Amen, so we're there in Acts 20, and before I begin, of course, I wanna thank Pastor Jimenez for the opportunity to be able to preach. I'm always honored to preach up here, and I do appreciate that opportunity, so thank you, Pastor, for that. And so we're there in Acts chapter number 20, and in Acts 20, as we just read, we have the apostle Paul, he's traveling towards Jerusalem, and he calls for the elders of Ephesus to him to bid them farewell. Acts chapter 20, look at verse number 18. Notice what the Bible says. Acts 20, 18, it says, and when they were come to him, these, of course, are the elders of the church there in Ephesus, he, Paul, said unto them, ye know from the first day that I came into Asia, he says, after what manner I have been with you at all seasons. Like, he's reminding them, like, you know from the first day that I've been here that you've known me, you've known the manner or the custom or the habit that I've been with you at all seasons. And Paul goes on to highlight the hardships of his life in serving the Lord. In verse number 19, notice what he says. He says, Look, Paul tells them, he reminds them, look, he says, you know that I've served the Lord with all humility of mind. And he says, the way I've done that is with many tears. What is it? That's heartache and heartbreak. Serving the Lord with tears, the agony that Paul has had in his life. He says, notice, and temptations. Temptations are the trials and obstacles. Those are the difficulties in life that, yes, can come along with serving the Lord. And also he says, which befell me by the lying in wait of the Jews. What is that? That's the opposition. Because serving the Lord, look, there's gonna be opposition when you decide in your life to serve the Lord. And look, in your life, when you serve the Lord, look, there will be, yes, there will be tears, there will be temptations, hard times, difficulty. There will be people opposed to you wanting to serve the Lord. And in verse 22, skip verse 21, in verse 22, he goes on to say this. He says, and now notice, behold, He says, I go bound in the Spirit unto Jerusalem. And then he says, in verse 22, not knowing the things that shall befall me there, save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me. Think about Paul's testimony here to the elders there in Ephesus. He's like, you know the life that I have lived, the custom, the habit, that in my life, my life, looking back, has been one of tears, of trials, of obstacles, of temptations, where there's opposition, people against him. And yet Paul looks forward ahead in his life, ahead to the journey, and he says, and I'm looking ahead, he says, and I go forward, but he says, bound in the Spirit. And he says, look, not knowing the things that shall befall me, not knowing what lies ahead, the uncertainty of the future. But yet Paul knows this about his future. He says, save that. The Holy Ghost witnesseth, notice, in every city, saying that what? Saying that bonds and afflictions abide me. As he looks ahead in his life, Paul realizes, look, as I'm moving forward in life, look, I don't know what's going to happen. I don't know what the future holds. But one thing I do know is that anywhere I go, wherever I go, there's going to be opposition. Whatever I do in life, it's gonna be heartache. Whatever I do in life, going ahead, there's gonna be obstacles, trials, heartache, people against me that bonds and afflictions will abide me. And look, isn't it true that in your life and in my life, as we look back on our own personal lives, and yes, serving the Lord with all humility of mind, that we can look back, and even in our own personal lives, there's been heartache, hardships, trials, and yes, even opposition. And the truth is, as we sit here this morning, we look ahead in our own lives, and like Paul, we don't know what lies ahead, not knowing the things that shall befall me. But what do we do know? That we know this, that up ahead in life, there's gonna be more trials, more opposition, and more heartache. But notice the inner strength of this man, the Apostle Paul in verse 24. Notice what he says. He says, but none of these things move me. And that's a great testimony. And as Paul looks ahead, he looks, I know it's going to be hard. I know it's going to be difficult. Hard times will come. Be it the inner strength of this man, Paul, I say, look, none of these things are going to move me. I'm still going to serve the Lord. I'm still going to do what God wants me to do. I'm going to go ahead. And look, that's the testimony that you and I should have in our own personal lives. That yes, as you've served the Lord, there may have been trials, obstacles. But as you look ahead, realize, look, decide none of these things are going to move me. And yet despite the hard times, we see the Apostle Paul, he tells the elders there how he plans to finish his life. In verse 24, again, he says, but none of these things move me. He says, neither can I my life dear unto myself. And you know, what a great statement, that he's willing to not only live, but also to die for someone else. Neither can I my life dear unto myself. Notice what he says, so that I might finish my course with joy. Look, Paul is saying, look, I'm willing to go ahead, and I'm willing to live this life of serving the Lord, yes, when there's gonna be trials, obstacles, and hard times. But look, he says this, so that I might finish my course with joy. And look, when it comes to the Christian life, you know, Paul has something that, you know, we as God's people need. And it's a very short three-letter word, and it's a very simple concept, but that word is joy. And look, in life, you gotta decide that yes, life has been difficult in the past, maybe for you personally. And looking ahead, you don't know the things that shall befall you there. Looking ahead, look, there will be more hard times, more obstacles, more trials, but you should decide in life to finish your life, to finish your course where God has you in life with joy. And like, it's a simple concept, but look, some people