AC-96-Sabbath-English

The Joy Of Salvation
1996 AC Sabbath Sermon
By: R S Folkenberg

(ILL) I opened the door to my dormitory room at Andrews University. I had just arrived after a summer of working at home. My roommate, Bob, was sitting at the desk. He turned around and smiled ... from ear to ear. He didn't say, "Welcome back," or "How did your summer go." All he said was, "She said yes!" His face said all the rest. You see, one day when he and Marilyn had been water skiing, he had done the almost impossible. As they were skiing, he managed to pull up close to her, put his arm around her waist, and ask, "Will you marry me?" And she said yes! Before the sun went down that day at Andrews University, most of the students knew Bob was engaged to be married. It was written all over his face.

Joy! Happiness! Do you want to guess how many times "joy" is mentioned in the Gospels? 5 times? 20 times? 100 times? Well, I've counted how many times certain key words are used in the Gospels. "Judgment" is used 20 times. "Sin" is used -- only 15 times. "Sorrow" -- only 5 times. But "joy"? Amazingly, some form of the word "joy" occurs more than 125 times in the gospel story! Imagine, 125 times!

Why is that important? Well, as followers of Christ, we want to talk about the things Jesus talked about! What did He talk about? Sin? Judgment? Sorrow? Of course. They are part of the Gospel. But the emphasis of Jesus and of the Apostles was JOY. And the emphasis of His life and the emphasis of ours should be the same.

I find it very interesting today that there are some who are reluctant to use holy and happy in the same sentence.

Some don't think you should say joy and Jesus in the same breath.
Some think it is somehow irreverent to use cheer and church together.
Some think you shouldn't talk about rejoicing and revival in the same sermon.

Who do you think would like to have us believe that?

A joyous Christian is one of the ways God advertises. Joy is attractive. Christians are the only people in the world who have an everlasting reason to be joyful, and the closer our walk with Jesus the greater our joy. Happiness and holiness go together.

Listen to these statements from the Bible: "I will... give them joy in my house of prayer" (Isa 56:7 NIV).

Interesting, isn't it? We should be joyful in God's house! "Let all those that put their trust in Thee rejoice; let them ever shout for joy" (Ps 5:11 KJV). "Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you?" (Ps 85:6 NIV) Then revival and rejoicing go together!

What best exemplifies the life and ministry of Jesus?

Of course, our Lord was a "man of sorrows and acquainted with grief." There is that part of everyday Christian life where our hearts are broken by the things that break the heart of God. There is, indeed, a time to weep. Every Christian knows the sadness of seeing those they love make destructive choices.

But friendship with Jesus provides the setting for a joyful journey, even in the midst of our sorrows. In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus talked about the formula for joy. "Happy are those who..." From that powerful sermon it is evident that Jesus wants His people to be conspicuous by their radiant joy.

But can a judgment-bound generation be truly joyful? Turn in your Bible to Psalm 98:4-9: "{4} Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music; {5} make music to the LORD with the harp, with the harp and the sound of singing, {6} with trumpets and the blast of the ram's horn - shout for joy before the LORD, the King. {7} Let the sea resound, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it. {8} Let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains sing together for joy; {9} let them sing before the LORD, (WHY?) for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples with equity." (NIV)

All earth, even all nature, is urged to shout for joy. Why? "For He comes to judge the earth"!

Why should the coming judgment make us want to shout for joy?

The judgment means no more injustice, no more inequity.
The judgment means no more sorrow--no more death--no more sadness--no more tears.
The judgment means God is vindicated throughout His universe, the reign of sin is over, and harmony is restored to all of God's creation.

If we cannot be joyful in the face of the judgment, it can only mean that we do not see the Judge as our Friend.

Our faces should shout to our friends and neighbors and co-workers: "I have absolute joy in my life because of my personal relationship with my Lord!" That kind of joy will attract people -- men and women -- boys and girls -- teenagers -- grandmothers and grandfathers -- everyone -- to our Lord.

(ILL) The neighbors of some friends of ours decided they wanted to protect their house from burglars. So they built a strong fence around their yard and bought two huge German Shepherds. But the dogs have torn up the yard, frightened the children who walk by on their way to school, filled the air with their false alarms, awakened everyone needlessly in the middle of the night, and even convinced one neighborhood family to put their house up for sale. But there are no burglars.

The fact is, the dogs accomplished their purpose, but they did it in a way that was more a defeat than a victory. It is possible that at times we protect the church in the same negative way?

