This Joy That I Have | Rev. Andra D. Sparks
Forty-fifth Street Baptist Church Weekly Sermons · Forty Fifth Street Baptist Church
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Show Notes
ADVENT SEASON 2020
“REDISCOVER CHRISTMAS:
Good News In Troubling Times”
Speaker: Pastor Sparks
Text: Luke 1:5-7
-If all the stores that sold gifts, closed, Christmas would STILL be here
-Just like a circus elephant is able to stay chained [to a small stake and a rope] because it’s been conditioned since birth, the enemy plays on our minds and conditions us to remember when we were “chained”. And unfortunately, all he has to do to keep us chained/stuck in our past, is remind us of the time when we were chained...
-It’s time for you to get unstuck from what you’ve experienced and come into the FULLNESS of freedom that you’ve been given in Christ!
-Your joy has nothing to do with your strength, might, or power, but it has everything to do with who you believe is in control and who you put your faith in!
-We can never allow ourselves to get in a place of saying “I can’t wait til Christmas is over”; if you’re in that place, it might be time to check what your Christmas spirit is rooted in...
It’s Ok to Be Joyful—AND HAPPY
Joy should be present in spite of situations; and you should absolutely be happy when something good happens to you!
The two things are NOT mutually exclusive or at odds with one another!
Christmas, at its core, comes with joy. If you don’t feel it, ask yourself what you’re celebrating in this season
Joy Is Our Strength (Nehemiah 8:10)
If you’re struggling to tap into your joy, you need to remind yourself of how you felt when you first fell in love w/ Jesus—and what led you there!
It’s possible to forever have this joy because THE WORLD DIDNT GIVE IT...SO THE WORLD CANT TAKE IT AWAY!
We Can Choose Joy
We can choose how we react to our circumstances
Rejoice is the verb form of “joy”; re- signifies that it’s something you DO AGAIN. In order to REjoice, that means you can constantly tap into the joy you’ve experienced before!
Sermon Notes courtesy of Deacon Anthony Sparks