Why So Sad?
I.
There
is no situation or circumstance in life where you have to yield to sorrow and
be sad
A. 1
Kings 21:1-Once you get born again you can no longer site your circumstances as
the reason your sad or sorrowful
1.
Ahab blames his circumstances for his sadness
2.
You’re not sad because of circumstances your
sad because you chose to yield to sorrow rather than resist it
B. John
16:22-Jesus has no given us joy that he proclaimed no man takes from you
1.
Versions
a. MSG-It
will be a joy that no one can rob from you
b. ERV-You
will have a joy that no one can take from you
2.
Jesus is proclaiming that when has been risen
we’ll have a joy no man can take
a. No
man-No one or nothing
3.
Your circumstances can’t take your joy unless
you allow them to
C. Isaiah
65:18-God created you to be joyful
1.
ERV-I
will make a Jerusalem that is full of joy, and I will make her people happy
II.
Proverbs
15:13-The first characteristic of the joyful is cheerful countenance
A. Versions
1.
MSG-A cheerful heart brings a smile to
your face
2.
CEB-A joyful heart brightens one’s face
3.
ERV-If you’re happy your face shows it
4.
ESV-A glad heart makes a cheerful face
5.
WYC-A joyful heart makes glad the face
B. If
you frowning (not smiling) all the time you need to cultivate joy
1.
Hebrews 1:9-Jesus walked in extreme joy and was
exceedingly glad
2.
Practice smiling, being bright-eyed
C. If
your face is long, your heart is not merry and if your heart is not merry it’s
because your heart’s Word level is low
1.
You get your heart full of the Word and you
won’t have to make yourself smile
III.
The
second characteristic of the joyful is they spend time in the Word of God
A. Scriptures
1.
Psalm 119:162-I rejoice at your Word, as one
that finds great spoil
2.
John 15:11-These things I’ve spoken unto you,
that my joy might remain in you and that your joy might be full
3.
1 John 1:4-And these things write we unto you,
that your joy may be full
4.
Jeremiah 15:16-ERV-Your
words came to me, and I ate them up. They made me very happy
B. Sadness,
sorrow, discouragement, depression is simply the result of a poor spiritual
diet; the remedy for sadness is the word of God
1.
They
key to having Jesus’ joy work actively in you and have your joy overflowing is
the Word of God; If you don’t hear what Jesus says you have avenue by which to
cultivate joy
2.
If
you don’t spend time with what’s been written in the Word your joy will be
lacking
C. Maybe the reason you’re
sad, heavy and sorrowful is because you don’t spend time in the Word of God
IV.
The
third characteristic of the joyful is they are doers of the Word of God
A. Scriptures
1.
Proverbs 29:18-He that keeps the law, happy is
he
a. CEB-Whoever
obeys instruction is happy
b. GW-Whoever
follow God’s teachings
c. NCV-But
those who obey what they have been taught are happy
2.
John 13:17-If you know these things, happy are
you if you do them
a. CEB-You
will be happy if you do them
b. PHIL-Once
you have realized these things you will find your happiness in doing them
B. Sadness
and sorrow is the result of not doing what the Word says
1.
The key to joy and happiness is to find out
what the Word says and do it
C. If
you are sorrowful is maybe you haven’t been doing what the Word says to do
1.
Maybe it’s because you are a hearer only and
not a doer
2.
Disobedience to the Word of God will cultivate
sadness and sorrow in your life; on the other hand if you’ll engage the Word of
God and do what it says it will promote, nurture, and develop joy in your life
a. Every
time you disobey the Word you’re applying a principle that is feeding sorrow
into your spirit
V.
The
fourth characteristic of the joyful is that they seek God-
A. Scriptures
1.
Psalm 70:4-Let all those that seek you rejoice
and be glad in you
2.
Psalm 40:16-NCV-Let those who follow you be
happy & glad; NIRV-Let all those who look to you be happy & glad
3.
Seek-Require,
desire
4.
Rejoice-Display
joy
5.
