01.26.11 - The Joy Of The Lord

1. 1. Origin of Joy

1. a. It has been said that happiness comes from circumstances, but joy comes from the Lord.  The word joy used in Nehemiah 8:10 comes from a word that means to be joined, to rejoice and to make glad.  The "joy of the Lord" being our strength, denotes relationship with the Lord. Most can relate many times of happiness in their lives. Carefully considered, are those times of happiness fleeting and based on situations and circumstances and instances in time? God does not want us to be unhappy, but He does want us to have joy.  Consider the difference.   Joy, the kind of joy that comes from walking with the Lord, is not dependent on circumstances and situations, that joy is  solely dependent on the Lord and our relationship with Him.  

1. i. If happiness is circumstantial and joy can be ongoing, what then is the difference and how can we have be sure that we have ongoing joy in our lives versus temporary happiness?

1. 1. Consider:

1. a. James 1:2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; 3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. 4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. KJV

1. i. James is not saying that he welcomes with open arms the trials and temptations of life.  What he is saying is that those trials and temptations are meant to conform him to the image of Christ, that at the end of the day, there is joy in his life (and should be in ours as well) because he is daily becoming more like the Lord.

1. 1. How do most people feel during trials and tribulations?

1. 2. Can you relate a time when things were spiritually rough that God granted joy through, or in spite of the situation?

1. b. Luke 6:22 Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake. 23 Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets. KJV

1. i. In this passage the Lord is teaching us that ongoing, lasting joy comes from knowing that 1.) we are not alone, there are others that have been through trials and have triumphed and that 2.) we have a great reward awaiting us in heaven

1. c. Heb 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. KJV

1. i.  . . .set before Him.  Christ endured. None could say that during the crucifixion, or in the Garden of Gethsemane, or when Judas betrayed Him with a kiss that Christ was happy.  But he endured.  He endured the kiss.  He endured the Garden.  He endured the Cross. Why? For the joy that was set before Him, the ongoing joy.  Not a moment of fleeting happiness.

1. 1. What are some things in life that bring happiness?  What happens when those things change or are taken away, does that happiness remain?

1. 2. What are the things in life that bring the kind of joy that the previous passages are speaking of?  Can that kind of joy be taken away?

1. 3. John 10 teaches that the enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy.  There are things that are lost every day, even by Christians.  Health. Finances. Loved ones.  But while there are numerous things that may be taken, Christ cannot be!! As long as a person chooses to walk with Christ, then that walk cannot be stolen from them.  It has to be given away.  Walked away from.   That is why the Lord teaches us to lay up for ourselves treasures in Heaven, not here on earth. The things we count important here on earth many times are temporal, they will not last for eternity, so they may bring happiness for a season, but seasons change.  Those treasures we lay up in Heaven, those last forever and can never be stolen from us.

1. a. What are some eternal treasures?

1. b. Name some things that we might count worthy of "enduring" for?