Alright, if you have the 8th
chapter of the book of Acts, I want to begin reading with
verse 1. Read down through verse 8, and then read verse 12. Acts
chapter 8. And Saul was consenting unto
his death, that is, the death of Stephen. And at that time,
there was a great persecution against the church, which was
at Jerusalem, and they were all scattered abroad throughout the
regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. and devout
men carried Stephen to his burial and made great lamentation over
him. As for Saul, he made havoc of
the church, entering into every house, and hailing men and women,
committed them to prison. Therefore, they that were scattered
abroad went everywhere preaching the word. Then Philip went down
to the city of Samaria and preached Christ unto them. And the people,
with one accord, gave heed unto those things which Philip spake,
hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. For unclean spirits,
crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed
with them, and many taken with palsies, and that were lame,
were healed. And there was great joy in that
city. Verse 12, but when they believed
Philip, preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God
and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized both men and
women." We read in this portion of the Word of God that Philip
went down to that city that Brother Randy read us about where our
Lord went during his ministry. He went down to the city of Samaria. And in verse 5 it says, and he
preached Christ unto them. And then in verse 8, and it says,
and there was great joy in that city. I want to speak this morning
for a little while on joy being the fruit of gospel preaching. Now it has been so, it was so
back in the days of the apostles, and it is so now, even in this
good hour, that joy is the fruit of gospel preaching. We read
in Romans chapter 15 and verse 13, Now the God of hope fill
you with all joy and peace in believing that you may abound
in hope through the power of the Holy Ghost. Romans 14 and
verse 17 says, For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink,
but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. And verse 18 went on to say,
for he that in these things serveth Christ is accepted of God and
approved of men. Galatians 5 and 22 says, but
the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness,
goodness, and faith. 1 Thessalonians 1 verse 6 says,
And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received
the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost, with
gladness and delight. These people of Samaria heard
the gospel, and there was great joy in that city. Now, Philip,
as we said, went down unto the city of Samaria, and he preached
Christ unto them, and the result of his preaching was that there
was great joy in that city. His message was fruitful. He
had speedy success as he entered in. He was willingly heard. There were many that were converted,
and they had great joy. How can we explain this wonderful
event? And I think it can only be explained
that Jesus had gone before to prepare the way. Jesus said in
John 4, He said, I must needs go through Samaria. The Lord
Jesus encountered the woman at the well, who had five husbands,
and he saved that woman. He delivered that woman. That
woman went back into the city, Samaria, and testified that she
had met a prophet from God that had told her all things that
ever she did. And the Lord Jesus, as men and
women came out of the city to hear him preach, he preached
to them and many of them believed on him. The Lord Jesus sowed
the seed of the word of God and he made this statement. He said,
herein is the saying true, one soweth and another reapeth. And
so Philip reaped the word and reaped the harvest that our Lord
Jesus Christ sowed when he went through Samaria. testifying,
preaching the Word of God. And so we learn by this that
there are no good work for Christ that is ever lost. It's never lost to preach a word
or to sow the seed of the word of God. Speak the word of God
where you have opportunity. Spread the word. You may not
see the harvest. You may not be there to see the
actual harvest of the seed. But sooner or later, there will
be a harvest. The Lord will bring forth fruit. Now we know the scripture says
in Isaiah 55 and verse 10 and 11, Excuse me, verse 10 and 11, it
says that the word will not return unto the Lord void, but it will
accomplish that where into it's sent. It's like the snow and
the rain that comes down from heaven, waters the earth and
causes the seed to come forth and gives bread to the eater
and seed to the sower. And so the word of God will accomplish
that which God has sent it forth to accomplish. Now, some people
must work, some preachers must work for years, preaching the
gospel over and over again, and maybe never seeing any results. Never seeing anybody really get
converted, anybody really get saved. But the results is coming. The Torah will not be lost. the
Lord will bring forth fruit sooner or later from the gospel. In
Psalm 126, verse 5 and 6, the scripture says, They that sow
in tears shall reap in joy. It says, He that goeth forth
and weepeth bearing precious seed shall doubtless come again
with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him. He shall doubtless
come again, sow the seed, preach the Word, spread the message,
and give forth the living Word of God. And I'm amazed how that
the Lord is able to bless His Word, many, many times unknown
to us. Even when we're preaching, unknown
to us. how that God touches somebody
and saves them, and later on you hear about it, that God affected
this soul or that soul on a certain date, and how the Lord brought
them to see the truth. Well, this is marvelous. This
is the way the Lord works. And so learn that no good work
for Christ is ever lost. Be ready to give a witness and
to give an answer to everyone that asks you a reason for the
hope that is within you. Be ready always to speak a word
for Christ. Well, the first thing I want
to observe here is that there was joy in Samaria, and this
was born of great sorrow that had occurred up in Jerusalem.
