True and lasting joy comes from faith. Mary praises God in her unfavorable circumstances because of her faith. She accepted God’s will for her faithfully and was able to receive the joy of the Lord. Christians are also joyful for the same reason. Our joy is not based in our circumstances but it is a supernatural  fruit of God’s salvation received by faith. This is why joy is internal and that joy is an offering in worship. We worship what we know, and if we don’t truly know God, we cannot worship him. It is only through Jesus, we know God, and worship joyfully.

Joy Must be Obligatory
From these verses, we learn the source of Mary’s joy. She has a proper knowledge of God. Her theology is sound.  Mary’s knowledge of God is not only true but applicable. It’s just information, but wisdom. Her theology results in praise, ‘my soul exalts the Lord’. Instead of blaming God for her unfavorable life situation, she praises joyfully. Mary fully understands who she will give birth to and submits to God’s will for her. Her theology is full of trust and obedience, leading to joy and praise (2 Ki 5:12-14, 15-17).

Mary exalts Jesus as Lord. She understands who Jesus is as Lord and who she is as a sinner.  Mary understands she also needs Jesus to redeem her. It is only in Christ a sinner can be saved. Mary called the baby in her womb as God and Lord who would save her from her sins.

Joy and Humility
Rightfully, Mary identifies her major problem. It’s not lack of finance or safety. Her biggest problem is not the circumstances but her sin. Consequently, Mary calls herself a ‘bondslave’, who has no rights or power. This is not low self esteem, but submission to God (Acts 20:22-24). Mary’s joy is paired with humility before the Lord and obedient to his will.

Are you humble? Are you submitting to God’s word (Phil 2:8). Those who are disobedient are not humble. They make excuses and defend their behavior in pride. Mary says, ‘according to Your word’ (Lk 1:38), which shows boldness to obey through whatever circumstance. Her humility shows self-denial, which is not merely a disciplined life or forgoing of pleasure, but rather an exaltation of God who is greater. To deny yourself, is to see yourself as a sinner at the foot of the cross, in need of the gospel of every day (MLJ). Those who are biblically humble, will never have need to complain, for we understand we are the lowest beneath the cross, yet our lives are redeemed by His death and resurrection. The fruit of humility is joy in our Savior!

Joy and Holiness
Mary proclaims that God is doing a wonderful and holy work for her. (Lk 1:49). Her situation is under God’s holiness, so she could be joyful and appreciate. Her surprise pregnancy wasn’t a scandal or shameful or adulterous, but holy (Lk 1:34-35). Therefore she could be joyful.

Only by our salvation in the gospel of Jesus can we be holy. No works or riches can make us holy. (Mt 16:26). Tragically, all kinds of successful people will go to hell because they fall short of God’s holiness. (Rom 3:23, Gal 2:16) Man can do moral things and accomplish good deeds by God’s common grace. However, only by faith in Jesus can we become holy.

This is why our salvation is so great! Isaiah 43:25, Romans 8:31-35 The promises and blessings of forgiveness and holiness belong to every Christian (Is 43:25, Rom 8:31-35). What no man could accomplish, no matter how great, Christ has accomplished and given to us the reward. Even before kings, we can stand joyfully and proudly because of our salvation. (2 Cor 5:17, Acts 26:29)

Appreciating Salvation
Christians look miserable because they don’t appreciate their salvation. Like the Israelites wandering in the wilderness, we forget the works of the Lord, the greatness of what God has done for us. Appreciating salvation is the gateway for all of God’s blessings. If we are discontent with Jesus the Son, and instead focus on what we want and what we feel like we need, if we look for something else to satisfy us rather than Christ, then what can God do? He has given us His Son and even still we want something else, then we are hopeless. It means we are not truly interested in actual salvation but rather our own desires (Rev 2:4, Mt 7:21-23).

