Bulletins - South Gate Baptist Church Springfield

Joy To The World (Unspeakable Joy)
Glory In The Highest
What A Beautiful Name
- - Psalm 145:1–3NIV2011
Great Are You Lord
Introduction
Christmas is a time that is full of opposites. God becoming a man. Light invading darkness. Even today in our world, Christmas is still full of opposites. The weather is getting colder and colder, but our spirits get warmer and warmer. The days get darker and darker, but have all these lights in our lives. A time where people have less due to end of year bills, but people try to give more. Christmas isn’t a perfect time - in fact, study after study shows how the end of year holidays are a time marked by more stress and suffering than any other time of the year. We face disappointment, stress, tight finances, strained relationships, anxiety about the coming year, and heartbreak about the past! Yet, at the same time, every Christmas we talk about JOY. Has this ever struck you as interesting? We sing about joy every year, we see these words decorated into our society this entire month, we talk about this feeling in conversation with others… “It’s the most wonderful time of the year” after all! But what is joy?
Let me tell you about a man named John Paton. John Paton was a missionary to a group of islands in the South Pacific back in the mid 1800s and the natives were wellknown cannibals and hostile to the Gospel message. Yet, Paton and his wife, Mary Ann, arrived in 1858 to share the Gospel. They were faithful to do this… until Mary Ann passed away due to a fever. Fast forward and their newborn son passed away as well. John dug their graves with his own hands… he suffered fevers, illnesses, and nearly died over a dozen times in the years to come while sharing the Gospel. It took years and years for the first native to convert to Christianity. Yet, with these hardships in mind, this is what he wrote, “Whatever trials have befallen me in my earthly pilgrimage, I have never had the trial of doubting that perhaps, after all, Jesus had made some mistake. No! My blessed Lord Jesus makes no mistakes! When we see all His meaning, we shall then understand, what now we can only trustfully believe that all is well - best for us, best for the cause most dear to us, best for the good of others and the glory of God.” It would be impossible to be happy in this situation, but Paton was able to have joy, even at rock bottom.
Worldly joy is a feeling that comes and goes. Here one minute, gone the next. But Christian joy lasts. It is a gift from God that is rooted in the finished work of Jesus Christ who is alive today. This world can throw all it wants at you and it can take so much from you, but it cannot take away your God-given joy! This morning as we continue our Advent study together, let’s turn to Isaiah 11 and be reminded of this promise that God gives, and then to Romans 15, to see how God continues to give us joy in even the darkest of times!
Isaiah 11:1–10 CSB
1 Then a shoot will grow from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots will bear fruit. 2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him— a Spirit of wisdom and understanding, a Spirit of counsel and strength, a Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. 3 His delight will be in the fear of the Lord. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, he will not execute justice by what he hears with his ears, 4 but he will judge the poor righteously and execute justice for the oppressed of the land. He will strike the land with a scepter from his mouth, and he will kill the wicked with a command from his lips. 5 Righteousness will be a belt around his hips; faithfulness will be a belt around his waist. 6 The wolf will dwell with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the goat. The calf, the young lion, and the fattened calf will be together, and a child will lead them. 7 The cow and the bear will graze, their young ones will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like cattle. 8 An infant will play beside the cobra’s pit, and a toddler will put his hand into a snake’s den. 9 They will not harm or destroy each other on my entire holy mountain, for the land will be as full of the knowledge of the Lord as the sea is filled with water. 10 On that day the root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples. The nations will look to him for guidance, and his resting place will be glorious.
This is God’s promise - that a shoot will come, a branch will bear fruit… and this child will provide His people with a joy unlike anything this world has to offer. Let’s thank God for this amazing gift today, let’s pray!
Christian Joy is Grounded in Jesus (1-5)