Now, we know, according to the story here, that the church had
received great persecution. There was persecution from Saul,
and it says in verse 1 of chapter 8, that at that time there was
great persecution against the church, which was at Jerusalem,
and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judea
and Samaria, except the apostles. And as in verse 3, as for Saul,
he made havoc of the church, entering into every house and
hailing men and women and committed them to prison. Therefore, they
were scattered abroad, verse 4, when everywhere preaching
the word. And so that which came to Samaria,
the gospel and the great joy that followed their reception
of the gospel, it was born out of great sorrow up in Jerusalem. Now many, many times there has
to be a stirring among the Church of God before the people become
faithful witnesses of the gospel, and before they're stirred up
to give a word of testimony. Now these enemies of the truth
were making havoc of the church. There were Christians that were
jailed, and there were Christians that were put to death. And this
scattering, it brought forth the people, it sent them forth,
and they went everywhere preaching the gospel. Now there was a great
deal of grief, I suppose, to these people because the church
was broken up. Not only the church, but families
were broken up, property was confiscated and spoiled, and
these people, their close connections that they had as believers, they
were just literally separated and they were run out of Jerusalem. They were scattered abroad. But
sometimes it's a blessing to a church to have a great trial. Sometimes it's a blessing, you
know, because we sit around a great deal and congratulate each other
on how sound we are, and we're just so happy that we're able
to gather together and meet and preach the word unmolested by
the world, and we just got the message, and we're just so happy
about it, and we're content with it, and we keep it in ourselves. But the Lord would have the word
to be scattered. He would have the message to
go out. He would have the word to be testified to. And so sometimes
he sends a trial, and he stirs up the church. And there's one
goes this way and another maybe go that way. But it's to the
end that the message would go out, that the message of the
gospel would go forth. May God be pleased to give us
Something to feel with that we begin to feel the need of people
around us that be not necessary For God to send some great trial
upon this church But that we would have a heart that is moved
a heart that bleeds for those who are lost in sin For those
who need Christ for those who need the message of God's grace
So it was by sore travail of the saints of Jerusalem, that
she became the mother of the saints in Samaria. By hard trials
and dark struggles, the church becomes useful to others. And so many, many times the Lord
puts the heat under and stirs up the church. in that way that
she'll go out and that she'll be able to bring forth fruit
to the glory of God. And oh, that we had that inward
anguish for the souls of men who are perishing through indifference
while the gospel may be proclaimed so near as it is here. and so
near to many, but yet they're not stirred up to come to hear
it. Yet they're indifferent to it. But may God give us a heart
that will carry the message to them if they come not to hear
it, but that we will carry that message unto them. Well, there
was great joy in Samaria because there had been much grief up
in Jerusalem. Think about it. Think about how
those families were separated. Think about how the church and
the services were just disrupted and all the suffering that must
have occurred up there so that old Philip would be down in Samaria
carrying the message of the gospel there. Now this joy was occasioned
by one man's preaching. I want you to notice that in
the second place. It was Philip. It was Philip.
He was a Jew. And perhaps, he said in himself,
when the Lord began to move him toward the city of Samaria, he
maybe said, well I'm the most unlikely person in the world
to ever succeed in preaching down in Samaria. Because I'm
a Jew, and you know these nations, the two nations, they were very
much alike. The Jewish people and the Samaritans,
very much alike. And they were strongly antagonistic
to each other. And they could not bear one another.