honestly struggle with being happy in life. And maybe you know someone who, they're just never happy in life. But joy is something you should have as a Christian and decide to finish your life what God has given you with joy. You know, what is joy? Joy is a feeling of great pleasure and happiness. It's having fulfillment in life. And look, God wants you to serve him with joy. Either in Acts 20, keep it there in Acts chapter number 20. We go to Psalm 100 if you would, Psalm chapter number 100. Right in the center of the Bible is the book of Psalms. When you get to Psalms, keep your place there in Psalms. We're gonna be in that area of the Bible again. Go to Psalm 100. So this morning, you should be like the Apostle Paul and decide to do what? Number one, decide to finish your course. Decide to finish the Christian life. Decide to finish to complete the course that God has given you in life. Look, all of us, God has given us different areas in life to serve. For some of us, God has made us to be husbands. For some others, God has made you to be a wife. God has made you to be a boss, maybe to be an employee. maybe to serve in this church, serve in this ministry, to volunteer as a cleaner, to volunteer in the orchestra, to volunteer in any capacity in this church, to be an usher on the safety team. Look, wherever you find yourself serving, whatever course God has you on, look, God wants you to serve him with joy. Psalm 100, look at verse number two. Psalm 100, verse two, notice what the Bible says. It says, serve the Lord, notice, with gladness. You see, how does God want us to serve him wherever he finds us? He wants us to serve him with gladness. The Bible says, happy is that people that is in such case, happy is that people whose God is the Lord. And look, you may be someone this morning who struggles in your life. to find joy. Maybe in your life, like the Apostle Paul, you've had hard times, trials, temptations, opposition, people have gone against you. And as you look ahead, sometimes things may seem bleak and difficult and hard, but you have to decide to, number one, finish your course, finish your Christian life. But number two, decide to finish it with joy. So how do you finish your Christian life with joy? To finish your course, you must, to finish your course with joy, you must, number one, have the right perspective. Look, in life, you have to have the right perspective when it comes to joy. Keep place here in Psalm. Go to Ecclesiastes if you would. You have Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes. You have to have the right perspective when it comes to joy. Because look, there is a false perspective in the world. There's a false narrative in the world about what joy is and where joy comes from. And look, we live in a world where people are just, they want fulfillment deep down. Deep down, all of us wanna be happy, we wanna be fulfilled. But look, the world, and we can get caught up in this, the world wants to push joy in all the wrong places. So as God's people, look, to finish our course with joy, we must have the right perspective when it comes to joy. Because look, there is a false, a wrong perspective of joy. Ecclesiastes chapter number two. In Ecclesiastes, of course, we have Solomon, who at this time is the wisest man upon the face of the earth. And Solomon is a man who gave himself to seek after what? To seek after pleasure, to seek after joy, to live the life that the world would deem the dream life. Seeking a life of joy. Ecclesiastes chapter number two, look at verse number three, the Bible says this. Notice what Solomon says, he says, I sought in mine heart to give myself unto wine, yet acquainting mine heart with wisdom until I hold on folly, till I might see what was that good for the sons of men, which they should do under the heaven all the days of their life. I want you to understand, I sought my heart to give myself unto what? Unto wine. I'm like, isn't this the world that we live in today? That people give themselves unto wine and booze and alcohol? To drink their sorrows away, to bring in some joy in their life. But think about the effects of alcohol. You think alcohol actually makes you happy? No, I mean, yeah, here's a bottle and here's a little bit of liver disease too. Here's obesity, here's a heart attack, right? Here's a broken marriage, here's a broken relationship. There goes your relationship with your parents, with your kids, with your spouse. Yeah, here's some booze and go get fired at your job. Yeah, here's some booze on the weekend as you neglect your wife, you neglect your kids. And like people, homes are ruined because people seek for joy with what? With alcohol. And like people ruin their own lives. And look, as God's people realize, look, there's this false narrative, false perspective that like somehow booze brings you happiness. No, booze will bring you heartache and foolishness. You'll forget the law of God and you'll ruin your relationships. You'll get fired at your job. You'll be lazy and it makes you dumber. It's just like, you just ruin your life. So don't fall into this false perspective, like, man, if I could just drink some alcohol, why? It's just gonna ruin your life. But yet the world wants to deem this as, oh, this is just wise. You know, as God's people, you're so boring because you're sober. Well, you know what? We're so boring and we're sober, but you know, we're not going to the hospital, getting these DUIs, right, getting sick, killing ourselves, ruining relationships with alcohol. That's foolishness. There's a false perspective of joy. And we see Solomon, though, he's giving himself up to wine. But not just that, look, people also find fulfillment or they search for fulfillment through their work. Verse number four, he goes on, he says, I made me great works. I built in me houses. I planted me vineyards. I made me gardens and orchards. I planted trees and them of all kinds of fruits. I made me pools of water to water therein the wood that bringeth forth trees." You see, Solomon said, look, I've built all these great