3. For some Christians, the thief of their joy is practical atheism.
Make no mistake about it, many Christians
believe in God but live their lives with little or no confidence that
God could and would handle the details of their lives. Practical
atheists believe God will save them from hell but have difficulty
believing that God will handle the affairs of their day-to-day life.
How you and I live is a testimony of what we believe about God.
For the Christian, joy centers on belief.
Faith is the confidence that what God has promised or said will come
to pass. It trusts Him with the details of our lives. How we live
determines what we believe about God, regardless of what we say.
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4. For some Christians, the thief of their joy is success.
Nowhere does the Bible say that a Christian
can't have money and experience success. The issue is replacing God
with success — replacing the Master with money. An unfounded belief
is that material things bring joy.
God wants you to succeed. He promised that he
would “give you whatever you ask in my name” (John 15:16), but on His
terms. His terms are simple: “Seek first his kingdom and his
righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well”
(Matt. 6:33). Joy comes when we put Christ on the throne of our lives,
not money. Joy comes when we allow Christ to possess our lives and
not allowing our possessions to possess us.
True joy is a treasure of a soul that puts
Christ in control. An old British educator said, “Joy is the flag
which is flown from the castle of the heart when the King is in
residence.” True joy comes in submitting our lives to Christ as king.
Any reservation, any other course of action will rob the believer of
that eternal treasure — joy.
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Sermon provided
by: Rick Ezell, a pastor and author in Naperville, IL