If you are going through a hard time? Remember your salvation. Your hard time, while difficult, is nothing compared to your sin and it’s judgement. Christ has overcome our most impossible need and the joy of salvation is ours in Him.

In this verse, we see Joseph at the end of his life, similar to his father in the previous verse. Last week, we learned that faith finishes well. Through Joseph, we learn that true biblical faith is long lasting. From a young age, Joseph had received dreams from God and gone through numerous situations and was ultimately used by God to save his family and the world from famine. Throughout his whole life, Joseph faith was always active, present and lasting.

Many people understand faith as a means to overcome hardships. From a biblical and larger perspective, faith is actually a means to overcome sin. Only by faith can we see how large and dangerous sin is and also see that only God is able to overcome sin. By faith, we see that Satan is behind sin, but we also see God is sovereign and in control of all things, even Satan.

How to have long lasting faith?
Joseph ‘made mention’ which means, he remembered God’s promises. Joseph remembered God’s word to his father’s. A long lasting faith will always remember God’s word. The unfaithful and the worldly forget God’s word and seek after the new. We see the Bible emphasizing the importance of remembering what God has said (Joshua 4:5-6, Luke 15:17, Luke 17:32, Luke 22:19). In the Bible, those who remembered were saved, such as Rahab and Peter (Mt 26:75), while others forgot and were doomed, like Hiel (1 Ki 16:34) and Judas (Mt 27:7).

Do you remember God’s promises? In your daily life, do you remember the words you read from His word? What about the words you heard from last week’s sermon? For your faith to be active and lasting, we must know and remember God’s words (1 Jn 3:14-15) Joseph remembered God’s promise to Abraham, that his children would return to the land of Canaan. It was a promise made hundreds of years ago and promise which would not be fulfilled in hundreds more. The Israelites were flourishing in Egypt. Why would they leave? Yet, Joseph asked to be buried with his fathers, knowing that it was God’s word which had accomplished everything up to now, and God’s promise would also be fulfilled in the future.

Do we practice our faith in the same manner as Joseph? What hinders our remembering of God’s word? It is a love of the world and the things in it. We are slow, fearful and compromising because we love the world more than we love Jesus Christ. Even though the world crucified Jesus; we love that world. We don’t love Christ so we don’t remember Him. We are in need of a recalibration in our love. We didn’t start out this way.  Our beginning at conversion was full of passion. The gospel was fresh in our hearts. What have we forgotten?

Devotion to God’s Word
To remember God’s promises, we must devote ourselves to them (Acts 2: 42) Our days must be filled with deep meditations (Ps 1:1-2). When gathering with the church, our fellowship must be filled with the talk of Jesus Christ. Also, our prayers must be through the Scriptures we read.

Hope actualizes faith
Joseph gave orders concerning his bones. This order was based on the hope he held in God’s word. Hope is not wish thinking or a positive mindset. It’s not just delayed disappointment. Hope is the fuel for faith (Heb 11:1-2). Hope is given through faith because God fulfills His promises; and we see that Joseph is buried according to his hope (Joshua 24:32). Even the hopeless, who hear the word of God and believe have hope (Ez 27:15, 10)

The backbone of our hope is the resurrection of Jesus (Rev 20:5). There is hope in this life for eternal life and glory through Jesus (Phil 1:21, 1 Cor 15:57-78). Faith in Jesus comes together with hope. John Calvin says ‘Faith believes that eternal life has already been given to us. Hope waits for the day when it will be revealed Faith is the foundation on which hope is built. Hope feeds faith and keeps it alive.’  By remembering the past, our faith is present, leading to our future hope.

Apostle Paul says the Christian life is like a race or a marathon. Many racers start well, but many quit before the end. In general, there are two kinds of people, those with a promising start and weak end. And those with a humble beginnings but a strong finish. Lot is an example of the former. (Gen 13:8-23, Gen 19:29) Abraham on the other hand received all his promises from God in the future tense, yet he walked with the Lord and finished well (Gen 13:14-17, 25:7-9). Even in current days, it’s hard to find those who finish well. Statistics show that the only 1 out of 10 pastors will finish and retire as a pastor.