They had no patience. They had no desire to be around
each other. And so Philip was moved to go
down and preach to these folks in Samaria, but he thought in
himself, I'm sure I'm the least likely to succeed there. But
our Lord had succeeded. Our Lord had saved the woman
at the well and others, and so he was encouraged to go on down.
It was the preaching of this Jew that was blessed to the people
of Samaria. Never say, I cannot go and speak
there. Never say, I can't knock on that
door. I can't go and talk to that person
because I certainly would not be accepted. Those people would
not listen to anything that I have to say. Well, I'm not the proper
person for that place or that person, my friend. Never say
that. because God is able to bless
your witness and bless your testimony and to use you wherever he would
send you. The most unlikely person in the
esteem of men may be the very person who is the special choice
of God. Jew or no Jew, Philip goes down
to Samaria and he preaches the gospel and there's results that
come and there's great joy in the city. Next, this was not
a regular preacher either. He was a deacon. He was one of
those seven men that were chosen out, that were filled with the
Holy Ghost, good men, who would be able to take care of the affairs
of the church while the preachers gave themselves to prayer and
to the preaching of the Word of God. And so he was a deacon,
and he had been called of God not only to be one of the deacons,
but he was also called of God to be an evangelist because he
later became an evangelist, Philip the Evangelist. Now it's not,
may I preach? Somebody says, well, do you have
to be a call preacher to preach? Do I have to be, if I'm not a
call preacher, do I have to be a deacon to preach? Absolutely
not. It's not, may I preach, but can
I preach? Would you let me preach? Is there
some place where I could go and speak a word for the Lord? Is
there some place, somebody, that needs to hear a word in season,
that I could go and give them that word. Can I preach? Well,
he was a man full of the Holy Ghost, and I believe this is
the chief qualification for a preacher of the gospel. Learning? No, that's not the chief qualification. To get an education? Absolutely
nothing wrong with that. To get a good solid foundation
is a good thing. But I tell you, beloved, when
a man gets before people to preach, He must be enabled by the Spirit
of God to speak to the consciences of those to whom he speaks. He
must be able to preach a word. He must be able, filled with
the Spirit of God, to bring a word from God to their souls as if
God himself was speaking whenever that word gets to the heart of
those that are the hearers. And so to speak with power that
reaches the conscience. is what is called for. And learning
is not the first qualification for someone to carry the message
of the gospel. It's to be filled with the Holy
Spirit of God. Well, the next thing I want to
mention to you is, what did he preach? What did he preach? Well,
we're not left in the dark about this, are we? We certainly are
not. Look at verse 5. Then Philip
went down to the city of Samaria, and he clocked in at the motel.
He had a round of golf. The next morning he met with
the ministerial association in the afternoon and then he went
out to a big supper at night and called it a day. No, don't
say a word about all of that. Not a word about all of that.
Listen to what happened. He went down to the city of Samaria
and he preached. And he preached Christ unto them. That's what he did. He preached
Christ unto these people. He knew the message. You see,
he had learned the message up at the church at Jerusalem. He
understood that there was one name under heaven given among
men, whereby men must be saved, and that was the name of the
Lord Jesus Christ. And Philip, he had the message
burnt into his heart. because we read later in this
chapter that Philip was speaking to the Ethiopian eunuch in verse
35 and the Bible says he opened his mouth. He opened his mouth
and he began at the same scripture and preached unto him Jesus. He preached Jesus unto him. I've
said it before, I'll say it again, that if the world stands a thousand
years, we have one message to preach, and that is Christ and
Him crucified. Paul said, we preach not ourself,
but Jesus Christ our Lord. Paul said, I determine not to
know anything among you save Jesus Christ and Him crucified. And so Philip opened his mouth
he preached Christ unto them. He told them that Jesus of Nazareth,
who was born at Bethlehem and who died on Calvary, he's the
Son of God. He said he's the Messiah. He
said he's the sent one of God, that he himself is both God and
man, and that he has come to make peace by the blood of his
cross. He has come to make peace between
God and the believing sinner. That's what he preached. He preached
Christ to them as the one sacrifice for sin. Without the shedding
of blood, there is no remission of sin. That he died, that Christ
