KJV Sermon Outlines

Joy In The Morning!

God’s Formula For Joy

Text: Philippians 4:4-7 “Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice. 5Let your moderation (gentleness) be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. 6Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 7And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

If you haven’t noticed yet, the world is a mess. A lot of the mess the world is in comes from a general discontent and unhappiness with life’s hassles. The guy who cuts in front of us on the highway; the inconsiderate telemarketer that calls during dinner, the child; no matter the age, who just doesn’t have a clue about life and seems to be proud of it; street construction that will go on forever; crime; fires and the like are all things that can and will rob us of our joy if we let it.

It is a matter of us letting it; we control our emotions – they should not control us.

Being sad is not a choice sometimes.

There are clinical reasons for sadness and depression. There are some very effective medicines The Great Physician has provided that can help correct those health problems. But even then sometimes life just runs us over and we can lose our God given right as part of the family of God to be happy!

It is not only our right to be happy as children of God – it is commanded of us to be happy, to be joyful!

Rejoice in the LORD always, again I will say, rejoice!

This isn’t a suggestion it is a command. That is why Paul says it twice, for imperative emphasis. Rejoice in Jesus – let me tell you how to rejoice.
Be happy – Be happy!!!

The scripture never tells you to do something without telling you how to do it. That is what Paul goes on to do. He gives you the Formula for Joy!

We need the Proper Attitude
We need the Proper Perspective
We need the Proper Prayer to have
The Proper Peace.

I. The Proper Attitude
“Let your moderation be known unto all men.”

This gets down to attitude.
From G1909 and G1503; appropriate, that is, (by implication) mild:—gentle,
moderation, patient.

Let your sweet patience or gentleness be made known to all men.

If you feel yourself getting angry with someone, let your sweet patience or gentleness shine through.

That telemarketer I mentioned before, that person who cut you off in traffic, that hard headed child are all diversions Satan puts up to steal your joy. If you can approach those situations with a sweet patience or gentleness to work them out – you won’t lose your joy.
*Get an answering machine for your phone, or turn the ringer off during dinner.
*Pray for the person who is so reckless in traffic. You do not know what pressure they are under or the problems they may have that cause them to act that way. Don’t retaliate.
*Love your kids or grandkids which ever is causing you grief through their hardheadedness.

*Remember it is not against people we stand, it is against Satan – remember what the Father tells us through Paul in Ephesians 6: 10-12
Ephesians 6:10-12 “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. 11Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”

II. The Proper Perspective
A) “The Lord is at hand or near us.”

Psalm 34: 17&18 “The righteous cry, and the LORD heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles. 18 The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.”

B) “Be careful for nothing;” Be anxious for nothing” V. 6
Attitude again- do not be anxious – trust God!!. Paul doesn’t give you a choice in this matter. Don’t worry – Be happy.

Jeremiah 17: 7&8 “Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. 8For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.”

III. The Proper prayer
“but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.” V. 6
Talk to God!! Tell Him what is on your mind, tell Him what is bothering you – this is prayer!!
Ask for His provision and trust Him to provide – this is supplication!!

God is prepared to take care of us no matter the situation as long as we let him know about it. And trust Him to do it.

I want to say a little bit about that phrase “with Thanksgiving”

There are a lot of Christians who treat God like a great Automatic Teller Machine in the sky. GIMME, gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme. Oh, God, why do you hate me so, I don’t have a new car like so and so, my house isn’t as big as so and so’s. What have I ever done to you?? I go to church most Sundays, I drop a 10 into the offering plate, I don’t cuss in front of ladies and small children like the Good Book says. Why don’t you just, gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme.”

Some one once said the sweetest words ever said besides “I love you” is “Thank You”. Please understand that God wants us to be grateful for what He has done for us. If we are not grateful, we do not appreciate it. He wants our thanks and praise more than He wants any other kind of sacrifice.

IV. The Perfect peace
“And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” V. 7

Peace in the Midst of the Storm!

Col. 3:15, 16 “And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful. 16Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”

Peace Illustration:

Long ago a man sought the perfect picture of peace.

Not finding one that satisfied, he announced a contest to produce this masterpiece.

The challenge stirred the imagination of artists everywhere, and paintings arrived from far and wide.

Finally the great day of revelation arrived.

The judges uncovered one peaceful scene after another, while the viewers clapped and cheered.

The tensions grew. Only two pictures remained veiled.

As a judge pulled the cover from one, a hush fell over the crowd.

A mirror-smooth lake reflected lacy, green birches under the soft blush of the evening sky. Along the grassy shore, a flock of sheep grazed undisturbed. Surely this was the winner.

The man with the vision uncovered the second painting himself, and the crowd gasped in surprise. Could this be peace?

A tumultuous waterfall cascaded down a rocky precipice; the crowd could almost feel its cold, penetrating spray. Stormy-gray clouds threatened to explode with lightning, wind and rain. In the midst of the thundering noises and bitter chill, a spindly tree clung to the rocks at the edge of the falls. One of its branches reached out in front of the torrential waters as if foolishly seeking to experience its full power.
A little bird had built a nest in the elbow of that branch. Content and undisturbed in her stormy surroundings, she rested on her eggs. With her eyes closed and her wings ready to cover her little ones, she manifested peace that transcends all earthly turmoil.

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