In Scott Brown's sermon 'The Happiness in a New Creation,' he explores Isaiah 65:17-19, highlighting the promise of a new creation where sorrow is forgotten and joy prevails. Brown emphasizes that this new creation begins in the hearts of believers, transforming their lives and relationships. He outlines four key aspects of God's intervention: creating a new creation, a rejoicing people, God rejoicing over His people, and the removal of sorrow. The sermon delves into the dual nature of the new creation, both earthly and heavenly, tying in New Testament teachings from 2 Corinthians, Galatians, and Ephesians. Brown underscores joy as a fundamental aspect of true Christianity, arising from acknowledging sin and embracing salvation through Jesus Christ. He also discusses God's delight in His people, likening it to a bridegroom's joy over his bride. The sermon concludes with a call to recognize the transformative power of God's love, which fuels joy and eliminates sorrow, encouraging the church to embody these principles as a testimony to the world.

Okay, open your Bibles to Isaiah 65 and I'll be reading verses 17 through 19. For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former shall not be remembered or come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create, for behold, I create Jerusalem as a rejoicing, and her people a joy. I will rejoice in Jerusalem and joy in my people. The voice of weeping shall no longer be heard in her, nor the voice of crying." So this passage describes how God makes everything new, how he begins in the hearts of people.

He makes them a new people and they forget their sorrows and they're glad. But not only are they glad, something else happens to them. They find a joy in one another, and even more than that, the Lord himself rejoices in them because he loves them, and he'll take away their weeping. So it's a picture of a total transformation of the people of God. Now Isaiah 65 verse 17 marks the beginning of the final section in Isaiah.

It's not a summary where all the themes are brought together as you find in some books of the Bible, but it's more like a crescendo. It's a final declaration of hope that's always mixed with sober warnings. And that's what you find in chapter 65 and in chapter 66. Isaiah goes back and forth between the joy, the blessing, the beauty of the kingdom of heaven and then he jets back again, you know, to the sorrows and the terrors of those who would turn away from God. But the central message in this section in verses 17 through 19 is that God intervenes.

He exercises His power in people's lives. He recreates them. And it's very much like what we've already read about in chapter 11 and chapter 25 and chapter 26 and chapter 35. Isaiah is picking up some of these same themes here in this passage. Now, It's very important that we have a clear understanding of what is true Christianity.

And here we learn that it is a powerful intervention in people's lives. It's newness of life. And I think you can sum up what is said in verse 17 From what the Apostle Paul says in 2nd Corinthians 5 17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he's a new creation old things have passed away behold all things have become new and this is this is the Lord identifying the features of his new order all things have passed away new things have come And what's the chief manifestation of those new things? Joy. Joy in the heart of the believer.

Joy in the heart of God. Joy in the people of God toward one another. This is the whole matter that's before us here. Now, let's notice the context that all of this exists in. And there are two elements of the context that I'd like to identify.

The first is that these verses are an answer to the prayer in chapter 64. The verses in chapter 65 refer back to the prayer of Isaiah that he uttered in the previous chapter. He is praying that God would come down. He's praying that God would rend the heavens. And he's praying that God would show himself.

And now the Lord speaks of how he will show himself. And that's the whole content of chapter 65. And he's answering the question of what he will do in response to this prayer of Isaiah to rend the heavens. And in summary, he's saying, I'll make all things new. I'll change people so fundamentally that they'll have joy.

Their whole disposition, their whole heart attitude will shift to joy rather than sorrow and they'll actually forget their sorrows. The other aspect of the context here that we should recognize is this whole matter of my holy mountain because he's been speaking of God's holy mountain in the previous verses but then he ends this chapter with a reference to his holy mountain So he's not ceased to talk about what it's like when the people of God stream together to his Holy Mountain. They come in joy. They come to worship. They come because they want the government and the authority of God in their lives.

And so that's the context that this exists in. Now, in your outline of this section, I've divided it into four different ideas of the power of God in salvation, the power that God will demonstrate as an answer to the prayer that Isaiah uttered when he said, Oh Lord come down, rend the heavens. And there are four things that he does. He makes a new creation. That's in the first part of verse 17.