actually did die on that bloody cross, and he died for the unjust. He died for the ungodly. that
he might bring them to God. He preached. He preached justification. He preached substitution. He
preached that an individual was saved through what Christ did,
through Christ's obedience, and through his sacrificial death
on Calvary. And he preached that a man could
be justified completely and entirely through faith in the Lord Jesus
Christ from those things that he could not possibly be justified
through the law of Moses. He preached this man. He preached
Christ Jesus the Lord, the great heart changer, the true moral
redeemer. He preached Christ, the true
moral reformer, we ought to say. Not what they could do. Oh, he
had nothing to say about what they could do. He knew what they
could do and that was nothing. but what Christ had done. All finished, all complete, all
the table is spread, the banquet feast is set, the Lord is the
host of that banquet and will serve it up in salvation. And
so he preached Christ and the completeness and fullness of
salvation. You know it's wonderful and while
I know the Commission says that after we Go out and preach the
gospel to every creature, baptizing them in the name of the Father,
Son, and the Holy Spirit. We are to teach them to observe
all things that the Lord has commanded them to observe. But
isn't it wonderful that in the salvation of our blessed Lord,
that it's absolutely complete. It's complete in Him. And that
we don't have to keep working with people saying, now you need
to add this, you need to add that, you need to add something
else. No, it's full and it's complete. And when you get to
Christ and you believe on Him, that's, He's the Lord's salvation. He's the Savior and when you
know Him, you know the Lord. and you have salvation. Salvation
is to know God. It's to know God in Christ. It's
to have an understanding given to you that you might know Him
and be intimately acquainted with Him. That you know Him as
well as you know your wife or as you know your husband. To
know Him. To be acquainted with Him. Well,
Philip preached Christ unto them. He begged them to quit all other
confidences, and to trust Christ. Let no other trust intrude. He would tell them, just in your
mind, hold on to Christ. In your heart, hold on to Christ. Let no other trust intrude, because
the Lord Jesus is able to save to the uttermost, to all that
come unto God by him, seeing that he ever liveth to make intercession
for them." Well, you've heard who it was that preached, and
you heard what was preached. Now then, what was the cause
of the joy? You say, what was the cause of
the joy? Well, it's because the gospel
was preached there. The greatest blessing to any
city on the face of this earth is if God will open there a rescue
station where the gospel of redeeming grace is preached. You see, the
gospel is good news, and it's good news to bad men. It's good
news to people that will perish forever and will forever and
ever be cut off from God Almighty and the bliss and blessing of
heaven unless they come to know Christ. It's good news that they
can be saved through faith in the Son of God. It's good news
that if you embrace Him and trust Him with all of your heart, that
you will be saved and that you'll be saved now and forever. That's
glorious good news. And so I say to you that the
reason why there was joy in this city was because there was a
bunch of people down here. They were enslaved. The demons
had them under their control. I mean, they were enslaved. They
were in the chains of sin. There were people here who couldn't
do anything for themselves. They couldn't save themselves.
Even if they were religious, it didn't do them any good. Even
if they tried to be pious and devout, even if they prayed,
it didn't do them any good. until they heard the gospel,
the gospel of free grace through Jesus Christ our Lord. And so,
beloved, it was the greatest blessing to any city is when
there's a gospel station open there, and when somebody faithfully
endures all the hardships and the test and the trials and the
difficulties. As old Paul said, I've endured
all things for the elect's sake that they might obtain the salvation
which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. And so, beloved,
if God blesses a city, a community, with a gospel preaching church
and preacher, that's a great blessing. And it'll bring joy
to many. Oh, when they're released from
their bondage, when people get out, from under law bondage,
and when they get out from under the awful fear that they're going
to face God and they'll have no covering for their sin, when
they escape all of that guilt that has been heaped upon them
through the years because of their failures, when they know
that in a moment's time that they can turn over a new slate
and begin life over again, it'll bring joy. It'll bring joy to
their hearts. their souls and when they're
able to lay down at night and able to rest and lay their head
on the pillar and know everything's all right between me and God.
