Worship Rewind - The Side Effects of Joy - Pastor Reginald W. Sharpe Jr. - Sunday, March 30, 2025

20:51 I want to pray Doesn't that just make you smile this morning? Doesn't that give you some joy this morning? Grab your Bibles and stand with me Oh yes I feel the Holy Ghost in here Yes I do Yes, I do. I won't complain. I'm blessed. It has nothing to do with money either. I'm blessed. The old folks say I woke up and knew my name. Some of my younger people, you'll understand one day when you can wake up and know where you are and who you are and still have the ability to drive yourself.

21:56 We take a lot of things for granted. Let me leave that alone. 1 Samuel chapter 18. It's good to see y'all today. Y'all looking good. Y'all look like new money before taxes. Y'all look good. Clean as hospital sheets. Looking good. Looking good. That's clean now. That's clean. That's clean. 1 Samuel chapter 18 You all have journeyed with joy with me for the last two weeks and you're the only service who finished the sermon. So I got to finish that sermon at 1045 and 115 and I'm going to tell them, go back and watch 8 o'clock.

22:42 So y'all getting a new sermon today that the Lord has given me and it ain't much to it. It's just very simple, straightforward and I hope it lands where it needs to land and if it's not for you now, just put it in your spiritual bank account because you will withdraw from it later. 1 Samuel 18 verse 6 A fascinating scripture It has been with me all week long And it has just fascinated me Verses 6-9 1 Samuel 18 6-9 Reads like this NRSV version New Revised Standard Version As they were coming home When David returned from killing the Philistine Or the Philistine He just finished killing Goliath In the previous chapter well as they were coming home when David returned from killing Goliath the women came out of all the towns of Israel as they customarily would do singing and dancing to meet King Saul with tambourines with songs of joy and with musical instruments and the women sang to one another as they made Mary Saul has killed his thousands and David his ten thousands And in the middle of them turning up, verse 8, Saul was very angry.

24:04 For this saying displeased him. He said, they have ascribed to David ten thousands and to me they've only ascribed thousands. What more can he have but the kingdom? So Saul eyed David from that day on. I want to talk about the side effects of joy. The side effects The side effects of joy You do know Oh you may be seated Y'all want to stand the whole sermon? That's fine The side effects of drugs. I was watching a commercial one time, and they were excitedly announcing and sharing a new medicine. Then they got to the end of sharing about this new medicine.

25:00 And they said some most common side effects of this will include rash, constipation, nausea, diarrhea, dizziness, drowsiness, insomnia, headache, dry mouth, death, life-threatening, hospitalization, disability, permanent damage, may cause complications during pregnancy. I said they can keep that. Have you ever seen a commercial like that and they get to the end, they start talking real, real fast. At the beginning, it was sunshine and they were coming out on the sidewalk. Try this new medication. May cause disease, drought, disease, disease. I said, no, no, no, slow down on that part. Slow down on the side effects. Because something that was designed to help you can on the back end be complicated. Because sometimes even when it comes to joy, there's some side effects to joy.

25:59 It's just 19 days into 2025 and you may not have had the language for it, but some of us already have been hit with joy's side effects. one of the news stories that's been running through television all week long and major conversations and and a lot of our conversations has been some noticeable absences tomorrow during the inauguration and and and out of all the people that are going to be missing there's only been one person that everybody keeps talking about that's made it clear that she ain't going i'm sorry that's grammatically correct but she will not be present. Michelle Obama, who I believe her birthday was Friday on the 17th, has made it clear from her office she will not be attending the inauguration.

26:57 Now she did not give an explanation. So as good Americans and good African Americans, wherever there's the lack of information, do fine using our imagination. If you taking notes I just dropped the bar. Uh-huh. So now we're free to imagine why is Michelle Obama going to the inauguration? She has not given us a rationale and explanation and she doesn't owe us one. Because in my imagination, I believe she may be protecting her joy. because sometimes in order to protect your joy your absence has to say more than any explanation oh it's about to get deep right through here and some of us have to be delivered early in 2025 you don't owe everybody an explanation of what is required for you to protect your joy, your peace, your sanity, and your mental health.