things. I've built houses. I've built vineyards. I've had the gardens and orchards. I've had the dream life that people want. And like, people search for joy in these things. But not just that, people search for joy in their position. In verse number seven, he goes on to say this, I got me servants and maidens. I had servants born in my house. Notice, also I had great possessions of great and small cattle above all that were in Jerusalem before me. And like, people think that their accomplishments, achievements, the things that they own and possess will bring them joy. And like, this just falls to it. Even Christians can fall into this. Where your goal is just to attain all this wealth. To attain a possession that somehow brings you joy in life. Verse number eight, he goes on and says, notice, I gathered me also silver and gold. and the peculiar treasure of kings and of the provinces. And of course, what does the world want to push? Well, of course, gathering silver and gold and money will somehow bring you joy in life. You could have money and still have a terrible marriage. You could have money and still have a terrible parenting. You can have money and still just be a lousy, rotten person that nobody likes. You can have money and be proudful and still be maybe a liar, habitually. See, money does not make you happy. But we think that somehow that happiness comes from the outside. That the works, that the houses, the orchards, the vineyards, the possessions, the silver and gold, that somehow that brings me joy in life. And notice he goes on to say, I gather me, in verse eight, I gather me also silver and gold and the peculiar treasure of kings and of the provinces. Notice, I get me men singers and women singers and the delights of the sons of men as musical instruments and that of all sorts. And of course, what does the world want to push? Oh, just music and parties and just listen to what you want, do whatever you want. Somehow that brings you joy in life. And in verse nine, notice what Solomon says. And of course, Solomon is being sarcastic here. In verse nine, he says, so I was great. and increased more than all that were before me in Jerusalem. Also my wisdom remained with me. And whatsoever mine eyes desired, I kept not from them. I withheld not my heart from any joy." And look, we read this and we think to ourselves, surely this man is happy. Surely this man, he could drink whatever he wants, he could own whatever he wants, gather all the money, whatever he wants, all the wealth. You think, surely this man is happy. But notice the result of Solomon, of his life, seeking for joy in all the wrong places. In verse 17, he says the famous words. He says, therefore, I hated life. Solomon gets to the end of living a life, pursuing the false, the wrong kind of joy in his life. And what he says is, look, I hated life. And mark it down, Christian, you and your life. Look, you will get to the end of your life seeking for joy, seeking for pleasure, but you could do it in all the wrong places. And when you do that, sadly, we can be like Solomon when we get to the end of our life, not finishing our course with joy. Getting to the end saying, look, therefore I hated life. Because joy is not found in these things. We can search for joy in all these wrong places. This is the narrative that the world wants to push. Think about the world. The world is not happy. Right, we have people just on, you know, and I'm not against you if you're on these medications or anything. Obviously, you know, we wanna help you. But look, people are actually taking medicine for like depression. People are, you look at homes and they're just angry and upset. There's no peace in their homes. There's no joy in their heart. Relationships are broken. Children and parents, their relationships are broken. You know, people are just not living the life that God wants them to live. They're miserable in life. The vast majority of people are. And yet, the world wants to tell us what joy is. But see, we ought not to follow this wrong perspective. See, to finish your course with joy, you must have the right perspective. Go over to 2 Timothy chapter number 3. 2 Timothy chapter number 3. And look, the world wants to give you the false perspective that you can't find joy in serving the Lord. And look, no doubt, serving the Lord is going to be difficult sometimes. Like the Apostle Paul. Look, there's been many heartaches, many tears, many trials, many oppositions. Looking ahead, Paul is saying, look, I know that up ahead I go bound in the Spirit, not knowing the things that shall befall me there. Save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, everywhere I go, hard times are gonna come. Difficulties are gonna come. But yet the world wants to give you this false perspective that you can't find joy in serving the Lord. You see, Paul is saying, look, I wanna finish my course. I'm not gonna give up. I wanna finish my course with joy. And I want you to notice in 2 Timothy 3, we have what we see is in our society today. 2 Timothy 3, look at verse number 1. As we read this, look, this describes the society that we live in today. 2 Timothy 3 and 1, the Bible says this. Notice what it says about men. And isn't that the society that we live in today, where men just love themselves and they want to exalt themselves? It says, men shall be lovers of their own selves. Then it says this, it says, notice, covetous. You know the world that we live in today, why they're so covetous is because they're discontent in life. Those things that they have, It can't make them happy. But their covetous, they need to have the bigger house. They need to have the nice fancy clothes. They need to have the money. They have to have the vacations. They have to have the wealth. They can't just drive any car. No, they have to have the nice car. And they're just coveting things, lusting after things to do what to make them happy. And we see the society we live in, they're selfish. They're discontent. Notice, it goes on, it says boasters. It says proud, blasphemers. Disobedient