Secondly, he creates a people who are rejoicing and a people who are a joy in verse 18. Thirdly, that God rejoices over his people in the first part of verse 19 and then finally number four he's a God who takes away your sorrow in the second half of verse 19 So he says first of all that he will make a new creation for behold I create new heavens and a new earth and the former shall not be remembered nor come to mind. So he says that he will create. It's interesting that the Lord uses the very same word in verse 17 for create that he used in Genesis 1.1, that in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. And so there is a new heaven and a new earth that is being created.

And this new creation is one of the dominant themes of the whole Bible. The whole Bible points to newness. There's an old covenant and a new covenant. He gives his people a new name in Isaiah 62 verse 2. He gives his people a new song in Isaiah 42 10.

He gives his people new things in Isaiah 43, 19. And we learn in the New Testament that God gives his people a new worship. They worship him in spirit and in truth in John chapter 4, verses 21 through 24. Now when will this new creation come about? This is one of the difficulties of interpreting this passage of scripture because most of us have always read these verses to refer to one of two things.

Most of us have heard these verses applied to the millennium, the thousand year reign of Christ, whether it is figurative or not is a whole other discussion. But also we have heard that This is of heaven, that it's used exclusively of heaven. We're not used to reading these verses and thinking that they apply to us today. So what is he speaking of? Now my view is that Isaiah is doing what he has done many times in his prophecy and that is he gives us a telescopic view of the future and he's using figurative language to speak about it.

The Apostle Paul and Peter in the New Testament make it clear that the new creation began with the resurrection power of Jesus Christ and works itself out in the transforming and sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit in the church. And further, even beyond that, the New Testament also testifies that there will be a perfect state of this new creation in heaven. You can read about that in 2 Peter 3, verse 3 through 13, and Revelation 20, verses 11 through 15. So my understanding of the new creation in Isaiah 65 is that it speaks of both the earthly present power of God to recreate the human soul And it also speaks of a heavenly future where God perfects all that he has been working in the souls of his children. Now, I also regard 2 Peter chapter 3 as speaking of the final eternal state not the present state of the church this time where everything is dissolved and so there there are three major views of the language of the new creation one it takes place in the Millennium two it takes place at the second coming, when there's a new physical heaven and earth.

And three, it takes place at first as a result of the resurrection of Christ. And then finally, it's experienced in its perfected state in heaven. So therefore, it is both earthly and heavenly. It is first earthly, which forms a shadow and a type of the heavenly, which is finally fulfilled at the second coming. Now, we should recognize that the New Testament teaches that every Christian is a new creation and that new creation began with the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Let me give you some examples of this. In 2 Corinthians 5 verse 17, it's clear that salvation in Christ makes the sinner a new creation. And that's why we read, Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new.

Secondly, in Galatians chapter 6 verse 15, the apostle Paul declares that Christ's work is not demonstrated in small imperfect things like circumcision, but rather a new creation. Where he says, for in Christ, Jesus, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation. And that new creation is the recreation of a person a person who's been redeemed and renewed and born again In Ephesians chapter 2 verse 10 the Christian is a work in which God creates for good works. The Christians whole life is a work of creation that comes about through the power of Jesus Christ And what does he create? He creates good works.

And that's why we read in Ephesians 2 verse 10, for we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. So God comes to us and he recreates us for good works. He changes the whole direction of our lives. A fourth example is in Ephesians 4, 24, where the Christian is a new man, which was created according to God. And what you see in Ephesians chapter 4 is that this new creation changes everything, and it demonstrates itself in massive changes in his life.

He speaks of this in Ephesians 4, beginning of verse 23, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God in true righteousness and holiness. Therefore putting away lying let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor for we are members of one another. Be angry and do not sin. Do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil. Let him who steals, steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need.

Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice, and be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ Jesus has forgiven you. This is a picture of the new man. You know you think of all how all of these things have been confronted in your life since you became a Christian.

All the bitterness, the wrath, the evil speaking. God says no I'm creating a new man. The Old Testament speaks of this as well in Ezekiel 36. God tells us that his work in us is a heart transplant that makes everything new. He says in verse 26 of Ezekiel 36, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you.

I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a new heart of flesh. I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and you will keep my judgments and do them. Further in Ezekiel chapter 37 verses 1 through 14 you find a very similar idea of the new creation in the valley of the dry bones, where in this valley these dry bones snap to life. And you see this progressive raising up of new bodies. And it's a picture of salvation, that You stop using your body the old way and it comes alive and you present your body to different things and everything changes as a result of that new creation.