In this verse we find that Jacob finished well even though he didn’t begin that way.  Jacob did not have an ideal life or reputation. He was a thief, liar, deceiver and poor father. He even lied to his own father and stole from his brother. (Gen 26:43-27:29). He also manipulated Laban’s sheep and played favorites amongst his sons. (Gen 30:42-43) According to the world, Jacob may have found ways to get what he desired, but his sinful actions seemed to put his eternal fate in jeopardy.

What happened so that Jacob could finish well? Hebrews 11:21 says ‘By faith’. In the end, Jacob’s life was defined by faith. John Owen says ‘The only way to receive supplies of spiritual strength and grace from Jesus Christ is faith.’ (Gal 2:20) Faith is defining attribute of our relationship with Jesus Christ.

What is faith?
Faith is to know who God is and what He has done, and follow Him. The amount of faith is not important but the object of faith. If your faith is in the true God, then you will finish well.

When a deed is done by faith, it does not mean that your faith is what accomplishes it. ‘By faith’ means ‘by God’ whom you believe. ‘By faith’ means you know God, that He is with you and He does these things according to His word. (Joshua 14:10-11)

Jacob has confidence in the Lord. It was by faith, he blessed Joseph’s sons. Without confidence, he wouldn’t be able to bless Joseph’s sons in the manner that he did. Although Joseph was Jacob’s son, Joseph was also the most powerful man in the world, second to Pharaoh. Joseph was upset that Jacob was blessing the younger and not the older, and even physically tried to change Jacob’s hands. Jacob simply replied, ‘I know’. (Gen 48:17-19) Jacob knew by faith. By faith Jacob, left the land of his fathers and went down to Egypt (Gen 46:3) and by faith Jacob blessed Ephraim and Manasseh.

Do you live by faith?
Are you confident in the Lord? Are you confident in His word? Are you like David, who seeks the Lord’s counsel first in the moment of crisis (1 Sam 30:50-6). David knew God is sovereign and in control of all things. He strengthened himself in the Lord. How does one strengthen oneself? By faith. To behave otherwise is a lack of understanding and disobedience of the living God. A lack of faith ignores God’s sovereignty and dishonors His word. The one great truth is God and His word, not our feelings and emotions. R. C. Sproul said ‘I don’t always feel His presence, but God’s promises do not depend on my feelings; they rest upon His integrity’ It is by faith in God’s promise that we will finish well.

Across the world, people celebrate Easter and many celebrate without necessarily believing history. To them, the death and resurrection of Jesus might be a story or legend of the Christian faith. However, Jesus did exist in history, and this truth is acknowledged by Christians and secular scholars. Not only did the Lord Jesus exist, but His life was abundant, full of miracles and signs (John 11:39, 43-44). The life of Jesus is historical fact, which also means that He is currently living, He is Lord and He is with you (Mt 28:18-20)

Jesus Really Died and Rose Again
We know that Jesus really died based on the support of various arguments. First, the Bible says so, and the Bible is God’s inspired and inerrant word. There is no higher authority of truth then the Holy Scriptures. When it comes to archaeological and historical events, the Bible has been repeatedly been found accurate after many accusations. Also, the Bible is not embarrassed of the truth, meaning it does edit or massage the truth. For example, it was the woman Mary who found the risen Jesus first and received credit, and not one of the male disciples.

Also, from the description of the events surrounding Jesus death, we can be assured that Jesus died fully but also quickly. He was flogged, beaten, crucified and then stabbed with a spear. The physical punishment was brutal at the hands of professional soldiers. To claim that Jesus did not die would go against the evidence.

False Theories
Still, there were many false theories slandering the Biblical account of Jesus death and resurrection (Mt  28:11-15) and are still some today.