to parents. You think parents are happy with the way the world is producing kids today? This is unthankful, unholy. Look, a society that is unthankful is a society that's just unhappy. And think about it. The world wants to look down upon Christianity as if there's no joy. But I look at the world, I'm thinking to myself, you guys are miserable out there. A world of covetry, just loving your own selves, proud, disobedient to parents, unthankful, Verse three, without natural affection, truce breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good. Despisers, oh, they're so happy, yet they despise God's people, they despise the Word of God. Despisers of those that are good. Traitors, verse four, heady, high-minded. But then it says this, it says, notice, lovers of pleasures, more than lovers of God. You know, the society that we live in today, they're lovers of pleasure. They seek for joy. They love joy. They want to find pleasure and fulfillment and happiness more than they want to do what? More than they want to love God. And yet they exalt pleasure, they exalt doing what they want to do, drinking the alcohol, going to the parties, the music, not obeying the Bible, being proud, arrogant, covetous. We see that they love pleasure, but yet look at the society that we live in today. They're just disgruntled. They're selfish. They're discontent in life. They're disobedient. They're unthankful. They're not happy. They're just angry because they hate God's people. And this is the society that we live in today. And look, so as God's people, we should have the right perspective. You say, how can I finish my course of joy? Don't fall for the false perspective of joy, that joy is somehow out there in the world. And look, this joy can ruin your life. Because what does the world want? Well, Jesus said this. He said, the thief, which is the devil, cometh not before to steal and to kill and to destroy. You know, God wants you to be miserable. I'm sorry, the devil wants to be miserable. The thief cometh not before to steal and to kill and to destroy. He wants you to be miserable. He wants you to be unhappy in life. He wants you to live in sin so you can remain in bondage. And this is why the effects of sin are so detrimental in your life. Because look, sin will bring you sorrow in your life. And this is what the devil wants. But what does Jesus say? He said, I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. See, God wants you to live the abundant Christian life. God doesn't want you to be moping around and just discontent. Look, you could serve the Lord with gladness and be happy in your life. Go if you go to John 15, go to John chapter 15. See, the right perspective when it comes to joy is that true joy cannot be found in the world. You see, what will happen in my life if I'm the one who pursues the alcohol, who pursues the parties, who pursues doing what I want, living for the lust of the flesh, loving pleasure, more than loving God? You will get to the end of your life like Solomon saying, therefore, I hated life. Because look, when you live for yourself and you just do things for yourself, you're going to die and just be alone. But see, a life worth living is a life for living for someone else. See, Paul is saying, I count not my life dear unto myself. I'm willing to live and to die, not for myself, but for somebody else. And obviously, that's the Lord Jesus Christ. But see, to finish your course with joy, of course, you must have, number one, the right perspective. But to finish your course with joy, you must, number two, understand the privilege of joy. Look, you must understand the privilege, have the right perspective of joy. You know, what is that word privilege? The word privilege is an advantage that only one person or group of people have. Look, there is a privilege that you have as God's people when it comes to joy. What's that privilege with John 15, look at verse number nine, John 15, nine. John 15, verse nine, the Bible says this, Jesus said this in John 59. He said, as the father hath loved me, he says, so have I loved you. He says, continue ye in my love. He says, if you keep my commandments, you shall abide in my love, even as I have kept my father's commandments and abide in his love. Verse 11, notice what he says, these things have I spoken unto you. And then he says this, he says, notice, that my, that my what? He says that my joy might remain in you and that your joy might be full. I want you to notice here that Jesus Christ is saying, look, I've spoken unto you, verse 11, these things, the word of God, the word made flesh dwelling among us, speak in the word of God. Every time he opens his mouth, it's the word of God. I've spoken unto you the word of God. You say, why? He says, look, he says that my joy, the word my means it belongs to him. See, there's a certain joy that only Jesus has. He's saying that my joy might remain in you. and that, notice, and that your joy might be full. See, Jesus is saying, look, I've spoken unto you the word of God, I've given you the word, so that what? So you can have my joy inside of you, and so that your joy might be full. The word full means that as much as possible, that it's not lacking. You see, what's the privilege of joy? The privilege of joy is this, is that true joy is only from the Lord Jesus Christ. And he's saying, look, that my joy, my happiness, and look, that's what I want. If you ask me, hey, what kind of joy do you want? Do you want the joy of the world where they just neglect the Bible, they hate the Bible, they hate marriage, they hate kids, they wanna kill your babies, they want you to drink until you're dead, where the relationships are ruined? You want that joy or do you want the joy of the Lord? You know what, I'll take the joy of Jesus any day. I'll take the word of God. These things have already spoken unto you that my joy might remain in you and that your joy might be full. And I want that, that my joy might be full, but look, you can have that as well. that you could have the joy of Jesus inside of you. You're there