Now what Isaiah is saying is that newness is central to everything of the kingdom of God and particularly the work of Jesus Christ. And there are so many ways that you see this. There's a new kingdom. Jesus says my kingdom is not of this world. There's a new foundation where Jesus Christ is the chief cornerstone.

There's a new temple where the body of the believer and the body of Christ itself is the temple. There's a new community which is the body of Christ. There's a new city which is new Jerusalem which is established on earth as the church and someday will come out of heaven for its final perfection. In Colossians chapter 3 verses 1 through 13 we see that Christ makes a new man. He says, Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth, fornication, passion, evil desire, and covetousness which is idolatry." And he says here that in verse 10, we have put on the new man who is being renewed in the knowledge according to the image of him who created him.

In John 4 we learn that a believer must become new by being born again. This is a picture of salvation and this is why we believe it's proper to say that at least one part of the new creation is earthly and temporal. It happens in a person's life. It's seen in the way that the church operates together. There's a newness of relationships and methodologies and everything about the Church of Jesus Christ.

Now, the New Testament also speaks of a new and perfect creation in heaven. And you find this in Revelation chapter 21 verses 1 through 5 where John says now I saw a new heaven and a new earth for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away and there was no more sea. Now some have had interpreted this as being literal and future, reflective of the eternal state, and some have said that it is rather figurative, and he's speaking of that newness on the earth. But I want to submit that God, you know, in this passage most likely is speaking of the final perfected creation. But I believe Isaiah is quite likely speaking of both of these things.

He's speaking of what is experienced as a result of repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. But he's also giving reference to the final state as well. And then the second thing that we see here after this new creation is declared is that you see a people who are rejoicing and a people who are a joy verse 18 but be glad and rejoice forever in what I create for behold I create Jerusalem as a rejoicing and her people a joy now there are a few things to to pay attention to in verse 18 first of all notice the imperative the command but be glad and rejoice forever This is the appeal of God to his people to be glad. Now, sometimes you need someone to command you to be glad in order to shake you out of your self-pity. And I believe that's part of the function of this verse.

And so this command, but be glad and rejoice forever. And why? Well the answer is embedded in the verse because of what God is doing in his city. It's a city of rejoicing. And her people are a joy.

Those are the two things that we should see here, is that you have people that are rejoicing. Their whole disposition toward life and their problems has changed. And then you also have people who are a joy. Those two different things. And the Apostle Paul gives an illustration of how people are a joy.

In Romans 10, we read, how lovely on the mountains are the feet of them that bring good news. What the Apostle Paul is saying is that those who belong to Christ, they see the messengers of the gospel as lovely. They rejoice in them and in the message. And there is this test of rejoicing that I think is set before us. Do you rejoice in those who bring news?

If you don't, you've most likely not experienced true salvation. The gospel is good news. And it's a joy to see the feet of those who bear that good news. And a question that we should ask is, Are the feet of them that bear good news a cause of rejoicing in me? Is this the effect that that good news has on me?

I want to suggest that the joy of the Lord is one of the tests of salvation. And you should ask, do you rejoice in the feet who bring good news? Is that you? Is that me? Is that our church?

Is that what our church is known for. You know, the woman who lost her coin and finally found it, she said, rejoice with me. Rejoice with me, for I have found. This is the whole matter of joy. John, the apostle, speaks of this matter of joy over and over again.

In John 16 verse 22, he says that no one can take away your joy. On the day of Pentecost, Some thought that the disciples were drunk with sweet wine, but they weren't drunk. They were rejoicing. In this sense, your Christianity always shows itself on your face. And in Acts chapter 2, We read that the people were amazed and they were perplexed, but they thought the disciples were drunk.

But the truth is they were joyful, even though it was the third hour of the day. In Acts chapter 2 verse 42, we see that those who were saved and brought together in the church were filled with joy and they broke bread together with gladness and sincerity and heart and they continued steadfastly in the Apostles doctrine and fellowship and the breaking of bread and in prayers. In Acts chapter 3 verse 6, we observe a man at the beautiful gate and he's putting on a display what Isaiah is prophesying about right here in Isaiah 65. He receives the gospel and he goes walking and leaping and praising God. And all the people saw him walking and leaping and praising God.

