The Redeemer Rejoices, Part 1

Thank you choir. Let's pray together father We are grateful for today and the opportunity once again to study the blessed truth of your word And we pray that Lord you'd open our hearts and minds that we would understand the great jubilation That the saints of God have when they serve in the kingdom of God You thank you Lord for how it is your word speaks to us and pray Lord that you'd speak to every heart this morning We pray in Jesus name Amen Turn me in your Bible Luke chapter 10 Luke chapter 10 as we look at a paragraph or introduce for you a paragraph describing the joy of Jesus We are in a section of Luke chapter 10 that Focuses in on the 70 that were sent by the Lord.

They were commissioned in verse number one. We looked at their commissioning After their commission, we saw their motivation that which would move them to to ministry and then we saw their proclamation That which they are to say when they go from village to village or from house to house or city to city this is what they say and Then we also looked at their admonition. That is what admonition? What warning do you give to those who reject the gospel and then we see where the 70 return? verse number 17 with joy We see their Jubilation we see their excitement and the text says these words and the 70 return with joy Saying Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name.

I mean they came back and they said Lord, this is Amazing. We have seen something that we thought we'd never seen we we'd ever see we saw the the demons subject to your name And they were pretty ecstatic over what had happened in their ministry And we told you last week that whenever you engage in serving the Lord, there is joy Joy always comes with those who serve their God they understand the call that God has upon their life and the Responsibility they have to fulfill that call and they are servants in the kingdom of God.

And so they serve the Lord God and These individuals when they went out to serve They came back with great joy and the Lord said that when you go go take no purse take no money with you Take no bag with you because you've got to depend totally upon me And when you go I send you out as lambs amidst the wolves. This is going to be a hard situation for you It's not going to be easy and when you go out you tell them what I'm going to tell you and when you give them that Proclamation they're either going to respond with humility and receive the gospel or hostility and reject the gospel and When they reject the gospel you give them the admonition you give them the warning that it will be more tolerable in the day of judgment for Sodom and Gomorrah than for you who have heard the truth of the gospel and You think well That that's got to be a difficult ministry to accomplish but they went out and they came back with joy They were ecstatic over what they had seen Happen we have seen our Adversaries subdued we have seen Great things happen and the Bible says in verse number 18 And he said to them I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning behold I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy and nothing shall injure you nevertheless Do not rejoice in this That the spirits are subject to you but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven You want to rejoice about something?

Don't rejoice over the fact that in your ministry there is supernatural power But rejoice in your destiny and the spiritual position you have with me forever Now think about that Jesus says I know you're excited about all that's taken place.

I Can sense that I've seen Satan fall like lightning I've seen his kingdom being destroyed one soul at a time as they are being transferred from the kingdom of darkness Into my kingdom the kingdom of light This is great. This is wonderful but I want to let you know that what you really need to rejoice in is your destiny Rejoice in the fact that your names are recorded in heaven Now I want you to think about that with me for a moment In fact, I want you to think about that with me for the rest of our time this morning That your name is recorded in heaven Now the Bible says in the very next verse at that very time he rejoiced greatly Now this is the only text of Scripture that tells us about the joy of Jesus Now we know that he had joy But Luke is the only one who records the fact that at this time he rejoiced Greatly now that that's a weak translation as to what actually happens in the life of our Lord There was this great exaltation in his life There was this great excitement this this thrilling joy Over what he saw and what he heard from the 70 who returned with great joy But before we go there we need to go back and Look at the fact that Jesus said I know How excited you are about your ministry?

But What you need to truly be excited about is That your names are recorded in heaven Now very rarely do we ever think about that but in Hebrews chapter 10 I'm sorry Hebrews chapter 12 verse number 23 it says To the General Assembly and Church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven and Then down in verse number 28 therefore since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken let us show gratitude by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and all We have received a kingdom our names have been written down in glory and Jesus says you need to be ecstatic about your destiny about where you're going to go for eternity That is because your names are already recorded in heaven because your names are enrolled in heaven Because you have received a kingdom that cannot be shaken This is where you need to place your joy Why?