• Jesus was just unconscious – no man could survive the suffering of Christ and many people affirmed Jesus’ death
• The disciples hallucinated – there were over 500 witnesses over the period of a month. They could not all have the same hallucination
• They went to the wrong tomb  – Mary saw where they laid His body, and if it was the wrong tomb, the priests would have just pointed out the correct tomb with the dead body.

Evidence of Jesus’ Resurrection
In contrast to the false theories, there is staunch evidence that shows that Jesus actually resurrected 2000 years ago. The first is that the disciples were loyal and faithful to the end. All the apostles and many other disciples were persecuted and martyred for the sake of Christ. There is no way they could have remained consistent and true unless they had witnessed the risen Jesus. Even a group of the most powerful and intellectual men could not keep corroborate a secret in the Watergate scandal for a week. A group of fisherman, who had run away in fear before Jesus died, remained faithful in all circumstances. They couldn’t deny what they had saw first hand and experienced every day in the love of Christ.

Secondly, the early Christians, who were religious Jews, changed their day of worship from Sabbath to Sunday. The reason for this change is because Mary found Jesus on Sunday. In Acts, we see Peter continually resist eating the unclean meat because of his Jewish custom. Only the powerful truth of the resurrection could have changed their day of worship.

There were also many trustworthy eyewitnesses to the risen Jesus. These men, like James (Jesus brother) or Thomas or Paul (who was formerly Saul), who either doubted or disliked Jesus, testified to His resurrection and His Lordship (1 Cor 15:7, James 1:1). These life-changing testimonies along  with 500 witnesses confirm the fact of Jesus and His resurrection

Application
It is undeniable fact that Jesus lived, died, rose again and is living today. Have you met the risen Jesus? In other words, are you truly Christian and follow Him? Or Do you still stand condemned and judged? (2 Peter 2:1-4). The resurrection matters and is life changing. We cannot remain unchanged and living as we used to, in our sin, if Jesus is alive.

Many false teacher will try to either deny or minimize the resurrection. They say it’s either made up or its in the past, like Hymaneus did. The resurrection is the essential part of the gospel and it is of first importance (1 Cor 15:3-4). We cannot afford to only focus on the cross, His death and sacrifice and neglect His Lordship and victory. Jesus is the risen Lord, and in the resurrection we receive joy and strength. Our hope lies in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, a hope that overcomes death itself.

In Genesis 22, God asks Abraham to sacrifice his only some, Isaac. However, Abraham was calm during this very trying request. It was an impossible task, to give up his most precious and only son, yet Abraham knew who God is and had faith. (Heb 11:6). His example of obedience gives us insight into true faith.

What faith isn’t?
Faith is not something you have ‘enough’ of. Faith does not have levels before becoming active. Faith is simply faith, not greater or lesser faith.

Faith is also not only praying and relying on faith alone, but also relying on the means God provided. In the same vein, assuming God will take care of everything is also not true faith.  Faith is also not ignorance, but an observable trust in God’s will be done. Based on the numerous example and countless promises in God’s word, there is the most solid evidence for faith. There faith is not just a wishful belief, but a choice of God’s word. In contrast, faith is not merely knowledge, but knowledge must be turned into faith, lest that knowledge indict you.

Faith is something you have or you don’t (Mk 4:40;9:23-24;Lk 8:24-25;17:5-6). The question is not about the size of your faith, but where your faith is genuine.

What is genuine faith?
Genuine faith is determined by what we have faith in. For example, Muslim’s faith is in a false god who is not Trinitarian. In the Muslim faith, God is one but alone and Jesus is not fully God and fully man, who died on the cross and rose again. Therefore, while many people might have sincerity in their beliefs, their faith is not genuine.