One of the most famous Christmas songs that is sung regularly at church and by choirs of all ages is “O Come All Ye Faithful.” There is a line that goes like this, “O come all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant.” Faithful. Joyful. Triumphant. The song calls on those individuals to worship Christ the Lord. We know that this is what we are supposed to do at Christmas. We understand that Jesus Christ was born and that He is Immanuel, God with us! We understand those things… but are we always faithful? Joyful? Triumphant? Honestly, there are times in my life where I feel the opposite. I’m unfaithful. Joyless. Defeated. Maybe this Christmas season, you can identify more with that than you can the other, more familiar words. Have you been there? If you’re in a difficult spot this Christmas season, let me encourage you today, friend: Christian Joy isn’t grounded in our circumstances, it is grounded in our Christ. It’s not about our situation, it’s about our Savior. Our circumstances and situations change - but Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever as Hebrews 13:8 reminds us! You might feel joyless right now, but whenever we pause at Advent and remember the Christmas story, we remember what Christ has done for us, our cup overflows with pure Joy!
Remember the situation that Isaiah and the Israelites are facing here. The Assyrians are in control. The people were facing destruction. The once mighty throne of David looked powerless compared to these other empires and kings… the Throne of David looked like a stump. Lifeless. Hopeless. But into this context of lifelessness and hopelessness, God makes a promise: Life will come!
We looked at this 2 weeks ago whenever we began our Advent study together in Ephesians 2. Aren’t you thankful that the God of the Bible specializes in turning dead things into living things? Weak things into powerful things. Tests into testimonies. Graves into gardens. Destruction into deliverance. God makes a promise that from the stump of Jesse, a shoot will come and bear fruit. By this time, nearly 300 years had passed from the reign of King David. David and Solomon were powerful people. They ruled a growing and mighty nation. Solomon built a massive Temple in Jerusalem. But despite Solomon’s wisdom, wealth, and riches… he lacked discernment. He worshiped false gods… and this became the norm for many of the kings that followed. The nation of Israel got smaller, weaker, and most importantly, less distinct from the world around them. By the time Isaiah comes onto the scene in the late 700s, we see darkness and disaster everywhere. But guess what was still there? God’s promise. Look at what God promised to King David
2 Samuel 7:16 CSB
16 Your house and kingdom will endure before me forever, and your throne will be established forever.’ ”
This is an awesome promise, but by the time Isaiah is a prophet on the scene, it seems impossible. In fact, the generation after Isaiah, it seems even more impossible because there is no king of Israel as they are captured and in exile in Babylon. People begin to wonder, has God forgotten His promise? Is the darkness going to win? Where can we find hope? Friend, you can always find hope in the promises of God. Whenever Adam and Eve first sinned, God made this incredible promise.
Genesis 3:15 CSB
15 I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.
That from the offspring, the seed of the woman, would come a snake-crusher. A Savior. The Messiah. So what is the Old Testament? The story of the seed of the woman. Generation after generation. What do we see? People falling short. King David arrives, he’s pretty promising… but even king David falls short. Isaiah is here, Hezekiah is a good king… but Hezekiah falls short. People wonder when will this promise come to pass. Isaiah explains that this coming individual will come from this seed and he will bear fruit and change the world because he is empowered by the Spirit of God. Look at what this child will have - wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge, and the fear of the Lord, righteousness and faithfulness. Who on earth could this be speaking about? None other than Jesus Christ!
Because Jesus is filled with the Spirit, He delights in the “fear of the Lord.” That might sound strange to our ears at first, but that is a phrase used throughout the Bible. Look at Prov 9:10
Proverbs 9:10 CSB
10 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