I had a debt I owed to God, I couldn't pay it, but the Lord Jesus paid
the debt and I am free from that obligation and debt of all my
sin and therefore I can rest at night. I'm not bothered, I'm
not troubled, but there isn't a soul here this morning if you
don't have hope in Christ who is not bothered when you lie
down and you wake up in the middle of the night and you feel that
guilt and that heavy pressure upon you, knowing that if you
pass from this life, if your life is suddenly taken from you
on the highway, you know that you're not right with God. And
I'll tell you it's whenever you feel that you're right with God
and God has accepted you and put your sin away and buried
them in the deepest sea. That's when you begin to feel
this joy that these Samaritans received. It was because there
was a gospel preacher come into their midst and begin to tell
them the glories of Emmanuel. Now listen to me now. There was
many things that happened there. Because there were signs in verse
7. I mentioned these people that were demon-possessed. They were crying with a loud
voice. Come out of many that were possessed with them, and
many were taken with palsies and were lame, and they were
healed. Now, beloved, we do not work
miracles. I never professed to work a miracle
in my life, and I don't go around, you know, doing exorcisms on
people. I don't do that. Been many a
time when I went through my house and other people's houses and
even in this church here and prayed that God would overrule
and pleaded the blood of Christ. and that the demons would be
sent off and run off and that they wouldn't be enabled to hinder
the meeting or in any way to interfere with the work of God
and the progress of the church and with the spread of the gospel
of the grace of God. I prayed that many a time and
I believed a few times that the devils were sent off to hell
and that they did separate and leave the people of God alone,
and leave my house alone, I believe that, but I never worked any
miracles, I never cast any devils out of anybody that I know of,
but in a physical sense, in a physical and spiritual sense, wait a minute
now, in a physical sense, we haven't worked any of these miracles,
but in a spiritual sense, there have been many miracles wrought. by the preaching of the gospel,
and I've been a witness to see folks' lives affected and changed
by the gospel. The Bible says that if any man
be in Christ, he is a new creation, and all things are passed away.
The testimony of the Word of God is that when Christ comes
in, and praise his name, he does come in to live in the lives
of believers. When he comes in, brings his
presence and his power. He does marvelous things in the
life. He changes the life. He brings people to where they
love that which they used to hate, and they hate that which
they used to love. He does a work. He turns their
little world upside down by his presence and by his power. He
affects people's lives. And you're here today and you
say, well, I need my life to be affected. Well, Christ is
in the business of changing people's lives. He's in the business of
taking somebody who is in a desperate condition and He's in the business
of giving them peace and rest and joy in their hearts. He can change your life. He can
do it. And so we've seen that. Oh, we've
seen The cup of devils abandoned, that is alcohol, people turning
away from it until where they would begin to tell their friends,
you go on down the road. I don't have any more use for
that. I can't do that anymore. I don't want that anymore. I'm
living a different life. because of the grace of God.
They've given up uncleanness and they've forsaken that which
held them before in bondage. And the Bible says such were
some of you. And certainly you know what I'm talking about.
Those of you that have been delivered, you know what I'm talking about.
That the gospel, as I did in Samaria, it releases people and
heals people and saves people. And this brings joy. Men were
saved where this happens. Even the very angels of God rejoice. They're glad because of that
work which the Lord has done. All right, now this is a joy
that we desire to see repeated. It's a joy that we want to see
repeated. Despairing souls, we want to
see them made happy, don't we? There's somebody near you. There's
somebody that you know of. There's somebody that, very close
maybe to you, and you would like to see that poor soul live. You
would like to see them have hope. Oh, wouldn't you like to see
them have hope? We want to see this. We want to see this repeated
over and over. Joy. Joy in a family. Joy in the church. Joy in the
community. Joy because of the gospel and
because of what it's done in the hearts of sinful men and
women. Oh, joy in this place. We've seen it a few times and
experienced it. Oh, that your home and that your
situation would be changed. God's people, I think, are usually
joyous. I think it is their privilege
to be so. And not only is it their privilege,
but I think it is their duty to be joyous. Their duty. Don't
you think it is? Were we not commanded in Philippians
4? Were we not commanded? to rejoice in the Lord. And again, he said, rejoice.
