Joy and Strength

Joy and Strength
(Nehemiah 8:9-12; 1 Corinthians 1:1-9) J G White
10:30 am, Sun, Jan 19, 2014, Windsor UBC

Is it a joyful day for you?
Is it natural for you to have joy today?
  People ask me – a pastor – how are things at my Church.  “It is the best of times, it is the worst of times” is what I tell them.  Which is my experience of the past while.  I think of myself as a joyful, positive person, but it is not always easy.
It takes strength to be joyful!  Because life is hard.
D'ya know Amy Grant's song: We believe in God, And we all need Jesus / 'Cause life is hard, And it might not get easier.
“Fake it 'til you make it” is not adequate.
“The joy of the LORD will be your strength.”
Sometimes joy is a miracle, it takes a miracle.
And act of God, of grace.
Nehemiah 8.  The Joy of the LORD is your strength.
Strength comes from the Lord to us.
Phrase written on a piece of furniture in the room of a college student: “You have to try really hard to be happy.”
It takes attention upon our God to find deep joy.
     Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord, (Brenton Brown, Ken Riley)
     We will wait upon the Lord, We will wait upon the Lord.
   In the days of Nehemiah and Ezra, (400 BC) when the people of God had returned to the Promised Land, which was by then in a sorry state, they found and heard some of the Old Testament that had been lost.  The crowd is struck by the lessons of scripture and words of the covenant – promises they had not kept and ways of life they had completely forgotten.  They weep, because of how far they had fallen from living as God intended.
   But on that day of confession and mourning, they are told to celebrate.  Modern thinkers call celebration a spiritual discipline, an activity that helps put people in a place where God can work with them and transform.    Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions of them to those for whom nothing is prepared, for this day is holy to the LORD; and do not be grieved...
   A holy celebration can come out of sadness over failure.  The failure of oneself, the failure of circumstances.  Failures in you, failures surrounding you.
   Finale of Habakkuk (3:17-19):
Though the fig tree does not blossom,
and no fruit is on the vines;
though the produce of the olive fails,
and the fields yield no food;
though the flock is cut off from the fold,
and there is no herd in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the Lord;
I will exult in the God of my salvation.
God, the Lord, is my strength;
he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
and makes me tread upon the heights.
There can be joy, despite circumstances.
There can be joy, despite our own failures.
   Joyful celebration comes when truth from God shows us our failures.  At least we know now!
   Like the words of Psalm 32 (1, 5).  Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.  I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,” and you forgave the guilt of my sin.
   Like getting the diagnosis of an illness.  Knowing helps a lot – eases our mind, we know what we can do, and have clearer expectations about our future.
   “Knowledge is power” - knowing gives us real options and actions.  The unknown leaves us helpless.
When those folks, 2400 years ago, heard the Law read for six hours that day, the laws of the Old Testament, they were deeply saddened.  But they were urged to celebrate, for God had met with them in the reading of the word, and now they knew.  Now they knew, once again, the patterns of life and worship that the Bible reveals.
   1 Corinthians 1.  A letter from Paul to a church.
   I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus, for in every way you have been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind...  (4-5)  Sounds very positive, eh?  You are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Oh, how very complimentary.  
   Yet look through the rest of this long letter.  Paul writes to them to deal with some serious problems.     There are division in the church – groups following certain leaders (1).  There is sexual immorality going on among the church people, even worse than the pagans (5).  Some are going to prostitutes! (6)  They are taking one another to court to solve their problems (6).  They are divided when they have fellowship meals to celebrate the Lord's Supper (11).  The church people are mixed up in their attitudes on how each one uses spiritual gifts in the fellowship (12-14).  And, they are confused about life-after-death: what the resurrection of Jesus and of them is like (15).
   Sounds like this little church, in a bustling Greek city, was in a mess.  But, as Paul says in his intro, Jesus Christ will also strengthen you to the end, so that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.  God is faithful; by him you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord (8-9). At the end of the letter, Paul says, My love be with all of you in Christ Jesus (16:24).
   God strengthens us by gracious forgiveness.  This, of course, comes by Christ crucified.  God strengthens us by the presence and power of Himself, the Holy Spirit.
   The reading of the Bible Law to the Hebrews, 400 years before Jesus, had shown their failures. A few decades after the time of Jesus, Paul deals with the failures of the Corinthian believers.  All the warnings in the letter are instructive, and part of the healing and renewal those disciples needed.  They were still loved and included, by Paul, and by our Holy and Almighty God.  We are loved and included... by God.  There is our joy.

We believe in God, And we all need Jesus
'Cause life is hard, And it might not get easier
But don't be afraid To know who you are
Don't be afraid to show it.
If you believe in God, If you say you need Jesus
He'll be where you are
And he never will leave you
Sing to me now words that are true
So all in this place can know it...
We believe in God, And we all need Jesus
We will hear more about forgiveness next week.
The joy of the Lord will be your strength!

PRAYERS of the People
Today, a bidding prayer; you know what a bidding prayer is? You pray according to my bidding, my suggestions. In the silences will be our prayer. Let us pray.
God - our Joy, God - our strength, God - our Saviour:
We count our blessings this morning, and rejoice in all that You provide: we thank You for blessing us...
God of holiness, God of spirit, God of love, God of truth, God of oneness and threeness: we also express our love and thanks for You - Who You are...
God of creation and redemption, we know many failures in our lives, and we come before You as sinful creatures, confessing...
God of grace and God of glory, Your forgiveness & new life for us is amazing, coming to us in Jesus on the cross; we receive the promises of spiritual healing and reunion withe You...
God of mercy and power, so much of our praying is for one another, & those closest to us: we pray for some of them now...
God whose farm is all creation, as stewards of all that is around us, we pray for Your earth, and our part in it...
God whose so loved the world that You gave Your Son; we look with Your vision to people far and wide - many in need - and we pray to You...
God the Son, Jesus Christ, true and only head of the church; hear us pray for our own life and ministry as a fellowship called by You into mission...
God the Spirit, Comforter of the afflicted and Afflicter of the comfortable: we pray for justice and peace among people - both locally and globally...
God the Father, Giver of Joy; we rejoice in You now: may we rejoice in You always. AMEN.