in John 15, go to John 17, John chapter number 17. You see, what's the privilege of joy? And look, this is why the world, this is why, look, the world will never understand this. It's because, number one, they're not saved, which is why we need to give them the gospel, so their eyes can be open and enlightened, so that we can remove the veil from their mind and heart, and they can understand and have the Holy Spirit of God living inside of them. They don't understand this. And look, the world is constantly seeking for joy, which is why the world, they need to find fulfillment in the alcohol, fulfillment in the sports, fulfillment in the parties and the booze, fulfillment in the finances and the money. They're searching for fulfillment in life. Why? Because deep down they're empty. And that's why we need to give them the gospel. And they don't understand. You say, how can you serve the Lord and be happy? Well, there's a certain joy that can only come from Jesus. John 17, look at where Jesus said in verse number 13, here we have Jesus praying unto the Father. John 17, verse 13, notice. And now come I to thee. And these things I speak in the world. Again, the word. You see why? Notice that they might have, notice again, my joy fulfilled in themselves. You know God wants you to partake of his joy in you? And you gotta realize, look, there's only a joy that is available unto you, Christian. There's a privilege to joy. And realize that, like, it's not available to the unsaved until they get saved, of course. But there's a privilege when it comes to joy, and the privilege is that there's a joy that can only be found in the Lord Jesus Christ. Either in John 17, go to John 16 if you're with John chapter 16. John 16. John chapter 16. And look, there's many reasons in the world why we can feel depressed, miserable, in despair. And look, obviously sin can cause can cause you to be discouraged. The Bible says, grieve not the Holy Spirit until the day of redemption. We can grieve the Holy Spirit inside of us. And think about that. The word grief means to be sad. It means to be down. And look, if you find yourself as a Christian just not happy in the Christian life, you gotta realize, like, maybe you're just grieving the Holy Spirit a little too much. And I'm not saying that to kind of put you down, but I'm saying that, like, there's a problem if you just don't have the joy of the Lord in your heart. And the Bible says, look, you have not to grieve the Holy Spirit. But notice what Jesus said in John 16, verse 33. John 16, 33. Again, famous verse. Again, these things I have, what? I have spoken unto you. Notice that, that what? That in me you might have peace. Look, Jesus is saying, I've spoken unto you these things. Again, the Word of God, why? That in me, in Jesus, you might have what? You might have peace. And then he gives us promise here in verse 33 again. He says, in the world, notice, ye shall have tribulation. He's saying, look, in this world, Christian, you will go through hard times. You will go through tears, trials, temptations. You're gonna go through difficulties in life. As you look ahead, it's gonna be hard. Should we whine and mope and complain? But notice what he says. He says, but be of good cheer. Think about that. God, Jesus is saying, look, you're gonna have hard times in this world. Should you live a life just depressed and down and disgruntled and just not happy? No, he said, look, be of good cheer. He said, why? Because I have overcome the world. So there's a certain joy that can get you through anything. And like, while there's many reasons why we can feel down and depressed and, you know, having anxiety, look, we should have the peace of Jesus that passeth all understanding in our hearts. And Jesus said, look, be of good cheer. He said, why? Because I have overcome the world. And look, this joy, And obviously the world doesn't get this because, you know, they need the gospel to get saved. But look, this is a joy that cannot be taken from you as a Christian. You learn in John 16, like verse number 22, John 16, 22. Notice what he says again in verse 22 in John 16. And ye now therefore have sorrow. Of course, he's explaining the fact that he's going to die, and then he's of course going to resurrect. So they have sorrow because of the fact that Jesus is going to be gone from them. He says, ye now therefore have sorrow, but I will see you again. And your heart shall rejoice. And notice what he says. He says, and your joy no man taketh from you. That's a great statement. That your joy, that this joy, the joy from Jesus, cannot be taken from you. And don't we see this in the Apostle Paul, a man who was beaten, who was stoned, who was shipwrecked, who was forsaken, who's saying that, look, I've looked at my life. It's been a life of tears, of hardships, of trials, tribulations. As I look ahead in life, it's going to be difficult and trials and struggles. Yet there is a joy, Jesus said, which no man could take from you. And think about that in your life. You know, whatever hard times come to you in your life, there is a joy, there is a peace that this world cannot take from you no matter what. And so many Christians sell themselves short in the Christian life. They don't live a happy and fulfilled Christian life. They're disgruntled sometimes. Why? Because they miss out on this great privilege of joy, and they seek for it like it's somewhere out there in the world, and you're not gonna find it out there. It's not gonna bring fulfillment. And look, true joy can only come from the Lord Jesus Christ. He said, my joy might be fulfilled in you, and your joy no man taketh from you. So don't sell yourself short by missing out on this great privilege. The privilege that only a Christian has, that true joy, can come from the Lord Jesus Christ. Go through the psalm, actually go to 2 Corinthians 6, if you read 2 Corinthians 6. So Paul said, like, I want to finish my course with joy. How do you finish your life with joy? And, like, you may be somebody who struggles with being happy in life. But look, think