Newsletter/Article Index :   Daily Devotional

Date Posted	November 19, 2007
Article Title	Joy of Salvation
Posted By	Greg Richardson
Article Options	[e-Mail this Article]     [Print this Article]
Joy of Salvation 1 Peter 1:1 - 13 NASB Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who reside as aliens, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls. As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries, seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things into which angels long to look. Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ AW Tozer wrote “There are delights which the heart may enjoy in the awesome presence of God which cannot find expression in language; they belong to the unutterable element in Christian experience. Not many enjoy them because not many know that they can. The whole concept of ineffable worship has been lost to this generation of Christians.” It is true that the awesome presence of God is a delight of the heart that is inexpressible with words alone. For those who have experienced the ineffable living God in their lives can never express the joy they know when they are born again of the Holy Spirit. This uniquely Christian experience of the Living God Jesus Christ abiding within, is the Joy of Salvation, and it manifests itself in living hope. This living hope is not a hope of uncertainty, but a living-hope of joy. This living-hope is mysterious and wonderful, for it quenches all of life’s needs. As a third-century man was anticipating death, he penned these last words to a friend: "It's a bad world, an incredibly bad world. But I have discovered in the midst of it a quiet and holy people who have learned a great secret. They have found a joy, which is a thousand times better than any pleasure of our sinful life. They are despised and persecuted, but they care not. They are masters of their souls. They have overcome the world. These people are the Christians--and I am one of them." This man had the living hope: he lived, suffered and died all for inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven not only for him, but for all of those who are born again. Living by the Spirit of God is filled with countless joys. To hear God speak to you, to feel his presence as he wraps his mighty arms around you. To live with God is to have miracle after miracle be a normal part of your life. The supernatural is normal for the Christian and joy fills your existence. In Hebrews 12:22 – 24 these passages describe the heavenly city that awaits all of those who are born again. "But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands of angels gathered together with joy. You have come to the meeting of God’s firstborn children whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all people, and to the spirits of good people who have been made perfect. You have come to Jesus, the One who brought the new agreement from God to his people, and you have come to the sprinkled blood that has a better message than the blood of Abel." This ineffable joy jumps off the pages of scripture and can fill our heart with the same joy that the angels are living in. I can see in my heart the angels singing and dancing for joy because they are in the presence of the living God Jesus, and because of the blood of Christ spilled for us, those who call Jesus Lord are given an inheritance of eternal life, guaranteed by God himself. What a joy indeed to know beyond a doubt, that your eternity can forever be with the Lord God. As Christians trials are inevitable, and Peter penned by the power of the Holy Spirit, that our faith is tested with the fires of life. In 1 Peter 1 verses 6-7 it says, “In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ." The scripture this morning says that our faith needs to be proven when Jesus Christ is revealed to all men, at the glory of his second coming. What a joy there is in salvation. It happens often that some do not express the joy of salvation; it may seem that they do not know Jesus, or it may be that their concept of joyful worship has been forgotten in the church of today. It has come to pass that the ways to praise the Lord with joy have been lost from the church of today. AW Tozer said “There also seems to be a chilling fear of holy enthusiasm among the people of God. We try to tell how happy we are—but we remain so well controlled that there are very few waves of glory experienced in our midst.” As the American writer Robert Newton Anthony noted "Most people would rather be certain they're miserable, than risk being happy," however the status of being born again brings the joy of salvation, the living hope that by grace through faith we have the assurance of eternal life with Christ Jesus. Ruth Peterson met a young girl that was 6 years old on the beach near where she lived. Ruth would drive to this beach whenever the world began to close in on her. There she saw this little girl building a sand castle or something. The little girl looked up and Ruth noticed that her eyes were as blue as the sea. "Hello," the little girl said to her. Ruth answered with a nod, because she was not really in the mood to bother with a small child. "I'm building," she said. "I see that. What is it?" Ruth asked, not really caring. "Oh, I don't know. I just like the feel of the sand." That sounds good, Ruth thought, and slipped off her shoes. They watched as a sandpiper flew by. "Look that's joy," the child said. "It's what?" "It's joy. My mama says God gave us sandpipers to come and bring us joy." Ruth wasn't in the mood to hear about God as the bird went glissading down the beach. "Good-bye, joy," Wendy said, thank you God!" yeah, Ruth muttered to herself, "good-bye joy all right, hello pain," and turned to walk on. Ruth was depressed, her life was completely out of balance, and all she wanted was for God to bring some joy into her life, but this joy seemed to escape the grasp of Ruth. "What's your name?" She wouldn't give up. "Ruth," she answered. "I'm Mrs. Ruth Peterson." "Mine's Wendy." “Windy?” "Not windy, ...Wendy!, " Wednesday, she said very frustrated,"..no, Weeendy!!? And I'm six." , She giggled. "You're funny", she said. In spite of Ruth’s gloom she managed to laugh and continued to walk on. Wendy