Anb19 Have God's Joy

ANB 19, Have God’s Joy Today we' re going to learn some key steps into obtaining the true joy in life. You may think that money or love or power will bring you joy. But, and I' m happy to break it to you, those things will never bring you joy. They can only deceive you into thinking you have joy, the devil is the god of this world, so he has deceived mankind into thinking that what this world honors are what can provide true joy. But having a bunch of stuff or being able to order people around or have people follow your commands has nothing to do with true joy. Let me tell you about the joy of the Lord. The Hebrew language has many words that are translated into joy. Let' s look at what else they can be translated into: gladness, pleasure, merry, mirth, delight, celebration, battle cry, shout, triumph, singing, the attitude or action of favorable circumstance. So you see the great wealth of ideas that can be included in the word "Joy," when the Bible speaks of joy. The joy of the Lord is about waking every day with a knowledge of your divine purpose, walking through life knowing God causes everything you do to prosper, and having the peace of mind that passes all understanding. But even those could be called effects of this joy. So what is this joy of the Lord? I would define it as "a pure, unchanging and unwavering happiness, which can only be produced by God, that springs forth in every area of your life. And yet those words don' t even describe the greatness of the joy God wants you to experience, for we are discussing the "joy unspeakable" that can only come from the Lord. (I Peter 2:8). Let' s get one thing straight first. God is the only one who can make you experience this true perfect joy. "Thou (God) wilt show me the path of life: in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore." (Psalms 16:11) "The LORD had made them joyful" (Ezra 6:22) "God had made them rejoice with great joy." (Nehemiah 12:43) So how do we come to obtain such joy, or what prompts God to give it to us. We' re not just seeking to obtain it for a moment, but to have it become part of our lives. Let us look at God' s Word, specifically the book of Nehemiah, to see how.

First, some context. The Jews of this time were one joyless group. They had been in exile for many years, their cities had been destroyed and they were scattered abroad throughout the nations. Everything they had once experienced, their lives so close to God with that resultant prosperity, was largely if not completely gone. Let' s look at some steps they took to regaining the joy of the Lord in their lives.

Step 1: Get yourself about the Lord' s business. Now Nehemiah was very sad when he heard about the plight of his people. He worked for a foreign king, and he said to this king. "Why should I not be sad faced when the city, the place of my fathers'[burial monuments], lies waste, and its gates are consumed with fire." (Nehemiah 2:3). God heard Nehemiah' s prayers and how he sought to honor God. God' s hand was upon Nehemiah. As soon as Nehemiah set out to faithfully serve God and rebuild the gates of His city, the Lord prospered his hand, and Nehemiah was met with provisions for the task. (Nehemiah 2). See, God knows when we want to honor Him. He knows when we want to make His business our business. How do we do that today? You follow His commandments and be faithful to do all He tells you to do. For me, that is earnestly seeking to conform my life to the image of Christ and being faithful to speak to the Lord' s people when He has me speak. That is my lot for now, and I am about the Lord' s business. Your lot maybe different, but your duty is the same. Abide the Word of God in all things and do what God commands you to do, that is how you get about God' s business. Make a quality decision that you want to work for God' s Will in your life. Then you will see God draw closer to you with all His goodness. (James 4:8). (As a corollary to that, if you want to do serve the Lord in any way that lines up with His Will for your life God will always provide the means. Read those scriptures to see how He did so for Nehemiah.) Step 2: Read the Word of God

"So they read from the Book of the Law of God distinctly, faithfully amplifying and giving sense so that the people understood the reading. Then Ezra (the scribe) told them, . . . be not grieved or depressed, for the joy of the Lord is your strength and stronghold. . . And all the people went their way to make great rejoicing, for they had understood the Words that were declared to them." (Nehemiah 8:8-12) There is something about the Word of God that will change your how outlook on life. Paul said, "for I am not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation." (Romans 1:16). The entire Word of God is a force, it is a power that once you sow into your life will produce a mighty harvest. The main harvest you will see is faith (Romans 10:17). By faith you are saved. (Ephesians 2:8). Your salvation is the first step in your relationship with God, not the last. For it is by your salvation through faith in Jesus that your have your righteousness. This gives you right standing to come before the Father. Without this you would be separated from God, but with this you have full access to Him. So to put it simply: The Word gives you faith, faith in Jesus got you saved, your salvation is also your right standing with God in this life, and this right standing is how you will access this joy. Get the Word in you, increase your faith, increase your joy. Look at the passage, after the people heard the Word the scribe said "the Joy of the Lord is your strength." Now they could have no knowledge of God or access to Him without this knowledge of the Word, which produced faith in them. They therefore were able to come into this joy through faith which was produced when they heard His Word. Step 3: Sow seed to the Lord and give to Him. "Also that day they offered great sacrifices and rejoiced, for God had made them rejoice with great joy; the women also and the children rejoiced. The joy of Jerusalem was heard even afar off." (Nehemiah 12:43). "Then the people rejoiced, for that they offered willingly, because with perfect heart they offered willingly to the LORD: and David the king also rejoiced with great joy." (I Chronicles 29:29). Let' s go ahead and settle it now. You don' t have to give money to the Lord or to His causes on this earth. You don' t have to do anything. But if you will ever truly see the

full power of God in your life, you must learn to "Honor the Lord with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase." (Proverbs 3:9). When you give money to the Lord or His causes on this earth you are sowing a form of seed. You are showing God money is not your source, God is your source. You show Him you don' t rely on your money, you rely on Him. When you willingly and freely give to the Lord, you receive freely from God. To put it better, you have already received your very lives and salvation from God, so freely as you have received, freely give. (Matthew 10:8) And your giving, your sacrifice to God in this area, is a key to obtaining the joy of the Lord. When you come to the place that God is your source, and your own ability to work is not your source and money is not your source, you are further freed from the ways of this world. This helps you get closer to God, this shows you honor Him, and the Lord honors those who honor Him (I Samuel 2:30). This all will lead to you experiencing greater joy from God, for you trust more in God and you walk more closely with Him. (Read Malachi 3:7-12). If you are freed from the hardships and worries of this world, you are open to the freedom and joy that is in Christ Jesus. Step 4: Continue aggressively pursuing the Will of God and doing His commandments. "And the Israelites separated themselves from all foreigners and stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers." Nehemiah 9:2 "If you keep my commandments, you shall abide in my love . . .These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full." John 15:10,11 We see how the Israelites in Nehemiah continue working towards sanctifying themselves to God' s Word. And God continued giving them His joy. (Nehemiah 12 and 13, especially 12:43). Then we see Jesus Christ, our Lord, tell us how to have His joy, the joy of the Lord. Follow His commandments. What are Jesus commandments? There are only two. "Thou shall love the Lord thy God with all your heart, soul and mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." (Matthew 22:37-40).

If you would have great joy in your lives, if you would have happiness and joy that does not change with your circumstances, if you would have the peace that passes all understanding, then follow these steps and come into the joy of the Lord. I pray that the blessings and joy of the Lord may abide on you and in your house.