Because there will be many surrounding circumstances in your ministry that are going to break your heart There's going to be many opportunities throughout the rest of your life here on earth well you will go out and do exactly as I said and you won't see the same thing you saw on this trip and You could very easily get discouraged We find that in the church all the time people engaged in ministry Who are not excited about the ministry? You find it with people who get burned out in the ministry because of the overwhelming load or because of the amount of rejection in the ministry and yet Jesus wants them to gain a perspective a Perspective that deals with their eternal destiny You need to make sure that your joy is focused and founded in the right place If not You will very easily lose That joy and you can't afford to lose your joy the ministry Your joy is prompted and propelled by your service But in that service, there are many things that take place that are very heartbreaking in your life so Jesus wants them to gain a perspective a Perspective that you and I need to have as well and so I want to talk to you a little bit about your destiny and how it is you obtain that and How it is that joy should abound in your life We know that to be absent for the body is to be present with the Lord, right?

We know that Paul had this this turmoil in his life in Philippians 1 21 to 23 where he says, you know for me to live It's Christ and to die is gain. I Know that while I live for Christ here on earth It's great. But I also know that when I die It's gonna be the greatest gain in my life because as you would say in Philippians chapter 3 We would be Conformed to his image Philippians chapter 3 verse number 20 for our citizenship is in heaven From which also we eagerly wait for our Savior the Lord Jesus Christ Who will transform the body of our humble state?

into conformity with the body of his glory By the exertion of the power that he has even to subject all things to him self When we get to heaven We're gonna have a body just like our Lord's glorified body and Jesus wants us to focus in on that which is really important. That is Eternity because that's where we will be forever We're just passing through this life for a very brief moment of time And Jesus says I know you're excited about all that's taken place and I'm gonna rejoice with you But notice Don't get too excited about the fact that even the demons are subject in my name But get excited about this that your names are recorded in heaven Get excited about your destiny Why let me give you several reasons one These are not in your notes, by the way This is all introduction material to your notes Number one is because your destiny Exposes his humility your destiny exposed his humility We forget that the reason we're going to heaven is because Jesus died for our sins, right?

We forget about that And way back in in Psalm 118 Verse 22 it says the stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone This is the Lord's doing it is marvelous in our eyes. In other words, the stone that the builders rejected is a Messiah and that Messiah is the chief cornerstone the foundation of his church and And it pleased the Lord that that Messiah would be rejected And then it says this This is the day Which the Lord has made Let us rejoice and be glad in it. What day is that?

It's not today October the 25th October 25th 19 2009. I don't know what day it is. It's not today It's the day of crucifixion. It's a day of humiliation It's it's the day in which our Lord died on Calvary's cross. This is the day which the Lord has made What day did God make? He made a specific day where that stone that chief cornerstone would be Rejected and would be killed and because of that great work of redemption That's the day you rejoice in so Jesus says I know you're excited about your ministry and that's good, but I Want you to be more excited about the fact that your names are written down in heaven I want you to be excited about your destiny why because it exposed my humility All about the crucifixion Remember flipping set the tomb he humbled himself and became a servant He became obedient even unto death the death of a cross It's describes the humiliation of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords So that at the name of Jesus one day every knee will bow every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father Through his humiliation came the great coronation of the king and he wanted his disciples to understand that That's why he kept talking over and over again about the day of his death And they rejected that didn't they?

They rejected the humiliation of the Messiah They rejected the crucifixion of the Messiah Why because that just did not compute in their little pea brains. It didn't come together for them But it was the plan of God. Oh It pleased the Lord That the Messiah the stone the builders rejected would die It pleased the Lord God because that was the plan so Jesus says When you understand that your names are recorded in heaven You'll understand what I did for you.

I died for you I Left my kingdom in heaven. I humbled myself became a man and Died for your sins Because you couldn't pay for your sins So I paid for them for you So your destiny in heaven your names recorded in glory exposed his humility Number two it extends his security It extends his security That is he is the God who not only saves you but he Secures you he protects you and they've already seen a portion of that haven't they?

He says listen when you go out the scorpions the serpents a phrase a metaphor dealing with the demonic world They're not gonna harm you. I'm gonna protect you. I'm gonna insulate you I'm gonna watch over you because that's what God does for his people. He protects them And Through their destiny it would extend his Security over their lives his protection over their lives. That's what he did And so when you go back Can you read? Psalm 91 verse number one It says this he who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty I will say to the Lord my refuge in my fortress my God and whom I trust For it is he who delivers you from the snare of the trapper and from the deadly pestilence He will cover you with his pinions or his feathers And under his wings You may seek refuge his faithfulness his truth is a shield and bulwark and armor It is our God who secures his people if you were to go back to Psalm 63 verse number 7 it says for thou has been my help and in the shadow of thy wings I sing for joy In the shadow of thy wings I sing For joy Jesus says listen, I know that you are excited about what's taking place in your brief first ministry, but You need to be more excited about your eternal destiny Because it exposed my humility and extends my security to you That's how you are know you're protected by me That's how you know, I will watch over you the Bible says in Psalm 61 verse number 4 these words Let me dwell in thy tent forever.