28:19 I don't know why she's not attending, but it could be, could be, she's just, I just had my birthday. Somebody says she was in a home in another state, relaxing and enjoying from the holidays, and maybe she's not ready to come back. I don't know. But it ain't my business, it's not your business, and it's nobody's business. I just know she might be protecting her joy. And if she is protecting her joy, you ought to see the comments of the people who are critiquing her for being absent at the inauguration. And I saw that, Pastor Jill, as side effects to joy. Because sometimes when I do what I need to do to be well, somebody's always going to have something to say. Here they are in 1 Samuel 17.

29:17 If you know any, if you spent any time, if you spent two hours in vacation Bible school, if you spent one day in Sunday school, you've heard about David and Goliath. And the background is they were in chapter 17. King Saul and the Israelite army were standing against them for 40 days in a place called the Valley of Elah. And it took a young man who was around the age of 15 or 16 years old. he told the king david said let me go fight him king said no bro i don't know about all that because this man been fighting grown men since he was young and we've never seen anybody this young go against a warrior this experience and david said let me i have killed a lion i have killed a bear and this uncircumcised philistine shall be like one of them can i just sneak this in for free if i've already killed something with four legs why am i worried about some with two you're going to get to a two-legged challenge when God's already brought you through four-legged mess that's for free and then he goes out and he defeats him he takes five smooth stones from the brook he only needs one puts it in his slingshot and I mean it's a kill I mean literally he was killing it and then Goliath falls down and cuts the head off and now they're on their way back.

30:40 And as custom has it, when the men come back from war, because, you know, patriarchy and sexism is a thing in the Bible too, only the men could go to war like this. And so when the men were coming back and there was victory, the women would line the city and they brought their tambourines and they brought their songs and shouts of joy and they would make up songs that would capture the essence of what just happened in the war. and this time the word has already traveled back through uh uh uh uh uh jnn jerusalem news network word had traveled through jnn and through fox that that that that while king saul is the leader david was the warrior and so the women got the song ready and they clapping and singing and they walking in and king saul i'm sure with his ego pumped out because he's the leader of the army and young David 16 or 17 years old is a few feet behind the king because he's not really trying to be king he really just was trying to help everybody out and God empowered him to have this victory so he's a few feet behind and the song of the ceremony is Saul has killed thousands but David has killed tens of thousands and in the middle of this joyous moment Saul's ego and jealousy and envy gets the best of him so I want to tell you I want to tell you just a couple of things that as you journey through joy get ready for the side effects get ready for everybody to not be with you in the celebration get ready to be misunderstood get ready to be mishandled get ready for people to make assumptions about your behavior now you didn't give any explanation on why you're doing what you're doing you're just trying to be well but get ready for them to use their imagination and you got to be comfortable with them using their imagination without your explanation because in this season i don't owe you one

32:48 i don't owe you why i didn't go i don't owe you why i'm not coming i don't owe you why i'm not available because i've worked too hard to get to this place of joy now i have two assignments produce joy and protect joy and when it is being produced as these women were producing it And when it is being protected as some characters in the text are trying to do, there's still some side effects to joy that you got to be ready for. Number one, there will be people who participated. There were people who participated. Somebody say participated. Now, now, now, now, now, now. Listen, they've been out there 40 days in the middle of a valley fighting. Maybe that's why David wrote, yay, though I walked through the valley. Because he literally defeated Goliath in a valley. They've been in a valley fighting this nine foot giant from Gath called Goliath. They finally get out of that valley and the women are at home saying, I'm proud of all of you all.

33:48 And some scholars say they were not trying to compare David to Saul. This was an ancient Near Eastern poetry couplet. a couplet or parallelism is a two-line part of a poem where they're just trying to say the same thing a different way so don't miss this Saul has killed a lot of people and David has killed a lot of people too but because Saul hears it through the ears of his envy and his insecurity he hears it as if they're comparing one warrior to another warrior when what they're really saying is let's celebrate the king for killing a lot of people let's celebrate David for killing a lot of people and at least pause that there are some people back at home who want to celebrate who want to participate in them coming out of what could have killed them see it's one thing for King Saul to celebrate it's one thing for David to celebrate it's another thing for people who were never in to fight with you to join you in the celebration because they're happy you made it and in church can i tell you what i think it's too many haters in church it's too many christian haters and if it's not your blessing you don't shout if it's not your season you don't give anybody their accolades if it's not your son or your daughter you can't write under the post and say congratulations because you've let jealousy jade how you celebrate but i want to celebrate the celebrators i want to celebrate the people who are like the women in the text i didn't fight your fight i wasn't in your valley but i want to celebrate the fact that you made it out i know we ain't supposed to talk to our neighbor like that but can you look at your neighbor and say neighbor i'm smiling because you made it.

