The Scripture Reading

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The Scripture
Reading
Scriptural Texts   Nehemiah 810 Psalm
301-5 518-12 John 159-11 (NLT) Romans
1513 (NRSV)
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10 And Nehemiah continued, "Go and celebrate
with a feast of choice foods and sweet drinks,
and share gifts of food with people who have
nothing prepared. This is a sacred day before
our Lord. Don't be dejected and sad, for the
joy of the LORD is your strength!"
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1 I will praise you, LORD, for you have rescued
me. You refused to let my enemies triumph over
me. 2 O LORD my God, I cried out to you for
help, and you restored my health. 3 You
brought me up from the grave, O LORD. You kept
me from falling into the pit of death.  
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4 Sing to the LORD, all you godly ones! Praise
his holy name. 5 His anger lasts for a
moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime!
Weeping may go on all night, but joy comes with
the morning.
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8 Oh, give me back my joy again you have
broken me--now let me rejoice.     9 Don't
keep looking at my sins. Remove the stain of my
guilt. 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God.
Renew a right spirit within me.
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11 Do not banish me from your presence, and
don't take your Holy Spirit from me. 12
Restore to me again the joy of your
salvation, and make me willing to obey you.
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9 "I have loved you even as the Father has loved
me. Remain in my love. 10 When you obey me, you
remain in my love, just as I obey my Father and
remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so
that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your
joy will overflow!
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13. May the God of hope fill you with all joy
and peace in believing, so that you may abound in
hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
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Let the church say, Amen Let the church say,
Amen Let the church say, Amen, Amen, Amen!
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Theres an old song that we used to sing titled,
This Joy That I Have. Amidst all of the
anti-joyful things that are going on in our
world, nation, state, communities and lives, its
a blessing to know that THIS JOY THAT WE HAVE,
the world didnt give it and the world cant take
it away.
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Selwyn Hughes in his devotional book, EVERYDAY
WITH JESUS, on Day 255 writes a devotional on JOY
which uses as a title a quote from a thirteen
year-old boy who was asked to define JOY.  The
young man answered, Joy is Jesus. Like the
familiar praise song reminds us, Jesus, Youre
the Center of My Joy, our JOY comes from the
Lord.  He is the Source.
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THIS JOY THAT WE HAVE! Scriptural Texts 
Nehemiah 810 Psalm 301-5 518-12 John
159-11 (NLT) Romans 1513 (NRSV)
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First, THIS JOY THAT WE HAVE FROM THE LORD GIVES
US REINVIGORATION! Nehemiah 810 reads, And
Nehemiah continued, Go and celebrate with a
feast of choice foods and sweet drinks, and share
gifts of food with people who have nothing
prepared.  This is a sacred day before our Lord. 
Dont be dejected and sad, for the joy of the
Lord is your strength!
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After recognition of our falling short of and
failing the Word of God, THIS JOY THAT WE HAVE
FROM THE LORD GIVES US REINVIGORATION! Heres
what Selwyn Hughes writes, Joy is a part of a
Christians armour.  Joy keeps us alert and alive
spiritually.  Joy immunizes the spirit against
attack.  Joy is not just the bloom of health it
is its protection also.
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Second, THIS JOY THAT WE HAVE FROM THE LORD GIVES
US RESTORATION! Psalm 301-2, 5 reads, I will
praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.  You
refused to let my enemies triumph over me.  O
Lord my God, I cried out to you for help, and you
restored my health. . . .  His anger lasts for a
moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime.  Weeping
may go on all night, but joy comes with the
morning.
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After God rescues and defends us, THIS JOY THAT
WE HAVE FROM THE LORD GIVES US RESTORATION! Liste
n to Hughes words on JOY dealing with Psalm 30,
Joy is a central characteristic of the
Christianand yet so many know nothing of it. . .
.  Joy in Greek means joy that is exuberant and
overflowing. . . .  Joy is always present in the
heart of a Christian.  It may not always be felt
or recognizedbut it is always there.
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Third, THIS JOY THAT WE HAVE FROM THE LORD GIVES
US RESTITUTION! Psalm 518 and 12 read like
this, Oh, give me back my joy again you have
broken menow let me rejoice. . . .  Restore to
me again the joy of your salvation, and make me
willing to obey you.
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After sin and/or circumstances press to steal our
JOY, THIS JOY THAT WE HAVE FROM THE LORD GIVES US
RESTITUTION! On JOY, Hughes writes in his
devotionals for Days 252 and 253, Yet pleasure
and Christian joy cannot be equated.  Look at
some of the differences. Pleasure depends on
circumstances. . . .  Christian joy is
completely independent of  circumstances.
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Pleasures come and go. . . .  But the joy of God
is constant. Pleasure satiates.  It is easy to
have too much. . . .   A Christian says  We
have enough, yet not too much to long for
more. Pleasure always remains superficial. . .
. Joy, however, is deep.  It bubbles beneath the
personality, no matter what the circumstances.
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Fourth, THIS JOY THAT WE HAVE FROM THE LORD GIVES
US REPLETION! Repletion is the condition of
being completely filled. Jesus Christ in John
1511 shared with His disciples, I have told you
this so that you will be filled with my joy. 
Yes, your joy will overflow!
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After the instructions of Jesus Christ to us to
obey Him, THIS JOY THAT WE HAVE FROM THE LORD
GIVES US REPLETION! I like the way Selwyn Hughes
begins his devotional for Day 255, The words of
our Lord in the text before us today point to the
fact that His joy and our joy are not
differentbut one and the same. . . .  His joy
and our joy are not alien, but allied.  And you
cannot take His joy within you without your own
joy being made complete.
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Fifth, THIS JOY THAT WE HAVE FROM THE LORD GIVES
US REALIZATION! Here, realization means the act
of comprehending and attaining completely. The
Apostle Paul in Romans 1513 writes, May the God
of hope fill you with all joy and peace in
believing, so that you may abound in hope by the
power of the Holy Spirit.
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After coming together in fellowship and koinonia,
THIS JOY THAT WE HAVE FROM THE LORD GIVES US
REALIZATION. Only God can fill us with His JOY
that empowers us to rejoice no matter what is
going on in and around our lives!
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THIS JOY THAT WE HAVE! Scriptural Texts 
Nehemiah 810 Psalm 301-5 518-12 John
159-11 (NLT) Romans 1513 (NRSV)
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Lets review our points of JOY THIS JOY THAT
WE HAVE FROM THE LORD GIVES US REINVIGORATION!
RESTORATION! RESTITUTION! REPLETION! 
REALIZATION!