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    Joy / Rejoicing

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    Andy G
    1) True and lasting joy comes from faith in God and putting one's trust in Him, rather than from worldly pleasures or difficult circumstances. 2) Jesus was able to endure the cross because of the joy set before Him - the same joy that is available to believers who seek the kingdom of God above all else. 3) Reflecting on God's word and works fills believers with joy and gladness, making them like those who have experienced God restoring their fortunes through His mighty acts.

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    Joy / Rejoicing

    Uploaded by

    Andy G
    68 views2 pages
    1) True and lasting joy comes from faith in God and putting one's trust in Him, rather than from worldly pleasures or difficult circumstances. 2) Jesus was able to endure the cross because of the joy set before Him - the same joy that is available to believers who seek the kingdom of God above all else. 3) Reflecting on God's word and works fills believers with joy and gladness, making them like those who have experienced God restoring their fortunes through His mighty acts.

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    1) True and lasting joy comes from faith in God and putting one's trust in Him, rather than from worldly pleasures or difficult circumstances. 2) Jesus was able to endure the cross because of the joy set before Him - the same joy that is available to believers who seek the kingdom of God above all else. 3) Reflecting on God's word and works fills believers with joy and gladness, making them like those who have experienced God restoring their fortunes through His mighty acts.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    68 views2 pages

    Joy / Rejoicing

    Uploaded by

    Andy G
    1) True and lasting joy comes from faith in God and putting one's trust in Him, rather than from worldly pleasures or difficult circumstances. 2) Jesus was able to endure the cross because of the joy set before Him - the same joy that is available to believers who seek the kingdom of God above all else. 3) Reflecting on God's word and works fills believers with joy and gladness, making them like those who have experienced God restoring their fortunes through His mighty acts.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
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    Joy / Rejoicing

    The word Joy appears in both Old Testament and New Testament translations of the Bible:
     KJV: OT = 102 and NT = 63. NIV: OT=155 and NT=63. ESV: OT=141 and NT=62

    But what is this thing called 'joy' or its companion verb 'rejoicing'? According to Dictionary.com, joy
    is “the emotion of great delight or happiness caused by something exceptionally good or satisfying.”
    This is nice but we could experience this by eating ice cream. What does it have to do with the word
    of God?

    There are times when joy eludes us. This is normal and we need to understand that there are times
    when we will not feel joyful. There may be circumstances in our home, work, studying or even
    Ecclesial life in which we find no joy:

    “And joy and gladness are taken away from the fruitful field, and in the vineyards no songs are sung,
    no cheers are raised; no treader treads out wine in the presses; I have put an end to the shouting.–
    Isaiah 16 v10 (ESV).

    We cannot force ourselves to be joyful. However hard we might try to show joy, if we do not fel it,
    then it will appear shallow and insincere to others.

    However, if we put our faith and trust in the Lord, we can be in a difficult situation and yet
    experience joy: “5 For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the
    cover of his tent; he will lift me high upon a rock. 6 And now my head shall be lifted up above my
    enemies all around me, and I will offer in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing and make
    melody to the Lord." – Psalm 27:5-7 (ESV).

    In the New Testament, the Lord Jesus added to this and explained that Joy comes from faith in the
    promises and grace of God, not from men: “ 22 Blessed are you when people hate you and when they
    exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! 23 Rejoice in
    that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the
    prophets.” – Luke 6:22-23 (ESV)

    True and lasting Joy is only possible from the Lord, who

    Paul wrote, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known
    to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and
    supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God,
    which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians
    4:4-7 (ESV).

    “ You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand
    are pleasures forevermore."– Psalm 16:11 (ESV)

    Jesus said, “44 The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and
    covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” – Matthew 13:44
    (ESV).
    Are we seeking the fields for the treasure that God has for us? Only by doing so can we find the joy
    that God has in store for us. In a world where celebrity, success, and money are glorified, it is easy to
    lose focus on what brings real joy.

    As in all things we should follow the example of the Lord Jesus Christ: " 1Therefore, since we are
    surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings
    so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder
    and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the
    shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God." Hebrews 12 v1-2 (ESV)

    The Lord Jesus was able to endure his sacrifice upon the cross because he knew of the joy that was
    set before him. That joy is set before us too. As the psalmist says: " 4For you, O Lord, have made me
    glad by your work; at the works of your hands I sing for joy. 5How great are your works, O Lord!
    Your thoughts are very deep!" Psalm 92:4-5 (ESV)

    Reflection on the Word of God fill us with joy, it makes us glad. But Psalm 126 adds the dimension of
    joyous laughter.
    “When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream. 2 Then our mouth was
    filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then they said among the nations, “The Lord
    has done great things for them.” 3 The Lord has done great things for us; we are glad." Psalm 126:1-3
    (ESV)

    The Lord has indeed done great things for us and we too are glad! So perhaps we should be like
    those disciples as the Lord headed toward Jerusalem: “ 36 And as he [Jesus]rode along, they spread
    their cloaks on the road. 37 As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—
    the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the
    mighty works that they had seen, 38 saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!
    Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” 39 And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him,
    “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” 40 He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones
    would cry out.” – Luke 19:36-40 (ESV)

    So we should not be afraid to sow genuine spiritual joy as we praise what God has done for us.

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