This doesn’t mean that Jesus is afraid of God in the sense that He’s panicking. It means something more. The fear of the Lord is a reverence of God. An understanding of who God is. One pastor shared that the Fear of the Lord means to love what God loves, to submit to God’s authority, to value God’s glory, to obey God’s Word out of delight. We can say that to delight in the fear of the Lord means to joyfully and humbly worship God in a way that leads to a life of obedience to God’s Word. Jesus understood that His purpose was to obey the Father and He delighted in this… do we? Today, do you delight in the fear of the Lord? Do you desire to obey God and worship Him as He deserves and stand on His Word even when it steps on our toes? Maybe that doesn’t sound joyful or fun to you - we live in a world that is centered on self and autonomy. We think that we will have more fun and more joy if we could just do whatever we want, whenever we want, however we want. But the problem with that line of logic is simply that people who have done exactly this have wound up the emptiest.
The early church father Augustine said, “Restless is our heart until it finds its rest in Thee.” Joy isn’t found in doing what we want all the time. It’s found in doing what we were created to do - which might not always be what we want to do! Joy isn’t found in looking at ourselves, it is found by looking at Jesus and what He did, He obeyed the Father perfectly! This is what we are called to do, because the same Spirit that empowered Jesus, lives in us today!
Romans 8:8–9 CSB
8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. 9 You, however, are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to him.
This gives us joy - Joy in a sentence is delighting in God by knowing His Son and being filled by His Spirit. If you are saved today, God’s Spirit lives in you. He guides you. He leads you. Look at how Jesus lived - He didn’t judge by what He saw, or by what He heard, instead Jesus we know judges righteously. Doesn’t this fly in the face of our world today? Our world judges based on covers and commercials. We judge based on what we see and based on what we hear, and we rarely do the investigating to see if our judgments are actually true. We’re all guilty of this. We do the inverse of James 1:19
James 1:19 CSB
19 My dear brothers and sisters, understand this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger,
Our problem is that we are slow to listen, quick to speak, and immediately get angry. But this is not so with Jesus. Have you ever lost joy in life because you’ve been mistreated? Misunderstood? Falsely accused? Those things hurt! Guess what? Jesus experienced those things too. Jesus knows. Jesus sees. And Jesus gives us the model to follow - to pursue righteousness and faithfulness, because whenever we do this, whenever we do things God’s way, there is a joy that lasts because you realize that your joy doesn’t rest in the fairness of society but in the faithfulness of your Savior! This is what gets you through the good days the bad days. This is how you face difficulties with a smile, not because you don’t care and not because life is easy, but because you know that Jesus makes all the wrongs right. Christian joy endures because Jesus Himself endures!
Christian Joy is Guarded by His Kingdom (6-10)
If Jesus is the King - and He is - this next section describes His Kingdom. We see in these verses a picture that doesn’t seem possible - wolves lying down with lambs, leopards lying down with goats, calves lying down with lions, a child playing near a snake den and leading all of these things. What on earth is going on? We know that wolves kill lambs and snakes bite humans… so what’s happening here? We see things working differently than we’re used to. We see a world that is at peace. When will that be? Remember that during Advent we celebrate the arrival of Jesus, but we also await His return. We live in this already/not yet. Jesus already came, but He has not yet come back. We know that because Jesus came the first time, the penalty of our sin is paid in full and that we can have hope and joy! But we also know that whenever He returns, every wrong will be made right, evil will be no more, judgment will be executed, and His Kingdom will be marked by genuine peace. This is a promise! And this fills our hearts with joy.
If joy is the unshakable gladness that God gives His people through Jesus, let’s think about how these promises fill our hearts with joy today. Many people and political movements have promised peace. In Jesus’ day, the Romans had the Pax Romana, empire-wide peace - and it lasted nearly 200 years and some believed it would last forever, but eventually it came to an end. Think of other movements that have promised peace - the League of Nations after World War 1 was set to stop future wars, but within a few decades it led into World War 2. We can think of Communism and Marxist ideologies that promised fairness and peace, but led to millions and millions of deaths due to fear and oppression. We can even think of the cultural moment that we are living in today - you can find peace inside yourself, you do you, follow your heart.
