JOY for ME- There was a woman who lost her car keys and went tearing through her house looking everywhere for her keys. She opened every drawer and looked under every pile. Finally, she looked in her purse, and there they were! Do you know why she didn’t find them at first? She was looking in the wrong place. I don’t know a lot about you, but I know one thing about you: you want joy in your life. Don’t deny it. You do! You want joy in your life. We all do. But the reason so many people don’t have joy is that they are looking for joy in the wrong place. Joy is not a nicety in our life; it is an absolute necessity. We without joy is a contradiction in terms. If you are right with God, you ought to have a continual, conspicuous, contagious joy. I want us to consider how to have fullness of joy. Joy is essential in bearing life’s burdens. We need joy in order to have the strength to live the Believers life. JOY for OTHERS- Joy is important in winning the lost to Jesus Christ. As Believers , the joy of the Lord is our best advertisement. If you’re not a joyful Believers , you’re not an effective soul winner. If you’re going around with a Bible under one arm and a tombstone under the other, why would anyone want to be like you? JOY for JESUS- So, we see what joy is and why we need it. But you may still be asking, “How can I have this joy?” I’m glad you asked that question. Jesus tells us in John 15:11 that we are not to have just any joy, but we are to have a particular joy. We are to have His joy. What is the joy of Jesus? It is abounding joy. He says, “…that your joy might be full.” The only way we can rejoice is to rejoice in Jesus. And the joy of Jesus is not half-hearted joy, not maybe-so joy, but joy that is abounding and supernatural. It is abiding joy. Jesus says, “…that My joy might remain in you….” It’s not joy that comes and goes. It is joy in the good times, the bad times, the nighttime, the daytime, the rainy day, and sunny day. We’re to rejoice in the Lord always. And Jesus didn’t say these words lightly. He was facing a dark time when He instructed us to have His joy. First of all, it means to surrender. According to John 15:5 what can the branch accomplish without the vine? Abiding also means dependence. The joy of Jesus is given when you depend upon the Lord. John 15:5b says, “…without Me you can do nothing.” But God cannot be everything until you become nothing. Abiding also means resting. Look at verse 9, “continue ye in My love.” That means to rest in His love. The branch does nothing; it depends fully on the vine for its support. The vine sends down its roots for water and nutrients. Again, the branch does nothing. Abiding means obedience. Last of all, abiding means rejoicing. Jesus said in Luke 10:20, “Rejoice that your name is written in heaven.” All of this will do you absolutely no good unless your name is written in heaven. But if it is, come what may, you are heaven born and heaven bound. And that’s cause to rejoice.
Posted on: Wed, 16 Jul 2014 06:21:42 +0000
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