(The LORD's love is sacrificial giving:)

 

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

 

John 15:13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

 

Romans 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

(Although Paul referred to himself, this could easily describe Jesus loving us:)

 

II Corinthians 12:15b  though the more abundantly I love you, the less I be loved.

(Yet, Jesus experiences great joy as he loves sacrificially, and gives of himself.

No doubt he had great joy each time that he healed someone, but even more so, when he saved someone believing on him.

So, his greatest joy would have been when he gave, and sacrificed, the most:)

 

Hebrews 12:2b  who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross,

(Not only a futuristic joy, that he could only experience later, but rather a joy that helped him endure the cross.

Then, we which are saved, can also experience his joy, while we sacrificially love, and give ourselves to, others.

I have thought about my wife, and how she loves me.

She doesn't love me because of anything in me, rather she loves me because she chooses to love, and that sacrificially.

Even in little things, for example, she perks up and says, let me go and get you coffee from Starbucks.

That's not because I deserve it, there is absolutely no way I deserve it; and it's certainly not to win affection, no.

Instead, she does it simply because she wants to show kindness, and so doing, she is the one who experiences the joy.)

 

Galatians 5:13c  but by love serve one another.

 

Hebrews 6:10 For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister.

 

Ephesians 4:2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;

(Jesus must have experienced great joy, as he went about doing good, not because they deserved it, but because of who he is:)

 

Deuteronomy 7:7a The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people;

  8a But because the LORD loved you,

 

Deuteronomy 9:5a Not for thy righteousness, or for the uprightness of thine heart,

(Another way for Christians to experience joy, is to be thankful to Jesus, for who he is, and for all he has done for us.

There are thousands of things, each day, where Jesus has blessed us, helped us, and protected us.

The more we realize his hand in our lives, the more we should continually give thanks.

And the really wonderful aspect of this, is, that the more we thank Jesus, the more joy we experience.)

 

I Chronicles 16:34a O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good;

 

Nehemiah 12:40a So stood the two companies of them that gave thanks in the house of God,

 

Psalms 69:30b  and will magnify him with thanksgiving.

 

Psalms 92:1a It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD,

 

Psalms 119:62 At midnight I will rise to give thanks unto thee because of thy righteous judgments.

 

Jonah 2:9a But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving;

 

Luke 17:16a And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks:

 

II Corinthians 9:15 Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.

 

Ephesians 5:20 Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;

 

I Thessalonians 5:18a In every thing give thanks:

(Not only can we thank him for the thousands of daily blessings, but each time we remember all the past blessings from him.

We can even thank Jesus as we consider all the wonderful blessings that he promised for us in the future.

Jesus, himself, thanked the Father, even with something small, like the breaking of bread, and no doubt rejoiced as he did.

So, if the Son of God gave thanks, how much more should we? Yet, he even blesses us with joy as we do!)

(What if we stop, to purposely remember, that right before the LORD, in heaven, is the ark, that the one in Israel was patterned after?)

 

Revelation 11:19a And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament:

(But what's in that ark, that stands between men and God?)

 

II Chronicles 5:10 There was nothing in the ark save the two tables which Moses put therein at Horeb, when the LORD made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of Egypt.

 

Deuteronomy 31:26 Take this book of the law, and put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, that it may be there for a witness against thee. 

(The law is in there, which condemns every person of the world to eternal damnation, because we have broken the law!

And thus, that ark would be a judgment seat, not unlike the seat that Pilate judged from:

 

Matthew 27:19a When he was set down on the judgment seat,

(But wait! The blood of Jesus is on top of that ark in heaven! His blood turns that judgment seat into a mercy seat!

Israel was told, "when I see the blood, I will pass over you" - but now, the Father, only and always, sees the blood of his dear Son!

The law no longer stands between you and your God, but the blood of Jesus is now the eternal witness that you are washed, forgiven, and saved!

This is something to thank Jesus for. Every time you think about it, every time you remember it, thank Jesus for his precious blood!!!)

 

(Another way for Christians to experience joy, is each time we praise our Saviour, he blesses us back with joy:)

 

I Chronicles 16:25 For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised:

  36b And all the people said, Amen, and praised the LORD.

 

II Chronicles 20:19b  stood up to praise the LORD God of Israel with a loud voice on high.

 

II Chronicles 29:30b And they sang praises with gladness,

 

Ezra 3:11c And all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the LORD,

 

Psalms 9:1a I will praise thee, O LORD, with my whole heart;

  2b I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High.

 

Psalms 66:2 Sing forth the honour of his name: make his praise glorious.

  8 O bless our God, ye people, and make the voice of his praise to be heard:

 

Psalms 118:21 I will praise thee: for thou hast heard me, and art become my salvation.

 

Psalms 135:3 Praise the LORD; for the LORD is good: sing praises unto his name; for it is pleasant.