yelled to Ruth, "Come again, Mrs. P." She called out. "We'll have another joy day." Ruth thought to herself that joy was easy for Wendy, life is nothing more than playing in the sand and thinking that sandpipers are given to us by God for joy. Days and weeks that followed and most of Ruth’s time belonged to others: a group of unruly Boy Scouts gatherings, PTA meetings, and her ailing mother. But, Ruth would always take time to walk the beach and of course Wendy was always there. The sun was shining one morning as Ruth took her hands out of the dishwater, and thoughts of financial difficulties, her ill mother and a sense of hopelessness overwhelmed her and she said a bit sarcastically, "Lord I need a sand piper." So she gathering up her coat, and headed for the beach. The breeze was chilly, as she strode along, trying to recapture the serenity she needed, and once again she sought the Lord to somehow intervene. She would often think about the old story of the footprints in the sand, yet could not sense it. Ruth had forgotten about Wendy, and was so preoccupied with herself when she was startled by Wendy. "Hello, Mrs.. P," she said in a loud and cheerful voice. "Do you want to play?" "Do I what"? "Do you want to play something"? What do you have in mind?" she asked, with a twinge of annoyance. "I don't know, you pick" she said. "How about charades?" Ruth said sarcastically .... "parades?" she said, no charades" Ruth said frustratingly. The tinkling laughter burst forth again. "Your funny Mrs.. P, I don't know what that is lets just walk together".... "Great "..Looking at her, Ruth noticed the delicate fairness of her face, the innocence of one so fragile of life. "Where do you live?" Ruth asked. "Over there." She pointed toward a row of summer cottages. Ruth though that was very strange, who would rent at this time of the year? "Where do you go to school?" "I don't go to school". That's odd, she thought. "She chattered little-girl talk as they strolled up the beach. Out of nowhere, a sandpiper flew by in front of us, "look Mrs.. P. God sent us joy again... Uh, huh, sure, if inner joy were just that simple, her mind was on other things, and when Ruth left for home, Wendy said it was a joy day. Feeling some unexplained inner warmth, she smiled at her and said good-bye. A few weeks went by without going to the beach, but today, In a panic, Ruth rushed to the beach in a state of despair. She was in no mood for Wendy's optimism of life and sandpipers of joy. As I walked along the beach, angry at God, and filled with self pity and tears, she saw Wendy's mother on the cottage porch. Ruth felt like demanding she keep her child at home and to quit bothering her. "Look, if you don't mind," she thought crossly when Wendy ran up to her, "Hi Mrs.. P where have you been, I've missed you"?... Look, I'd rather be alone today if you don't mind." Ruth couldn't help notice that she seemed unusually pale and out of breath. "Why Mrs. P?" she asked. I turned on her and shouted, "Because my mother died! and no sandpiper can bring joy"----and she thought why was she saying this to a little child? "Oh," she said quietly, looking up at me with those big blue eyes. "then this is a bad day. huh, Mrs.. P"? "Yes, and yesterday and the day before that and----oh, Wendy, just go away!" but, she wouldn't she just stared up at me. "Did it hurt?" "Did what hurt?" she shouted, I was now exasperated with her, "When she died?" "Of course it hurt!" she snapped, wrapped up in herself. Then this beautiful little child took her hand and said “I am going to ask God to give you a sandpiper,” with tears in Ruth’s eyes and a heavy heart, she strode off. Grief and worries kept her from going to the beach for about a month, when one day still suffering in her loss Ruth realized that she needed to see Wendy’s cheerful face, though she would never admit to that. Wendy’s warm smile, and her stupid bird, she couldn't help but laugh to herself, this little girl was a pest, but.. what a bundle of joy. Her outlook on life and her little faith in God who brings joy to her in such an unusual way. But, Wendy wasn't there as she looked all around for her. Feeling guilty, ashamed and admitting to herself that she missed this bundle of joy, Ruth went up to the cottage after her walk and knocked at the door. A young woman with honey-colored hair opened the door. "Hello," She said. "I'm Ruth Peterson, your little girl and I walk the beach together and I missed her today and wondered where she was." "Oh, Mrs.. Peterson, yes, of course, please come in." "Wendy talked of you so much. She looked so forward to seeing you. I hope she didn't bother you?. "Oh no, not at all----she's a delightful child," She said, suddenly realizing that she actually meant it. "Where is she?" "Oh, I'm sorry, Wendy died last week, Mrs.. Peterson. She had leukemia. I'm sorry, I thought that she told you." In shock, she groped for a chair. Her breath caught and her knees weak..."No, I never knew"....... "She loved this beach"; her mother said, so when she asked to come and stay at the beach before she goes home to be with Jesus, we couldn't say no. She seemed so much better here and had a lot of what she called "God joy days". But the last few weeks she declined very rapidly...." Her voice faltered. "She talked of you often and was concerned about you and left something for you....Could you wait a moment while I get it?" She nodded as her heart pounded and her mind raced for something, anything, to say to this young mother, and now realizing just how much Wendy actually meant to her. "Here it is", she handed her a smeared envelope, with Mrs.. P printed in bold, childish letters with the "P" written backwards. Inside was a drawing in bright colored crayons----a yellow beach, a blue sea, and a brown bird. Underneath was carefully printed: A SANDPIPER TO BRING YOU JOY. Today Jesus offers you a sandpiper that does not fly away and that is His joy of salvation, and He offers this joy of salvation to all who call on his name…Call on the name of Jesus today.
© 2007 Open Bible Church of Streator • 404 Powell St., Streator, Illinois 61364 • Phone: 815.672.1751 •    Streator Open Bible Church    info@streatoropenbible.org    webmaster@streatoropenbible.org