The consideration for this series is one where I fear many of our brethren seem to be struggling so greatly in these days. The struggle is with faith and with the KNOWLEDGE of how valuable each of them are to the kingdom of God and that, abiding in the kingdom, we are to live in a constitution that is diametrically opposed to that manner of living evident in the world.

Those who honour me I will honour. (1 Sam 2:30)

There are a mixed bag of scripts we will give consideration in this series, those that are seen in reproof I will preach as a reproof, those that are seen as an exhortation and correction, I will match as best as I can, those that are encouragement, I will move to motivate and encourage and finally those that are doctrinal I will employ to bring authority to the removes, the exhortations and the encouragments. 

We did not believe him.

He told us at the first that we could sustain our lives with the fruit of every tree in the garden but one, that one would see us die eternally. We had been given life, full life, even eternal live, created immortal, never to die, always to have fellowship with our creator so long as we enjoyed all the provisions he had given us.

Perfect joy, perfect peace, perfect life, perfect comfort. We walked with the Lord in the cool of the day, heard his voice and spoke to him. 

For how long? the scriptures do not say, but it did not seem to take long before we chose to disbelieve his words and believe the words of a serpent. We rejected the word of the living God and he rejected us from the perfect habitation of his creation, Eden.

If it was our LACK of faith that led to the sin that damned us, It does not surprise me therefore that FAITH is what saves us. “Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness” (Genesis 15:6, Romans 4:3)

Just as our lack of faith led to sin and brought death, so too our faith brings life through the blood of the one who died for our sin.

It should not surprise us that if it is the lack of faith that led to death and eternal misery, and believing by faith that leads us to life and eternal happiness, that living by faith is the key to joy!

“The just shall live by faith” (Hab 2:4, Rom 1:17, Gal 3:11 & Heb 10:38).

Every time we choose to believe God at his word we honour him and rejoice in his faithfulness to us. The greatest example of this is our salvation. How much more can we have joy in life if we are willing to trust him and be faithful to his word?

21  His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. Matthew 25:21.

Beloved, stay with me in this as we see the word of God come alive so wonderfully.

If unbelief so angered the Lord to lead to our damnation and misery, and believing God at his word by faith so pleased him to lead to our salvation and happiness, and then living our lives honouring God by faith enters us into the “Joy of the Lord”, IT STANDS TO REASON THAT LIVING OUR LIVES UNFAITHFULLY will lead us to both sadness and sorrow AS WELL AS his contempt.

“Them that honour me will I honour, and them that despise me shall be lightly esteemed” 1 Sam 2:30. 

In other words, all of history and all of the scriptures teach us that living unfaithfully in life leads to our sorrow and his anger, while living faithfully pleases him and brings us joy.

FAITH therefore, IS THE KEY TO JOY, but the converse is ALSO TRUE, our lack of faith is the KEY to Misery.

All through the scriptures is threaded this exact same theme where God is angry with those not believing him by faith, and pleased with those who believe him by faith. 

Chastisement and sorrow fall on the lives of those who will not trust the Lord, blessing and joy on those who do. 

Blessing and cursing is seen from the very beginning of the Bible, annotated in clarity by Moses in Deuteronomy, played out