about this, you know, especially if you're married. Look, if you're a husband, you know the last thing your wife and kids need? They don't need a dad who's just down and depressed all the time. They need to see a strong man who's happy serving the Lord. Same thing with, you know, for moms. You know what your kids don't need, mom? Is a mom who's just whining and complaining about raising their kids. They need a mom who's happy and strong serving the Lord. What this community needs, when we go out there knocking on doors, not to be some lame duck Jehovah's Witness who's just depressed because they're not saved. They need a Baptist who's happy and excited about the things of God. And look, in your life, just in general, look, having the right attitude, being happy in life will bring you just success in your life in general. People will like you better. People don't wanna be with someone who's just always down and depressed and in dumps. And obviously, look, we all go through hard times. But in general, in general, our life should be one of joy. We should be characterized as joyous people. You say, how do you finish your course of joy? Just have the right perspective. Realize, look, there's a false perspective of joy. Understand the privilege of joy like that there's a privilege that only you and I have. And number three, to finish your course with joy, you must be in the presence of joy. Don't turn there, but in Psalm 1611, the Bible says this. Just pay attention to this in Psalm 1611. It says, thou will show me the path of life. It says, in thy presence is fullness of joy. Think about that. In the presence of God is what? Is fullness of what? Of joy. Thou shalt show me the path of life, and thy presence is fullness of joy. At thy right hand there are pleasures forevermore. See, in the presence of God, there's joy forevermore. There's fullness of joy. And the truth is, Christian, is that you can have joy while going through difficulty in life. And this is sometimes what we need in life, to go through hard times. Because the Apostle Paul, he had this inner strength about himself, willing to go through difficulties. And I say, look, I'm not gonna quit, because I want to finish my course with joy, and being happy. And look, you and your life, you can go through hard times, through difficulty, with joy. 2 Corinthians 6, like verse number 10, notice what the Bible says. 2 Corinthians 6, 10. It says here, notice what Paul tells his children in Corinth. He says, as sorrowful, yet all the way rejoicing." You know, think about that. Like Paul tells the church in Corinth, like, you're as sorrowful, but yet you're all the way rejoicing. Enobot says, rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. And here he says, like, you're sorrowful, yet you're all the way rejoicing. See, in sorrow you can have joy in life. Notice what it says. It says, as poor, yet making many rich. And you think about that. He's saying, yeah, you're poor. And look, when Paul says poor, he's not talking about America poor. Because you know what? America poor still has a TV in their house. America poor still has air conditioning. America poor still has free food. America poor has enough to get by. They have a roof. They have clothes. They have a bed. They have food and rain. They should be content. When Paul says, as poor, Paul means third world, first century AD poor. This is poverty. You say, like, you're poor, but yet, yet you're making many rich. You're sorrowful, but yet they're always rejoicing. And look, and think about, and how, how selfish and foolish are we as Americans today? Because the truth is, we're so spoiled that we just, we just can't be happy in the Christian life. Because we don't have the TV, we don't have the car, we don't have the brands, we don't have whatever the world has to offer. We live a life so just depressed and just down, just disgruntled, unthankful, trying to find joy out there in the world. He's saying, look, these people are sorrowful, yet they're always rejoicing. There's always something to rejoice about. You say, I can't rejoice. Look, you're not gonna die and go to hell, praise the Lord. God has given you food and clothing, and God says, look, if you have food and clothing, guess what, you should be content in life. And what would that do for you in your personal life if you were somebody who was characterized as just being content, being happy? And here it says, look, as sorrowful, yet all rejoicing. As poor, yet making many rich. And then he says, notice, as having nothing, and yet possessing all things. You think these people are focused here on their possessions? Like you say, like you have nothing, but yet you act like you live like you possess all things. You're always sorrowful, but yet you're always rejoicing. As poor, yet making many rich. You think these people are focused here on their circumstances in life? And look, we ought not to be people who our circumstances, they change one day, they change another day. Our circumstances cause us to be joyous and happy, joyous and happy. Look, circumstances don't give you joy. They just reveal what's already there, as the pastor says. Because why? Because joy comes from within you. And if you're just a miserable person, you know, in the circumstances, it's because joy comes from the heart. And the circumstances don't reveal, they don't make you happy. They just reveal what's already in there. Be able to see the proper perspective. These people, they're sorrowful, yet they're always rejoicing. See, you can't have joy while going through difficulty. Go through to 1 Peter 1, 1 Peter 1. You're going to 1 Peter 1. That will show me the path of life. In thy presence is fullness of joy. See, to finish your course with joy, you must be in the presence of joy. And yes, you can have joy through difficulty. 1 Peter chapter 1. Notice what Peter says here in verse 6. 