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JOY IN THE LOCAL CHURCH

by Dr. Kreighton L. Chan

A sermon preached at the Baptist Tabernacle of Los Angeles,
Saturday Evening, November 12, 2011

“I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord” (Psalm 122:1).


I know that many of you don’t understand the word “glad.” The Hebrew word translated as “glad” in the King James means “joyful” (Strong). David was always joyful when he went to the Tabernacle. It was the house of God in that dispensation. He always looked forward to worshipping and serving God there. David enjoyed being there with God. David said,

“Lord, I have loved the habitation of thy house, and the place where thine honour dwelleth” (Psalm 26:8).

David was really glad because he went there with his friends. They loved God the way he did. This made him very happy. He was glad to go into the house of the Lord.

In this dispensation the house of the Lord is the local church. The Bible says,

“The house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth” (I Timothy 3:15).

Like David, we are glad to come to church. Coming to church is very special. We experience many blessings here that make us happy. We all come together to worship God. We come for the preaching. We have fellowship together. We pray together. And we work for Christ together. All of these things make us glad and happy!

“I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord” (Psalm 122:1).

I. First, we have joy when we worship God.

Praising and worshipping God gives us joy, because He is “worthy to be praised.” And giving God the praise He deserves gives us joy! It is the right thing to do, and it feels right to do it!

The Westminster Shorter Catechism says, “Man’s chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.” When we praise and glorify God, we are doing what we are meant to do. And we are enjoying God! Our hearts are full of joy when we praise God.

All people have good reason to praise the Lord. As Christians, we especially have much to thank God for. We have been called out of the coldness of the world into the warm fellowship of the local church. And we have inherited many blessings through Christ our Saviour! The Psalmist siad, 

“The Lord hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad”
       (Psalm 126:3).

And the great things that God has done for us are completely undeserved. Our hearts are filled with gratitude and love for Him. His blessings bring joy to our souls. Our gladness overflows so that we want to tell everyone of the goodness of God! The Psalmist said,

“My soul shall make her boast in the Lord: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad” (Psalm 34:2).

Singing the great hymns of the faith thrills our souls! We love to boast about our God as we sing about Him. We love to praise and worship Him! The Psalmist said,

“Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name” (Psalm 103:1).

Our hearts are filled to the brim with God’s blessings! Oh then, let us bless and praise God with all of our hearts. Oh, let us go to church to worship God!

“I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord” (Psalm 122:1).

II. Second, we have joy when we hear the preaching.

The Book of Acts says,

“Daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ” (Acts 5:42).

Preaching was the main thing in the church at Jerusalem. And it is central in our church! We are glad that it is so! We love to hear the Gospel preached! We long to hear preaching of Christ and Him crucified.

Preaching is also important for the,

“Perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:11, 12).

Preaching will build you up and equip you for Christian service. We are glad to hear good Gospel preaching!

Like Jeremiah, we feast upon the preaching of the Word of God. It gives us strength and is a source of great gladness. Jeremiah said,

“Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart” (Jeremiah 15:16).

Many times I have heard our pastor preach and my soul has been blessed! It has strengthened my “inner man.” It has given me courage to press on for Christ!

And as we pay attention to the preaching, our souls feed on the richness of God’s Word. This brings great gladness.

“Hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness” (Isaiah 55:2).

How we delight in the preaching. How we enjoy great Gospel feasts!

Let us go to church to hear the preaching!

“I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord” (Psalm 122:1).

III. Third, we have joy when we are together in fellowship.

The Book of Acts says,

“And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart” (Acts 2:46).

What a wonderful time of fellowship we have in our church. We love one another. We try to win the lost together. And we love God together. And we are glad to be a part of it! Each time we depart, we look forward to returning again with great anticipation and joy. The Psalmist said,

“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” (Psalm 133:1).

The outside world is different from our church. There is very little love and kindness in the world. There are very few people that care about you. Our church is a refuge from that cold dead world. There is nothing in the world that compares to fellowship in our church! The Psalmist said, 

“For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness” (Psalm 84:10).

Oh, let us go to church for the fellowship!

IV. Fourth, we have joy in the prayers.

What joy fills our souls when we come together for united prayer. We all have the same desires. We want God to be glorified. We want Jesus to be lifted up. We want the Devil to be bound from hindering our work. We want the lost to be awakened and converted soon. We want to become more faithful and more like Christ. Our hearts and desires are knitted together in prayer. We encourage each other to pray through. We rejoice together when the answer comes. Our hearts are glad for it. In the Book of Acts,

“They continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers
       (Acts 2:42).

Let us also come to church to pray!

V. Fifth, we have joy in bringing lost souls into the church.

Psalm 100 says,

“Serve the Lord with gladness” (Psalm 100:2).

We are glad to serve God by winning souls. Our work for Him is a “labor of love.” We have been created in Christ to do the work of soul winning. He has given every true convert a new nature that wants to serve and love Him. He will strengthen us for the work. He gives us brothers and sisters to work alongside us. Soul winning done for Him is not wasted. He will reward us for our work. Oh, let us be glad for the work!

Let us make our church Heaven upon earth! Let us love our church more and more! Let us be glad for it. Hallelujah and Praise the Lord! Amen and Amen!

I know that the joy I have spoken about tonight has not been felt by some of you. You may say, “He is talking about joy in the church, but I don’t feel any joy.” If you have no joy in worshipping God, no joy in prayer, no joy in soul winning, no joy in fellowship – what do you think is the reason? I’ll tell you the reason. It’s because you have never been converted. You come to church out of habit, but you do not know Christ.

And I tell you now – you will never have Christian joy if you go on as you are. Never! Never! Never! You will live and you will die in sadness, without ever feeling the joy of a Christian. You will fall into the flames of Hell when you die, with no joy! No happiness! No hope for ever, and ever, and ever! Without Christ there can never be joy – never! Never! Never! Come to Christ or you will be lost for all eternity!

(END OF SERMON)
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THE OUTLINE OF

JOY IN THE LOCAL CHURCH

by Dr. Kreighton L. Chan

“I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord” (Psalm 122:1).

(Psalm 26:8; I Timothy 3:15)

I.   First, we have joy when we worship God, Psalm 126:3;
Psalm 34:2; Psalm 103:1.

II.  Second, we have joy when we hear the preaching,
Acts 5:42; Ephesians 4:11, 12; Jeremiah 15:16;
Isaiah 55:2.

III. Third, we have joy when we are together in fellowship,
Acts 2:46; Psalm 133:1; Psalm 84:10.

IV. Fourth, we have joy in the prayers, Acts 2:42.

V.  Fifth, we have joy in bringing lost souls into the church,
Psalm 100:2.