2-- Divine Peace & Joy-- Short Version

Preparation for Heavenly Living Correspondence School http://www.geocities.com/bibleloverbill

TW 102 from PFHL Course 120-- Divine Peace from God for Believers (Compiled & sorted by Bill Stevenson) Directions: Try to figure out why the verses were put where they were. You might want to copy the verses that really “hit you directly”. Write an essay about divine peace and what you think the best verses in this collection are. How would you teach the best 3 verses? This assignment is worth 3 units, so write at least 3 quality pages. God the Father of peace-Judges 6:23-24 1 Corinthians 14:33

2 Corinthians 13:11 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24

Jesus Christ is the King/Prince/Lord of peace in the past and forever Hebrews 7:1-3 Luke 8:46-47 Isaiah 9:6-7 John 14:25-27 Romans 1:7 John 16:33 Luke 7:36-38 & 47-50 John 20:19-21 & 26 Peace from the Holy Spirit Galatians 5:22-26

Colossians 3:15-17 2 Thessalonians 3:13-16

Ephesians 4:1-5

God’s wisdom leads to peace for the seekers-James 3:17-18 2 Peter 1:1-2 Proverbs 3:13 &17 2 John 1:1-3 God’s peace via Salvation Isaiah 53:5 Isaiah 54:5-10

Luke 2:13-14 Acts 10:34-36

God the Father gives peace to keepers of Bible commandments (His people who want to be righteous because they love Him)-Psalm 29:11 Acts 9:31 Psalm 85:8-10 Romans 2:6-11 Romans 14:17 Romans 8:5-8 Psalm 119:165 Romans 14: 13-19 Isaiah 32:17-18 Romans 15:13

Romans 5:1-5 Ephesians 6:13-18

Philippians 4:4-9 Hebrews 12:7-11 Isaiah 57:2 Revelation 1:4-5

An important result of peace from God-Proverbs 14:29-30 Future peace for humble believers-Romans 16:17-20 Psalm 37:7-11

Isaiah 25:8-26:4

TW 102 from PFHL Course 121-- Divine Joy from God for Believers (Compiled & sorted by Bill Stevenson, 8/2/94 & 1/19/99)

Introduction (8/2/94, 1/19/99, & 8/5/03) There is a prophecy about Christ’s joy in Psalm 45:7-- “Therefore God, Your God, has set You above Your companions by anointing You with the oil of joy.” Joy is promised by Jesus Christ for all believers in Him, His love, and His commandments. Jesus Christ spoke of His joy in John 15:10-11 and 17:13 in which He claimed the ability or power to bestow His joy into His 1

believers. Joy is one of the fruit of the Holy Spirit for believers (Galatians 5:22-23). Jesus Christ’s followers should be joyful people. It is the best testimony about the wonderfulness of being a Christian: that one is able to be very positive in a very negative world. So many individuals are usually sad or indifferent; just surviving. If you would work for someone who is joyful, wouldn’t you probably become joyful? Luke 10:21 tells us that Jesus was full of joy through the Holy Spirit after seventy-two disciples returned from to witness. If we have the same joy, we will want to praise God. Jesus Christ did in that verse. No one will be the same as before after committing his or her whole being to Jesus and knowing Him as personal Savior and Master. It is not easy to describe this joy which the Apostle Peter referred to in 1 Peter 1:8 as an “inexpressible and glorious joy”. It is far more than the happiness which relationships with humans and animals can give. Certainly there are legitimate pleasures in the world that can be enjoyed more fully when one has the joy of the Holy Spirit. But the joy of the Holy Spirit is set apart from all the levels of purely human joy. It is the result of faith in God. Romans 15:13 says, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit”. Divine joy is much better than the best happiness in secular situations/activities. In English, the word “happiness” is not in the KJV Bible and the twenty-five verses with the word “happy” give no indication that happiness is from the Godhead. Doesn’t that sound exciting to you? Don’t settle for less than joy just because you are lonely. God’s best for us is always worth waiting for. Joy from the Holy Spirit is not dependent on our outward circumstances. Also knowing about the joy in Heaven should help all Christians to tolerate any kind of persecution. Also, about 2,000 years ago, Jesus Christ’s hope for future joy in Heaven sustained Him in His painful crucifixion. Hebrews 12:2 says that Jesus “endured the cross for the joy set before Him”. The Apostle Paul recognized this when he wrote to the Thessalonians: “In spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit”. Spiritual joy endures even in hardships, because it is developed from within by the Holy Spirit. In Philippians 4:4, just before he was to be beheaded for teaching Christianity, the Apostle Paul wrote, “Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice.” When I share that tough command, I add, “In any situation, things could always be worse and there is always something to be thankful for, right?” So having joy is a matter of choice and proper relationship with God. A famous anagram is appropriate: J-Jesus O-Others Y-Yourself {in that order chronologically} God’s timing is the best and the study I did on the “joy”, “joyful”, and “joyfulness” verses in the Bible is an excellent example of this. I was not ready for the wonderful conclusion of it for seven months. I even had to get married to the most joyful woman I have ever met. Joy is different than what is usually meant for happiness or good feelings; it is from God and requires unselfishness by humans. The Holy Spirit gave me five topic areas for the verses I thought were the best. Read these bolded category headings first. After you do that, read each of these wonderful Bible verses in the order I have placed them with the goals of trying to determine why I put each where it is and how a teacher would teach it. This could easily take several “sittings” to complete, but I guarantee you will be blessed as much as I was in developing this inductive teaching tool.