1 Peter 1 verse 6. The Bible says this. Wherein ye greatly rejoice. He says, when he greatly rejoiced, notice what it says. It says, though now for a season, if need be, he says, you are in heaviness through many full temptations. You know, think about that. Peter's saying, look, right now you're greatly rejoicing, yet though now for a season, though now in this season, in this time in your life, if need be, it says, you are in heaviness through many full temptations. He's saying, look, right now in this time in your life, you're going through a difficult time in your life. In this season of your life, you're going through hard times, but wherein you greatly rejoice. And look, you may be sitting here this morning, and you may legitimately be going through a difficulty in your life. Yet the Bible says there's always a reason to rejoice. Wherein you greatly rejoice. Verse number seven, he says that the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth. Notice what he says. He says, you rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory. Like you say, you read that, you think to yourself, man, are these people focused on their trials? Think about that. Here it says, here, it says, whom having not seen, ye love. You see, why can't I find joy in life? Because look, your joy will be wherever your heart is. And if your heart is in the mammon, if your heart is in the sin, if your heart is out there in the world in some possession, in some accomplishment, look, you will not be able to be happy in life. Here it says here, whom having not seen ye love and whom though now ye see him not yet believing. What's believing? That's your faith. And look, Paul is saying, look, right now you're greatly rejoicing, though now, if need be, you are in many full temptations. You go through a hard time. And then he follows up saying, look, that the trial of your faith. See, in your circumstances, you know what's being tried in your circumstances? It's your faith. And through that difficulty, God is saying, look, that the trying of your faith is, look, what does fire do? Fire just purges. Fire just reveals what's already there. How do you make a diamond? You purge a coal. Right, silver's tried by a furnace. See, fire tries your faith. Hard times try your faith. And when it comes to the difficulties and circumstances, here, these people are what? They're rejoicing with joy unspeakable and full of glory. See, the pulse of Paul is saying, look, none of these things move me, the hard times, the obstacles. I'm willing to, yeah, go ahead where there might be more difficulty, but I'm gonna finish my course with joy. And here, these people, they're greatly rejoicing. They'll now write, yes, they're going through a hard time in life. But yet there's always a reason to rejoice. See, you can't have joy while going through difficulty. You can't have joy while going through hard times through opposition. See, we see that to finish your course of joy, you must be in the presence of joy. Go through to 1 John 1, 1 John chapter 1. You say, where is joy? In thy presence is fullness of joy. And look, if you're struggling in here, with being a happy person and finding joy in life. We're saying this because we want to help you. You say, where is joy? Where is the presence of joy? 1 John 1, I want you to notice in verse number three, 1 John 1.3, notice what the Bible says this. It says, that which we have seen and heard, declare we unto you. And John says, as he also may have, I want you to notice this word. It says, fellowship with us. Notice again this word, our fellowship. is with the Father and with the Son, Jesus Christ. He said, look, I'm declaring these things unto you that you can have fellowship with us, John referring to himself, John the Beloved. And he says, truly our fellowship is with who? Is with the Father and with the Son, Jesus Christ. And in verse four he says this, and these things write we unto you, notice, that your joy may be full. You see, why I preach a sermon like this? Because look, these things, I'm trying to speak unto you that your joy may be full. And John is saying, like, these things have we written unto you, the Word of God, that your joy may be full. He's like, I want you to fellowship with us, so you can fellowship with the Father. You say, where is joy found? Joy is found when you fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ. He's like, I've written unto you these things so you can fellowship with us, and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with the Son Jesus Christ. And look, you can have joy in your life when you choose to be someone who focuses their attention, not on the world, on the pleasure, trying to find fulfillment and joy out there. But if you focused your life on walking with the Lord, fellowshipping with Him, in His presence is fullness of joy. 1 John 1, like verse number five, it goes on to say this. You say, how can I have fellowship? How can I have this joy in my life? This then is a message which we have heard of Him and declare unto you. Notice that God is light. and in him is no darkness at all. He's saying, look, I wrote unto you these things that your joy may be full, so that you can have fellowship with us, and with the Father, and with the Son, and so your joy can be full. But he's saying, this is the message, though. He's saying that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. He's saying, how can I fellowship, how can I find this joy? Well, it's found when you, Christian, when you walk in the light, as he is in the light. Verse number six, if we say that we have fellowship, again, fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not the truth." See, the key word to joy is what? It's fellowship. And if you struggle with being happy in the Christian life, I would ask you, who are you fellowshipping with? Because if you're in a fellowship with the Lord, in His presence is fullness of joy. These things have been written unto you that your joy may be full. Jesus said, I want you to have my joy and my joy, no man take it from you. So if you struggle with being happy in the Christian life, I would ask myself, who are you fellowshipping with? What do you allow yourself to look at? What do you allow yourself to listen