McCombs Baptist Church

Have your Joy in God?

We hear a lot about the Joy of the Lord. It is true that if you put your Joy in God you can never lose it, you can give it away, but it can never be taken from you. Joy in the Lord is like Salvation in that you can not lose it. You can deny it but can not lose it.

Let us look at some of the ways Joy is discussed in the Word of God.

 

Philippians 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.

1. We need to rejoice in the Lord always, it is to say, never look sad on the day of the Lord.
2. This level of happiness only comes from the Lord.
3. We must look at the goodness in life every day, at everything, no matter what comes down the pike, look for the goodness.

These other verses in Philippians:

Philippians 4:6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

Philippians 4:7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

1. Let all that is on your shoulders, all that is weighing you down, give it to Him, the Lord.
2. As is said in verse 4:7, “And the peace of God” this peace is from God and when you are a Believer, you have access to this peace.
3. Joy in the Lord can be found in this, by just sharing your burdens with the Lord. You will find Joy that will pass all understanding.

 

 

There is not a law that prevents you from being Joyful and happy.

Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,

Galatians 5:23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

1. We as believers can be happy. We as Christians can be Happy, there is not a law against it.
2. In chapter 5 of Galatians talks about living free in Jesus. That Jesus will give us this Joy, it is listed in verse 22, and there is not a law that says that we cannot be happy and joyful.
3. There are several people that think that Christians must be sad and upset to be Christians. They even think Christians don’t have fun living the Christian Life. If they only knew the Joy, we have and that they can have the same Joy. We need to teach them and show them with our lives.

Our God will give you that Joy, and fill you with hope, lets read Romans 15:13

Romans 15:13 Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.

1. This Holy Spirit is for not only the Jews but also for the Gentiles. Not only does Jesus give us this hope and joy, but He will also give us someone to help us find it and keep it.
2. This Holy Spirit is here to help us in all we do for God’s Kingdom, He will help us spread the good news of hope and love and joy to all the world. Those of us that believe are never without the Spirit of God.
3. The Holy Spirit is in the world and remembers you must be a Believer to receive the full hope and joy in God, a non-believer does not have the access.

 

This Joy and Hope will be tested, if not by God, it will be tested by others.

James 1:2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;

James 1:3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.

James 1:4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

1. We must use our Faith always to show our belief in God. How we treat others with these blessings will show our Faith in the world.
2. The stronger our faith the more the devil wants to tear it down. The devil hates true believers. It is fair to say that non-believers don’t like believers with Faith, Hope, and Joy. As a matter of fact, they need to tear us down as well. They just cannot compete with us in the Joy factor.

 

We know that stress is bad for our health, God has an answer.

Proverbs 17:22 A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.

1. Stress is not good for the heart; it is not good for people that work in high-stress jobs. God has an answer for us and has had it for a long time. The verse says, “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine” God is Good.
2. When your Joy comes from God, you have good medicine in your heart. This is one of the things the medical community will agree on. We also know that Christians live longer than non-Christians. I wonder if it is the Joy factor that causes it.

 

John wrote in 1 John pray that your joy is full.

1 John 1:4 And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.

1. John wrote this in a form of a prayer. This shows that our Lord and Savior wants us to have joy to fill our life, a joy to help us deal with stress, and a joy to show and give happiness to others.
2. When our Lord fills our heart with joy, that is a blessing, and we know that when we receive a blessing it not only blesses us but also those around us. The love of God that shines through us also shines on other people.

 

By Deacon Roger Dale Lampley

McCombs Baptist Church