35:40 Tell them I'm about to shout because you made it. Because in this season of joy, you better surround yourself with people who know how to have joy with you. pay attention to people who get excited when you're excited pay attention to people who act like it's their win when it's your win pay attention to people who when you get a new car they say look we got a new car baby it ain't your car but it ain't mine but I'm gonna shout like it is because when God started making cars that ain't the last car and if my neighbor gets blessed E. Dewey Smith said that means God is in the neighborhood if some folk ain't clapped one time since you've been in here for 35 minutes you ought not clap for you shout cause he blessing somebody else shout cause he healing somebody else shout cause he's keeping somebody else don't be a hater in 2025 celebrate somebody else's good season I wasn't in the valley with you I didn't fight with you I didn't swing a rock with you but I'm happy you did not succumb to what could have killed you Thank you.

36:51 so let's make this commitment too when one person starts shouting at least two or three people ought to run up to wherever they are and shout with them you will not shout by yourself in 20 and then after church you're gonna say i don't know what you were shouting for baby i couldn't tell you if i had time because i did i had to pick one reason i was shouting today but it don't matter why i was shouting just shout with me when i rejoice you rejoice when i go up you go up when i say thank you you say jesus when i say holla you say louya when i say glory to god you say in the highest Go high five somebody say I'm happy for you. You didn't high five nobody go high five them say I'm happy for you. I'm happy that your house is blessed.

37:45 I'm happy you still married. I'm happy that your children got the scholarship. I'm happy that you got the healing you needed. I'm happy you made it through the surgery and I don't need it to happen to me. I'm happy it happened. I'm happy for you. So the side effects to joy is there will be people who participate. There were some in this text who participated but then there were others in this text who were aggravated. in the middle of all of that. It feel like Mardi Gras to me. Wait, in the middle of all of that, here goes Saul.

38:47 now why they say that like that Saul has killed his thousand but David his ten thousand I just told you it was just poetry they just saying the same thing in a different way but when you are insecure it infects how you hear things When you're insecure, you will question a compliment. Somebody say, you look good today. Your insecurities make you respond and say, I didn't look good yesterday.

39:34 Y'all laughing and I'm dead serious. You've really done some hard work. You've lost weight. What you thought? I was fat last year. What you thought? No, you know you were. Don't, don't. I'm trying to tell you, you looking good now. Don't nobody have to tell you you big back. We know we big back for anybody else know we big back. See, my grandma Harper, her birthday was Friday, same day as Michelle Obama's. She would never tell me I was fat. She would wait till I lose the weight to say, woo! You looking good. I was wondering how far you were going to go. Can't nobody check you like grandma. And if I'm insecure, I'll miss.

40:30 She's really trying to congratulate me for doing the work to lose the weight. But when you are insecure, Saul, not only will your hearing be jaded, but you will misinterpret victory. your insecurity will make you misinterpret victory you can't even celebrate that god use a teenager to help y'all win because now you're about to make a teenager your up your opponent you're a grown man and now you're getting jealous of a teenager because some lyrics in a song hit your ego in a way that made you think he's stronger, he's more skilled than I am. You got to watch insecure people.

41:29 Come a little closer. Don't be an insecure person because you will ruin the joy in your own life because you're always comparing yourself to somebody else. Teach sharp. I'm trying. Lay hands on yourself and I'm going to lay hands on myself. Say, Lord, keep me from being contaminated by comparison. There's a book called The Book of Joy where the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu came together and brought the best of their wisdom from their old age, their sagely life and they brought a book and they wrote a book together about joy.

42:31 Desmond Tutu was an archbishop Christian who led people through the apartheid season in South Africa he was a major spiritual leader through one of the roughest seasons in South Africa and somehow he maintained joy the Dalai Lama is a Buddhist who brought the best of his religious tradition and they combined it in a book called the book of joy and one section of the book y'all is called the obstacles of joy before the year is over i'm gonna do a whole bible study off that book because it also gave a litany of things to look for to make sure we keep creating joy but in the list of obstacles to joy don't miss this the word envy shows up a whole chapter on envy shows up i don't need miriam webster to define this you know what envy is. It means when you want what's not yours, but instead of you just not, when you want something that somebody else has, it's deeper than that. You become resentful.