Let me take refuge in the shelter of thy wings Psalm 57 verse number 1 be gracious to me Oh God be gracious to me for my soul takes refuge in thee and in the shadow of thy wings I will take refuge until Destruction passes by over and over again.

It talks about the shelter under the wings of God. Where is that from? Well, it's from the book of Exodus. I'm sorry the book of Deuteronomy chapter 32 When Moses says these words in verse number 10 Speaking of Israel, he found him in a desert land and in the howling waste of a wilderness. He encircled him He cared for him He guarded him as a pupil of his eye like an eagle that stirs up its nest that hovers over its young He spread his wings and caught them and carried them on his pinions The Lord alone guided them in other words Moses is describing the protective care of Israel under the wings of an eagle under the wings of the Lord God who sheltered them who Protected them who watched over them because that is a symbol of how God takes care of his people And so all throughout the Psalms it talks about being sheltered by the wings of the Lord That under his wings under his feathers.

There is protection. There is refuge. There is shelter for the people of God and interesting enough That in the book of Revelation the 12th chapter The sixth verse it says and the woman who is Israel fled into the wilderness Which is Moab and Edom where she had a place prepared by God in other words God prepared a place God will prepare a place for Israel in the tribulation so that they're there she might be nourished for 1,200 and 60 days or in other words for three and a half years you read further down in Revelation 12 verse number 14 It says and the two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman in other words Israel was protected by God This is not talking about an airplane at all that flies Israel to some place in the wilderness It's talking about the protective care of God over his people in order that she might fly into the wilderness to her place where she was nourished for a time and times and Half a time from the presence of the serpent who is Satan in other words in the end times in the tribulation God will protect his people as he always has With the symbol of the eagle who spreads his wings and carries his people and protects them From the enemy and all wrapped up in the fact that your name was recorded in heaven Exposes the humility of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ and Extends his security to protect to provide to watch over his people and That is Why we rejoice?

Because wrapped up in our eternal destiny is the clarification of all the work that God does in our life number three Number three and that's this It exalts his Veracity It exalts his veracity in other words God's truth is exalted When you understand your name is recorded in heaven You see Jesus wants you to be joyful in the right things.

There are there are many reasons to rejoice But the main reason to rejoice is that your your name is recorded in heaven you rejoice about your destiny because it exposes you his humility extends his Security and Exalts his veracity in other words his truth now Is exalted because everything about what God said would happen happened He's faithful and true to his word So his truth now is exalted That's why the Bible says in 1st John 1 verse number 4.

I write these things that your joy May be me full John says I want your joy to be made full. I want it to be overflowing. I want you to understand where real true joy is And so in Luke chapter 2 when the angels made an announcement They rejoiced with exceeding great joy. Why? because the plan of redemption was unfolding before the very eyes of the angels and They were able to express that to the shepherds who then in turn listen once they heard the truth About the arrival of the Messiah they had been longing for the consolation of Israel They had believed in the truth of God in the Old Testament And they were the first ones to hear to receive the announcement about that Messiah it says that they went in haste to see this word or the Reality of this word which was spoken to them and they went to Bethlehem the city of David which was known by all True Jews that the Messiah would be born in that city of David called Bethlehem And they went there and they went to that grotto and they began to Express to Joseph to Mary all the things that the angels said to them and when they were done doing that they left Praising God they left Exuberant over the fact that the truth of God had been made known to them and they were able to express that truth to Joseph and Mary Folks, let me tell you something about truth It always Excites the true believer always That's what truth does Because it verifies in your mind in my mind that everything God said is true and That's why when John said I write these things that your joy may be made full He wanted you to understand that everything he's gonna write about was spoken about By the prophets of old And we need to understand that great joy over in Psalm 119 It says I rejoice at thy word as one who finds great spoils I Rejoice at thy word the psalmist would say in Psalm 119 Verse number 14.