In Acts chapter 5 verses 40 through 42 we read that the chief priests were beating the apostles and commanding them to stop preaching Jesus and what was their response? They were rejoicing even though they'd been abused in Acts chapter 5 verse 41 we read So they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name. So it wasn't their circumstances that made him rejoicing. It was their Savior that made them rejoice. Because in the Christian life, rejoicing is not dependent upon circumstances.

It's far deeper. It's fueled by something far more profound than just the things that are happening around you. You know, in Acts chapter 8, after Philip baptized the Ethiopian eunuch, the Bible says that that man went away rejoicing. He was demonstrating what the Lord is speaking in Isaiah 65. And then we read immediately after that that Philip was transported to the Samaritan city of Azotus and he begins preaching the gospel there and the converts filled the city with joy And the entire city was rejoicing.

In Acts chapter 16 verse 34 we find another manifestation of this where the Philippian jailer believed in the gospel. And what was the first thing that you notice about him? Well, he rejoiced with all of his household, having believed in God. So you see this all over the Bible. In 1 Thessalonians chapter 1 verse 6 you read of a church that received the gospel with joy in the Holy Spirit.

The Apostle Paul says to the Thessalonians, For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit, and in much assurance as you know what kind of men we were for your sake and you became followers of us and the Lord having received the word in much affliction with joy of the Holy Spirit and what was the result? Well they became examples to all in Macedonia and Achaia. Well, it's joy that distinguishes the formalist from the faithful son who's happy to do the will of his father. Joy distinguishes between the intellectual theorist who believes all the doctrines and can coldly communicate them, compared to the one who's transformed, whose heart has been made happy. And so this is the question, are we rejoicing?

Do you rejoice in the feet of them that bring good news? It's a kind of a test of salvation. And so when you came to hear the Word of God, did your heart say, how lovely on the mountains of the feet of them who bring good news? Did you say I was glad when they said unto me let us go into the house of the Lord? Or is it more of a ho hum and glum, gloomily disciplined about the whole gathering?

Is that what it is? Well, the Bible makes it very clear that one of the chief manifestations of the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ is joy. Now where does the joy come from? I would like to suggest that it comes from a very unexpected place. It comes from a number of things, But it comes chiefly from an acknowledgement of sin.

You must know of your true condition before you can find joy. The woman who poured perfume over Jesus' feet, She was overcome by her sense of sin. She had been forgiven much and as a result she loved much. And the heights of joy are created when we grasp the depths of sin. Joy comes because we recognize our hopelessness and the sufficiency of the love of Jesus Christ and his shed blood on the cross to cleanse us from all of unrighteousness.

So the joy that Isaiah is speaking about is not a shallow joy. It's a deep and abiding joy that comes out of a very deep well. They are the wells of salvation. And so the joy of a Christian is manifested in the person who has seen the work of the devil in his own heart and he renounces the devil and he follows the good shepherd. And so The Lord is speaking here of a particular kind of joy.

It is true and abiding and deep joy, but it's also a sober joy based on facts, facts of human nature, facts of your own life and your need. It's not simply based on fleeting emotions. The devil's joy is always shallow, it's trivial, it's short lived, But the immediate impact of God's new creation is joy. And the question is, you know, why did God send his son into the world? And the answer is that he sent his son into the world to create joy.

And this is why when Jesus' birth was announced to the shepherds, what did they say? They said they had a message of joy. Behold I bring you glad tidings of great joy which shall be to all the people. Or why did Jesus Christ himself speak so many words? Why did he open his mouth?

Why did he even come? Why is it that he said so many things that if all the libraries in the world contain them, they couldn't contain them. John 1511 answers that question in a way that's very consistent with Isaiah's prophecy. He says these things I have spoken to you that my joy may remain in you and that your joy may be full. In 1 John 1, 4, John declares the same thing about what he wrote.

He says, And these things we write to you, that your joy may be full. In John chapter 17 verse 13, Jesus told his disciples that he spoke for a very specific reason. Not to make you successful or promote you, but rather to increase your joy. He says, but now I come to you and these things I speak in the world that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. What did the Apostle Paul tell the Roman Church he was trying to accomplish?