43:41 You begin to resent that person because they have something that you don't have. And Archbishop Desmond Tutu says there are three remedies for envy. Don't miss this. The professor's in the pulpit. Number one Gratitude I'm going to walk it back Don't worry I'm walking I hope y'all listening Please write some notes Pull your phone out You were on it earlier anyway Just pull it out now and take some notes Somebody say gratitude Here's another remedy Here's another remedy Here's another remedy Reframing Reframing I'm coming back to explain it Here's a third remedy Here's a third remedy, motivation. Ain't nothing deep about it. It's just so simple. It's going to land in your lap. When I want to be envious, I have to replace that with gratitude for what I already have.

44:41 You ought to be so busy thinking about what you have that you don't have time to be focused on what somebody else has that you don't have. That's why I like that song this morning, Sanctuary Choir. Lord, I remember how you made a way. Lord, I remember how you kept me every day. Why am I jealous about your blessing when I still have access to the one that gave it to you? And if you be real and stop looking out the window and start looking in the mirror, you got too many miracles of your own. To be jealous of what God has done for anybody else. You still ought to shout over the fact your credit was good enough for the car you got, the house you have, to be in the apartment you're in. I don't have time to beat you. God's been good to me.

45:35 gratitude but then reframing ask yourself why do i want that in the first place what what's really underneath what see for saul when you cut underneath the envy it was his own insecurity but he was insecure since he entered the biblical narrative in first samuel 10 verse 22 when he knew god had called him to be king and when the prophet went to look for him he was hiding in the baggage 1 Samuel chapter 10 verse 22 he couldn't be found because he was hiding in the baggage because he was ashamed and thought he wasn't good enough to be the next leader if you don't fix your insecurity early it'll ruin you later and too many of us right now are hiding in baggage Every time somebody asks you to do something, no, I ain't no public speaker.

46:34 No, I don't do that. No, I don't do that. And then somebody else gets the opportunity. She thinks she all that. No, you were all that, but you kept the blessing from you because your insecurity made you cower and shrink. When you should have stood up and said, I'm a king's kid. And if he made me, he'll equip preach, y'all. refrain why am I dealing with this why do I want what they have what's what's unhappy in my life that's making me feel this way about them and then thirdly motivation don't let listen listen listen the person that you're trying to make your enemy make them your teacher and be motivated to be better there are pastors in this country whose churches are larger than mine. They've built bigger sanctuaries than I have and I don't make them my enemy. I'm not jealous.

47:29 I'm blessed to be a fellowship. But when I see what God does for them, it motivates me to say, hey, God just built a new church. That means he's able to build another one. Come here DJ Khaled and another one. Be motivated. you see somebody living in a house you like don't hate, celebrate and one day you will what? participate be motivated by that there's always somebody in your life who is aggravated by your joy and it has nothing to do with you so come here little David come here little Davida let me tell you something you need to prepare your mental spirit prepare your spiritual soul that there will be some souls around me who will look at me and become jealous because God has used me in an unusual way but I can't stop celebrating just because you're aggravated by what I'm celebrating Don't take it personal.

48:37 That's their baggage. That's their insecurity. That's their issue that God's going to have to heal either through time or therapy. But you keep on rejoicing over the fact that the last valley I walked through wasn't the last valley I walked through. Some participated Some were aggravated Some, thirdly, will want you eliminated verse 10 verse 10 here it is let me go back verse 8 saw was very angry look at him for they for the for the sand displeased him he said he ascribed to david 10 000 oh they told me he killed 10 000 i only killed thousands and then he added this on because your insecurity will make you think stuff that's not even real now he's saying what more can he have but the kingdom he literally says Well the only thing next is for them to make him king and to kick me out the way Ain't nobody even talking about that Verse 10 I want you to read this because I want you to see how unbelievable Some people who claim to know God can be Did you hear what I just said?

