"Then Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, “This day is holy to the LORD your God; do not mourn or weep.” For all the people were weeping when they heard the words of the law. Then he said to them, “Go, eat of the fat, drink of the sweet, and send portions to him who has nothing prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.” So the Levites calmed all the people, saying, “Be still, for the day is holy; do not be grieved.” All the people went away to eat, to drink, to send portions and to celebrate a great festival, because they understood the words which had been made known to them. "(Nehemiah 8:9-12)
The Israelites had been in captivity for 70 years in the land of Babylon and now they were allowed to return home to the land of promise to begin rebuilding the temple and also to re-establish their customs and laws (ways of relating to God). As their law was read by the scribe (Ezra), the people began to weep and grieve remembering what "should have been had they never left the Kingdom of God----their promised land. Nehemiah, their leader (governor) told them not to weep...for the Joy of the Lord is your strength. It is significant that they were beginning to rebuild their kingdom after being in exile (in a foreign land) for a significant period of time. They were re-entering the "Kingdom of God". They were rebuilding the place where God would dwell (the Temple).
I remember a song I learned as a kid that was based on the scripture above:
"The Jo-o-o-o-y of the Lo-o-o-rd is my strength....
The Jo-o-o-o-o-y of the Lo-o-o-rd is my strength.....
The Jo-o-o-o-o-y of the Lo-o-o-rd is my strength....
The Joy of the Lord is my strength."
I saw something yesterday that I've seen many times but saw again for the "first" time. A young man about 16-18 y/o was baptized during the Sunday Morning Worship Service at church. Several others were baptized as well. What struck me about the young man was his expression when the Pastor was asking him questions about his faith: Had he accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior? Did he understand what he was doing by being baptized? etc.... As he was replying to these questions, a look of seriousness, a look of anticipation, a look of urgency, and then....a look of pure joy came upon his face. As the Pastor lowered him into the Baptismal Pool and he came up out from under the water, his hand lifted high in exultation. So many emotions, so many lessons to learn in that moment. Don't get me wrong, I don't mean for this to be a discussion of whether or not Baptism (the act of being submerged in water-sprinkling-etc...) "saves" a person. I've had more than my fair share of those discussions throughout my life. It is not acts or methods that are important but really something else entirely.
An example might be in order here. I cannot sit for the Bar Exam in most if not all the United States. The reason for this is because I have not "completed" a course of study that leads to an acceptable law degree that is a pre-requisite for taking the bar exam. Even if I make a perfect score on the Bar exam, without the pre-requisites, I still cannot be a lawyer. Let us not forget that faith in Jesus Christ as the only way to the Father both present and future is a crucial pre-requisite of knowing him and therefore having a relationship with God that puts us in his kingdom both now and in the future. It is that transaction of faith (whenever it takes place) that sets a person apart and that results in the look of pure joy that I saw on that young man's face.
While many of us may have been asking the question about what baptism really means, this young man was exercising his simple faith and belief that Jesus is the way to God. The look on his face attested to the fact that there was no doubt about where his focus was. He was being obedient to his Lord. Misinformation, had it been given, was not an issue. A relationship was born that resulted in trust and obedience.
I remember when I was a Pastor back in the early 1990s. There was a minister who was "bringing down the fire" and causing revivals to break out wherever he spoke. He was a regular speaker at some of the Bible Conferences that I attended. The power of God would bring conviction when he told his testimony about living under a bridge as a youth and as he shared the mighty miracles and works that God performed in his life. Later, it was revealed that his entire testimony was a fabrication. A natural question that resulted from this situation was to ask if the "results" of his testimony were also "false" because his testimony was a fabrication? NO. Those who responded to his testimony were not responding to Him, they were asked to respond to God who fabricates NOTHING. His Word is TRUTH. If any of us come to him in faith, he receives us no matter what ANY confusion on man's part may be.
There is one thing that I want each of you to consider that I believe to be the truth. Most, if not all of us, are probably wrong about many "significant" things that we believe about God. Most of us are probably wrong about many significant things that we believe about the Bible. But....that makes God no less faithful in his response to our simple faith that HE (Jesus) is the Way, the Truth, and the Life....and that no one comes to God but by Him.
I saw on that young man's face the simple realization of pure JOY that comes from knowing that Jesus paid it ALL and that by faith in Him, his standing with God was now complete. I, for one, will never hear that song, "The Joy of the Lord is My Strength" without remembering the times in my life when it has "come home to me" this simple truth. It really is a finished work. Jesus is Victor and therefore, So Am I. The Joy that comes from that revelation is truly our strength!
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