In Romans 15 verse 13 he tells them of his objective. Now may the God of hope fill you all with joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. In Psalm 1611, David declares why he desires to be in the presence of God. You will show me the path of life. In your presence is fullness of joy.

At your right hand are pleasures forevermore. In Psalm 30 verse 5, David tells us that with the Lord there is always a rising sun of joy in the morning to look forward to. He says, sing praise to the Lord, you his saints, and give thanks at the remembrance of his name. For his anger is but for a moment, his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may endure for night, but joy comes in the morning.

In Psalm 89 verses 15 and 16, the psalmist declares how good it is to hear from God. He calls it the joyful sound. Blessed are the people who know the joyful sound. They walk, O Lord, in the light of your countenance. In your name they rejoice all day long, and in your righteousness they are exalted.

In Psalm 132 verse 16, David declares that God's clothing of salvation will result in his people shouting for joy He says I will I will also clothe her priests with salvation and her saints shall shout aloud For joy in Romans 14 verse 17. We learned that the kingdom of God is marked by a prominent and emotional relational feature, peace and joy, for the kingdom of God is not in eating or drinking but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. The key matter in understanding what the Lord is saying about his church during the time of Jesus Christ's power is that the church is an institution of holy happiness. It's a happiness that comes from the Lord and this is why the Lord Jesus Christ was the happiest of all disciples. In Hebrews 1 verses 8 and 9 we read what the Lord says to his son, he says, your throne, O God, is forever.

A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness. Therefore, God your God has anointed you with the oil of gladness more than all your companions. Jesus Christ was the happiest of all the disciples. He made his disciples happy.

Can you imagine what a joy it would have been to walk with Jesus Christ in all of his happiness? You know, all fathers and mothers and children should desire the happiness of Jesus Christ to be such a source of inspiration and happiness to the people around them. But Jesus Christ was the happiest of all the disciples. Why? Because he loved righteousness and he hated lawlessness.

There are conditions for joy in the Bible. If you would want joy inexpressible then you would first love righteousness and hate lawlessness. And this is what God does in his kingdom. David spoke of it in Psalm 30 verse 11, you have turned for me my mourning into dancing, you have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness. And we should not forget also that Isaiah himself has spoken of everlasting joy three times in his prophecy at least.

And so The Lord makes it very clear that if you believe in Him, you will rejoice even though you don't see Him. As Peter said in 1 Peter 1, 8, though you do not see Him, you believe in Him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy. For you are receiving the goal of your faith the salvation of your souls concerning this salvation the prophets who spoke of the grace that was to come to you searched intently and with the greatest care trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. Isaiah is speaking of the exact same thing that Peter is speaking of, where there's an outpouring of joy inexpressible that characterizes believers. And so there's great joy in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

You know, people in the world think that Christianity is a big downer. You know, they say that Christians are bigoted. They claim that it makes you narrow-minded. They say that Christianity makes you miserable and you have to reject every delightful thing, that you miss out on all the best things in life you're always having to say no they say that you know Christians you know are homophobic and transphobic and funphobic and so well you know why should the world listen to us at all well the Lord tells us that one of our greatest testimonies is our joy. Why should the world listen to us?

Well, they should hear the joyful sound from our lips. And often what happens to us is that our witnessing, we often think is it's just dependent upon our study. It's just dependent upon getting our arguments right. It's dependent on getting the presentation correct. Instead of a joyful person, you know we often give stiff and very formulaic presentations of the gospel because we've forgotten that one of our chief duties in the world is to declare the joy that's found in Jesus Christ.

And I wonder if we would spend more time with people rather than just trying to give them a message that we might be more successful in communicating the joy of the kingdom of heaven. And we have to make sure that our declarations are not devoid of celebration, that our preaching is absent of the message of the happiness of Jesus Christ. You know, often even a doctrinally accurate message can mislead if it is delivered with harshness, if it's delivered with lack of sensitivity to that person that's there. But The Lord says that one of the chief manifestations of the Gospel is joy. Of His fullness we have all received, grace for grace.

That's what it says of the Lord Jesus Christ in John 1 verse 16. Now the world is always panting after joy. It wants to find every possible reason to increase its joy. I heard Lloyd-Jones say one time that the fake joy of the world is exposed by how it is attained. He says that when you have to pay to be happy, then you're testifying that you'll never find happiness.

