March 19, 2024
Pastor Darin Youngberg
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Daily Bread
Posted on Monday, December 18, 2017 by Bro_D
Daily Bread Dec. 18, 2017
1 Peter 1:8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory,
“Inexpressible” joy! Really? I have a feeling there are way too many church folk who would use this verse as their excuse for their less than expressible joy. I heard the joke about the paramedics who were called to a Baptist church during the worship service because a man had been found unconscious, when they arrived they couldn’t recognize him from the rest of the congregation.
I know the LORD has a sense of humor – why else would He direct me to this verse on a Monday morning after I compared the worship that goes on at a sporting event to that that may or may not take place on a Sunday morning. I have also been singing the song that has the tag line “JOY! UNSPEAKABLE JOY! AN OVERFLOWING WELL, NO TONGUE CAN TELL …. JOY!” for over a week now – so yes, GOD does have a sense of humor! And an impeccable sense of perfect timing!
"Inexpressible” joy --- wow! A joy that is so over the top, so overwhelming that our normal expressions of joy don’t compare. A joy that cannot be expressed by words must be a joy that is expressed by action. It is a joy that flows out of the life that is Jesus Christ in us. It is expressed by His presence in us. His power being expressed through us. It is a joy that comes filled with His glory. It is a joy that fills you with His glory!
I think many of us church folk have forgotten, or maybe we’ve never been told that this joy exists in the Born-Again-Blood-Bought-Believer(BBB). Listen, as a BBB, your life could be a whole lot worse – you could be lost and destined for hell! The simple fact that hell is something you will never experience is enough to give you joy – but Jesus doesn’t just give joy, He came that your joy may be full! (JN. 15:11, 16:24). That “full joy” is the inexpressible joy spoken of by Peter.
The angel told the shepherd good news of great joy! The shepherds went to see all that the angel told them, and when after they had seen the Child, they went and shared the news of great joy!
Go, live out that joy to the world!