Glad-Brighten
up
B. The
less you require and desire God, the less joy you’ll display and the darker
you’ll be; the more you require and desire God the more joy you’ll display and
the brighter you’ll be
1.
Many people have no joy simply because they
aren’t seeking God
2.
To seek Him and stay depressed violates
spiritual law
3.
If you’re sad or sorrowful you couldn’t be that
way if you were seeking Him
C. If
you are sorrowful maybe it’s because you aren’t looking to God and following
Him
1.
The more you seek God and require Him and allow
Him to get involved in your life the more joy you’ll have
2.
The more you ignore Him, put Him on the back
burner, the more sorrowful you’ll be
VI.
The
fifth characteristic of the joyful is that they receive correction from God
A. Scriptures
1.
Job 5:17-Behold, Happy is the man who God
corrects
2.
Psalm 94:12 (AMP)-Blessed (happy,
fortunate, to be envied) is the man whom You discipline and instruct, O Lord,
and teach out of Your law
B. Your joy and happiness is
attached to correction that you receive from the Lord
1.
If
you reject the correction you miss out on the joy attached to it
2.
If
you get offended or allow your feelings to get hurt and reject the correction, your
life will be infected with sorrow
3.
When the Lord corrects you and tells you to
change and you don’t you’ll just applied a principle that will work sorrow into
your life
C. If
you are sorrowful maybe it’s because you are unteachable. Maybe it’s because when correction came
you rejected it.
VII.
The
six characteristic of the joyful is that they have their hope in God
A. Scriptures
1.
Psalm 146:5-Happy is he that has the God of
Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord His God
a. Hope-Expectation
2.
Isaiah 30:18-Blessed (happy,
fortunate, to be envied) are all those who [earnestly] wait for Him, who expect
and look and long for Him [for His victory, His favor, His love, His peace,
His joy, and His matchless, unbroken companionship]!
B. The
lower your expectation of God’s goodness in your life, the greater your sorrow
1.
Psalm 27:13-I had fainted unless I had believed
to see the goodness of the Lord
2.
So often people are so filled with sadness and
sorrow because they believe their situation is never going to change
3.
Expecting the goodness of God feeds your joy
and keeps your strong to continue
a. Hebrews
12-People are thinking about the victory enough and it costs them the joy and
strength needed to persevere during the fight of faith
C. Maybe
your sad and full of sorrow because your expectation is low
VIII.
The
seventh characteristic of the joyful is that they spend time with God
A. Scriptures
1.
Psalm 16:8-11-I have set the Lord always before
me: because he is at my right hand…therefore my heart is glad…In your presences
is fullness of joy
2.
NIRV-You always fill me with joy when I am with
you
3.
MSG-Day and night I'll stick with God; I've got a good thing going
and I'm not letting go. 9-10 I'm happy from the inside out, and from
the outside in, I'm firmly formed. You canceled my ticket to
hell— that's not my destination! 11 Now you've got my
feet on the life path, all radiant from the shining of your face. Ever since
you took my hand, I'm on the right way
B. If
you’re sorrowful you haven’t been spending time with God
1.
11-Many people are sad, sorrowful, and Heavy
because they’ve been spending time with wrong fellow
2.
Maybe you’re too busy like Martha to spend time
with Him in His Word so now you’re sorrowful like she was; notice Mary wasn’t
sorrowful and heavy-Luke 10:38
3.
If you unhook from the power company there’ll
be no power and if you unhook from the source of joy, there’ll be no joy
IX.
The
eighth characteristic of the joyful is that they walk in love
A. Scriptures
1.
Psalm 5:11-Let them also that love your name be
joyful in you
2.
Proverbs 14:21-He that despises his neighbor
sins; but he that has mercy on the poor, happy is he
3.
Matthew 11:6 (AMP)-Happy is he who take no
offense at me
4.
John 15:10-11- If ye keep my
commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s
commandments, and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you, that
my joy might remain in you, and that
your joy might be full.