Is it possible that we have painted the Father's face with such somber tones that to many He has lost His attractiveness? Have we been slow to acknowledge that the most conspicuous outward characteristic of the Christian is joy?

Let me hasten to add that I am not talking about levity, about a superficial silliness. I am not talking about telling jokes in church--that is irreverence. What I am talking about is a deep irreplaceable joy that makes us attractive, that gives a radiance to the countenance.

Where does joy originate? The first part of Nehemiah 8 is a story you may not have read recently. Israel is just stepping out of apostasy. An unmistakable sense of revival fills the air. Notice the response of the people:

Nehemiah 8:8 -10: "So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading. {9} And Nehemiah, which is the Tirshatha, and Ezra the priest the scribe, and the Levites that taught the people, said unto all the people, This day is holy unto the LORD your God; mourn not, nor weep. For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the law. {10} Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the LORD is your strength."

No wonder David pleads, "Will you not revive us again that your people may rejoice in you?" (Ps 85:6.)

Jesus is the source of joy. True joy comes when our spirit is one with His. Jesus said He came that we might have life and have it more abundantly, and the evidence it is working is the joy it produces in His followers.

Ellen White observed: "To honor Christ, to become like Him, to work for Him, is the life's highest ambition and its greatest joy" (Ed297).

For the Christian, joy begins at the cross. A strange paradox, isn't it, that the scene of the most heinous crime in history should become the birthplace of joy? But for Christians who has been touched by its healing power, we know it is true. Freedom--in Christ! Salvation--in Christ!

(ILL) Peru finally won its independence from Spain under the leadership of General Simon Bolivar. General Bolivar called a convention to draft the constitution for the new country. After the convention a delegation suggested he be their first president. Bolivar declined saying that he felt someone else deserved the honor. The people still wanted to do something special to show their appreciation so they offered Bolivar a gift of 1,000,000 pesos, a great fortune then. Bolivar accepted the gift and then asked how many slaves there were in Peru. The answer: about 3,000. And how much does a slave sell for, he wanted to know? About 350 pesos for an able-bodied man, was the answer. Then, said Bolivar, I will add whatever is necessary to this million pesos and I will buy all the slaves in Peru and set them free.

Freedom! The reason the cross brings joy is because we are no longer condemned to slavery.

The one universal trait we all have is guilt. And guilt is such a burden.

It whispers into our ears during night.
It shouts condemnation of actions and motives which we cannot deny.
It plays painful reruns on the screen of our minds.

But the cross changes all that. At the cross God re-writes our history. At the cross God stamps Forgiven! across our sordid records. By means of a judicial act which we shall never fully understand, He makes it possible for us to stand before the universe as though we had never sinned! We call it grace--amazing grace. An old song says it best:

At the cross, at the cross,
   Where I first saw the light,
   And the burden of my heart rolled away.
It was there by faith I received my sight,
   And now I am happy all the day.

Grace -- amazing grace! Because of God's grace, we can be happy -- we can be joyful -- every day!

Do you need to experience that kind of spiritual joy today? For the first time in your life, you may want to give your life to Jesus, to ask that His sacrifice on Calvary be credited to your account. Or you may sense that you need a renewing touch of His forgiveness. If you are in either of those groups I want to invite you right now to ask Him to roll away the burdens from your heart and give you the joy that comes from knowing total and complete forgiveness.

But the past is not all that troubles me.

To be forgiven but not empowered is a mockery.
To take care of what has happened, but not provide for today creates the setting for abject discouragement.
Our victory over sin also is an undeserved gift of grace.

As we bask in the reality of sins forgiven we also cry out, "Lord, change us from what we are by nature!" And He does that. I want you to hear one of the most encouraging statements ever made by the Lord's messenger. It appears in The Desire of Ages, p 668: "...If we consent, He will so identify Himself with our thoughts and aims, so blend our hearts and minds into conformity to His will, that when obeying Him we shall be but carrying out our own impulses... When we know God as it is our privilege to know Him, our life will be a life of continual obedience. [Now listen to this promise...] Through an appreciation of the character of Christ, through communion with God, sin will become hateful to us."

You see, God does not ask us simply to grit our teeth and muster up our will power. He says, "I want to give you a new heart...I want to 'take away your bent to sinning,'...I want to change what you love and what you hate...I want to transform you from the inside..." And then He gives the process by which that happens--did you hear it? "Through an appreciation of the character of Christ, through communion with God..." That's it. "Temptations lose their power, when Thou art nigh..."