49:55 I want you to see how unbelievable some people who claim to know God can be The next day An evil spirit from God Rushed upon Saul And he raved within his house while David was playing an instrument as he did day by day because David was also a musician. Keep going. Saul had his spear in his hand. What happened? What happened? What happened? What's next? And Saul threw the spear for he thought, I will pin David to the wall. Stop right there.

50:30 Now David used to be the one who was a young musician who could soothe Saul when he was tormented. So David literally, this is a lesson on leadership. David doesn't switch up after he wins. David doesn't switch up after he gets a big stage. David was big enough to go fight a giant to save the nation, but he's humble enough to go back to the same position he used to be in, and he didn't let his victory change his identity. Because some of us, God can't trust you at a new level because you become a new person. evil spirit from God rushed in the song and I wanted to rush past that so bad y'all I'm halfway finished with the sermon y'all just keep riding with me I wanted to rush past that but I can't and I couldn't because I said now wait a minute now if it just said evil spirit got it evil spirit from God and I wrestle with God I said now God what you what you up to what you what you giving evil spirits for I didn't know that I know I said it just like that what you giving evil spirits for God says I'm sovereign and all things work together for my good and for your good at the end of it all I I will get praise but I need to shift your perspective so if I don't send an evil spirit to some people you will never know you're in the presence of somebody dangerous So sometimes I will send an evil spirit so you can see the real spirit of the person so you don't get comfortable around a predator.

52:20 You thought they were a prayer warrior, they were just a gossiper. You thought that there was somebody you could love, that was somebody that was just using you. And so I sent an evil spirit, so one day you say, oh my God, you're out of character. God said, no, I'm just showing you the real character. Is this microphone on? Can somebody right here holler at me to know I'm preaching right now and can thank God for the times he revealed somebody's true spirit to you, but sometimes he had to do it to save your life. the evil spirit came then he grabs the spear and he tries to throw it and the Bible says he does it twice but that's not the last or the first time we see God use somebody evil to help a purpose that was more divine cause God hardened Pharaoh's heart and made him chase Moses but it was a set up at the Red Sea God made Joseph's brothers turn on him so at the end of Genesis around chapter 50 Joseph one day could say you meant it for evil but God has used it for my good God used King Nebuchadnezzar to throw Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the fire so God could get some glory God used King Darius to throw Daniel in the lion's den so God could get some glory God used Judas to expedite Jesus to the cross so the whole world could be saved.

53:55 You ought not just shout for the good people in your life. You ought to shout for the people who were mean and evil, vindictive, maniacal, and God used even the evil people to push you into your destiny. can you holler and give him glory to all things good and bad, all things don't you think everybody in your life wants to see you live wants to see you happy they will be trying to eliminate you but behind it is not your elimination it's simple revelation because now I see you trying to eliminate me I know how to move around you I know you're not as safe as I thought So stop getting mad See y'all be ready to clap back You ought to clap up Sometime when you You don't have to respond Oh my God they were talking I never thought she would talk about me I never thought they would do that And you're ready to clap back God said no clap up And tell me thank you for revealing the Judas in your circle.

55:20 Clap up right now like God has ever helped you make it in a place that was designed to hurt you. Clap up. Don't clap back. These are side effects to joy. Some participated. Some will be aggravated. Some will want you eliminated. But God will keep you insulated. It's alright. You ain't got to get happy. I'm already happy. Yeah, you will. Somebody say insulated. Verse 11. And Saul threw the spear. For he thought, I'm going to pin David to this wall. I'm going to kill him. But David eluded him twice. Twice. Before I get happy, let me go to verse 12. Saul was afraid of David.

56:14 because the Lord was with him and had departed Saul go to verse 14 go to verse 14 go to verse 14 David had success George was about to come out of me in everything he did why for the Lord church folk don't know when to shout Thank you. I'm going to give you three reasons to shout. If you don't shout, it's your business. It's easy to praise God when you've dodged the spear once. But some of y'all cut up every Sunday because you had to say anybody been kept twice anybody been covered twice anybody got more than one reason to shout I dodged this and I missed that and you ought not give an explanation for your praise either because people don't know what God blocked from you that could have ended you open your mouth and thank God he didn't just keep you once he didn't just bless you once he didn't just look over you once he blessed you two, three, four, five, six, seven High five three people and say God blocked some stuff.

57:49 I say high five three people and say God blocked some stuff.