The world wants to pay for its happinesses. There's so many ways that you can pay for it. But if you have to pay for your happiness, you will never have true happiness. If you have to move somewhere or get something or do something in order to be happy, You'll never be truly happy. You'll never have the joy of the Lord because the joy of the Lord is a strength that wells up from the wells of salvation.

It doesn't come from outward experiences. You know, don't look to your next game or your next film for joy. There's nothing there. But the Lord does give deep and abiding joy. But joy is always a byproduct.

It is one of the most fundamental effects of the gospel working in a person's life. And this is why the words that you hear when you enter into glory will be like the words that one man heard, enter into the joy of your master. Now I just want to conclude this section of joy with this statement Christianity is a religion of joy from beginning to end. From the beginning as the Father and the Son were rejoicing in their creative work, it's recorded in Proverbs chapter 8, to the very end where you hear, enter into the joy of your master. Christianity is a religion of joy.

And then thirdly, God rejoices over his people. Verse 19, I will rejoice in Jerusalem and joy in my people. And so here we find not only is there joy in the heart of the believer, and not only does that believer have joy in other believers, God rejoices over his people. Now we've already been taught this truth about God in Isaiah 62 where we learn that He delights in his church and the Gentiles see this and he says, You shall be called by a new name which the mouth of the Lord will name. And you shall also be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord and a royal diadem in the hand of your God, you shall no longer be termed forsaken, nor shall your land any more be termed desolate.

But you shall be called Hepsaba and your land Beulah, for the Lord delights in you, and your land shall be married. For as a young man marries a virgin, so shall your sons marry you. And as a bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you." God rejoices over his church in the same way that a bridegroom rejoices over his bride. Now Deborah and I have just yesterday celebrated our 34th wedding anniversary and I have been doing nothing but rejoicing in the bride that God gave me. We've been married 34 years, my parents have been married 68 years, twice the number of years.

So maybe we're only halfway through, But my heart rejoices in my wife that God gave me. And perhaps God has given me such a remembrance to help me to see the love of God toward me. If God feels anything like, If God feels anything toward me like I feel toward my wife, Deborah, I should be so encouraged, I should be so heartened because of his love for me, because of his delight in me. The Lord declares this in many ways in the Bible. In Zephaniah chapter 3 verse 17, we read this in verse 17, the Lord your God in your midst, the mighty one will save.

He will rejoice over you with gladness. He will quiet you with his love. He will rejoice over you with gladness. He will quiet you with his love. He will rejoice over you with singing." And then he speaks about how he'll bless his people, that he rejoices over his people with singing.

Can you imagine that? I mean, the Lord's singing over you. The Bible says that the Lord sings over his people. And somehow, as you go through your day, and even today, you have to grasp the meaning of that. What does it mean that God would do such a thing?

How would he rejoice over you with singing? He's not rejoicing over a perfect church. He's not rejoicing over a people who never had any sins that beset them. And yet, his patience for the church, his love for the church is not impeded by their sin. And for some reason these things do not dampen his joy toward his church and I think that that should help us understand how we should think of one another even in the midst of our own failures, our own weaknesses, our own sins, the way that we, the ways that we stray.

God is patient. We should be patient with one another as well. And that's not to say that we should not speak the truth in love. That's not to say we should not help one another with the sins that we see. But there's this underlying attitude of God toward his church that we should have too.

We should love the church as Jesus Christ has loved the church and gave himself up for her. Now notice in this passage how he speaks of his church. He calls them my people. They're my people. He's very possessive of his people.

They are His. He owns them. They are His inheritance as we will read later. But God treasures His people and He views His church as His treasure and He describes it in many ways in the Bible. And one of the ways he describes it is by speaking of his inheritance.

In Ephesians chapter 1 verse 18, we learn that the Lord wants us to grasp the fact that you may know what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints. Now, he is the one who is inheriting and what is he inheriting? He is inheriting the saints and this whole idea of inheritance is in scripture And Israel is God's inheritance. The people of God, the Church, are the inheritance of God Himself. You can read of this in Isaiah 19 verse 25 or Psalm 2 verse 8 or Hebrews 9 15.