As another pastor said a few years ago, “Follow your heart has ended more marriages, mutilated more bodies, destroyed more souls, and ended more lives than the devil could have ever imagined. It is Hell’s most effective slogan yet.” Human peace is temporary, circumstantial, and often fails under pressure… but Isaiah 11:6-10 shows us that in God’s Kingdom, violence ends, fear dies, and creation is restored because the King guards His Kingdom and rules rightly.
Today, think of the things that you’re fearful of. Lindsey and I get asked of this often by other people, and parents of young kids, you’ve probably gotten this to: With the world being how it is, I’m so sorry that you’re having to raise kids in this world. Nice sentiment, but not what our parents and next generation needs. We need Titus 2 senior saints who disciple younger saints. We need older women praying for and coming alongside our younger women to show them “what is good, to love their husbands, children, and to not slander God’s Word.” We need older men to teach younger men to be self-controlled in everything! There is a temptation to be afraid about the unknown. To be afraid about the future. To be afraid about rejection, loss, pain, the list goes on. But what Isaiah reminds us of is that we don’t need to be afraid of these things because they don’t last. Yes the world is broken, but it won’t be broken forever. Sin broke this world, but Jesus promises to transform the world that He made in the first place. This is our Father’s World, friends! We don’t know when this restoration will take place, but we do know that Jesus will lead it and He will accomplish it! This doesn’t mean that our life gets easier today, but it does mean that we live with an understanding that evil doesn’t win… there will be a day with no more pain. No more sorrow. No more shame.
Look at verse 10, and it will be this way forever. Jesus will rule and reign and there will be no rival, no mutiny, no threat. One King. One Throne. This is what gives us joy… not that life is perfect today, but that we know where we’re headed. We know this promise
Revelation 21:4–5 CSB
4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; grief, crying, and pain will be no more, because the previous things have passed away. 5 Then the one seated on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new.” He also said, “Write, because these words are faithful and true.”
This fills our hearts with a joy that this world, as much as it tries, cannot touch. Christian Joy is grounded in Jesus, it is guarded by His Kingdom. It is a promise! Let’s look to Romans 15 and see how this joy impacts our interaction with those around us
Romans 15:7–13 CSB
7 Therefore welcome one another, just as Christ also welcomed you, to the glory of God. 8 For I say that Christ became a servant of the circumcised on behalf of God’s truth, to confirm the promises to the fathers, 9 and so that Gentiles may glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles, and I will sing praise to your name. 10 Again it says, Rejoice, you Gentiles, with his people! 11 And again, Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles; let all the peoples praise him! 12 And again, Isaiah says, The root of Jesse will appear, the one who rises to rule the Gentiles; the Gentiles will hope in him. 13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Christian Joy Is a Gift Given From God (7-13)
The book of Romans is a rich argument that Paul gives to the Christians in Rome and it centers on the character of God as revealed in the Gospel message. One day, Lord willing, we’ll preach through Romans and we’ll see these treasures more clearly, but today we’re just looking at this section at the end of this letter. In the chapters leading up to Romans 15, Paul has unpacked how desperately we need the Gospel as humans because we have rebelled against God. He shared what God did for us in the Gospel as Jesus provides His righteousness to repentant sinners. Then He spends many chapters in the middle of Romans focusing on the impact that justification has in our lives and how we operate as a transformed people, culminating in this section beginning on chapter 12
Romans 12:1–2 CSB
1 Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your true worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.
Because we have been saved, we are to live differently. This passage is the conclusion of this final section beginning in Romans 12:1. Paul is demonstrating how blood-bought, born-again believers are to live and act differently because of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Isaiah 11 gives us the promise of what the King will one day do, Romans 15 gives us the reality of what the King has done. And it centers on this powerful truth that we see in verse 7 and 13: Joy is something that God gives, not something we generate.