to, to hear? What is influencing you in your life that makes you so miserable? Because look, if you just go online and just look at like, the houses and the clothes and the money, trying to covet those things. Look, those things are gonna make you miserable in life. You're gonna be discontent in life. You're gonna lose the joy of the Lord. If you got there thinking that somehow wealth and possessions, that joy is found in sin or in alcohol, like you're just gonna ruin your life. You see, how can I have joy in the Christian life? You find joy in the Christian life when you do what? When you walk in the light. When you walk in his word. Look, He said, look, the word that I've spoken unto you, I've spoken these things unto you, that your joy may be full. See, the word of God, when you walk in the commandments, it's gonna bring you joy in life. But if we say that we have fellowship with Him, and notice, and walk in darkness, and don't take heed to the Bible, don't take heed to the word of God. You see, why does the world hate Christianity? Look, the world hates Christianity because men love darkness rather than light. Why? Because their deeds are evil. They don't wanna come to the light. Why? Because the light's just gonna reprove them. And this is what the Word of God does. The Word of God is a light that lights upon the sin that just shows us the errors that we need to have fixed. And what should we do? Should we hide from the light, or should we walk in the light? Verse number seven, but if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, notice, we have fellowship one with another. You say, where does joy come from? It comes from this word fellowship. And if you legitimately struggle with joy in the Christian life, I would ask you, who are you fellowshipping with? And if you take your time, spend your time, spend your life fellowshipping with Jesus, look, there's no way he's not gonna give you his joy, because he wants you to have his joy. Don't turn to Ephesians 4, 24, the Bible says, and that you put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. You know the new man inside of you, the spiritual man, is after God created in these two things, it's created in righteousness and true holiness. We're not to grieve the Holy Spirit, We can have joy in our lives, but see this new man that is inside of you, he wants to live a life that is righteous, a life that is of true holiness, one that is separated, consecrated unto God. So yeah, how you live matters. So yeah, what you allow yourself to be influenced by, what you allow yourself to look at, what you allow yourself to listen to, what you allow yourself to just come into your body, guess what? Yeah, that matters in life. But if we choose to walk in the light as He is in the light, look, we can have the joy of the Lord within us. That our joy can be full, and look, this joy no man taketh from you. And think about that. There is a joy that is available unto you, Christian, that doesn't compare to what this world has to offer. You should want to have that joy. I mean, why wouldn't you want to have that joy? But you see, how is it done? It's done by when you walk in the light. See, your walk with the Lord, Christian, is paramount for your happiness. You see, I'm not happy in the Christian life. Well then, focus on your walk with God. Because look, what you allow in your life does affect you. Where you are in life, where you're fellowshipping, does affect you. See, where's the presence of joy? It's found in the Lord Jesus Christ. How can you get it? When you walk with the Lord. Go, if you would, to go back to Acts 20 and 24. Go back to Acts 20. We'll end here. Acts 20. You say, I want to finish my course with joy. Well, to finish your course with joy, you must have the right perspective. Realize that there's a false perspective of joy that the world wants you to fall for. To finish your course with joy, you must understand the privilege of joy, that you have a privileged Christian to have the kind of joy that this world cannot offer. To finish your course with joy, you must be in the presence of joy. And that's found only when you walk with the Lord. You're going back to Acts 20. But in Nehemiah 8, I'm just going to read this to you. Nehemiah chapter 8, verse number 10, the Bible says this. Then he said unto them, this is Nehemiah. He said, go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet. and send the portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared, for this day is holy unto our Lord. And Nehemiah says this, neither be ye sorry, for the joy of the Lord is your strength. Think about that verse. The joy of the Lord is your strength. Think about the Apostle Paul, a man who was beaten, forsaken, opposition, tears, hard times, yet willing to go on to face more. You say, where do you find that strength? Well, Nehemiah says, look, the joy of the Lord is your strength. In your life, you should decide to finish the Christian life. Not just finish it, but finish it with joy. Romans 15, 13, don't turn the Bible, it says, now the God of hope fill you with all joy. God wants to fill you with joy. So that we, in Acts 20, we'll end here, verse 24, but none of these things move me, neither can I my life do unto myself. So that what, Paul? So that I might finish my course with joy. And I believe Paul accomplished this. I guess what you can accomplish is to finish your life with joy. Let's close in prayer. Heavenly Father, thank you for this morning. God, I thank you for your work and for everyone that's here. I pray that you be with our lives, Lord, help us to focus on our walk with you and to put you first in all things. And I just thank you for your mercy and for your love and just help us to find happiness and joy in serving you and help us to be a people who who love you and to put you first in all things. I thank you for our church, peace be with our pastor and his family as he's away, and bring us back safe here tonight. God, we love you. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. We're gonna switch up this last song.