I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies as much as in all riches He would say in verse number 16. I shall delight in thy statutes I shall not forget thy word verse 24 thy testimonies also are my delight They are my counselors verse 35 make me walk in the path of thy commandments for I delight in it Verse 47 and I shall delight in my commandments, which I love you see there's something about the Word of God that produces joy in the heart of the people of God and Jesus says very clearly I Want you to rejoice at something that will keep you on the right track from here to eternity and That is your names are recorded in heaven And that will help you understand my humility my security my veracity Everything I say is true everything I did and Will do will always come true For my people you need to understand that and that is what causes the heart to rejoice So I Rejoice over my destiny Because it exposes his humility extends his security exalts his veracity and exhibits His mercy it exhibits his mercy.

The Bible says in first Kings 3 6 that his mercies are great In Psalm 80 verse number 5 his mercies are plenteous In Luke 1 78 his mercies are tender First Peter 1 3 his mercies are abundant Psalm 103 verse number 17.

They are Everlasting and the Bible says in Romans chapter 9 verse number 23, we are called vessels of mercy We are able to receive that which we do not deserve Mercies are those God or God's tender compassionate avenues toward us in midst our distress that causes him to act on our behalf and Relieve us of all of our suffering and pain in the manner.

He knows best And we are saved According to Titus 3 5 according to his mercies And Jesus says once you understand your destiny You'll understand You'll understand what you need to understand about me my humility my security my veracity my mercy Why are you going to heaven?

It's because of my mercy. It's not because of your merits It's because of my mercy, that's why you're going there and so in Psalm 136 it talks about the mercies of God. In fact, the translation is loving kindnesses of God How they are extended to to his people in ways that go way beyond anything you and I can ever imagine And that's why Jesus says We rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven number six or five, excuse me, the reason you rejoice because your names are recorded in heaven is because it explains his identity it explains his identity Who is?

my God The Bible says these words in Psalm 89 verse number 15 How blessed are the people who know the joyful sound?

Oh, Lord, they walk in the light of thy countenance in thy name They rejoice all the day and by thy righteousness. They are exalted For thou art the glory of their strength and by thy favor Our horn is exalted for our shield belongs to the Lord and our king to the Holy One of Israel the name of the Lord God is that which expresses his character and his nature and Our God is a deliverer Our God is a Savior. Our God is a Redeemer That's why way back in Exodus chapter 3 God told Moses that this was his memorial name.

I Am that I am This is the name that I am to be remembered by forever because I am the Lord who has heard the cry of my people and I'm going to come down to deliver them and Moses says What am I gonna tell him your name is? You just tell him I am that I am You tell them That this is my memorial name And he goes on to explain to Moses that this is my name that has to be remembered from generation to generation to generation why because I am a Redeemer of people who need to be redeemed That's our God And so we know that in the name of the Lord Proverbs tells us chapter 18 verse number 30 that the name of the Lord is a strong tower and the righteous run to him and are safe the name of the Lord expresses his identity his character his Beautiful nature Psalm 8 verse number 1.

Oh Lord our Lord How majestic is your name in all the earth? Why? Because your name needs to be worshipped and honored your name needs to be praised your name needs to be glorified There is no other name under heaven given among men whereby You must be saved. It's the name of Christ. You will call his name Jesus for he shall save his people from their sins So Jesus says listen Remember your destiny because that's what's going to cause you to have joy because your destiny explains my identity It explains it over and over again.

Yes, you understand my mercy. Yes, you understand my veracity Yes, you understand my security. Yes, you understand everything you need to know, but you need to know my identity, you know who I am This knows everybody else and So it is that which explains the identity of my God And number six It expresses his priority It expresses his Priority the very fact that your name is recorded in heaven expresses to you my Priority in what is my priority? He came to seek and to save that which was lost Luke chapter 19 verse number 10 First John 3 verse number 5 says that Jesus Christ appeared that he might save us from Our sins He had a priority When he came to this earth, he came to die He came preaching the kingdom of heaven is at hand because the only way somebody gets to heaven is Because of their faith in God and faith cometh by hearing right in hearing by the Word of God So it expresses the priority of our God.

I have come to save man from his sin So when you realize that your name was recorded in heaven You know what my priority is and if you know what my priority is Listen, it will become your priority and if it's not your priority, you'll be robbed of your joy How many people do you know that are robbed of their joy because the priority of preaching the gospel is not their priority Think about it Jesus says I want you to have joy I do and I'm glad that you returned with joy because you were able to see things you had never seen before and by the Way that you know that when you're engaged in ministry, you will always see things that those not engaged in ministry Never see They never see it Because they don't see the supernatural work of God Moving in and through their lives They're just kind of coming and sitting in the pew and kind of singing a few songs and kind of putting in time for church And going home But those who serve things are different Why because they have to trust in their God and when they trust in their God they see God work that gives them great joy And Jesus says I'm glad you got joy, but it goes way beyond that.

