Live Free with Josh Howerton - What Kills Our Joy // Psalm 103:12

Episode Date: December 6, 2024

There are a number of things that can kill our joy including resentment, regret, fear. If we struggle with any of these things, we can take them to the cross and lay them at the feet of Jesus. Because He is Lord and always on the throne, we can trust that He has a plan and is in control. Let go of the things robbing your joy and cling to Jesus, the only source of true and perfect joy.   For more information, visit lakepointe.church/dailydrive

Thanks for tuning in to today's Daily Drive with Lake Point Church, a daily dose of God's Word for your morning drive. When the word, not the world, becomes the majority of your week, your life will start to change. For that reason, our prayer is that God will speak to you through today's devotional. For more digital content to feed your faith, visit lakepoint.comit. Church slash daily drive. And now let's dive in to today's devotional. Well, hey guys, welcome to our daily drive. If we haven't met, my name is Carlos, and I get to be a part of the pastoral team here at Lake Point. Then we get to hang out for a few minutes every day as we dive into the Word of God.

And this week, we're talking about joy, happiness, gladness, how Jesus is good news that brings great joy. And we're going to wrap our week talking about three things that will kill your joy. And what we're going to do is we're going to discuss them very briefly. So we're going to dive right in. Number one, resentment. You cannot be joyful and resentful at the same time because when you are resentful, your heart is full of bitterness and anger

that has not been surrendered fully to Jesus. There's a popular theological, theoretically incorrect, but kind of funny story about a woman who died and she went to heaven and met St. Peter at the pearly gates. And when she got there, she asked him, hey, what do I have to do to enter heaven? St. Peter said, well, all you have to do is spell a word.

And she said, okay, what word? And he said, any word. And so after thinking about it, she chose the word love. And so she said, okay, let me, let me try it. L-O-V-E. And immediately, the gates were open for her. And Peter said, enter the joy of your master. And as soon as that happened, Peter said, hey, you know what,

stay right here. I will be right back. And if anybody comes, just tell them what I told you if they want to enter heaven. And as he left, her ex-husband showed up after having a heart attack. And the ex-husband asked this lady, hey, what do I need to do to enter heaven? And she said, well, all you have to do is spell a word. And then he asked her, what word do I need to spell? And after thinking about it for a long minute, she said, all you have to do is spell the word,

Czechoslovakia. Hey, if you follow Jesus, by the way, that's pretty funny. If you follow Jesus, Jesus invites you to bring your anger, your bitterness to him so that that can be nailed to his cross and that can be covered and paid for by his blood. And somebody might say, yeah, but I have actually been wounded. And that right there is the most significant thing that has ever happened to me. And if that's you, I'd say this. If you are a Christian, the most true significant thing about you is that somebody else was wounded for you. Jesus died on that cross in your place so that today you can be free from your pain, free from your bitterness and anger, and that you can find freedom in him. That's number one.

Number two, regret. Talking about things that are killing your joy. Number two is regret in the same way that you cannot be joyful and resentful at the same time. It is also true that you cannot be joyful and regretful at the same time. Now, resentment can be about the pain of what somebody else did to you. And in some cases, regret is about the pain of what you did to somebody else. And if today, maybe you're struggling with this, Jesus is inviting you to go back to the gospel, to go back to the good news of Jesus, how when Jesus died on that cross,

he actually knew your past, present, and future self. He knew all of your mistakes. He knew what you would do even before you did it. He knew you to the core of who you have been and who you are. And yet, he knew all those things. And yet he still died for you. He still gave his life for you. still said, I want that man. I want that woman. And I am willing to pay the highest price for us to be

together and for you to be a part of my family. He still loved you. And listen to this. What Jesus has started, he will finish. The Bible says in Psalm chapter 103, verse 12, that as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. And so whatever regret you might have today, Jesus is inviting you. Hey, come lay down, lay that down at the feet of the cross. That's regret. And last one.

Number three, things that will kill your joy. Number three is fear. You simply cannot have fear and joy at the same time. This is why when the angels show up to the shepherds in Luke 2, this is what they said. This is the verse that we've been reading all week. Luke chapter 2, verse 8 to 11, but the angel said to them, do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Did you see that switch?

Hey, don't be afraid. Here's good news that will bring you great joy. Verse 11 today in the town of David, a savior has been born to you. He is the Messiah, the Lord. Now, this is fascinating, because if you pay attention, Jesus is described in three ways by these angels. Jesus is a Savior, Jesus is Messiah, and Jesus is Lord. Now, lots of people have received Jesus as their Savior, but they have forgotten that He is also their Lord. Jesus said in John, chapter 16, verse 33, in this world, you will have afflictions, but take heart, I have overcome.

the world. I've heard it said this way, because Jesus is Lord and because he is always in the throne, you can be sure he's got a plan in your present. Whatever it is that is causing you fear, Jesus is greater. Jesus is faithful. Jesus is still Lord. So do not let resentment, regret, or fear rob you of the joy that God wants to give you in Christ today. Hey, thank you for joining us this week. I'm praying for you and we'll see you next time. Thanks for tuning in today. For more biblical teaching and worship,

join us for our church online live weekend services on Saturdays and Sundays. For more information about all the digital ministries of Lake Point, visit lakepoint.church slash daily drive. Also, if this podcast was helpful to you, would you be sure to rate, review, and share this podcast to help get the word out.