Notice what verse 7 starts with - we are to welcome others because God has first welcomed us. I want to brag on you all for a minute. This is a church that welcomes others. There is nothing quite like being called to pastor a church and all that goes into that process. Pastors are not hired and fired, you’re called by the Lord and that calling is affirmed by the congregation. That process is wild. I shared this, but last spring and summer was a difficult season for the Hayworth household. We’re at a thriving and growing church, but the Lord opened this door and provided us with peace to step through it. Each step of the way, we feel peace and clarity. I had a wedding that I officiated just south of Bolivar and had the rehearsal on Friday and the ceremony on Saturday, so we scheduled meetings, brunches, and lots of Q&A times based on that schedule. I was excited! And by the time Sunday afternoon rolled around, I was exhausted. But this is what I’ll never forget - this has been a memory the Lord has brought to mind a lot lately - the people of this church meeting Lindsey, the boys, and me. Shaking our hands. Telling us how they had been praying for us. They were excited for what God was going to do. This church welcomed me and my family with open arms - why? Because the people of this church know what it is like to first be welcomed by God. I’ll never forget the faces that have now turned into dear friends, who welcomed us and continue to pray for and encourage us.
How are we able to do this? We remember that Christ has welcomed us fully, joyfully, patiently, and permanently. There are sometimes when it’s hard to welcome someone - maybe, we woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Maybe that person is an Ozark Tiger and you are a Nixa Eagle or a Kickapoo Chief. There are natural walls that we can build up and hide behind, but we remember that Jesus didn’t welcome us because we were perfect and worthy… He welcomed us because He is perfectly gracious. This means that we don’t just welcome people that are nice or that we agree with perfectly, Jesus didn’t do that with us… so we don’t do that with others. The church is called a family, and if you’ve lived around your family long enough, you know that families don’t always get along perfectly. People have different priorities and preferences and that’s part of being human… but you know what Godly families do have? Love for one another that fills in the cracks that the devil would love to use to splinter that family. Whenever we remember the love that God gives to us through Jesus, we welcome others, and whenever they come in, they see the joy that exists in this body.
South Gate, whenever I do membership interviews with prospective members, this is a recurring theme when I ask, “Why do you want to be a member at South Gate?” I regularly hear someone say, “I felt welcomed here.” Remember that we welcome others because we have been welcomed first by God through the finished work of Jesus. Do you see what Jesus did in this passage? Paul quotes 4 Old Testament passages, including Isaiah 11, to demonstrate how God keeps His Word. Aren’t you thankful for that? That Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s promises. That we can always count on our God to come through in the good days and in the bad days, and even in the days whenever we don’t know how things will work out, we can trust that our God will come through and work all things for the good of those who love God, who are called according to His purposes! This gives us hope.
Romans 15 shows us how there is unity in the body. The church of Rome was diverse. You had former Jews and Gentiles. You had rich and poor. You had those with, as chapter 14 discussed, strong and weak consciences. There were so many differences within this church. We wonder, what kept them together? It wasn’t the music - guess what? We have different preferences in music today, that won’t keep a church together. It wasn’t the preaching - guess what? The Springfield area has some of the best preachers in the entFAire nation. Eddie Bumpers at Crossway is a lion in the pulpit. John Marshall has about as much experience and wisdom as anyone you can imagine. David Brown, Wesley Vance, Luke Harding, Matt Cullum, Fred Broome, Phillip Burden, Craig Liscom, Ryan Palmer, I could keep listing friends who are faithful to preach the Word and they do it so well! But what unified the early church wasn’t the music or the preacher, it wasn’t the carpet or the concrete. It was the truth of the message. This is the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ! It is God’s Word that provides unity - truth determines unity. And Jesus said in John 17:17 that His Word is Truth. Friends, the Bible is the answer. The Bible is our authority. The Bible doesn’t change, even when our feelings do!
