The Joy Of My Salvation"
To open this I’d like to share a song with you.
Jesus I love you- Norman Hutchins
Not because I've been so faithful. Not because I've been so good. You've always been there for me, to provide my every need.
You were there when I was lonely. You were there in all my pain, guiding my footsteps.
Shelter from the rain, and it was you. Who made my life complete. You are to me my everything, and that is why I sing.
Jesus I love you, because you care. I couldn't imagine if you weren't there.
You are the joy of my salvation. You're the peace in my storm. Your loving arms protect me. You shelter me from harm. You are Alpha and Omega. The beginning and the end. My strong tower, my dearest and best friend.
And it was you, who made my life complete. You are to me my everything, and that is why I sing.
Jesus I love you.
As I open this lesson I want to highlight the “goodness of God” as a major theme. My title is “The Joy Of My Salvation”, but that joy can only be found in the true internal realization of God’s goodness in our lives.
We see this term used in Psalm 51 in a prayer of repentance by David to the Lord–after being visited by the prophet Nathan–in regards to his sin with Bathsheba and the murder of Uriah.
Oftentimes when we sin, we can find ourselves blaming God—if we’re not careful—for the situations we’re in. I like this passage, because we see David taking complete responsibility for his actions and laying his mistakes out in honesty before God.(This prayer is a great model of repentance and the restoration that can follow through redemption.)
Psalm 51:6-12 KJV
6 Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.
David knows that God is seeking honest repentance, not just empty words. It’s by allowing God to clean up the inner workings of our heart that we can start to understand his wisdom, and better align ourselves with him.
7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8 Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.
David is crushed by his mistakes and the lingering pain it has brought. He has found himself broken and in need of heavenly repair. He knew that he served a merciful God, but just as much as he wanted that mercy he wanted to feel it as well. David wanted to experience a whole restoration. He wanted to experience the joy and peace that comes with redemption.
It’s important that we know God will forgive us as soon as we lay our sin out in repentance, but we must also forgive ourselves. We can’t call a thing dirty if God has made it clean. Who the son sets free is free indeed!
9 Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.
David knows his wrongdoings, but is asking God to take him in a new direction by erasing this sin from his record so he can start fresh.
David may have been around before Jesus’ time, but he knew of God’s everlasting mercy. Today we are privileged to be able to look toward calvary and the blood that was shed for our sins.
The blood of Jesus has washed us white as snow, just as David stated in Vs. 7. I’m thankful we have a savior by the name of Jesus that we can call on for our redemption.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
11 Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.
12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.
After asking for God to blot out his iniquities he goes on to say “clean my heart and renew the spirit within me.” So, David is asking God to purify the thoughts and intentions of his innermost being by also realigning his spirit with God. He’s saying “God clean me up and straighten me out.”
He then goes on to say “restore unto me the joy of thy salvation.” He wants to reexperience what it means to be in good standing with God and to feel that joy that comes with the relief of forgiveness.
When God forgives us there is a weight lifted off of our shoulders and suddenly we can breathe again. This weight is often guilt and bitterness that latches onto us, but if we’ll let God take it we will feel so much better. We will be able to feel the renewal coming our way. This is what David was requesting. He wanted that relief.
He ends verse 12 by saying “uphold me with thy free spirit.” After praying a prayer of renewal, he also prays for God to sustain him as well. It’s very easy to ask for renewal and receive it just as it is to ask for sustenance, but the difference is that David knew he could not sustain himself. He was asking for a constant direct lifeline to the source of his renewal.
David knew that one day in the future temptation may come knocking on his door again, and the best way to combat that is through constant connection to the Lord.
We see a couple of times in Psalm 51 that David is requesting joy and gladness to be restored in his life, which means that his joy had left him at some point during the trials brought on by his sin. After a visit with the prophet Nathan, David is brought to his knees and the only thing that can make it right is a truly repentant heart and the goodness of God.
The loss of joy doesn’t mean God is not good; it means sin, bitterness, and the curveballs of life have clouded our vision and shifted our focus away from God. However, the joy of salvation restores that vision and reminds us God is still good—because if he wasn’t—there would be no cross and no salvation to be had.
Calvary is proof that God is good when we aren’t. It’s proof that God is faithful when we aren’t. It is proof that no matter how far we drift away, he will always be there waiting with open arms when we come back to our senses.
The love of Jesus is a love that we could never earn and never deserve, but it is one that he freely gave and is still freely giving to us every second of every day.
This loving kindness we receive time and time again from our savior is all encompassing and can reach even the furthest person.
God’s goodness, grace, and mercy will never run out and never stop chasing you and I down. His mercy is still reaching for each and every one of us today.
So, David may have struggled with lust, but we may all struggle with something different. It doesn’t matter what the sin or temptation is that is coming against us, because we serve the redeemer. What matters is that God is good, He has always been good, and He will always be good!
This applies to any kind of drifting that comes about through sin, but we must all come home at some point, because we have a heavenly father that is waiting to restore unto us—his heavenly joy.
Jesus teaches about the prodigal Luke 15:10-32 KJV
10 Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.
11 And he said, A certain man had two sons:
12 And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living.
13 And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living.
14 And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want.
15 And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.
16 And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him.
17 And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!
18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee,
19 And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.
20 And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.
21 And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.
22 But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet:
23 And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry:
24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.
25 Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard musick and dancing.
26 And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant.
27 And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound.
28 And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and intreated him.
29 And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends:
30 But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf.
31 And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine.
32 It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.
I’d like to revisit Vs. 17 where it says “And when he came to himself…” In this story of the prodigal son, we see one of two brothers that took his inheritance and squandered it to the point of starvation and he found that the pig slop was starting to look like a good meal.
