The Message
Joy is an everlasting gift from God given only to those of us who believe that Jesus saved us. Joy protects our spirit from being destroyed by evil, it is what binds us to God and it is our response to knowing who God is to us. Joy drives us to worship and break out in praise. Joy is our strength to withstand the things that could break our spirit.
Scripture
Nehemiah 8: 10-12
Summary
To have joy we have to salvation. To really appreciate joy we have to have gone through something.
God will endorse those in Christ, who can endure the pressures of life and the mean things that people do and the evilness of this world.
If we can endure it and not do harm to them that tried to do harm to us, we look like Jesus. Jesus endure all that was put on him and did no harm to them that did evil to him. So when we endure and do no harm we look like Christ covered by the blood to the Father.
As Children of God, we are held to a higher standard. We have been given the gift of joy to help keep us from being overcome by evil. Joy is a gift that will suck the life out of evil. It is a weapon for us to protect us and combat evil.
Joy is not for the non-believer. Joy was made by God for the people of God only. Joy and happiness are not the same. Happiness is for everyone, saved and unsaved. Joy is for the believer only.
Joy is the gift of God that resides in our heart and is the fabric of who we are created to be in Christ. When we have joy evil is unable to impact us. We can have things happen that make us feel angry, sad or some kind of way but it should not be so great that we have no joy.
Our focus can get shifted from our joy by all the stuff of the world if we are not paying attention. We have to be aware and protect it from being drowned out. We have to stay connected to the joy in our heart which is where God meets us. Joy ushers in our worship which causes us to erupt into praise. Joy moves us in the presents of God.
Joy is the bond between us and God. To have joy, we have to know God. To know God requires us to read the Bible to learn what it says about God. We also learn who God is through prayer and walking in faith.
Joy is also our response to God’s word. When we know the word and know God we get excited deep in our heart (joy) that is ever present). So no matter what happens around us, if we aren’t distracted, we should still feel joy. Joy is our protection against the enemy. Joy is what causes us to display a behavior that sets us apart that makes the enemy leave. When we have our focus on our joy we cannot be destroyed by the enemy.
