Episode 892 Choose Joy
[00:00:00] Scott Maderer: [00:00:00] Thanks for joining me on episode 892 of the inspired stewardship podcast.
[00:00:07] David Smith: [00:00:07] I'm David
[00:00:07] Smith author of who's got your back making and keeping great friendships among men. I encourage you to invest in others, develop your influence and impact the world by using your time, your talents and your treasures to live out your calling.
[00:00:24] Having the ability to build real lasting friendships as a man is vital to doing this. And one way to be inspired to do that is to listen to this. The inspired stewardship podcast with the leadership provided by Scott Maderer.
[00:00:42]Scott Maderer: [00:00:42] nice that all people are made in God's image. All of the people that we see, like us, all of the people that we think like us, all of the people who are acting like us, but also all of those who aren't. Recognize that we're [00:01:00] not called to pick and choose here. We're called to recognize God in all people.
[00:01:08] Welcome. And thank you for joining us on the inspired stewardship podcast. If you truly desire to become the person who God wants you to be, then you must learn to use your time, your talent and your treasures for your true color. In the inspired stewardship podcast, we'll learn to invest in yourself, invest in others and develop your influence so that you can impact the world.
[00:01:34]And today's spiritual foundation episode about impacting the world. I talk with you about Psalm 100. I share what it says about joy, and I also share why choosing joy. It doesn't always come easy. Someone a hundred is one of those short songs that yet still manages to pack a lot in those few verses.
[00:01:59] Psalm [00:02:00] 100 goes like this. It's a Psalm for giving grateful praise and it starts shout for joy to the Lord. All the earth, worship the Lord with gladness. Come before him with joyful songs, know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us. And we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with Thanksgiving and his courts with praise.
[00:02:23] Give thanks to him and praise his name for the Lord is good. And his love endures forever. His faithfulness continues through all generations. Now the truth is when I. Think about this. One of the phrases that comes to mind is the phrase of choose joy. And I'll talk more about that in a few days as well from the talent episode.
[00:02:49] But when I think about this from a spiritual message, let's look at what this Psalm says. It says that they Psalm for giving praise, [00:03:00] forgiving, grateful praise. And joy is really a word that isn't in the original Hebrew, but yet we use that word. In the translations. Oftentimes what it says here is shout to the Lord, but think about it.
[00:03:19] Shout to raise a noise, to give a blast as it on a trumpet to call out in erupt with this feeling and emotion that you cannot came Tane. Think about at a football game, whenever there's some massive touchdown or that scoring point is scored and the crowd erupts in a joyful noise. That is what is going on here in recognition of God and yet in modern society.
[00:03:48] It's hard to think about being that kind of joyful for God. It's hard about if you think about church, most of the time in church, you're not seeing that kind of fist pumping [00:04:00] over arching joy, and yet that's, what's being talked about here. It's been talked about the excitement and the feeling that defies all explanation that overcomes our capabilities that goes beyond what we can even contain within ourselves.
[00:04:23] And it talks about serving with gladness. The truth is that often whenever I'm serving other people, I will be honest. It isn't a feeling of gladness. That is the first feeling that comes. In fact, often times if I'm honest, there are times that I feel put upon ungrateful frustrated, tired.
[00:04:46] Whenever I'm asked to serve others. And yet we are asked to serve in gratitude for others, because that is how God serves us as well with gratitude. [00:05:00] And we are asked to do this as a form of worship. It's not for each other that we do this it's for God. We are urged to serve with gladness. And yet I know from personal experience, we don't always feel that.
[00:05:19] And the point is here that we aren't asked to serve. When we feel like it. We aren't asked to serve when we feel happy, we're asked to serve and didn't to feel happy about it. The action is put before the emotion and the truth is whenever I actually get up and go out and serve, that's honestly how it happens.
[00:05:42] If I go out and do the action, then I get the emotion. Then I feel joyful. Then I feel gladness. Then I feel gratitude. But if I let myself not feel those things and therefore not serve others, then I never get that feeling. [00:06:00] We're asked to come before God with joy, full praise with singing and with a recognition that we are God's people.
[00:06:11] And that goes for everyone rich or poor, regardless of the color of your skin, your sexual orientation, your feelings, regardless of where you serve or where you don't. We're asked to recognize that all people are made in God's image. All of the people that we see, like us, all of the people that we think like us, all of the people who are acting like us, But also all of those who aren't recognize that we're not called to pick and choose here, we're called to recognize God in all people.
[00:06:50] That is what it means when it says for the Lord is good. And his love endures forever. His faithfulness continues throughout [00:07:00] all generations. It's about all people, not just the people. We think it's about not just ourselves, not just the people that are sitting in the pews, not just the people that are singing the songs, but even those who aren't hearing it, even those who don't want to sing it, even those who don't feel that they belong in the kingdom.
[00:07:24] That is what it means to choose joy. Thanks for listening.
[00:07:31]thanks so much for listening to the inspired stewardship podcast as a subscriber and listener, we challenge you to not just sit back and passively listen, but act on what you've heard and find a way to live your calling. If you enjoy this episode, do me a favor. Go over to facebook.com/inspired.
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