This gives us joy at all times and this is God’s gift - look at verse 13:
Romans 15:13 CSB
13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
The God of Hope
Joy comes from God, not self
Fill You With All Joy
Not occasional, seasonal, or partial joy… All Joy!
As You Believe
As we grow in our walk with Jesus, the more joy we experience!
So That You May Overflow With Hope
Whenever you live a joyful life, you are the most optimistic person on the planet
By the Power of the Holy Spirit
Christian Joy is something that only Saints experience because it is given to us by the Spirit that lives within us. This is great news because if the Spirit gives it and the Spirit doesn’t leave us, then we know for certain that this joy is always available to us! Not only does the Spirit fill us with hope and peace, but He also gives us a gift of grace that we call a spiritual gift. Joy is a natural response to the incredible work of God’s grace!
This sounds great! Joy is grounded in Jesus. Joy is guarded by God’s Kingdom. Joy is a gift from God. We sing about joy. We study about joy. We speak about joy. But how do we apply this? How does joy change the way that we live? A couple practical ways that walk in this otherworldly joy this week
Shift your Focus from Circumstances to Christ
If I’m not careful, my circumstances will dictate my joy. Imagine a thermometer - it tells you your temperature. This is similar to joy does in our walk with the Lord. If I’m focusing on my circumstances, I won’t have much joy… but if I remember what Jesus has done, I have much joy. This week, there will be circumstances that try to get you to shift your focus to something going on in your life and to forget what Jesus has done. You will be tempted to get angry, upset, or stressed about something, and forsake the joy that Jesus provides. In those moments, seek first the Kingdom of God. Look to Jesus. Remember that you have access to joy at all times!
Anchor Your Joy in Promises, not Predictions
People make grand predictions and social media has only made it worse. There are lots of trending topics that get lots of views and people love to make outlandish statements to generate clicks and likes. Don’t anchor your joy to those people and things. Don’t fall victim to the feed on your phone, fall to your knees and feed on God’s Word. One fails to give you joy, the other fills you with joy!
Welcome Others as Christ Welcomed You
Every Sunday, regardless of how the week has gone, I look forward to coming to South Gate and worshiping with this body. Because there is a JOY in this place with this people. Friends, we are commanded to gather together because not only does this glorify our Father, but gathering together to sing and sit under the preaching of the Word as a family literally fills us with joy. Whenever we remember what Jesus did for us, we naturally welcome others. If you don’t have joy today, ask yourself: Why Am I Here? What Has Jesus Done? Joy grows where Grace goes!
Trust the Spirit to Provide
Romans 15:13 reminds us that this is all the work of the Spirit. He gives us joy. He guards our joy. He grows our joy. This week, trust in the Spirit to recalibrate your mind and redirect your gaze to the finished work of Jesus.
In Isaiah 11 we have a promise that a child will come and be empowered by the Holy Spirit to delight in the fear of the Lord and rule with righteousness and faithfulness. This is what Jesus has done. He came to this earth 2000 years ago and was born as a baby in Bethlehem. He grew up and lived a sinless, perfect life. He obeyed God’s will each step of the way, even to the cross. He died in our place. He rose victorious 3 days later. And today, He provides hope, love, and as we’ve seen today, joy. If you are here searching for something to last and provide, stop searching for joy and start serving Jesus, who gives you forever joy! He provides. He sustains. He fills. He transforms. He offers us an incredible gift - and this gift of joy is something this world can’t touch and it certainly can’t take. From this day, until your last day, Jesus is the source of unshakable, unending Joy!
- - Isaiah 11:1–10ESV
- - 2 Samuel 7:16ESV
- - Genesis 3:15ESV
- - Proverbs 9:10ESV
- - Romans 8:8–9ESV
- - James 1:19ESV
- - Revelation 21:4–5ESV
- - Romans 15:7–13ESV
- - Romans 12:1–2ESV
- - Romans 15:13ESV
My Jesus I Love Thee

Psalm 145:1–3NIV2011

Introduction

Christian Joy is Grounded in Jesus (1-5)

Christian Joy is Guarded by His Kingdom (6-10)

Christian Joy Is a Gift Given From God (7-13)

Isaiah 11:1–10ESV

2 Samuel 7:16ESV

Genesis 3:15ESV

Proverbs 9:10ESV

Romans 8:8–9ESV

James 1:19ESV

Revelation 21:4–5ESV

Romans 15:7–13ESV

Romans 12:1–2ESV

Romans 15:13ESV