the LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and worked on the house of the LORD of hosts, their God, 15 on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month in the second year of Darius the king.
ii. Zechariah 4:6-9
Then he said to me, "This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel saying, 'Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' says the LORD of hosts. 'What are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain; and he will bring forth the top stone with shouts of "Grace, grace to it!"'" Also the word of the LORD came to me, saying, "The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house, and his hands will finish it. Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you.
c. When they finally finished the Temple on March 12, 515 BC, they dedicated it and renewed their Holy Feast celebrations with great joy.
d. God had helped them overcome adversity and opposition. He had stirred the hearts of at least 3 Kings to favor the Jews.
e. They had good reason to express JOY.
III. Application
a. JOY. It makes you happy just to say the word. Try it – “say Joy”
b. Maxie Dunham: Joy is expressed on two levels... 1) Joy is a gift of the Spirit that becomes a condition of the heart which is confident of its relationship to Christ AND… 2) Joy becomes the expression of celebration which empowers us to be Christian.
c. Not everyone has JOY. There are things that rob us of our Joy.
d. Joy cannot be imitated for long. If we have no joy it’s because there is something in our life stealing it from us.
e. JOY does not equal HAPPINESS:
As a third-century man was anticipating death, he penned these last words to a friend: “It’s a bad world, an incredibly bad world. But I have discovered in the midst of it a quiet and holy people who have learned a great secret. They have found a joy which is a thousand times better than any pleasure of our sinful life. They are despised and persecuted, but they care not. They are masters of their souls. They have overcome the world. These people are the Christians—and I am one of them.” Moody Bible Institute’s, Today In The Word, June, 1988, p. 18
f. Joy recognizes the promise of blessing, despite the present circumstances.
John 16:21-24 "Whenever a woman is in labor she has pain, because her hour has come; but when she gives birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy that a child has been born into the world. "Therefore you too have grief now; but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you. "In that day you will not question Me about anything. Truly, truly, I say to you, if you ask the Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you. "Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be made full.
IV. Conclusion
a. If there is to be more joy in our lives we must eliminate behavior that robs it and we must ask, in Jesus’ name, for our joy to be full.
b. The Joy of the Lord is our strength.
PRAYER & ANOINTING with OIL
SONG: In Jesus’ Name (Third Day)
Ezra 6:14-16 NLT
14 So the Jewish elders continued their work, and they were greatly encouraged by the preaching of the prophets Haggai and Zechariah son of Iddo. The Temple was finally finished, as had been commanded by the God of Israel and decreed by Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes, the kings of Persia.
15 The Temple was completed on March 12, during the sixth year of King Darius’s reign.16 The Temple of God was then dedicated with great joy by the people of Israel, the priests, the Levites, and the rest of the people who had returned from exile.