B. The
joy you experience in life is directly connected to your love walk
1.
When you’re critical of people, hard on people,
and take offense you are applying principles that feed sadness and sorrow into
your spirit
2.
Where there is strife there is confusion and
every evil work including sadness & sorrow
X.
The
ninth characteristic of the joyful is that they fear God
A. Scriptures
1.
Psalm 112:1 (AMP)-Happy is the man who fears
the Lord
2.
Proverbs 28:14 (AMP)-Happy is the man who fears
the Lord at all times
B. To
fear God means that you:
1.
Honor Him-Value Him and His things more than
any other
2.
Respect Him-You love what He loves you what he
hates-Hebrews 1:9
3.
When we fail to respect God and honor him the
way we should it feeds sorrow into our lives
C. So
often people are so sad, sorrowful and heavy simply because they don’t fear God
XI.
The
tenth characteristic of the joyful is that they have the wisdom of God
A. Scriptures
1.
Proverbs 3:13-Happy is the man that finds
wisdom and gets understanding
2.
Proverbs 15:23-A man has joy by the answer of
his mouth
B. Joy
comes from the Word of God that you know and understand
1.
Spiritual ignorance and scriptural illiteracy
will bring sorrow
2.
If you’re in a situation and you don’t know
what to do you will be sad
a. If
you have no answer you have no joy
b. Unhappy
is the man that doesn’t have wisdom and gets no understanding
C. Maybe
your sorrowful because when it comes to the Word you don’t know anything
1.
The dumber you are (where the Word is
concerned) the sadder you’ll be
XII.
The
eleventh characteristic of the joyful is they mediate (give mind to) the Word
of God
A. Scriptures
1.
Psalm 104:34-My mediation of him shall be
sweet: I will be glad in the Lord
2.
GW-May my thoughts be
pleasing to Him. I will find joy in
the Lord.
B. There
is a connection between what you give your mind to and the joy you walk in
1.
If you’re sad, sorrowful, and heavy it’s clear
that you’ve been thinking on the wrong stuff and it’s entirely your fault
a. Thinking
on the wrong stuff will take your joy and drain your strength
2.
Habak
3:17-To walk in overflowing joy you have to chose to think on the right stuff
a. MSG-Though the cherry
trees don't blossom and the strawberries don't ripen, Though the apples
are worm-eaten and the wheat fields stunted, Though the sheep pens are sheepless and the cattle barns empty, I'm singing joyful
praise to God. I'm turning cartwheels of joy to my Savior God. Counting on
God's Rule to prevail, I take heart and gain strength. I run like a
deer. I feel like I'm king of the mountain
3.
Hebrews 12:3-If you are going to walk in
overflowing joy there are certain places you can’t let your mind go
a. MSG-Keep your eyes on Jesus,
who both began and finished this race we're in. Study how he did it. Because he
never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and
with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame,
whatever
b. ERV-He
suffered death on a cross. But he accepted the shame of the cross as if it were
nothing because of the joy he could see waiting for him
C. If
you start mediating on the evil report and how bad it looks you’re going to get
sad
1.
If you’re sad it’s clear the words you’ve been
giving your mind to are bad
2.
Proverbs 12:25-Heaviness in the heart makes it
stoop: but a good word makes it glad
XIII.
The
twelfth characteristic of the joyful is that they acknowledge the great things
God has done for them
A. Scriptures-Psalm
126:1-2
1.
KJ-When the Lord turned again the captivity of
Zion, we were like that that dream.
Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing:
then said they among the heathen, The Lord has done
great things for them. The Lord has
done great things for us: whereof we are glad!
2.
MSG-God was wonderful to us; we are one happy
people
B. People
who walk in joy are constantly acknowledging and thinking about how good God
has been to them
1.
People who are sad and sorrowful aren’t
thinking about how good God has been
a. EX:
Brother Keith’s dad going to Heaven
2.
If God has done great things for you, then you
are glad; When you walk around yielding to sadness and sorrow what you’re
saying with your sad attitude is that God has done nothing good for you
3.