God's people are his inheritance. Deuteronomy 32 verse 8 speaks of it. Psalm 33 verse 12 we learn that His people are His inheritance. Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people He has chosen as His own inheritance. And then later on in the chapter in verse 21, He says, for our hearts shall rejoice in him because we have trusted in his holy name.

Now how does it happen? How do sinners become an inheritance? And simply it is because they are accepted into the beloved. Paul says in Ephesians 1 verse 3 blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places just as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and without blame before him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to himself. And then in verse 6 he says, to the praise of the glory of his grace by which he made us accepted in the beloved.

And so we are accepted in the beloved. And who is the beloved? The beloved is Jesus Christ, the Son of God. At Christ's baptism, His Father said, this is my beloved Son, in whom I'm well pleased. On the Mount of Transfiguration, God the Father said, this is my beloved Son.

Hear Him. The Son who is in the bosom of the Father is experiencing the glory of the love of his Father. And we are brought into that fellowship of love. We are loved by God in the same way that the Son is loved by God. We have been brought into the beloved.

Because Christ is the beloved of God, so Christians are the beloved of God. And so we can say the same thing that Solomon said, I am my beloveds and he is mine. And so the Lord speaks of the greatness of his love and in Ephesians chapter three, he speaks of the width and the length and the depth and the height of God's love. And this is something that we as a church should understand, the love of God, how wide, how long, how high, how deep it is to know the love of God. You know, I can't think of anything that would fuel the happiness of a church than an understanding of the love of God for His people.

We as a church need to understand the greatness of God's love for us. The apostle Paul prays that the Ephesian church would understand it. Now this joy, this love of God creates a mindset that brings us to our fourth and final point in this message. And that is this, you forget your former troubles verse 19 the end of it he takes away your sorrow the voice of weeping shall no longer be heard in her nor the voice of crying Now this isn't to say that Christians will never weep again. We're actually commanded to weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice.

There are two kinds of weeping. Anyone who's been to the funerals of Christians and non-Christians and compared them understands how this works. The Christian weeps in the power of the Holy Spirit. It's not weeping and gnashing of teeth. It's weeping for the glory of God.

It's a strong and a steady and loving kind of weeping. But there's a heavy and hopeless and devastating kind of weeping. That's the kind of weeping that God takes away from his children. And I think this is the way it is with Christians. It's a trajectory in their lives.

As they grow in the Lord, their weeping changes. You used to weep for yourself all the time but now your heart is stirred to weep for others and finally when you enter into glory you will weep no more because everything will be right God and His love lifts the one who sorrows. He takes away the heavy burdens. He sets the prisoners free. He lifts the yoke of sin off of you.

And He places it upon his Son. And all our life long he teaches us to think about our past, and he tells us that our sins are as far as the east is from the west, that they are things of the past. The Apostle Paul said that he would forget the things which are behind, and he would reach forward to the things which are ahead. He says, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. And he says, therefore, let us, as many as are mature, have this mind, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal this to you.

He said that in Philippians chapter 3 verse 15. And the question is, have you been made new, first of all? Secondly, do you have the joy of the Lord in your heart? Thirdly, do you know the love of God that he delights in you? And has he taken away your sorrow and that's what this passage is saying these are pictures of the new creation they are all illustrations of what the Apostle Paul said if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation And he gives us these tests of joy and love and sorrow to help us understand who we really are, to help us to understand if we really had been rescued by Jesus Christ.

And also whether we are sinning and turning to fleshly things that would cause us to fall into a loss of joy, a loss of a sense of the love of God, a loss of the sense that our sorrows have been taken care of and that we no longer need to sorrow. So this passage is a great tool in the life of a church to help it to understand how it might find its joy, how it might find its way in the world, how it might have a reputation in the world, the joy of the Lord, the love of God, and the loss of sorrow. Behold your God who does all these things. Amen. Oh Lord, I pray you would pour your grace out upon us that we might know what is the height and the depth and the length and the width of your love and that we might be fit to declare it in the world to live it I pray Lord for this church that you would make it the happiest church I pray for these families that you would make them the happiest of families and that all of the individual hearts in here would be filled with the joy of Jesus Christ, making them the happiest people that anyone has ever met, like the Lord Jesus Christ himself.

Amen. Thanks for watching!