Upon realizing how far he had fallen from the comfort of his father’s house, he decided it was time to head home. This prodigal son had accepted his mistakes and was ready to stand in front of his father as a servant and not a son.
However at the sight of his lost son the father had other plans. The man stopped what he was doing to run and embrace his boy for the first time in who knows how long. Next thing you know they were having a feast to welcome him back home.
The father was filled with joy and expressed in Vs. 24, “For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.”
I’d also like to note that the prodigal son’s brother: instead of being upset, he should have realized that his brother wasn’t being himself and he should’ve let the same joy his father felt wash over him as well. Because this older brother walked the straight and narrow and obeyed his fathers commandments, his inheritance was still intact. There was no reason for him to be upset, because he had all he needed and his younger brother had finally come home alive and well.
As Christians we must always strive to live the standard of a Godly life and walk in righteousness. We must rejoice with heaven every time a sinner comes to repentance, because as far as Heaven goes the more the merrier! There is nothing more than a lost soul finding their way back home to Jesus. However, if we should fall at anytime we can take comfort–not for granted—in knowing that we have a father waiting with open arms to welcome us back home.
The father of the prodigal knew and waited for the day his son would come home. This is the kind of goodness God offers, when we come back to our senses, He is waiting with open arms. This is where we find the joy of our salvation.
The joy of our salvation is found in the goodness of God.
Biblical joy is a weight lifted and the ability to breathe once more. It’s not just happiness, but happiness that comes from relief.
It is a peace that passes our understanding. It is the peace in our storm.
It is the comfort in knowing that even on the hardest days, God’s got our back.
Our joy can be found in knowing that we are held by the God that is good and faithful when we’re not. He is unchanging and ever steady. It’s not a love we could ever earn, but I’m so glad we have it. This is my joy!
So, what do we do on the days the figurative “pig slop” is starting to look good and all of our joy seems to be lost forever? We must begin by searching ourselves and try to pinpoint where we might have lost our joy or what we allowed to steal it.
Our joy is a precious thing, because the word says “The joy of the Lord is our strength.” And without it we can’t stand strong against the tests and trials of this life.
We must also find a place of prayer and ask the Lord to “Remind me what it feels like to be loved by you.” Oftentimes we lose joy because we stop accepting the love, mercy, and grace that God is offering us new everyday.
This may lead someone to the question: Why would a good God allow bad things to happen?
Sometimes it’s our own doing, we can put ourselves into difficult situations through sin and bad decisions, but sometimes it’s to draw our attention to him and help us realize we need him. It’s completely normal for God to allow struggle in our lives, so he can get the glory he’s deserving of–when we come out of the trial or even to our senses.
Without the dark there would be no need for the light. There is no sunshine without a little bit of rain every now and then. There is no good without bad. This contrast isn’t for God to enjoy our suffering, but it’s to show us that we can truly rely on him when it seems we have no way out.
So, how does this tie to our title?
Without a little sadness we wouldn’t grasp the true experience of what it means to have joy, the joy that can only come by having a lifeline directly to the giver of that joy.
The joy of our salvation is a joy that reminds us everyday that the God we serve loves us so much that he went to a cross to die for our sins, just so we can spend eternity with him in paradise.
Without the bad days we could never understand how good God really is.
In ending this lesson, there are Three key steps I believe we must take in prayer after repentance before God and they are found in the passage we started with, Psalm 51:10-12.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
11 Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.
12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.
Renew
Restore
Uphold
Or
Align
Restore
Sustain
When we pray we must ask God for these three things. We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God at some point or another and we will never be perfect, because He didn’t create us to be perfect. God created us to rely on him and him alone, like I said He is our lifeline.
So, whether you’re feeling more joyous in the Lord than ever or you feel like you can’t make it even one more minute–just know that there is a God that will gladly restore that joy!
We must first begin our prayer by asking him to realign our will and spirit with his by cleaning our heart. We can then begin to receive the restoration he offers, by giving us free access to salvation through our relationship with him by the infilling of the Holy Ghost–with the evidence of speaking in tongues.
Once we find this realigning and restoration, we will find our sustenance through our relationship with the Lord. It’s this relationship through prayer, fasting, and studying his word that we will find our joy again and keep it.
Whether or not we’ve sinned, made bad decisions, or have the best track record out of everybody, Sometimes life just throws us curve balls. Sometimes it seems like pain happens for no reason at all. Sometimes people will turn on us and leave us wondering why.
None of that matters when we weigh it in comparison with the goodness of our God.
All we have to do is turn back to him and let him restore the joy of our salvation. The joy of living a life devoted to him. There is joy in serving our creator and it’s the kind we could never replicate on our own.
God is so so good and I’m thankful that each and everyone of us can experience that goodness over and over again.
I heard Bro. J.T. Pugh said many times, “Even if you were the only person on this planet, Jesus would have gone to that cross and died for you anyway.” and it’s a very true saying.
The God that we serve knows you by name and wants to have a personal relationship with you. If you would like to experience the goodness and feel the restoration of your joy that I’ve been talking about, you can.
His goodness will never run out, because it knows no end. No matter how far we stray or whatever life may throw at us, He will be there always.
The goodness and grace of the Lord isn’t something we should take for granted, but it is something we should be thankful for.
He is so much better than we deserve and the joy we can find in him can set us free from the gloomy days of life, and reignite the sunshine ahead. The father is waiting with arms wide open… Just for you! Ready to restore unto you the joy of your salvation and sustain you like never before.