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Directions: Try to figure out why the verses were put where they were. You might want to copy the verses that really “hit you directly”. Write an essay about divine joy and what you think the best verses in this collection are. How would you teach the best 3 verses? This assignment is worth 3 units, so write at least 3 quality pages. Jesus Christ Related: Psalm 45:7 Luke 10:21

Hebrews 12:2 John 15:10-11 & 17:13

Related to True Christian: Galatians 5:22-23 1 Peter 1:8

Romans 15:13 Philippians 4:4

J-- Jesus O-- Others Y-- Yourself {in that order chronologically} Hoping for joy and divine promises: 1. Proverbs 10:28 7. 2. Proverbs 12:20 8. 3. Psalms 126:5 9. 4. Psalms 126:6 10. 5. John 16:20 11. 6. John 16:22 12.

John 16:24 Psalms 5:11 Psalms 90:14 Psalms 86:4 Psalms 71:23 Isaiah 12:3

Source of joy: 1. Psalms 43:4 2. Psalms 16:11 3. Psalms 28:7 4. Psalms 105:43 5. Psalms 145:7 6. Psalms 51:12

7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12.

Psalms 94:19 Psalms 149:5 Psalms 126:3 Luke 1:14 Luke 2:10 Matthew 28:8

13. 14. 15. 16. 17.

5. 6. 7. 8.

Psalms 92:4 Isaiah 65:18 Isaiah 49:13 Romans 12:12

9. 1 Thessalonians 5:16 10. James 1:2

Commandments requiring joy: 1. Job 33:26 2. Psalms 33:1 3. Psalms 100:2 4. Psalms 65:8

13. Psalms 68:3 14. Romans 15:13 15. Isaiah 35:10 16. Jeremiah 31:13

Joy is a result of obedience to God and His commandments for believers: 1. Acts 16:34 8. 3 John 1-4 15. 2. Job 6:10 9. 2 John 1:4-16. 3. Psalms 19:8 10. Psalms 45:7 17. 4. Psalms 119:111 11. Psalms 97:11 18. 5. Jeremiah 15:16 12. Proverbs 21:15 19. 6. 1 John 1:4 13. Proverbs 15:23 7. Luke 8:13 14. Luke 10:17 A joyful attitude commitment: 1. Habakkuk 3:18 2. Ecclesiastes 8:15 3. John 3:29

4. Luke 10:21 5. Romans 15:32 6. Philippians 1:4

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Acts 13:52 Romans 14:17 Galatians 5:22-23 Acts 14:17 Jude 24

Proverbs 15:30 John 15:10-11 1 Thessalonians 1:6 Hebrews 1:9 1 Peter 1:8

7. Hebrews 12:2