It is not enough that the heart trouble be diagnosed and that the surgery take place. It is also imperative that we be given a rehabilitation program by which we become strong.

That is why...

We pray, not for strength, but for Christ to live within and take control of us, because when He lives within us He brings the gift of strength with Him and it becomes ours;
We pray, not for gentleness, but for Christ to live within and He brings the gift of gentleness with Him; and
We pray, not for love, but to be in-dwelt by Christ Himself who brings with Him the trait of unselfish love.

No wonder the apostle can say, "Christ in you, the hope of glory!" (Col. 1:27)

Perhaps someone here today needs to ask for God's transforming grace to do that work within that we have just been describing.
Perhaps you have been to Calvary and have known the joy that accompanies unconditional forgiveness, but you have not been in His presence consistently enough that He can do that rehabilitation He wishes to do.

Today, you want to "Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face, (so that) the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace." There is no better time and no better place for you to make that decision than right here and right now.

(ILL) Several years ago a popular singer in America (Peggy Lee) looked around her at all the money she had made, all the fame she had achieved, all the popularity she had gained, and she wrote a song entitled, "Is That All There Is?" It spoke eloquently to the longing in the human heart.

Without Christ we find ourselves asking, "Is that all there is to life?" We know there must be more. And there is. The New Testament calls is restitution. (Acts 3:20,21)

When the great controversy drama between good and evil has sufficiently run its course, God will step in and restore all of the damage done by sin. We can paint with brush or pen, with all of the skill at our command, and we still cannot capture the ecstasy of that moment.

God's people for millennia have dreamed of it. It has buoyed the courage of millions and been the theme of the prophets since the dawn of time. Next to Calvary it is the one dominant agenda item in the courts of heaven.

Once again God comes forward to demonstrate that He is gracious enough to care for our yesterdays, powerful enough to care for our todays, and loving enough to care for our tomorrows. We call it grace--amazing grace!

Jesus, while we were sinners, (Rom 5:8)enemies of His Kingdom, snatched us from the shadow of eternal death ... and promises to take us to His home, not as friends alone, but as sons and daughters, heirs of the kingdom">(Rom. 8:17).

Now I may not have said anything here today that you didn't know already. Most of us do not need to be informed, we need to experience the joy of redemption anew.

Many of us are long-time believers. And that can be a personal danger because we can become so familiar with the language of the cross that it loses its excitement. We forget, we just forget. Every day we need to experience it again--for the first time.

Earlier we heard the joy of Mary's father. We saw his transformation as he experienced the wonder of forgiveness. His daughter, Mary, forgiven, cleansed and rejoicing in her new-found acceptance in Christ, washed her Saviour's feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. As Sabbath School editor Dr Philip Samaan explained to me, in the Middle East the head is the highest, most noble part of the human body while feet are the lowest. Weeping with joy before her Lord Mary demonstrated that her best was less Lord's least.

But now, she stands by an empty tomb. Forgiven, cleansed, she enjoys a new life -- but her Savior is gone. The One she loves is dead. Now, even His body is gone. Eyes filled with tears--heart filled with agony, she turns to the gardener--in search of at least His body.

Then she hears His voice, "Mary." She recognizes the one she loves. She falls at His feet in worship. Her love is complete. Her joy is full. Wonder of wonders, joy of joys, He is alive!

When He bids her go, she goes. She has something to share. Her joy is full. It cannot be contained. It cannot be held back. She must share her delight.

With running steps she makes her way to the mausoleum of the upper room. Her joy shatters the darkness of sorrow.

"He is alive!" Her voice rings with incredible joy. She has experienced anew the touch of her Master. She has seen Jesus. She is forgiven. She is healed. He has come again into her life. The One who raised her brother Lazarus has Himself come from the grave. Her joy is renewed. She has one story to tell. It is new every day. It is fresh every day.

"Jesus lives today."

What about us? We are sinful and as lost as Mary was. Have experienced the forgiveness, freedom and joy she found? Maybe we too need to pray,

"Lord, make it new and real to me again today. Restore to my heart the thrill of discovery. Give me the radiant joy that comes from the knowing the reality of sins forgiven, victorious, Christ-centered living, and the anticipation of an imminent rescue. Dear God make it so real it shows in my face, it radiates from my heart, it's reflected in my words, and it's attractive to everyone I meet."

For Christians--for those dependent on the saving grace of our Lord, true joy is contagious. Let's start an epidemic. Let's allow our lives to radiate with the joy of a personal God. Let God be God. Embrace the Lord as yours. Experience the joy! Then share it!