“Rejoice, and be Exceeding Glad”

November 12    “Rejoice, and be Exceeding Glad”                    Matthew 5:12

Good morning from Pastor Glen Brock, Baptist Tabernacle Church, Wendell, North Carolina… “Rejoice and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.” (Matthew 5:12)

Do you remember singing this song: “I’ve got joy, joy, joy, joy down deep in my heart?” Can we really have JOY, in the face of this present age and the Anti-God atmosphere?  Can we REJOICE in the midst of all of this chaos and Evil?  How can Jesus expect us to be JOYFUL in this situation?  Here is the ANSWER!!  Real JOY is only possible when we have an active and growing personal relationship with JESUS CHRIST!  You see, Real JOY is a by-product of our growing Faith in the ONE that never fails and never Disappoints, and Promised that He would never Forsake us!  When our focus is on the One who has SAVED US and WILL SUSTAIN US, then, we can have JOY in any situation and any challenge!  Guess what?  True JOY is much more than “Earthly Pleasures!”  True JOY originates with Almighty God and is an expression of our Gratitude for His Love that Has Saved Us and Has Made Us Acceptable in HIS SIGHT!  We are going to have persecutions and trials and tribulation, however, as “Born-Again” Children of God, we are made “OVERCOMERS,” through HIS LOVE AND GRACE!  “These things I have spoken unto you, that in ME ye might have peace.  In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).  When we are in Christ and we belong to Him, then we are, also, OVERCOMERS, and that gives us the Power and Ability to REJOICE AND TO EXCEEDINGLY GLAD!  As Mama would tell me…”JUST DO IT!”  Stay Strong, Stay Focused….THE BEST IS YET TO BE!