Listen rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven Why? Because it exposes my humility. That's why it extends my security It exalts my veracity exhibits my mercy Explains my identity Expresses my priority. All those things are gonna bring you joy And they're the result of your name being recorded in heaven number seven it extols My sovereignty it extols my sovereignty. Why is your name written in heaven? Because God is a sovereign controller of all men by the way, your name was written there Before time began He was the lamb slain before the foundation of the world, right the slain of the Lamb of God was in the mind of God way before the world was ever created and Our names are recorded in the Lamb's Book of Life which by the way was recorded before the foundation of the world as well and Jesus says look, this is all about my sovereign control my sovereign choice What I want to see happen in the lives of man And that's why Romans 11 says that everything is from him through him and to him everything Do you believe that?

Everything is from God. Everything goes through God and everything ultimately comes back to God It's all about his sovereignty That's why Job said in Job 42. I know that thou canst do all things and that Nothing and no one can thwart the ways of God Job had had to come to that understanding The Bible says in Psalm 103 verse number 19 The Lord has established his throne in the heavens and his sovereignty rules over all Listen to Proverbs chapter 16 verse number 4 The Lord made everything for his own Purpose Do you believe that you believe that raise your hand Okay, let me read to you the second part of the verse Even the wicked for the day of evil You believe that He's made everything for his own purpose even the wicked for the day of evil See Jesus says I want to be extolled at the highest level I I Want you to understand that I am in complete control of everything And the only reason you're going to heaven is because of me.

That's it. It's not because of you This is all about my glory. Jesus says This is all about my joy. Jesus says and your joy is subservient to my joy And if I have joy you'll have joy But it's all based on my sovereign control over Everything And when you know that your names are recorded in the Lamb's Book of Life, it will extol my sovereignty Now folks, that's why Jesus says look I know That you are joyful in the fact that you've seen things you've never seen before and There's been some semblance of success in your ministry But I don't you want you to rejoice in that What I want you to rejoice in is that your names are recorded in heaven Because it's all about my humility my security my veracity my ministry my priority My identity my sovereignty it's all about me Jesus says and That's why God's children experience true joy Because it really is all about the Lord God Now I have three minutes left Which if I wanted to I could explain to you why Jesus at this time Rejoiced exceedingly in the Holy Spirit But I'm not gonna do that I'm gonna save that for next time instead What I'm gonna let you all let you in on is a little secret.

That's really not a secret at all That all centers around Why Jesus said? Why you need to rejoice in your destiny. Are you ready? Because it enriches your adversity It enriches Your adversity Jesus Knew he already told them I'm sending you out as lambs amidst the wolves And they went out and they shared Christ and they talked about To those who rejected what was gonna happen to them and and they they survived they lived And they're probably coming back thinking why this is lambs amidst the wolves this minute this is a cake ministry, this is a cake walk And yet Jesus wants to have them understand From his perspective What is divine joy?

It's all about your eternal destiny and Once you understand your debt your destiny and those other seven components that we gave you that are wrapped up in that destiny it will enrich and Enhance Your adversity That's why Jesus said in Matthew chapter 5 Blessed are you when men persecute you and Speak all kinds of evil against you for my name's sake rejoice and be exceedingly glad For so they persecuted the prophets who went before you when you understand where you're going and the value of eternity That you will spend eternity with the Son of Man Son of God Jesus Christ our Lord forever when you get there you'll your lowly body will be changed transformed literally into the same body that he himself has and John even said at first John 3 when you see him you'll be like him for you'll see him as he is Jesus says Listen when you go through persecution when you go through adversity when you go through difficulty for my name's sake Rejoice and be exceedingly glad That's why Paul could write from prison rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice Because Paul understood his destiny see he knew where he was going.

He knew his name was already Engraved in the Lamb's Book of Life. He knew where he was going. He knew all about the veracity of God He knew all about the identity of God. He knew all about the mercy of God He knew all about the sovereignty of God He knew those things because he knew where he was going so that when he found himself amidst all kinds of adversity He could say rejoice in the Lord always and again. I say rejoice. Oh By the way, Peter He also would learn that He was the one who rejected the the death of the Messiah he was the one who would rebuke the Messiah because the Messiah said he was going to die and Peter had a hard time Comprehending the sovereignty of God, but when he began to to write his epistles You see where it all came into perspective for him.

