THE JOY OF THE SPIRIT part two

Hello my dearly beloved saints, I bring you greetings in the name of our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ. I thank God that you are living in grace and victory of our Lord.

Let not your problem describe you, let your position and your personality in Christ describe you. We are not joyful and happy because things are okay with us hundred percent, we are joyful and happy because of the salvation in us and whatsoever problems we have Jesus is helping us turn them around for our good. We know about the workings of Christ and that He never fails, so we are joyful in the Lord, not joyful in our situation. What made vipers and serpents to come to the children of Israel? Numbers 21:4-6 says, “And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way of the Red Sea, to compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way. And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread. And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died.” The Bible says complaining, murmuring and grumbling made vipers and serpents to come to the children of Israel. Grumbling, murmuring and complaining will make the devil to build his house in your life. You don’t wait for things to be good before you give God thanks. The Bible says, “In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” 1st Thessalonians 5:18. When a man and a woman is not satisfied with the little God has blessed them with, they will never see much in their lives. God starts with little and when you thank Him and praise Him and celebrate the little He has blessed you with, you will see much. The bottom line is, are you joyful and satisfied with the little that God is doing in your life? Are you dancing over it? If you are, you will see more in Jesus name. The Bible says to us in the book of 1st Corinthians 10:10-11 thus, “Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer. Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.” God put these examples for us to learn so that we will not fall into the trap the Israelites fell into. Don’t murmur, rejoice evermore. It is not the problems in your life that makes you rejoice; it is Christ in us the hope of glory.

What happens when you lose your joy? Deuteronomy 28:47-48 says, “Because thou servedst not the LORD thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things; Therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies which the LORD shall send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things: and he shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck, until he have destroyed thee.” When you serve God joyfully, He will supply your needs. When you don’t serve God joyfully, you are inviting troubles to yourself. Anything you do for the Lord, do it with joy. Don’t let anything or anyone determine your joy. Joel 1:12 says, “The vine is dried up, and the fig tree languisheth; the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, even all the trees of the field, are withered: because joy is withered away from the sons of men.” When you lose your joy, business begins to fail, marriage begins to fail, everything around you starts failing. Keep your joy intact, it is your strength. Inspite of whatever happens to you this is what we are advised to do, Habakkuk 3:17-19, the Bible says, “Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The LORD God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds' feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. To the chief singer on my stringed instruments.” When you praise God, he gives you strength to surmount your challenges, when you thank God with joy, all your problems and the devil will be under your feet. The way you put Satan under your feet is to always be joyful. Make up your mind that whatsoever comes your way, you will not lose your joy. You remember the book of Acts 16 where Paul and Silas where arrested and put in prison, the Bible says at mid night they sang praise, they rejoiced in the Lord. And all the stock and chains they held them bound with fell of, even the door of the jail was opened and they were set free. When you decide to be joyful to the Lord and praise Him, inspite of the problems and let people know that your God lives with smiles instead of tears; Heaven will locate you. What attracts the blessing of the Lord is always a joyful praise. James 1:2 says, “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations.” Count it all joy, no matter the trouble, choose to be joyful and happy. Let not your trial take away your joy. The joy I speak of is not the joy gotten from material things, it is a joy that bubbles out as a result of the power of the Holy Ghost that is in you. it is a fruit of the spirit. Galatians 5:22, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace...” Joy is in you, it is in every Christian but the way to tap from it is to consistently pray in the Holy Ghost. Learn to pray all the time, that is the way to pump out your joy. The reason people complain all the time is because they don’t pray always. When you don’t pray you’ll always be angry, you’ll always be full of unhappiness. Philippians 4:6-7 says, “Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Anywhere there is peace, there is joy. May your joy be full in Jesus name.

See you next month. God bless you.