 

Psalms 145:2 Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever.

  3 Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable.

 

Psalms 149:6 Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a twoedged sword in their hand;

 

(Jesus didn't make us only for him to receive thanks & praise, but, that also, we can experience great joy by thanking & praising him.

This seems to be the wonder of our fellowship with him, that the more we sacrificially love others in his name,

            as well as when we thank and praise him, the closer he is to us, and the closer we are to him:)

 

Psalms 22:3 But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.

 

(Can it be, that the more, the louder, & the greater we praise him, the closer & more wonderfully we experience his presence, here?

Why don't we praise the LORD more often?   And, what does, "Hallelujah", mean?   It means, "Praise ye the LORD"!

It is actually a call by one person there, to the other persons there, to praise the LORD.

So, when someone says, "Hallelujah", the rest of us should respond by praising the LORD.

Praise him by singing to him, or by saying things out loud, like: "Praise the LORD", "Glory", "Amen", or his beautiful name, "Jesus".

Jesus so wonderfully deserves praise from our lips, he is so worth it!)

 

(Another way we experience great joy is by worshipping the LORD:)

 

Exodus 34:8 And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped.

 

II Chronicles 20:18 And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground: and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the LORD, worshipping the LORD.

 

II Chronicles 29:28a And all the congregation worshipped,

 

Nehemiah 8:6 And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshipped the LORD with their faces to the ground.

 

Matthew 2:11a And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him:

 

(Clearly, worship involves humility, realizing how magnificent he is, and how little we really are.

Again, the more we are willing to worship like that, the more intense the joy we experience.

Which increases the worship to involve all our emotions, with the joy expressing itself in singing, shouting, and lifting our hands:)

 

I Chronicles 13:8 And David and all Israel played before God with all their might, and with singing, and with harps, and with psalteries, and with timbrels, and with cymbals, and with trumpets.

 

Psalms 71:23 My lips shall greatly rejoice when I sing unto thee; and my soul, which thou hast redeemed.

 

Psalms 98:4 Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise.

 

Psalms 149:5 Let the saints be joyful in glory: let them sing aloud upon their beds.

 

(The more we worship Jesus, the more joy we experience, and then we worship even more, not caring what others may think about it.

Yes, we were made to love others in Jesus' name, as well as to thank him, to praise him, and to worship him.

But Jesus has done this in such a way, that we receive immense blessings of joy, as we do this.

If we want to experience more joy, all we have to do is love more, thank him more, praise him more, and worship him more.

When we find ourselves in a state of depression, we can praise and worship our way out of that depression.

Either we don't believe that, or we don't even try to praise and worship our way out of depression.

That sad reality is on us, because Jesus offers us a marvelous way out, if we'll only choose to take it.)

(So, what is it like when we stop worrying about what others may think, and we thank, praise, and worship him as we should?

Well, there is a picture of this, and guess what? We're in the picture. This will happen soon, and we will fully be part of all this:)

 

Revelation 4:8b  and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.

  9 And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever,

  10 The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying,

  11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

 

(We'll be there for that, praising and worshipping, having the time of our lives doing it.

But we don't have to wait until we get up there in order to have that kind of of praise and worship.

The only reason that we are not enjoying that now, is us.   We hold back, so we miss out on so much, week after week after week.)

 

(There is something else.   Those of us that who are saved can thank, praise, and worship Jesus, differently than anyone else.

That is, because of his blood, we see Jesus differently than everyone else:)

 

Revelation 5:5 And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.

  6 And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.

 

(John was told to behold the Lion of the tribe of Juda, but immediately, when he looked, he beheld a Lamb as it had been slain.

A lion is powerful, loud, frightening, and can tear someone to pieces.

A lamb is meek, gentle, endearing, and will let you come close to hold and touch it.

Not a dead lamb, but a lamb as it had been slain.

Like for Passover, each family would bring a lamb into their house, they would endear to the lamb, and the lamb to them.

Then after 4 days, they would have to take that gentle lamb, and put their hand upon it, and slay it.

No doubt the lamb would look lovingly at them, thus letting them understand, that he knew, that he had to die for them.

And this is what it will be like for us, as it was for John, when we first behold the Lamb of God, a Lamb as it had been slain!

"Behold the Lion", but John beheld a Lamb, and so it is with us.

The world cannot behold the Lamb - they do not know him, and they do not care that he was slain for them.

So, we, his blood bought redeemed, can do something that no one else, including the angels, can really do.

We can thank the Lamb, we can praise the Lamb, and we can worship the Lamb.

Thank you, dear Lamb of God, for your precious blood!

All praise and honor to the Lamb that was slain!

How often do we bow our heads, and close our eyes, to worship him, Jesus, our Saviour, the Lamb of God?)