Now, the last thing I want to talk about is the effects, the
very practical effect of what we believe. And our Christianity,
if you want to call it that, is happiness. It is joy. And
I want you to turn to Psalm 5. Turn to Psalm 5. And here we
have the ground and reason for the joy of a believer, and I
said it's the privilege. A believer is usually joyous.
I've heard of those that thought it was sin to be happy, thought
it was sin to have any joy in your heart, thought somehow or
other you wasn't quite the Christian you ought to be unless you were
just bowed down to the place where you just couldn't have
a bit of happiness. Well, that's not the truth. That's not the true picture of
the Word of God. It is not. Now listen to me. The ground
and reason for this joy is that, first of all, I want you to notice
with me here in verse 2, is that we have God Almighty for our
King, and that He is our God. Hearken unto the voice of my
cry, my King, David says, and my God, for unto Thee will I
pray. Now, beloved, if you have God
for your King, and He is King, He is King, He's sovereign, Lord
God Almighty, and if you have a lick of spiritual sense, you're
bound to Him every day. You're submitting yourself to
Him. You're worshipping Him as the King. You're worshipping
Him as Lord of Lords. You're worshipping Him as King
of Kings. And then He said, and my God.
I hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King and my God. So you'd see if we have him as
King and our God, my God, David said. Wonderful, isn't it, to
have a personal God. Now then, I want you to look,
if you will, at the end of this chapter, Psalm 11, or Psalm 5,
to verse 11. And look what it says. But let
all those that put their trust in thee rejoice. Let everybody
who puts their trust in the Lord rejoice. Well, I would hope that's
the biggest part of this congregation. If you put your trust in the
Lord, rejoice. Rejoice because of what the Lord does for us. Look at what he does. Let them
ever shout for joy because thou defendest them. Now, beloved,
it's wonderful to know that God is the preserver of all men,
but especially he's the preserver of those that are his, those
that trust him. He's their preserver. Now, you
know, to live in this world, we think we're maybe a little
safer. up here where we're at. We're
not in the hustle and bustle of the big cities out east and
out on the west coast, and so we think that we're somewhat
safer because we're in this lovely and wonderful state of Montana. But, my friend, we need God to
defend us wherever we are. Don't you realize that we're
always susceptible to the same things? Don't make any difference
how strong we are in the faith of the gospel. We're susceptible
to the same thing that happens to other people. There are people
who go down the road, and this happens, that happens. They meet
with this person and that person. Maybe they're intoxicated, and
they hit them, and first thing you know, they're taken out of
this world. There are people right here who could tell you
stories about their loved ones or their acquaintances, where
something happened. Maybe it was that somebody was
overly medicated. And they just wasn't all themselves
that day. And this happened, that happened,
and suddenly they went out of this world. But I want to tell
you what, we rejoice to know that God defends us. And that's
what it says here, because thou defendest them. Let them rejoice. They put their trust in you,
and let them shout for joy. Somebody said, don't know that
we ought to go to that extreme? Well, I don't see anything wrong
with a person shouting for joy because the Lord has defended
them. I'm 67 years old, and I've been
on the road. I've traveled many, many a mile.