And so over in first Peter chapter 4 verse number 12 He says beloved do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal Among you which comes upon you for your testing as though some strange thing were happening to you You don't think this strange do you?

This is a fiery ordeal But yet you should not think it's strange for he says this But to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ keep on Rejoicing So that also at the revelation of his glory you may rejoice with Exaltation you keep on rejoicing because your destiny is at stake and when you get to your destiny you arrive there Your joy will be inexpressible. It will be full of Exaltation it will be on anything go beyond anything you can ever imagine So you keep on rejoicing amidst your fiery ordeal because when you get to heaven you are really gonna rejoice And it says this If you are reviled for the name of Christ you are blessed because the spirit of glory and of God rests upon you But no by no means let any of you suffer as a murderer or thief or evildoer or troublesome meddler But if anyone suffers as a Christian Let her not feel ashamed but in that name let him glorify God For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God And if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome of those who do not obey the gospel of God?

and If it is with difficulty that the righteous is saved What will become of the godless man and the sinner therefore? Let those also who suffer according to the will of God Entrust their souls to a faithful creator in doing what is right? You suffer according to the will of God This is God's will for you. So what do you do you entrust yourself to a Faithful creator you deposit your life into the arms under the wings of that refuge Jesus Christ our Messiah you trust him you believe in him you rejoice so that one day you will rejoice with great exaltation Because you will have arrived at your final Destination glory and then he says this chapter 5 verse number 10 and after you have suffered for a little while Peter says a little while now for some of you you might think you're suffering for a little while is has become a long while But remember the perspective Don't rejoice That even the demons are subject to your name But rejoicing this that your names are recorded in heaven because that is your final destination.

That's where eternity Takes off like nothing before and you will spend the rest of eternity with me So Peter in perspective says after you've suffered for a little while because you're only on earth for a short time It's only a little while in comparison to what eternity He says this The God of all grace who called you to his eternal glory in Christ will himself perfect Confirm strengthen and establish you You're only gonna suffer for a little while and you know what God's doing he's perfecting you He's confirming you he's establishing you he is making your life as solid as a rock He is making you and molding you into his image He wants you to be just like him and Peter understood that Because he had seen what had taken place in his life through adversity He had to learn to entrust himself to a faithful creator and doing what is right and To realize that it's only for a little while and then Look what God's doing in you Look how he's shaping and molding you into his image.

Look what he's doing in your life That's how Peter concludes his first epistle When you understand your destiny and Come to grips with all that the Lord is doing as a result of that Centered around his humility his security his veracity his mercy identity Priority Sovereignty It will enrich and enhance your adversity And it will encompass all Eternity It will encompass all Eternity all you got to do is read Revelation 4 5 7 and 21 there is no more pain There is no more sorrow There are no more tears It will encompass it will envelop all of eternity That's why Paul would say Rejoice in the Lord always and again.

I say rejoice in first Thessalonians 5 16 He said rejoice always why because that's what you're gonna do forever is rejoice Because once you reach your final destination That's it That is the essence of true joy And that's what Paul would say set your affections on things above Not on things below Where Christ sits at the right hand of God the Father?

Keep looking upward because that's your final destination Keep looking there Because Jesus said that's what you need to rejoice in rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven My prayer is that when you read this passage of Scripture you never forget we talked about today And all this involved in your final destiny Because Jesus said that's what you need to truly be joyful about The redeemed Rejoice Because of their destiny And that destiny Tells us What we need to know When it comes to his humility His security His veracity his mercy his priority His sovereignty his identity in our life so that When we go through adversity Our lives are enriched because of all those things that encompass our destiny Because it will envelop and encompass all Eternity let's pray The most gracious heavenly father we do thank you for today And the brief amount of time that we have spent looking at your word And our prayer is that truly Lord joy would fill our hearts and lives Because of all that you have done Thank you for the perspective that we need on heaven and our final destiny Thank you father for the opportunity we have to spend just a brief amount of time looking at what you say My prayer is for those today Who have no joy And they had no joy because they have no assurance of their final destiny Because what we once we know where we're going There is joy that permeates our lives like nothing else Oh, there are hard times yes, there are difficulties there are things that break our heart But down deep in the recesses of our soul There is joy Because we know the Lord God of Israel And how he is in complete control of all things And we commit our souls to him our faithful creator And continue to do what is right knowing that you are establishing us perfecting us solidifying our character that we might better represent you until we reach our final destiny You pray these things in Jesus name Amen