Let’s think about how good he has been to you
a. Psalm 97:12-Rejoice in
the LORD, ye righteous; and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.
b. Psalm 106:7-Our fathers
understood not thy wonders in Egypt; they remembered not the multitude of thy
mercies; but provoked him at the sea,
even at the Red sea.
c. Numbers
14:1-And all the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and
the people wept that night.
XIV.
The
thirteenth characteristic of the joyful is that they endure
A. Scriptures
1.
James 1:12 (AMP)-Blessed
(happy) is the man who is patient under trial and stands up under temptation,
2.
James 5:11-Behold we count them happy which
endure
B. Joy
is found in persevering and enduring when it gets tough
1.
When you pass up on the opportunity to
preserver and continue you miss out on an opportunity to feed joy into your
spirit
2.
Persevering, continuing, and enduring feeds joy
directly into your spirit
3.
Joy is built into overcoming and victory and
winning
C. Maybe
your sad and sorrowful because when the going got tough you quit
1.
When you cave in, give up and quit under
pressure you’re applying a principle that feeds sorrow into your spirit
2.
Quitting grows sorrow, enduring grows joy
XV.
The
fourteenth characteristic of the joyful is they trust God
A. Scriptures
1.
Proverbs 16:20-Whoso trust in the Lord happy is
he
2.
Psalm 5:11-But let all those who put their
trust in you rejoice
3.
Psalm 33:21-For our heart shall rejoice in him
because we have trust in His holy name
4.
Psalm 13:5-I have trusted in your mercy; my
heart shall rejoice in your salvation
B. Joy
is an out flowing expression of your faith in God
1.
Those who aren’t trusting aren’t rejoicing;
Those who have no joy have no faith
2.
Sadness is sorrow makes it evident that you are
not believing God
3.
The reality is without faith joy has nothing to
flow out of
C. Uncertainty
and insecurity is the breeding ground of sorrow
1.
Trust means bold, secure, feel safe, carless;
Those who feel safe/secure rejoice
2.
Feeling safe and secure goes hand in hand with
joy while feeling unsafe, insecure, and uncertain goes hand in hand with
sadness and sorrow
a. When
you feel secure, safe, and are sure you’ll be bold, careless and full of joy
b. When
you feel insecure, unsafe, and unsure about how the situation is going to turn
out you’ll lack boldness, you’ll be full of care, and you’ll be sad, heavy,
& sorrowful
3.
Hannah was sad and heavy because she was unsure
she’d ever have a baby, but the moment she was certain it was going to happen
she was no more sad
D. Hebrews
10:34-36-Joy is going to flow out of your knower
1.
34-36-They took joyfully the spoiling of their
goods because the know something; They know if they don’t cast away their
confidence and be consistent, constant and never changing regardless of the
circumstances they’ll receive the reward and get the promise
2.
Joy doesn’t come from what you see or how you
feel it comes from what you know or the Word of God that you are certain about
a. My
joy is not based on what I’ve seen, heard, or believe from the Word, but on
what I KNOW from the Word
b. When
attacks come and trial comes ask yourself, WHAT DO I KNOW?;
Not what do I feel or what do I see, but WHAT DO I KNOW?
c. John
16:33-There will be affliction and persecution in the world, but this is what
you know; I have overcome the world and deprived it of power to harm you
3.
Certainty regarding the Word of God will be
your source of joy in times of adversity; The more certain you get, the more
joy will manifest
a. Genesis
15:1-18-Abraham asked God how can I be certain that I’m going to get what you
promised and in response God cut a blood covenant with Abraham
b. Romans
4:19-21-He was fully persuaded in faith and that’s why he still had his joy and
that’s why he was strong to fight and win
4.
Romans 10:17, Jer
15:16-Certainty about the Word comes from time spent in the Word of God
E. Maybe
you’re sorrowful and sad because you don’t trust God and maybe you don’t trust
God because you don’t spend time in His Word