In 30 years, I suppose I have went back and forth from here
to the east, midwest, a hundred trips. Probably a hundred trips
in 30 years. And never had an accident. Never
been in an accident. You think God Almighty hasn't
been with me? Well, I think He has. There may be other people
that traveled a whole lot more than I have. I know some of you
fellows that drive trucks and have been in trucks. You've traveled
many, many thousands and thousands of miles. And the Lord has defended
you and He's protected you. But the Lord is merciful. Listen,
let's shout for joy because the Lord has defended us. Let them
also that love thy name be joyful in thee. Do you love the name
of the Lord? Do you love Christ? Do you love
God? Do you love Him? Well, if He's
forgiven you of your sins, if He's blotted out your past, if
He's made you acceptable unto God in the person of His Son,
if He's done all these things for you, and if He's defended
you and blessed you, provided for you, met your needs, given
you what you have, and given you the health you have in your
body this morning, then, my friend, those that love His name, let
them be joyful, in the Lord. I mean, get that snarl off your
face. I ran into a religionist the
other day. My soul, my soul. You know the Bible says the fruit
of the Spirit is love and joy. But I'll tell you what, religionists,
they cannot be loving. They don't have it in them. They
don't have the fruit of the Spirit. How they snarl and bitterness
and meanness. comes out of these religionist
people that claim to know God and just as mean and low-down
as a snake. And well, if they get you in
private somewhere, they'll run the shaft right through you,
my friend. These people don't know anything about love. Well, the Bible is clear. Jesus
said this. He said, By this shall all men
know that you are my disciples, that you have love for one another. He said in 1 John 3 and verse
14, He said, We know that we have passed from death unto life
because we love the brethren. You say you're off the track,
preacher. I'm talking about the love of God, which is shed abroad
in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. Makes us love God. John said
that if he loved us, we love him because he first loved us.
Now what it says? We love him. We don't care. Listen to me. I'm not ashamed
to tell you I'm in love with God Almighty. I'm in love with
Christ. And I want to show it to the people that I meet and
talk to. And sometimes these folks that
just simply got a rail on you, they got to tell you something.
They can't be joyful a minute. It's meanness. Those people can
have their religion, and they can take it on to hell with them.
We don't need it in this world. Those people are lost, I'm telling
you. Mean religionists. that have
this idea they're better than everybody else, they know more
than anybody else, and they're out to tell you, and if you're
not going to listen to them, they're going to grab you and
force it down your throat. They're going to tell you. I'm
going to tell you this. I like those people that love
His name and that are joyful in Him. Oh, you don't have to
part your hair on the same side I part mine on. You don't have
to drive the same vehicle I drive. You don't have to come and go
as I do. If you know Christ, then we can rejoice together.
We can be glad. And that's one of the things
about this little fellowship here. I love you people because
you love Christ and you're joyful in Him. Joyful in Him. You're
not always trying to cram something down somebody's throat or put
somebody in bondage. Make them just like you. You
leave people alone and leave them with the Lord. And that's
what we must do. But let's love His name. And if we do, we'll be joyful,
joyful in Him. For thou, Lord, wilt bless the
righteous with favor, wilt thou compass him as with a shield. And so may the Lord be pleased
this morning to give us this joy, because our joy arises out
of our love towards God. And if we love Christ more, I
think we'd be happier in him. And the poet said, oh, what immortal
joys I feel, and raptures all divine, for Jesus tells me I'm
his and my Beloveds mine, what do you know this morning about
this joy that was in Samaria? What do you know about this joy
that the psalmist was talking about? I said Christians are
normally happy I believe they are it's our duty and privilege
to be And if you're here this morning and you say preacher,
I'd sure love to have some real real joy well There ain't but
one place. I've been around a long time.
I've been digging and digging and searching and searching.
And I'm going to tell you what, there ain't but one place where
you're going to find it. That's in Christ. That's in the Lord
Jesus. Become a seeker after God. Become
a seeker after God. Do you hear me? Begin to seek
the Lord. Seek the Lord with all your heart.
Call upon the Lord. Do all that you're enabled to
do. You got the ability. to seek the Lord. Can you talk?
Seek the Lord with your voice. Cry to God. He gives you more
help than seek Him as much as you can in another way. But seek
the Lord. And when you're done seeking
the Lord, we'll give praise to God because none seek Him except
those that He is seeking. And so if your heart is inclined
to seek Him, then it's because He's seeking you. Isn't that
true? It is desperately true. My friend,
you can't even do that unless God helps you. So we'll give
Him the glory. Lord, we thank You for this privilege
we've had this morning. And in our hearts we do shout
for joy. And we're thankful that we've
been enabled to love Thee. We have been enabled to love
thee, and we thank thee, and we're joyful in thee. Lord, thank
you for this great joy that came to Samaria many, many years ago,
and that I, as a preacher of the gospel, could talk about
it this morning to these dear souls. Lord, make them happy
and make them joyful. I pray it in Jesus' name, and
for his sake, amen.