Genuine faith isn’t concerned with faith itself but only looks to Jesus Christ as the object of faith (Heb 12:2) “The power of faith lies in its object; faith is only as valid as its object. The crucial thing is not faith, but the object of faith. You can believe with all your heart and soul and mind until you turn blue.—But if your faith is aimed at the wrong object, you are wasting your time. – Ron Dun”

Abraham went through his trial by faith in God who was the object of his faith (v19).
He trusted God’s promises
• Isaac was the promised son Gen 12:2-4, Gen 25:2-6
• God never betrays Num 23:19, Jer 25:11
• God is powerful Heb 11:11, 1 Sam 14:6
• God is Father 1 John 3:1, Rom 8:32

God will fulfill his promises to the end. We can trust Him, just as Abraham places his faith in God’s promise towards him. For us, while we may not have a direct verbal promise,  all our promises of God can be summed up into Jesus Christ (2 Cor 1:20). In Jesus Christ, the object of our faith, we see the fulfillment of all of God’s promises in His word. There we must determine to partake in the suffering of Christ here on earth, so that we might obtain the promises of God and experience the power of resurrection (Phil 3:10-11)

When faced with a crisis, we often think skill, knowledge, experience and bravery is needed to triumph. However, Jesus asks, “Where is your faith?” (Lk 8:25). Do we have faith in Jesus when we face an impossible situation or task?

Faith is a belief and trust in God and His word (Heb 11:1). When it comes to examples of faith, there is none more exemplary than Abraham, the father of Isaac. In Hebrews 11:17-19 Abraham is mentioned for the second time for his faith and obedience to God. When asked to sacrifice his only and beloved son who was promised by God, it must have been a shocking crisis (Gen 22:1-14). Abraham was 100 years old when Isaac was born, and his son was most precious to him, and now God was asking him to be offered. Through Abraham’s example of faith, we see his complete submission and obedience, we see true faith.

Clarification: God does not desire human sacrifice
God asking for Abraham to sacrifice Isaac is not His condoning of human sacrifice. There is one other instance, where Jephthah vowed to offer to the Lord the first thing which came to greet him, and it ended being his daughter (Judges 11:34). However, this was Jephthah vow of his own volition and what Jephthah vowed was not as a sacrifice as in killing but dedication in service. Therefore, there is no pattern of God seeking human sacrifice.

Secondly, God’s law is written and settled. God does not change and neither does His law (Mt 5:17-19, Ga 3:10). In fact, God hates hypocrisy and is always consistent with His word both in His nature and actions (Mt 23:1-3, Deut 12:31, Lev 18:21). God’s law never demands a human sacrifice to be killed, but it is those who go against God’s law who resort to such things (2 Chron 33:6).

Lastly, human sacrifice goes against God’s nature. God’s heart is to love and to give himself to those He loves (2 Cor 5:21, Jn 13:2). God’s purpose for Abraham was to test his faith, not a desire for human sacrifice.

The call to sacrifice
Abraham was tested by God to sacrifice what he cherished most in this world, his beloved son Isaac. Facing this impossible request, Abraham responded in faith and obeyed. Does God still ask for this level of sacrifice and faith today, even from you? We might be tempted to categorize Abraham’s interaction with God unique and for the ancients.

The truth is God does not change and neither does the definition of true faith. We all have things that are precious to us, whether it is money, job, family or passions. (Mt 4:20, 9:9, 19:20-22,27), we are not to cling to them, but surrender them to the Lord Jesus. Like selling all we have to obtain the treasure of God (Mt. 23:44), we are to sacrifice in faith. What Isaac’s are in your life that you refuse to sacrifice when God is asking? God still demands everything in order to follow him, just as He did with Abraham.

In this world of convenient faith, can you forsake your idols to follow Christ? Are you following Christ on His terms or your own? Sadly, we have a hard time even giving up the smallest of treasures, whether it’s our time, money or things. Instead we must give up our very lives. If we do not, our faith might not be genuine. Also, we miss out on the blessings God has prepared for us (Gen 22:14-18, Mk 8:35 ).